90th Bomb Group Message Board

Message:
Hi Michael,

October 10 1944 your father's crew flew a strike to Balikpapan on the island of Borneo (in that time Dutch East Indies) and now part of Indonesia.
The following is part of description of a crash:
On 10 October 1944, 1st Lt Leonard F. Temple and crew were participating in a strike to Balikpapan,Borneo.
Lt Craig and Lt Temple of the 400th squadron were flying as a two plane element appended to the second element of the 319th squadron. Lt Craig was flying as lead airplane with Lt Temple on his right wing. The 319th squadron was leading the group, with their six planes flying in two elements of three plane V's. The two 400th planes flew in the slot of the second element of the 319th.
A member of the Temple crew was my uncle Martin P Vugts and that crew was killed by a aerial burst bomb when the formation was attacked by a formation of six Hamps and Zekes which made a high frontal attack on the formation by dropping their plane to plane bombs.
I hope this information gives you some information about your father in his New Guinea time.

Jan van Rooij
the Netherlands.