Blocked Engines, February 27th, 1945

Flying with the Fifteenth Air Force 

B-24 G-16-NT Liberator, Serial No. 42-78458, 15th Air Force, 454th Bomb Group, 737th Squadron. The B-24 bomber with the registration number 46 took off from San Giovanni (Italy), ist mission to bomb the Augsburg (D) marshalling yard. First Lt. Thomas P. Faulkner’s B-24 Bomber was hit by anti-aircraft guns when it was above its target, blocking both the first and second engines. At 13:59 he radioed the leader machine, but received no answer. His radio message "I am losing 500 feet per minute and flying to a neutral country" was received by First Lt Loren S. Loomis. The B-24 Liberator left the formation and was accompanied to the Swiss border by a couple of P-38 Lightning fighters. There, Swiss Morane fighters intercepted the bomber and accompanied it to Dübendorf for an emergency landing. The B-24 was repaired and flew back to Burtonwood England on 22.09.1945.

Tom Faulkner was honored in a small ceremony at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas. 70 years ago, Tom Faulkner was forced to land his B-24 Liberator in Dübendorf, Switzerland. A similar B-24 aircraft was flown into Love Field for the ceremony.

Pilot First Lt Thomas P. Faulkner later wrote books about his experiences in the US Army Air Force and those in Switzerland during WWII

- Combat Missions from Italy

- Flying with the Fifteenth Air Force