Stalag XVII-B (the full name meaning Stalag Luft; prisoner of war camp for enlisted airmen) was located a couple miles away from the town of Krems an der Donau, in eastern Austria. It was the second prisoner of war camp in Wehrkreis (military district) 17. If an airman survived being shot down (combat service in the Army Air Forces was exceedingly dangerous; fully half of all Army Air Forces battle casualties were deaths) and evaded angry civilians or SS men, he would be picked up by Luftwaffe personnel and taken to the nearest Dulag Luft (collection and interrogation center for airmen) located either at Wetzlar or Oberursel, Germany, where he would be "shaken down" and assigned a prisoner number (Kriegsgefangenen Nummer; American prisoners routinely referred to themselves as "kriegies"). Prisoners were transported between camps in crowded boxcars; daylight travel by train in Germany at the time was dangerous, as U.S. Eighth, and later, Ninth Air Force fighter-bombers prowled the skies, looking to shoot anything that moved, even German cattle!

Stalag XVII-B was a large camp, originally used as a Nazi Party detention camp from 1938 to 1940. The camp consisted of 12 separate compounds. Each compound, as well as the whole camp, was surrounded by a heavy barbed wire fence and had guard posts with machine guns and dog patrols. There were areas for Americans, (5 compounds) French, British, Italians, Soviets, Yugoslavians, and other nationalities. Large numbers of American prisoners began arriving in October 1943, coincidentally just as the Army Air Forces experienced serious losses during several successive missions during the week of October 8-14, with some bombardment groups being hit particularly hard. The American barracks, four buildings per each compound, were essentially long sheds, designed to hold 240 men in triple bunks. Each barracks building was split in half, separated by a room with six washbasins. Each compound had an outdoor latrine. A peak of over 60,000 prisoners were held at the camp, including over 4,000 Americans.

Your grandfather's nightmares are warranted. The Germans did not purposefully mistreat Western Allied prisoners, but conditions at Stalag XVII-B were recorded to have been particularly poor compared to other camps, especially later in the war. As the German civilian economy and military experienced severe material shortages, they naturally extended to captured prisoners; there was often only a small amount of relatively poor food, and prisoners often tore apart less-visible parts of their wooden barracks to use as fuel for heating, especially in the winter. Barracks were often twice as full as they should have been, some holding 400 men. Conditions for all prisoners became much more strict after the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in July 1944, and control of the camp was transferred away from the Heer and Luftwaffe to the SS. The Soviet prisoners were routinely brutalized, being seen as subhuman by guards. The "death march" you describe occurred beginning on April 8, 1945. Attempting to keep their American, French, and British prisoners away from the advancing Soviets, the German guards marched them nearly 200 miles west across Austria to the German border in poor weather conditions with little food or water. The 13th Armored Division liberated the men near Braunau am Inn, Austria (ironically the birthplace of Adolf Hitler), on May 3, 1945.

The camp was demolished soon after the war, and today very little of it remains.

You could try finding your grandfather on this roster, located at the U.S. National Archives, RG 389 (Records of the office of the Provost Marshal General, 1941-) It includes the camp men were imprisoned in (the code for Stalag XVII-B being "025"), their names, ranks, service numbers, branch of service, home state (coded), date of capture, and date of return to military control. Once you have found your grandfather's full name and Army Serial Number, you can go about seeking his records from the National Archives if you don't already have them. Be warned that most U.S. Army records from the WWII period were destroyed in a 1973 fire.

State Codes:

State	Code
Alaska	02
Hawaii	03
Connecticut	11
Maine	12
Massachusetts	13
New Hampshire	14
Rhode Island	15
Vermont	16
Delaware	21
New Jersey	22
New York	23
Maryland	31
Pennsylvania	32
Virginia	33
District of Columbia	34
Alabama	41
Florida	42
Georgia	43
Mississippi	45
North Carolina	46
South Carolina	47
Tennessee	48
Indiana	51
Kentucky	52
Ohio	53
West Virginia	54
Illinois	61
Michigan	62
Wisconsin	63
Colorado	70
Iowa	72
Kansas	73
Minnesota	74
Missouri	75
Nebraska	76
North Dakota	77
South Dakota	78
Wyoming	79
New Mexico	83
Oklahoma	84
Texas	85
Arkansas	87
Louisiana	88
California	91
Idaho	92
Montana	93
Nevada	94
Oregon	95
Utah	96
Washington	97
Arizona	98

Sources:

• Stalag XVII-B prisoner roster

• Experience of Staff Sergeant William J. Doubledee, who was imprisoned at Stalag XVII-B from October 1943 to April 1945, maintained by his son

• German POW camps with 303rd BG prisoners

u/juxtapositi0n, here is what I have found out about your grandfather.

