SAAF Foggia, Italy 1944

[soalebm]

I'm currently trying to figure out as much as possible about the air bases around Foggia, Italy during WWII. I'm in contact with the 2nd, 301st, 463rd, and 99th bomb group websites but I want to know more about the South African AF in 1944 and the German units that operated ther before the allies atacked in 1943. If anyone has any info about the SAAF units or any information about allied or axis planes, men, etc flying from Foggia around august-november 1944 let me know.
the smallest bit helps!
thanks,
Brandon

 

[Henk]

Try the war museum website here in South Africa.

Try contacting them with your question and they will hopefully get back to you.

South African Air Force Museum

WELCOME TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY

Hope it will help, I will try and have a look in my WW2 books to see if I can find something.

 

[Wildcat]

G'day Brandon, from an Aussie point of view 451 (spitfires) and 458 (Wellington) sqdn's RAAF were based at Foggia during that time frame.

 

[soalebm]

Thanks a lot gentleman I will try the SAAF museum and I I have not begun researching the RAAF yet but you provided me with a good place to start!
cheers,
Brandon

 

[pwesleynd93]

My dad was a pilot with the 463rd and he's alive and well in Rochester, NY. I'm home for a visit and we were talking about Foggia just last night because it came up in a book I'm reading. Tell me what you want to know and I'll ask him.

 

[Micdrow]

Try this web site The South African Air Force

 

[jhor9]

I'm currently trying to figure out as much as possible about the air bases around Foggia, Italy during WWII. I'm in contact with the 2nd, 301st, 463rd, and 99th bomb group websites but I want to know more about the South African AF in 1944 and the German units that operated ther before the allies atacked in 1943. If anyone has any info about the SAAF units or any information about allied or axis planes, men, etc flying from Foggia around august-november 1944 let me know.
the smallest bit helps!
thanks,
Brandon

I was in the 99th at Foggia #2-Tortorella, moving up from Tunis during Dec43 I completed my tour of 50 missions/sorties in mid Feb44. I don't know how else I can help
Jules Horowitz
pilot 348th Sqdn

 

[Njaco]

Try this site. has a lot of great stuff about that time peroid and area.

Home Page

 

[caroline_b]

Hi there

My Dad was in SAAF 12 Squadron flying Lockheed-Martin B26 Marauders (bombers) - in Italy for most of 1944. I'm not sure what sort of info you want but have his logbooks. A lot of the flying was done from temporary airfields - pressed steel plate runways which were put down by the engineers then picked up and moved when the front moved.

I think 39 Squadron was also in Italy at the time, and I think the wing ended up under the command of Major Jack Robb (who was OC 39 Squadron if I've got this right, was shot down in a Marauder - survived).

The SAAF definitely had Spitfire squadrons in Italy as well but I don't know much about which ones - probably 43 Squadron.

There's a Marauder bomber site at http://www.b26.com which has quite a lot of info.

Hope that helps,

Caroline

Burning Blue

 

[mhuxt]

IIRC 60 SAAF flew Mosquitos on recce sorties from Foggia, though I'm going completely from memory here...

 

[hilli]

Hi

My father was an Observer (navigator/bomb aimer) on Martin Baltimores in 15 Squadron SAAF during 1944 at foggia.

 

[flakhappy]

I was a radio operator in a B-17 crew in the 97th BG based at Amendola duringthe last half of 1944, near Foggia. The 2nd BG and a sqdn. of the RAF's 5 Group was also based at Amendola.

 

[seesul]

Welcome onboard flakhappy!
A friend of mine mentioned in my signature was shot down over my country on Aug. 29, 1944. Visited me here in 2005 and 2007. He was a member of 2ndBG, 20th Sqdn.
Could you tell us more about your tour?
Attached few pics of Amendola air base from today (Google Earth).

 

[flakhappy]

greetings, Seesul. Thanks for the images. I and my wife visited the present Italian base at Amendola in 1990. Much more civilized, but even so, much the same as in 44. As you probably know, we were heavily engaged in attacking Hitlelr's oil, first at Ploesti, and then the synthetic plants in Silesia, which became a passion for us because they were so important to choke off. My crew lost two men KIA, one POW (Bucharest) and I was with another crew, made up of "bastards" from other crews, that crash-landed in then Yugoslavia. We walked out, with the help of a band of Tito's followers who were paid in food and ammo. for every crew they helped. Lovely time. We had a good bomb group, (the first in the 8th AF, back in Aug., 42). Bombed two targets in Czechoslovakia, as I recall: the Skoda Works at Pilsen and a huge railroad marshalling yard.

 

[seesul]

Marshaling yards where? Pardubice? Ostrava? When has your tour began and ended up? Good to have you here!!!

 

[flakhappy]

To Seesul: I've checked my records, and find that my missions include frag
bombing the Pardubice airdrome Aug. 25, attacking the Brux (Most) refineries on Oct. 16 and the Pilsen target on Oct. 23, all in 1944. Of course we flew over Czechoslovakia territory on many missions to the Oder valley. They were long, cold and dangerous rides.

 

[flakhappy]

Seesul: Don't know if you got my last msg. My crew was at Amendola from mid-July, 44, to early Jan., 45. Among other missions are those to Pardubice (airdrome), Brux (Most)(refineries) and Pilsen (Skoda). Flew over your country many times to German targets, including Oder valley synthetic refineries.

 

[seesul]

thank you flakhappy. you were over pardubice on aug. 25 and 4 days later the whole 20th sqdn of the 2nd bg was erased from the sky over my town.
'thanks' to this loss my friendship with with 'jersey joe' could begin...
don´t you have any pics of amendola to post?

 

[pzulba]

Hi

My Dad was an Air Gunner in the Royal Air Force (Volunteer Reserve), in Mar '44 he completed training in the UK and as he put it missed being posted to the 'Killing Fields' of Lincolnshire in the UK (RAF Bomber Command)

Instead he was posted to Lydda in Palestine (now Lod in Israel) to 1675 Heavy Conversion Unit for traing on Liberator BVI's (B-24J's) and then to 34 Squadron SAAF

Then moved with 34 to Foggia Main(?) to link up with 31 Squadron SAAF which formed 2 Wing SAAF as part of RAF 205 Group who in turn, unusually for an RAF unit were part of US Fifteenth Air Force

Operating principally at night 31 34 SAAF were involved in varied ops:

Mining the Danube; Ploesti district; Warsaw Airlift (losses on 31 Sqd reached 75%), supplies to Partisans - Yugolsav Italian - heavy losses on 13 October, 5 from 31 1 from 34; Munich, various Austrian marshalling yards, daylight interdiction of German retreat through Albania also to Greece against ELAS communist guerillas

My dad switched to 31 Sqd following their heavy losses to Warsaw, his last op was to Graz in Mar '45;

If required I could post a 'reading list' covering some of the above

PZULBA - Out of Africa (Retired)

 

[v2]

Hi Pzulba,

I'm interesting in all about 31 and 34 SAAF Squadrons. Especially I'm looking for infos about their missions to Poland. A few mounths ago I found a Liberator's KH-152 "F" crash site in south Poland. This happened at October 16/17, 1944. I have a contact with families of Pilot and Air Gunner... maybe your Dad flew with them..

regards from Poland.