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Ralph P. Gewehr

Pilot · 409th Squadron
HometownNJ

Capt. Ralph P. Gewehr served as pilot of B-24D 41-24298 with the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. He was reported missing in action on November 13, 1943 following the mission to Bremen, Germany. According to an eyewitness account by Capt. Russell D. Demont, Gewehr's aircraft inadvertently began following Demont's plane when Demont aborted the mission at 1118 hours.

Parachutes were reported as having been used from the aircraft, suggesting some crew members survived the loss. Gewehr is commemorated at the Netherlands American Cemetery.

PASSED 13 NOV 1943

Sortie Log

1 CATALOGUED SORTIE
13 NOV 1943

The sorties below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.

8AF Mission
Date
Target
Aircraft
№ 130
13 NOV 1943
BremenP/A
B-24D serial 41-24298 was lost on 13 November 1943 during a bombing mission to Bremen. The aircraft departed AAF Station 104 with a crew of eleven. Last known position was 5520N 0830E at 1120 hours. Captain Russell D. Demont, pilot of aircraft #869Q, reported that Capt. Gewehr's aircraft began following him when he aborted at 1118 hours at 5520N 0830E. Upon realizing his error, crew members believed Gewehr turned back to rejoin the formation. Around the same time a B-24 was observed under attack by enemy aircraft, with one crew reporting that engine #2 was on fire and the aircraft entered cloud in a flat spin with two parachutes seen. Another account described part of the wing as missing. Poor visibility and distance from the formation made positive identification uncertain. A German military record dated 24 November 1943 from the Hornum/Sylt air base documents the recovery of six corpses of American airmen during the period 19 October to 24 November 1943. Bodies of crew members washed ashore on the Isle of Amrum 13-14 November 1943 and were buried at the New Cemetery of Nebel/Amrum. Sortie documented in both MACR-2189 and MACR-2190.
41-24298
§ Interment
Cemetery
Netherlands American Cemetery