Crew Roster · Personal File
Robert W. Bieber
Pilot
Pilot of B-24H 42-51078. Listed as MIA on the original MACR, with status later updated to RTD.
Born 2 July 1923 in Oklahoma. A German hospital record from Reserve-Lazarett V Hamburg dated 19 January 1945 confirms he was admitted on 17 January 1945 with burns and contusions (Verbrennungen, Prellungen). His dog tag number was recorded as 06730134.
Sortie Log
3 CATALOGUED SORTIES
30 DEC 1944 — 17 JAN 1945
30 DEC 1944 — 17 JAN 1945
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
№ 770
30 DEC 1944
MechernichM/Y
Thompson listed as Medical Officer and RCM; no first name or rank given for Thompson
Vulgar Virgin42-50376
№ 789
10 JAN 1945
Target unrecorded
My Achin' Back!42-110017
№ 798
17 JAN 1945
Harburg
B-24H serial 42-51078 was flying with the 93rd Bomb Group, 328th Squadron, on a bombing mission to Harburg on 17 January 1945. The aircraft carried a crew of 10 with no passengers. At 1212 hours over the target area, the aircraft received a flak hit in the bomb bay just before bombs away. Witnesses reported the bomb bay burned for approximately two minutes before exploding. The aircraft went into a dive and broke up completely. Eyewitness accounts from crews of the 44th Bomb Group varied on the number of parachutes observed: Lt. Daily reported three chutes, two of which were on fire; Lt. Erikson reported the aircraft broke up completely; Lt. Lowe reported seven chutes. The MACR confirmed parachutes were used. A German hospital document (Reserve-Lazarett V Hamburg, dated 19 January 1945) confirmed that three crew members — Bieber, Harth (Earth), and Schmidt — were admitted on 17 January 1945 with burns and contusions, having been transferred by the Reichsstatthalter Hamburg.
Ole Mort42-51078