Crew Roster · Personal File

Robert L. Burke

Navigator · 409th Squadron

Flight Officer Robert L. Burke served as navigator on the 2 March 1944 Frankfurt mission. When the aircraft was set ablaze by flak, Burke bailed out. Narrator Carpenter noted that as he exited the plane at 15,000 feet, the navigator and nose gunner were just behind him, ready to follow.

Burke's parachute opened successfully. The crew roster lists his disposition as 'MIA in Neutral Country,' indicating he came down in a neutral country and was interned rather than returning directly to the UK.

Interned

Sortie Log

2 CATALOGUED SORTIES
02 MAR 1944 — 02 MAR 1944

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

№ 244

02 MAR 1944

Frankfurt

On 2 March 1944, the aircraft was on a mission to Frankfurt, Germany. Over France, the plane was hit by flak on two or three engines, causing a fire. The pilot requested a course home and the aircraft fell out of formation, losing approximately 4,000 feet before the alarm bell sounded. The crew bailed out at approximately 15,000 feet at approximately 11:30 AM. Seven parachutes were observed in the air. The casualty questionnaire noted that one man was burnt before bailing out. The pilot, 2d Lt. Charles W. Mankin Jr., was killed — his parachute did not open. The aircraft did not explode on striking the ground. The plane was hit by large flak holes causing fire on two or three engines. The wreckage was not examined by the narrator. The aircraft came down in northern France in the vicinity of Bray-sur-Somme and the area around Albert.

A B-24 Liberator (KU 1059) of the 93rd Bomb Group was lost on 2 March 1944 during a mission to Frankfurt, Germany. The aircraft left formation approximately 5 miles east of Abbeville, France. According to survivor accounts, the crew bailed out in groups: the tail gunner, waist gunner, and ball turret gunner exited through the camera hatch; the nose gunner, navigator, and bombardier through the nose wheel hatch; and the co-pilot, radio operator, and engineer bailed out together. The pilot, 2nd Lt. Charles W. Mankin Jr., did not survive. The aircraft struck the ground near Doullens, France (per German sources), and near Fricourt, 3 km from Albert, per a German prisoner-of-war document dated 2 March 1944. The aircraft identifier was KU 1059.

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