321st BG, 447th BS, Lt John F Briskey, B-25 COMBAT, KIA 8 January 1944

Saturday, 8 January 1944

Lt John Briskey, Co-Pilot on B-25 Shot-Down, all were KIA

TREVOR_ (Graham J., 1Lt)_ A/C 42-32_450 “Lumber Wagon” (447th BS)_ shot down presumably by Enemy Fighters. Last seen at 1233 to 1235 at 42°05’N, 16°35’E. Approximately 65 miles off the coast from Manfredonia, heading 55°. Fighters evidentially picked the formation up near the target and followed it nearly all the way back to the home base--resulting in the loss of said A/C.

OBSERVATIONS:

Air--------Attacked by four enemy A/C believed to be FW-190’s. Attacked at the

target. E/A followed formation back to Italian Coast, attacking all the way

from 7 and 11 o’clock from high and low, also diving through the formation

in head-on attacks. Enemy pilots seemed very experienced, apparently

knowing the fields of fire of a B-25 and avoiding it. Formation also

attacked by 6/9 ME 109’s, thirteen minutes after target staying with

formation until the Italian Coast was reached. Very aggressive tactics

consisting of head-on passes in groups of threes and from the rear in groups

of twos passing underneath.

Briskey, John F., Jr., 1Lt, pilot

Jeffrey, James H., Cpl, engineer-gunner

Kingsley, Andrew L., 1Lt, bombardier

Mays, Jack C., S/Sgt, radio-gunner

Reilly, James M., S/Sgt, turret gunner

Trevor, Graham J., 1Lt, pilot

The fighters were very aggressive in their attack upon the formation. In twos and fours they made pass after pass at various elements of the formation from the front, sides and rear and the attacks continued until the formation reached the coast of Italy. Three of

the fighters were shot down, two by 448th gunners and one by Sgt. Robert Boyd of this squadron. Lt. Trevor’s plane was the only B-25 lost. The plane piloted by Lt. Knodle received a hit in the right engine but the engine continued to function until he was taxiing off the runway after landing. Lts. Nowakowski, Anderson and Vincent all reported observing Lt. Trevor’s plane as it was attacked. When Lt. Nowakowski saw the plane it was flying straight and level at about 1500 feet. The formation at that time was at about

4000 feet or 2500 feet above Lt. Trevor’s plane. Four German fighters were diving on the straggling plane and firing at it when Lt. Nowakowski lost sight of it. Lt. Anderson saw three fighters attacking Lt. Trevor’s plane from the rear. The fighters were flying along parallel to the formation and the waist gunner on Lt. Anderson’s plane, Sgt. Robert Boyd, got a good shot at one of the fighters. He shot about a hundred rounds into it, most of them into the enemy aircraft’s tail section. The tail of the fighter fell apart and it went down into the sea. The other two fighters continued to press their attack on Lt. Trevor’s plane. All during the running fight with the fighters the formation was diving down to get on the deck. Lt. Vincent reported seeing Lt. Trevor’s plane hit the water and at that time the altitude of the formation was about 400 feet. He was looking back and saw a tremendous spray of water as the plane hit. He did not see the plane after that. According to his estimate Lt. Trevor’s plane went in about twenty miles from the Italian coast.

Barbi Ennis Connolly, 321st BG Historian Princessbarbi_B25@msn.com

John F Briskey Jr