The story
At the date of 26-02-1945, time: 1445, the aircraft type P-51 has been lost. The location of the plane was found at: Lochem (near Exelsebrug). The unit of crew and plane is: 20FG/79FS. First flyer rank: 1st Lieutenant, name: R.D. Whitley. The plane belonged to the Allied forces.
26 Feb 1945 - #44-13846 - 1st Lt. R. D. Whitley - P-51D - MC-C - Lochem/Exelsebrug - 14:45
- 20 FG - 79 FS - MACR #12767
Airborne from King's Cliffe, UK on 26 Feb 1945 for a Bomber Escort - destination Berlin
Weather 10/10 cloud, good visibility under overcast
Lt Whitley was forced to land 15 km East of Zutphen, The Netherlands
P-51D-NA - #44-13846 - MC-C with nickname "Li'l Bit" was out of gasoline
Eyewitness O-2057617 - 2nd Lt. James W. Hahn - #44-11347 had radio contact
after his emergengy landing, told he was OK and also waved to Lt. Hahn
Later captured and taken POW - Plane was damaged for 55% ( German records )
19173332 - O-710804 - Fighter Pilot - 1st. Lt - Ralph Dahlstrom Whitley - Los Angeles, CA - POW
Enlistment: 14 Nov 1942, Santa Ana AAB, California - Nativity: Washington - Residence: Los Angeles Co., CA - Marital Status: Married
Birth: 16 Nov 1915 - Washington, USA - Death: 22 Nov 1980 - Los Angeles, California, USA - Age 65
Residence: 1920 - Seattle, King Co., Washington
- info birth/death from Phillip Rector -
R. D. Whitley
Thanks to PATS (see source link for more info)
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.