315 TROOP CARRIER GROUP / 310TH SQUADRON
2LT BORTH, BRUCE W.
From Tonowonda, New York.
Killed in action on 21st September 1944 as co-pilot of C-47 / #43-15612 / 4A-'B' / 'Sea Ration' / MACR 10284.
Sortie: para drop during Operation 'Market Garden'
After having dropped 11 Polish paratroopers near Driel (south of Arnhem / Oosterbeek) this C-47 was hit by flak just before reaching Elst on the reciprocal route to base. After crossing the Waal river the pilots descended to 50-100 feet altitude. Possibly to dodge the anti-aircraft fire or with the intention to force land the aircraft. Regrettably the C-47 crashed near Reeth (see the map shown below).
The whole crew of five were killed in the subsequent crash.
2Lt Borth is buried at Margraten Cemetery, G-4-24.
The below three photographs showing 'Sea Ration', the crash site near Reeth and a map showing the geographical info are courtesy of my Dutch friend Hans den Brok and were originally published in his excellent series of books 'Market Flights' (Volume 5, 315th Troop Carrier Group, pages 44 and 45). Hans is also one of the authors of the book 'A Breathtaking Spectacle'.
See https://www.overlord-publishing.com/products/a-breathtaking-spectacle-volume-1
405 FIGHTER GROUP / 509 FIGHTER SQUADRON
MAJOR BLACKBURN, ROBERT M.
From Des Moines, Iowa.
Killed in Action on 25th March 1945 as pilot of P-47D / #44-33291 / G9-'B' / 'Chow Hound III' / MACR 13577.
Took off from Y-32 (Ophoven, Belgium) on an armed recce sortie in the Ruhr area, Germany.
After destroying German aircraft on an airfield east of Dortmund this aircraft was presumed to have been damaged by its own bomb blast. The pilot radioed that he would bale out. Crashed at New Asseln, east of Dortmund, Germany.
Major Blackburn is buried at Ardennes Cemetery, D-4-40.
The other black & white photographs were all sourced from "Thunder Monsters over Europe', A History of the 405th Fighter Group in world War 2, by Reginal G. Nolte.
4 FIGHTER GROUP / 335 FIGHTER SQUADRON
CAPTAIN HEWES, CHARLES D.
From Biloxi, Mississippi.
Died of wounds on the 13th of February 1945 while being a Prisoner of War.
On the 18th of December 1944 Captain Hewes took off in P-51D / #44-15455 / WD-? on an escort mission of 1st Bomb division aircraft to Koblenz, Germany. It was presumed that his aircraft was shot down by railway flak and he crashed with his aircraft in a moor near Tinholt, 6 kilometers north of Neuenhaus, Germany. (Missing Air Crew Report #11312).
He suffered a broken spine and was hospitalized. Regrettably he died of wounds on the 13th of February 1945 while being a POW of the Germans.
Captain Hewes is buried at Ardennes Cemetery, D-7-15.
The added newspaper article is courtesy of my Dutch friend Jaap Vermeer.
