Return from "Missing in Action" - Happy Ending      Photo from Raoul A. de Mars Jr.       Updated:  06 MAR 2010             

Raoul A. De Mars, 2nd Lt, Co-Pilot på B17 42-3535 1944 til højre.
2nd Lt, Pilot Kenneth E. Bethe til venstre.
De to mænd med hustruer og venner var ude at spise på en kinesisk restaurant i
Los Angeles, California lige efter at de var kommet tilbage fra England i 1944.

De var venner i mange år. Se A TIME TO REMEMBER.
Se  Fotos af flyet efter nødlandingen og af flyets Co-Pilot Raoul A. de Mars
Raoul A. de Mars Jr. tilføjer: "Forresten, Kenneth Bethe, piloten, boede i
Cooper Landing, Alaska og arbejdede med flyvning. Han døde i januar 1980."

Raoul A. De Mars, 2nd Lt, Co-Pilot of B17 42-3535 1944 on the right.
2nd Lt, Pilot Kenneth E. Bethe on the left.
The two men with their wives and friends were out to dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Los Angeles, California right after they returned from England in 1944.

They were friends for many years. See A TIME TO REMEMBER.
See photos of the plane after the crash landing and of Co-Pilot Raoul A. de Mars.
Raoul A. de Mars Jr. adds: "By the way, Kenneth Bethe, the pilot, lived in
Cooper Landing, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska and owned a Flying business
there as a Bush Pilot. He died in January 1980."

Disse to flyvere havde al mulig grund til at fejre, at de igen var hjemme hos deres familie og venner efter at have kæmpet i Europa!
Kampen var hård. På deres sidste tur skød deres fly 5 tyske jagere ned, og en del allierede flyvere mistede livet. Se A TIME TO REMEMBER.
Flyvere der kom tilbage fra besat område blev som standard ikke sendt over det igen. Tænk hvis de blev skudt ned igen og fortalte detaljer.
En belønning ventede efter 25, 30 eller 35 togter over fjendtligt område: Ikke flere togter, men anden tjeneste uden for fjendens rækkevidde. Det var vanskeligt at
overleve 25 togter! Schrenk fortæller i BEFORE FLYING AND DURING EACH MISSION at 21 togter var rekorden han kendte til! Se Tab af Liv.
8th AF – Heaviest Mission Losses of Bombers nævner 3.888 fly afsendt og 378 af dem gået tabt 17 AUG 1943 - 6 MAR 1944.
”3.249 Lancastere (RAF, RCAF, RAAF, RNZAF og PAF) gik tabt under operationer. Selv om de mest fløj om natten var de tyske natjagerpiloter så gode,
at kun 35 Lancastere klarede mere end 100 succesrige operationer!”

These two airmen had every reason to celebrate that they were back home with their families and friends again after having fought in Europe!
The battle was fierce. Their plane shot down 5 German fighters on their last mission and several Allied airmen lost their lives. See A TIME TO REMEMBER.
Airmen who had returned from occupied territory were as a standard procedure not sent back over it again. Imagine that they were shot down again and told details!
A reward was waiting after 25, 30 or 35 combat missions: No more combat missions, but service outside the reach of the enemy! See also Loss of Lives.
It was difficult to survive 25 operations. In BEFORE FLYING AND DURING EACH MISSION  Schrenk relates that 21 missions was the highest number he knew of.
8th AF – Heaviest Mission Losses of Bombers mentions 3,888 planes dispatched and 378 of them lost on missions 17 AUG 1943-6 MAR 1944.
“3,249 Lancasters (RAF, RCAF, RAAF, RNZAF and PAF) were lost on operations. Even though mostly flown at night the ability of the German night-fighter pilots were
so good that only 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations.”