About the Airplane

The Missing Air Crew Reports No.
2708
The type of the plane.
B-17G
The plane ID.
42-31390
The name of the plane.
The squadron the bomber belongs to.
96th Bomb Squadron
The date of the bomber's crash.
1944-02-24
The reason for the bomber's crash.
Flak
The place the bomber targeted.
Steyr
The place where the bomber crashed.
Wels
Coordinates of the site the bomber was last seen at.
47°29'N, 14°28'E
The city or village the bomber was last seen at.
Trieben
The country or county the bomber was last seen at.
Time of the day the bomber was last seen at.
Time of the crash.
Comments.
Das Flugzeug wurde von Flakgeschossen getroffen und geriet in Brand. Es ging in den Sturzflug über und explodierte schließlich in der Luft. Nach Aussagen von Überlebenden konnten sich alle Crewmitglieder mit ihren Fallschirmen retten. Jedoch dürften sie an ihren Fallschirmen schweben beschossen worden sein. Drei Crewmitglieder überlebten nicht.

Map of related places

The Crew

Name Rank Function Destiny
Basehore, Richard I. S/Sgt Gunner 6 DED
Deibel, Mervyn E. S/Sgt Gunner 4 EUS
Gustafson, Wilbur M. S/Sgt Gunner 1 Rmc
Johnson, Ralph E. S/Sgt Gunner 5 DED
Lubowski, Nathan W. S/Sgt Gunner 2 DED
Lundquist, Woodrow M. T/Sgt Gunner 3 EUS
Mayfield, Darrell W. 1st Lt Pilot EUS
Nunnery, Edwin W. 2nd Lt Bombardier EUS
O'Hare, William M. 2nd Lt Co-Pilot EUS
Zaplatynsky, Leo W. 2nd Lt Navigator EUS

How to cite

DAACDA – Downed Allied Air Crew Database Austria, edited by Nicole-Melanie Goll, Georg Hoffmann and Peter Andorfer, Vienna 2025 (https://daacda.acdh.oeaw.ac.at/a-00068.html)