42-52380 - Annabelle
This aircraft was assigned to the 761st Squadron of the 460th Bomb Group on January 18, 1944. It was a B-24 H-15 built by Ford. On April 13, 1944, this aircraft was being flown by Minton A. Prideaux and his crew on mission #8 of the 460th BG. The target was the Duna Repulogepgiar Aircraft Plant, Budapest, Hungary.
Pilot | Prideaux, Minton A. | 2nd Lt. | 0-682896 |
Co-Pilot | Guraedy, James | F/O | T-120425 |
Navigator | Steck, Laurence S. | 2nd Lt. | 0-461934 |
Bombardier | Lisanti, Vincent G. | F/O | T-122629 |
Engineer | Schleger, Arthur | T/Sgt. | 32510095 |
Radio Operator | Walker, Hardy J. | T/Sgt. | 12190914 |
Assist Engineer | Johnson, Samuel R. | S/Sgt. | 17166293 |
Assist Radio Operator | Conner, Harry W. | S/Sgt. | 39849554 |
Armorer/Gunner | Natoli, Fred J. | S/Sgt. | 32390075 |
Assist Armorer/Gunner | Dotson, James W. | S/Sgt. | 15017636 |
After hitting the target, the aircraft began losing altitude due to a feathered #1 engine. It was attacked by two ME-410s and was lost. MACR #4035 described the loss of this aircraft.
The aircraft finally came to rest near the town of Ratkovo, Serbia that was part of Hungary during WWII. The Hungarian Air Force disassembled the aircraft. Anton Erhardt (1922-2012) was an aircraft mechanic serving in the Hungarian Air Force at the time of the crash. He managed to get a few photos of the crash site. His son, Mike Erhardt, has been nice enough to contact me and share these photos for the website.
Courtesy of Mike Erhardt
The serial number of the plane is visible on the tail.
Courtesy of Mike Erhardt
View of work being done on the plane.
Courtesy of Mike Erhardt
Men working on disassembling the plane.
Courtesy of Mike Erhardt
Men working on disassembling the plane.
Courtesy of Mike Erhardt
Items in the photo that helped to identify the plane as 42-52380, Annabelle.
Courtesy of Mike Erhardt
Anton Erhardt standing at the far left in this photo.