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The last flight of the Sophisticated Lady
Ten crew members bailed out after flak and fighter attacks crippled the bomber, and survivors spent five weeks crossing the Yugoslavian Alps.
- On Feb. 25, 1944, the crew of the B-24 Liberator Sophisticated Lady abandoned their aircraft over the Yugoslavian Alps following an intense raid on a German aircraft factory in Regensburg.
- The 449th Bombardment Group's 716th Squadron faced a devastating flak barrage while targeting the factory; top turret gunner Joseph Mantagna described it as "a flak barrage so intense that I hardly can put the scene into words."
- Suffering engine damage from 20 mm shells, the bomber became a target for enemy fighters; yet the "scrappy crew" notched 15 "sure kills" in the raid, according to the Moorhead Daily News.
- With only one engine functioning at about 5,000 feet, the pilot ordered the ten surviving crew members to jump; tragically, the 10th man's parachute never deployed after he leaped from the plane.
- The survivors spent five weeks traversing the Yugoslavian Alps with Marshal Tito's Partisans before reaching safety; crew member Prescher returned to Minnesota in May 1944, later working as a public school bus driver.
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21 Articles
21 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources21
Leaning Left0Leaning Right9Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center, 50% Right
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center, 50% of the sources lean Right
50% Right
C 50%
R 50%
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