About the Airplane
- The Missing Air Crew Reports No.
- 10783
- The type of the plane.
- B-24J
- The plane ID.
- 42-51631
- The name of the plane.
- The squadron the bomber belongs to.
- 781st Bomb Squadron
- The date of the bomber's crash.
- 1944-12-16
- The reason for the bomber's crash.
- technischer Fehler
- The place the bomber targeted.
- Most
- The place where the bomber crashed.
- Traun
- Coordinates of the site the bomber was last seen at.
- The city or village the bomber was last seen at.
- Esternberg (D)
- 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.
- Die Maschine kämpfte auf dem Rückflug mit technischen Problemen und fiel hinter den Verband zurück. Alle Besatzungsmitglieder konnten mit dem Fallschirm das abstürzende Flugzeug verlassen. Ein Crewmitglied starb später im Stalag Luft I.
Map of related places
The Crew
| Name | Rank | Function | Destiny |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blakita, Michael | 1st Lt | Pilot | EUS |
| Cassel, William L. | 2nd Lt | Bombardier | DED |
| Coleman, David B. | 2nd Lt | Navigator | EUS |
| Hellman, Alvin | Sgt | Gunner 3 | EUS |
| Leach, Ralph W. | Sgt | Gunner 4 | EUS |
| Leath, Truman C. | Sgt | Gunner 2 | EUS |
| Otto, Dean T. | Sgt | Gunner 5 | EUS |
| Pitts, Marion A. | 2nd Lt | Co-Pilot | EUS |
| Stern, Donald D. | Sgt | Gunner 6 | EUS |
| Weistling, Howard G. | Sgt | Gunner 1 | 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-00712.html)