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opis textu: v AJ
Mission #46 - 12 May - PM - Beauvoir Noball. The route to this target was through what was known as "flak-alley" and it lived up to its name. Many planes suffered severe damage. One plane, piloted by Lt. Robert Stockwell with Lt. Albert Jedinak, BN, leading a flight, received a direct hit in the open bomb bay, and another shot in the tail section. The bombbay exploded and photos of this flaming injured plane is on exhibit at the Dayton Air Museum and has been shown in many Air Force periodicals. From the severity of the flames, it was thought no one could possibly escape from it, but the bombardier, Jedinak, and one gunner, Sgt. Egan W. Rust did manage to parachute out to be taken prisoner and eventually returned to freedom. Rust was the tunnel gunner who hand held a machine gun out the open hatch at the bottom of the plane, so it would have been easy for him to slide out by pushing himself into the air, which he did. Jedinak said he had just released his bombs, following the lead bombardier's drop, when his plane lifted from the hit in the bombbay.
The plane side-slipped out of the formation and was in a flat spin, He tried to contact Stockwell, but got no response. Then the emergency gong rang twice, not the usual three times which meant everybody out! Jedinak was pinned to the bottom of his small compartment, facing toward the pilot's cockpit. Centrifugal force kept him pinned down.
Before the plane started spinning, he evidently unknowingly, released the emergency hatch handle at the bottom of the plane. He tried to lift himself up but seemed to have been pinned down. He tried to kick the escape door open by banging down on it, but it did not budge either. He laid back and felt a quietness as the plane flat spinned downward. Looking around he saw the dinghy ring on his parachute had caught between the side of the plane and the bulkhead. He finally worked it free and another kick at the hatch, dropped it out.
He tumbled down after it, wondering if the whirling props would cut him up as he flew by them under the plane. He did bump his head against the underside of the burning craft, but freed himself, with the chute not yet opened. In his descent, he was falling with his head lower than his feet , he yanked the pull cord and the chute blossomed open but the shround came up between his legs, the chute failing to open. A violent tug got the chute in proper position, and down he went the way chutes are supposed to operate. Looking around, he saw the plane off in the distance with the canopy still in place, not being able to see Stockwell. Ground fire was shooting at him.
Jedinak landed in a bomb crater, where he pulled off his flying suit, insignia, Mae West, and rolled up the chute, covering it all with clods of dirt. He kept his flying jacket. Making his way to a wooded thicket, he saw another chute coming down, and also saw flames of the plane burning in the distance. In short order three Germans approached him, ordered him out, and pointing a Luger and rifles at him, marched him toward the gun emplacements they had been monitoring, The Germans also cornered the gunner, Egan Rust, and the two of them were frisked, leaving only their uniforms and jackets.
Looking around, Jedinak saw a battery of anti-aircraft guns, mulling over in his mind that our A-2 Intelligence were right by saying this area was a hot bed of anti-aircraft fire. He was amazed at the number of guns in such a small confined area.
The two Americans were treated well, given food, but interrogated intensely, but neither gave more than their rank, name, and serial number although having been pressured to give them other information about their units, their targets, and other military information.
Stalags were visited, having been moved four times. Jedinak was liberated from Moosberg by Patton's Third Army on 27 April, 1945.
When he was repatriated, Jedinak visited Stockwell's widow, telling about their last mission and his experiences with Stockwell before the mission. A good friendship blossomed and they eventually married. Jedinak passed away in 1994.
Přílohy
Douglas A-20J-10-DO, 43-10129, of the 416th Bomb Group destroyed by flak over Beauvoir, France on 12 May 1944.