02 MARCH 1944 · THURSDAY · STATION 104Missing in Action

Mission 244.Frankfurt Am Main.

Frankfurt Am Main, Germany

Intended Target
Frankfurt Am Main
Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Actual Target
Frankfurt Am Main
As briefed
Operating Group
93rd BG
2BD
Takeoff Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Aircraft Effective
36 / 154
effective / dispatched
Bomb Tonnage
98
tons

The cost.

§ Outcome
1
Ships Lost
16
Men Lost

The route.

§ Takeoff to Target
Bearing Out
114° T
Bearing In
300° T

The formation.

26 aircraft · tap a ship for its crew
BTGS/Sgt Oscar M. WagelieMIA
WGS/Sgt Henry G. KarpfPOW

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.

Sources.

§ Provenance
2nd Air Division · 2nd Air Division Digital Archive · 1944
Official record
Mighty Eighth War Diary
Roger A Freeman · Jane's Publishing Company Limited · 1981
Published