The Charles H. Bruckman crew: 711th Squadron
December 1944, Pittsburg, PA
| Standing L-R | |
| Byron A. Schlag | Tail Gunner |
| Ivan M Gerwig | Co-Pilot |
| Edward “Buddy” Blattner Jr. | Bombardier |
| Charles H. Bruckman | Pilot |
| Thomas J. Iveans | Engineer |
| John F. Gorman | Navigator |
| Sitting, L-R: | |
| John A. Collette | Radio Operator |
| Edmund C. Shibble | Ball Turrett Gunner |
| 01/45 | In Transit (by sea) |
| 02/45 – 03/45 | 711th Squadron, Rattlesden, UK |
| Missions flown: 9 | |
Flights with Charles H. Bruckman listed as Pilot
These lists are NOT limited to officially credited Combat missions, and may include Aborts, returns and non-takeoff occurrences as well.”
| 447th Mission (Date) | Target | Plane Number | Notes |
| #220 (26-Feb-45) | Berlin, Germany | 42-97392 | |
| #226 (08-Mar-45) | Frankfurt, Germany | 42-97392 | |
| #227 (09-Mar-45) | Frankfurt, Germany | 42-97804 | Chaff ship |
| #229 (11-Mar-45) | Hamburg, Germany | 43-38731 | |
| #231 (14-Mar-45) | Hannover, Germany | 44-6572 | |
| #235 (19-Mar-45) | Zwickau, Germany | 42-97392 | |
| #236 (20-Mar-45) | Hamburg, Germany | 42-97092 | |
| #237 (21-Mar-45) | Wittmundhafen, Germany | 42-97392 | |
| #239 (23-Mar-45) | Holzwickede, Germany | 42-31582 | MISSING |
After the bomb run on March 23, 1945, Ol’ Scrapiron dropped from the 4th Bomb Wing formation and joined the 34th Bomb Group formation returning to England from its mission to Geisecke. Near Koblenz, one of the 34th aircraft (43-38971) was struck by flak, losing its wing. The damaged aircraft first rolled into a plane from the 487th, which remained flying, before colliding with Ol’ Scrapiron. The plane from the 447th with the Bruckman crew onboard was broken apart at the waist.
Tailgunner Byron Schlag was the only member of the crew able to bail out, after riding the tail section down to 8,000 feet — at times losing consciousness from lack of oxygen. Amazingly, Ed Shibble survived the fall (though sustaining serious injuries), trapped in the ball turret until it broke free of the aircraft as it crashed through some trees. The two gunners were captured. The rest of the crew perished along with the entire crew from the 34th.
From MACR 13617:
At 1347 hours, 27000 ft. altitude, the A/C flying No. 11 position of the 34th Group was hit by flak and peeled off to the left. After glancing off A/C of the 487th Group, No. 11 struck A/C #582 which went into a tight spin. The right wing folded and there was one explosion within the A/C in mid-air. #582 then hit the ground in a wooded area and exploded again. 2 chutes were observed. Coordinates were approximately (5040-0740). This report was corroborated by 93rd Wing, 34th Bomb Group and 487th Bomb Group.
For more information, see the original preliminary Missing A/C Report (B0559-1360) filed by the 447th.
Details of the 34th Bomb Group aircraft involved can be found at Gary Ferrell’s Valor to Victory – 34th Bomb Group web site.
The collision and survivors are featured in a past issue of Ghost Wings: http://www.ghostwings.com (link no longer works)
The story about Schlag & Shibble is fascinating, so in Byron Schlag’s own words…
”The Navigator reported they were nearing Koblenz, when all of a sudden I noticed out the corner of my eye, large pieces of aluminum flying by including a piece of engine cowling. Just as I pressed the intercom button to call the pilot, I heard our engineer, the top turret gunner, say: “’Pilot look out—‘at that moment, I experienced the most horrible crash as we were hit. In the moment before losing consciousness, I remember crying out, ‘Lord help me’, then total oblivion.
When Byron regained consciousness, he was disoriented and dazed. He was tangled up in his flak suit, his helmet and a belt of ammunition. He headed for the escape hatch, but it was stuck, so he headed for the waist, but saw only a circle of sky. He had always kept his chest pack attached to the harness by one clip, so he snapped the other side of the chute of the harness and sat on the jagged edge of the aft section. He popped the chute and was pulled out of the tail. He only swung a time or two and hit the ground.
He was sure all of his crew had died in the crash. He was captured by civilians and had a gun placed to his temple twice, but no one pulled the trigger. He was concerned that the irate civilians would kill him. Fortunately he was turned over to a German Officer and two enlisted men.
While traveling in a car to a prisoner of war camp, the Germans spotted something and bailed out to a deep ditch on one side of the car. He dived into the ditch on the other side. They were strafed twice by American fighters. The Germans were killed, Byron Schlags survived.
After a week, he was finally rescued by men of Patton’s Third Army. He later found that his ball turret gunner also survived the crash, still in his ball turret. His back was broken, but he was alive. He was in a POW camp and returned to American forces on 13 April.”
Edward A. Blattner Sr. and Edward A. Blattner Jr. Last known photo of the two together. |
Edward “Buddy” Blattner Jr.; Bombardier (left) in 1944 on leave in front of home in Chicago |
Combat Missions (previously compiled)
| No. | Date | Target | Aircraft | Comments |
| 220 | 2/26/1945 | BERLIN | 42-97392 | |
| 226 | 3/8/1945 | FRANKFURT | 42-97392 | |
| 227 | 3/9/1945 | FRANKFURT | 42-97804 | |
| 229 | 3/11/1945 | HAMBURG | 43-38731 Blythe Spirit | |
| 231 | 3/13/1945 | HANOVER | 42-97572* | some records indicate this aircraft not operational after 6/44 |
| 235 | 3/19/1945 | ZWICKAU | 42-97392 | |
| 236 | 3/20/1945 | HAMBURG | 42-31092 | |
| 237 | 3/21/1945 | WITTMUNDHAFEN | 42-97392 | |
| 239 | 3/23/1945 | HOLZWICKEDE | 42-31582 Ol’ Scrapiron | see below |
Some photos/information provided by:
- Mr. John Huck
- Mr. Byron Schlag, former president of the 447th Bomb Group Association
Some information and/or images sourced from the American Air Museum database