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Personal info

Full name
WINDMAYER, Frederick Caroll "Fritz"
Date of birth
10 January 1920
Age
23
Place of birth
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Hometown
Cook County, Illinois

Military service

Service number
O-736446
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Pilot
Unit
63rd Fighter Squadron,
56th Fighter Group
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
29 November 1943
Place of death
North Sea, about 20 miles west of IJmuiden, The Netherlands

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Frederick C. Windmayer (father)
Louise F. (Niemeyer) Windmayer (mother)
Barbara Windmayer (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-7893
Data
Type: P-47D
Destination: Bremen, Germany
Mission: Ramrod
MACR: 1278

More information

2nd Lt Frederick C. Windmayer attended Brighton High School in Brighton, Massachusetts.

Capt Leroy A. Schreiber states in the Missing Aircrew Report:
"Because of oxygen shortage, I let down to 10,000' with Lt Pruden, breaking out of the clouds over the dam at the north of the Zuider Zee. We turned somewhat south to avoid flak and crossed the Dutch coast about 5 miles north of Egmond. At this point, I heard a radio conversation on A channel between Lt. Windmayer and a second airplane. Windmayer stated that his engine was running rough and that he had only forty gallons of gas. I called him on A channel and he answered that he could hear me very loudly. He asked the height of the clouds, and I reported back that they were about 5,000' varying to 10,000'. I assumed he was climbing up through, so I waited on top. About 3 minutes later, he said he was afraid he was going to bail out. I asked him his angles and he replied '400 ft.' I dove through the clouds breaking out at 600' and called several times but received no answer. My wingman, Lt Pruden, also called continually without success. I flew south for about 3 minutes and north for about 6 minutes, but observed nothing on the water. Although I was never in visual contact with Lt Windmayer, our radio reception was so clear that we concluded we were very close to each other. At the time when the radio communication broke off, I was about 10 to 15 miles off the Dutch coast and west of IJmuiden. I searched the area as long as my gas duration permitted, but without success. My wingman also searched in the same general area, but he could make neither radio nor visual contact."

Source of information: Michel Beckers, Astrid van Erp, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.footnote.com, www.ancestry.com - Illinois Birth Certificate / 1930 Census

Photo source: Michel Beckers, www.ancestry.com - Brighton High School Yearbook 1938, Nigel Julian