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