Bombardier: 2nd Lt. James I. Misuraca
B24J, Serial No. 42-110098, Nickname « The Flying Sac», Landed: Dübendorf, Switzerland, April 24th 1944, 8th Air Force, 448 Bomb Group, 715th Squadron. The Bomber marked «IO-M» emergency landed in Dübendorf after a mission over Gablingen; First Lt. John A McCune and his crew had been ordered to bomb the Gablingen Airport in Bavaria, Germany. On the way to their destination, the second engine overheated and lost oil. As a result, the propeller had to be feathered and the motor turned off. In order to keep up with the rest of the formation, the three remaining engines had to compensate, thus requiring more fuel. North of Strassburg, McCone left the rest of the formation and landed in Dübendorf. The remaining fuel would not have sufficed for the return trip to England. The bomber returned to Burtonwood, England on October 15th, 1945.
Pilot: First Lt. George W. Mears, grandfather of Major Dwight Mears
B-17G, Serial No. 42-37825, Nickname «Super Ball», Landed: Dübendorf, Switzerland, March 18th, 1944, 8th Air Force, 351st Bomb Group, 511th Squadron. The bomber of the 8th Air Force, 351st Bomb Group marked « DS-Q » with the nickname «Super Ball» emergency landed in Dübendorf after a mission over Landsberg/Lech, Germany. The plane was under the command of Pilot First Lieutenant George W. Mears and the Engineer T/Sergeant Samuel R Smiss. Richard D Hobt (Radio) remembers the incident: We were attacked by Fw 190 right after dropping the bomb. The first three planes were badly hit and we also had been struck. Near the navigator, a 20 mm artillery shell exploded and the cockpit was struck in the process. There was a gaping hole in the right side of the fuselage; the first and second engines had already failed, whereas the third was smoking. The pilot fainted and lost control of the aircraft. We dipped to the left, and were right under the left wingman when the plane exploded. Our B-17 fell from 18,000 feet to about 5000 feet before the copilot was able to get the plane under control again. When we saw the damage, it was clear to us that we wouldn’t be able to return to England. A downwind pressed us to the ground during landing, as the undercarriage caved in. The B-17 was scrapped in Switzerland.
