Chester F. Stralka Bomb Grp 322 Squadron 452 Yrs ? Comments: I'm looking for any information on my relative. 1st Lt. USAAF, B-26 pilot, KIA on a raid over Merken, Germany on November 28, 1944. I'm interested in raids that he took part in, along with any information on his final raid. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. John Stralka

John, On 28th November flying B26 43-34431 coded DR-X 1 1st Lt Chester F Stralka and crew were hit by flak over the target Merken. They were last seen with wheels down heading towards friendly territory. The B26 later crashed when Lt Stralks and T/Sgt C E Aure were killed. The remainder of the crew returned safely. It is possible to give you a full listing of 1.Lt Stralka'a missions but this would involve a search fee of $15 per hour and a search normally involves between eight to ten hours depending on the number of missions flown. A normal combat tour of 65 missions would take ten hours to research. Regards, Trevor Allen, historian, b26.com

From Malcolm D. Enlow Jr.: I was not able to find a MACR for a B-26 lost on Nov. 28, 1944 So I wasn't able to find a serial number, thus ref a name for the aircraft Lt. Stalks was flying. But I did find some information in "The Annihilators Book II " page 151. Here is what was found in that book: as quoted from the book

"The Marauder piloted by 1st. Lt. C.F Strzalka (error in spelling in book), of the 452nd squadron, received several direct flack hits after dropping its bombs at the target. (The target was the defended village of Merken). One shell tore out the bottom of the cockpit and likely would have killed the navigator, 2nd Lt. Victor t Honsa, Jr. of Chicago, if he had not moved seconds before, from his standing position between the pilot, and the co-pilot, to assist the bombardier, 1st Lt. Fred B. Wilson, Pinehurst, Idaho, in the nose of the ship. Other flak hits knocked out the right engine, the interphone, and ripped big holes in the fuselage. The magnetic compass was the only instrument not shattered and it enabled the pilot to head his ship toward friendly lines. The crippled bomber rapidly lost altitude and airspeed until it appeared that it might stall at any moment. All of the crew, upon orders, bailed out at 3,500 feet, except the pilot, co-pilot, and the engneer-gunner, T/Sgt. O.E. Aune. The pilot, and co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Elliott S. Moorhead, Jr. Washington , D.C., abandoned the ship at 1,200 feet. The B-26 dove straight down and exploded. The pilot and the engineer-gunner were killed while the five men who survived landed smack into the middle of "no mans's land" where a fierce artillery duel was raging. Yet all returned unharmed to the Group.

Victor T Honsa Jr