Alfred Walter Fischer was born on 20 December 1918. He lived in Fayette County, Texas when he enlisted in the USAAF on 10 April 1942.

Alfred became a pilot, flying on B17 bombers. He joined the 457th Bomb Group and soon proved himself to be a brilliant pilot. He became first Lead pilot for his squadron, then the lead pilot for the entire 457th Bomb Group. This meant that he would lead the whole group in an attack, flying the lead plane. Because of this, Alfred did not fly every mission.

It is known he flew lead in 457th missions no. 64 on 11 June, to Bernay - St. Martin Airfield in France, in support of the D-Day landings, six days previous.

On 15 June, he led mission No. 67 to Angouleme, France. It was reported that a German Panzer division was entraining in the marshalling yards there. The 457th BG and 351st BG were tasked with bombing the yards and the division. The group flew in over the invasion beachhead and attacked the yards with good results.

750th Bomb Squadron

547th Bomb Group
 

On 5 October Alfred led the group on mission no. 131 where they ended up bombing the secondary target, the Cologne marshalling yards.

On 7 October 1944, the 457th Bomb Group would fly mission 133. Alfred would this time lead not only the group, but the entire 94th Combat Wing of the Eighth Air Force with a total of 144 bombers. They flew their B-17s across the North Sea, Denmark, the Baltic and then into Germany. The final destination was a town called Politz that was just over the German border into Poland that lay on the mount of the Oder River on Stettin Bay.

Politz was the site of synthetic oil production and the destruction of oil facilities was of great importance to the war effort.

The mission would be one that would long live in the history of the Group. Although the synthetic oil plant at Politz, second largest of its type in Germany, had been attacked several times, it was again the target for the Group. The 457th Bomb Group Commander, Colonel Luper flew as Air Commander and Captain Fischer as pilot. His crew consisted of:

Air Commander Colonel James R. Luper
Pilot Captain Alfred W. Fischer
Navigator Major Norman A. Kriehn
Navigator2 Lieutenant William J. Morrow
Navigator3 Lieutenant Fredrick A. Asbell
Bombardier Captain Henry P. Loades
Aircraft Engineer Sergeant John W. Koehler
Radio Operator Sergeant Ancil V. Shepherd
Left Waist Gunner Sergeant John H. Derling
Tail Gunner Lieutenant Edward A. McNeal Jr
Passenger Major Gordon H. Haggard

Major Haggard was the Group Flight Surgeon who came along on this mission.

The Group was first in the Division formation and was the first of four groups in the 94th Combat Wing over this target. Other forces were sent to attack other oil plants. The mission was a "maximum effort" with the three groups of the Wing putting up flight boxes of thirty-six planes each and then supplying twelve craft each to form a composite group.

The planes took off at 0700 hours with Colonel Luper and Captain Fischer leading.

Because of winds, the Group was about five minutes late reaching the English coast. Once over enemy territory, however, the formation was able to gain two minutes, arriving at the IP only three minutes late. The planned bomb run was eight minutes, and the bombing pattern called for the high and low boxes to bomb in trail on the lead box. The Rally Point was over the North Sea  and the Stettin Bay. The Rally Point was designed to keep the bombers out of range of the German antiaircraft guns.

The lead squadron made the turn onto the bomb run. Visibility was excellent, but the target area was covered by an artificial smoke screen made by the Germans. The lead squadron was on the the bomb run, when it was hit by intense, deadly, extremely accurate flak just before Bomb Release. The lead plane opened and then closed its bomb-bay doors just before Bombs Away, without releasing the bombs, apparently as a signal for the deputy to take over the lead.

Mr. James Bass wrote: "I, flying as copilot on Spleth's crew, was monitoring interplane radio. The only words from Luper were, "Get that goddamn formation in here!" We were flying the "slot", right under his tail. Gasoline, oil and flames were coming out of their wheel wells, and over the top of the No. 3 engine. They dropped straight down in front of us, and I didn't see them any more."

The lead craft was hit in two engines. The fires spread, the craft engulfed in flames. At first it appeared under control but then went into a steep dive. The outboard engine and part of the right wing fell off. Not long after that the plane exploded. The wreckage crashed into Stettin Bay. Seven parachutes were observed to come out of the plane. Six of the crew were killed in action.

The 457th lost five more planes on this mission.

The devastation was felt over the Base. Killed in the lead craft were the pilot, Captain Alfred W. Fischer, the Group Bombardier, Captain Henry P. Loades and the Group Flight Surgeon, Major Gordon H. Haggard. Additionally, the flight engineer, Sgt. John W. Koehler, Lt. Edward A. McNeal, and Sgt. Ancil V. Shepherd were also killed. Col. James Rhea Luper, who had led his troops into combat, was a prisoner of war for the duration.

This article appeared in the La Grange Journal on 26 October 1944.

(article courtesy of Mrs Rox Ann Johnson)

Captain Alfred W. Fischer is commemorated on the Wall of the Missing at Margraten American Military Cemetery.

Margraten, The Netherlands

 

A Memorial Plaque was erected at La Grange City Cemetery, Texas.

 

See Also:
Captain Henry Loades
Sgt John Koehler
Sgt Ancil Shepherd
Sgt John Derling
Lt Edward McNeal Jr
Major Gordon Haggard

Sources:
Ken Blakebrough, The Fireball Outfit - The 457th Bombardment Group in the Skies over Europe, Aero Publishers, 1968
Mrs. Rox Ann Johnson (Deceased WWII Veterans from Fayette County, TX)
457th Bomb Group Website
Roger A. Freeman, The Mighty Eight War Diary, Arms and Armour, London, 1990

Acknowledgments:
Mrs. Rox Ann Johnson for the picture of Alfred W. Fischer and his marker at La Grange Cemetery, Texas.

Directions to Margraten American Military Cemetery

If you have any suggestions, comments or additional information, please contact me.

This website is dedicated to the men and women who died and/or are buried in The Netherlands during World War II.

 

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