About the Airplane
- The Missing Air Crew Reports No.
- 3694
- The type of the plane.
- B-24J
- The plane ID.
- 42-73426
- The name of the plane.
- The squadron the bomber belongs to.
- 720th Bomb Squadron
- The date of the bomber's crash.
- 1944-04-02
- The reason for the bomber's crash.
- Flak
- The place the bomber targeted.
- Steyr
- The place where the bomber crashed.
- Sankt Lorenzen im Paltental
- Coordinates of the site the bomber was last seen at.
- 47°40'N, 14°50'E
- The city or village the bomber was last seen at.
- Palfau
- The country or county the bomber was last seen at.
- Time of the day the bomber was last seen at.
- 12:44
- Time of the crash.
- Comments.
- Das Flugzeug wurde von Flakgeschossen getroffen und stürzte ab. Ein Teil der Besatzung konnte abspringen. Hammond schwebte, an seinem Fallschirm hängend, tot zu Boden, da er vermutlich von Flaksplittern getroffen worden war. Die drei Überlebenden wurden sofort verhaftet und von NS-Funktionären trotz teils schwerer Verletzungen misshandelt.
Map of related places
The Crew
| Name | Rank | Function | Destiny |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buck, Donald A. | Capt | Pilot | KIA |
| Cilli, Nicholas C. | 2nd Lt | Co-Pilot | KIA |
| Geyer, James S. | 1st Lt | Navigator | KIA |
| Hammond, Roy D. | T/Sgt | Gunner 1 | KIA |
| Kelly, Frank B. | 2nd Lt | Bombardier | EUS |
| McCaughey, Charles B. | S/Sgt | Gunner 4 | DED |
| Pace, Harold L. | S/Sgt | Gunner 5 | EUS |
| Verbitski, John J. | S/Sgt | Gunner 6 | EUS |
| Walker, Archie J. | T/Sgt | Gunner 2 | DED |
| Wessel, Ralph C. | S/Sgt | Gunner 3 | DED |
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-00113.html)