For size reference, this red point is slightly smaller than the size of a dime.

During his service he flew 26 missions from England to Germany between March-May 1945.  It’s been said, the chances of surviving 25 missions was just 25%.  His last two missions in May of 1945 were to pick up Prisoners of War (POWs) from German Concentration Camps.

Mission log: (date.city.target)

4-Mar-45 Schwabmunchen, Germany Aircraft Factory

5-Mar-45 Chemnitz, Germany Railroad Yards

8-Mar-45 Essen, Germany Railroad Yards

9-Mar-45 Kassel, Germany Locomotive Workshops

10-Mar-45 Hagen, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

12-Mar-45 Swinemund, Germany Port

14-Mar-45 Lohne, Germany Railway Centre

15-Mar-45 Oranienburg, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

17-Mar-45 Jena, Germany Zeiss Optical Inst. Plant

18-Mar-45 Berlin, Germany Railroad Station

21-Mar-45 Hopsten, Germany Airfield

22-Mar-45 Barmingholten, Germany Army HQ and Camp

26-Mar-45 Plauen, Germany Cellulose Plant

30-Mar-45 Bremen, Germany Ship Building Area

31-Mar-45 Halle, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

4-Apr-45 Fassburg, Germany Airfield

5-Apr-45 Ingolstadt, Germany Ordnance Depot

7-Apr-45 Luneburg, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

8-Apr-45 Halberstadt, Germany Railroad Station & Yards

10-Apr-45 Oranienburg, Germany Airfields Hangars

11-Apr-45 Freiham, Germany Underground Oil Storage Depot

16-Apr-45 Regensburg, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

17-Apr-45 Dresden, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

20-Apr-45 Brandenburg, Germany Railroad Marshalling Yards

10-May-45 Revival Mission 1 Pick up POWs

12-May-45 Revival Mission 3 Pick up POWs

During World War II Oranienburg Airfield was solely used as an aircraft factory airfield. It was bombed during an air raid of 260 USAAF B-17 bombers on 18 April 1944. 

They returned on 10 April 1945 with 139 bombers, during which attack the airfield was completely destroyed.

The airfield in question is only 3.3 miles away from the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.

Flak cannons were the first line of defense for many German cities during the war. These cannons were used to shoot down enemy aircraft, especially bombers, as they approached their targets. When the anti-aircraft rounds detonated, they released jagged metal fragments in a circular pattern, tearing through any aircraft in their vicinity.

Allied bomber crews faced significant danger from Flak. To avoid ground-based Flak fire, they had to fly at higher altitudes before descending to attack their targets.

This made them vulnerable to enemy fighters, who were skilled at shooting down bombers. The death rate for bomber crews was high.

Contrary to being dismissed as ineffective, Flak made a significant contribution to the defense of the Third Reich. Approximately half of the USAAF aircraft shot down over Germany fell victim to Flak. Between January 1942 and April 1945, Flak accounted for 1,229 aircraft losses in bomber command.

(Written on the back of this picture it says: Northern half of the Flak Barrage over Merseburg, Germany November 21, 1944. By Bob Wolfe, Co-pilot Walker's Crew. Our ship - U-591 - was on Walker's left wing - opposite ship shown in picture. )

_{Found in Second Lieutenant Frank G. Cumpata's footlocker.}