His original Army enlistment record does not seem to be available, but his postwar re-enlistment record is. He had previously been assigned Army Serial Number 18210489, and it is indicated that he re-enlisted into the Army voluntarily from the Eighth Service Command on September 16, 1946. During World War II, your grandfather was a member of the 385th Bombardment Group for at least a portion of his service, and became a prisoner of war during the mission of April 18, 1944, in which 209 other B-17s hit targets in eastern Germany (Oranienburg, Brandenburg, Luneburg Airfield, and Rathenow) near Berlin;

TUESDAY, 18 APRIL 1944

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 306 Part 1: 776 bombers and 634 fighters are dispatched to hit airfields and aviation industry targets in Germany; the AAF claims 33-5-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 19 bombers and 5 fighters are lost; due to poor weather, several units bomb targets of opportunity in the Berlin area; details are:

1. 275 of 280 B-17s hit aviation industry targets at Oranienburg, Perleberg Airfield, Wittenberge and targets of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost and 90 damaged; 29 airmen are MIA.

2. 210 of 221 B-17s hit Oranienburg, Brandenburg, Luneburg Airfield, Rathenow and targets of opportunity; 14 B-17s are lost and 94 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 12 WIA and 139 MIA.

3. 248 of 275 B-24s hit Brandenburg, Rathenow, Cuxhaven, Wittenberge and targets of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost and 20 damaged; 5 airmen are WIA and 20 MIA. Escort is provided by 119 P-38s, 296 P-47s and 219 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; 1 P-38, 1 P-47 and 3 P-51s are lost; 3 P-38s are damaged beyond repair and 7 P-38s, 3 P-47s and 18 P-51s are damaged; 4 pilots are MIA. Mission 306 Part 2: 12 of 12 B-24s hit V-weapon sites at Watten, France; 1 B-24 is damaged; escort is provided by 36 P-47s without loss.

Mission 307: 5 of 5 B-17s drop 2.56 million leaflets on Stavanger, Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim, Norway at 2336-0041 hours without loss.

HQ 492d Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrives at North Pickenham, England from the US.

His B-17 was forced down in enemy territory after being hit by flak and fighters which disabled three engines and killed the pilot. It crashed 17 miles away from Rathenow, in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. The Missing Aircraft and Crew Report filed for this loss was numbered 4161. The crew for that particular mission was;

Position	Name	Army Serial Number	Organization	Fate
Pilot	First Lieutenant John D. Abrell	O-735487	385th Bombardment Group	KIA
Command Pilot	Captain Alex A. Hogan	O-789390	94th Bombardment Group	POW
Navigator	Second Lieutenant John M. Hock, Jr.	O-808057	385th Bombardment Group	POW
Navigator	Second Lieutenant Raymond U. Simms	O-807940	385th Bombardment Group	POW
Bombardier	Second Lieutenant William M. Crabb	O-744183	388th Bombardment Group	POW
Radio Operator	Technical Sergeant [OP'S GRANDFATHER]	18214089	385th Bombardment Group	POW
TT Gunner	Technical Sergeant John E. Kearns	33248836	385th Bombardment Group	POW
Tail Gunner-Obs.	Second Lieutenant Paul W. Van Boven	O-749124	385th Bombardment Group	POW
RW Gunner	Staff Sergeant Thomas (NMI) Eydman	39552255	385th Bombardment Group	POW
LW Gunner	Staff Sergeant Robert T. Rider	35539??9	385th Bombardment Group	POW

The plane he was aboard for that particular mission (crews often flew different aircraft, especially when their "assigned" aircraft was down for maintenance or repair of battle damage, or had been temporarily transferred for some reason) was B-17G-20-VE 42-97569. Boeing contracted several other corporations to manufacture B-17s; 42-97569 was built by the Vega division of Lockheed at its plant in Burbank, California. Here is its history;

Date	Event
Accepted by U.S. Army Air Forces	Denver, 12/23/43
Move	Salt Lake City, 12/27/43
Move	Langley, 1/12/44
Assigned	94th Bombardment Group, Rougham, 2/3/44
Transferred	413th Bombardment Squadron, 96th Bombardment Group [MZ-M], Snetterton Heath, 4/2/44
Missing in Action	Brandenburg, 4/18/44

The B-17G was powered by four 1,200 horsepower R-1820-97 engines; the engines installed on 42-97569 immediately before its loss on April 18, 1944 were;

Engine	Serial Number
A	SW-007993
B	SW-008014
C	SW-008064
D	SW-008083

42-97569 was, like a small number of other B-17s, converted to carry the "Mickey" radar which allowed for reasonably clear bombing through thick or high clouds. "Reasonably clear," however, often meant aiming for the large fuzzy blob on the radar screen which represented the target city! The radar unit and its semi-retractable radome replaced the ball turret, and a second navigator rode in the radio operator's compartment and operated the equipment. A "command pilot" sometimes replaced the normal co-pilot, who rode in the tail gunner's position and observed the bomber formation. Due to the small number of "Pathfinder" aircraft at first, (the eventual goal was to permanently assign two Pathfinder aircraft to each bombardment squadron) they were often shuttled around between squadrons or groups in order to provide enough aircraft for a successful mission. As of April 18, 1944, 42-97569, even though it was normally a part of the 96th Bombardment Group, was temporarily assigned back to the 94th Bombardment Group and was being flown with a mixed 385th and 388th Bombardment Group crew for some reason; the 96th Bombardment Group had been badly beaten on its previous mission, and there was presumably a temporary shortage of properly trained crew until replacements could be had. Pathfinding was often very dangerous, as the Germans aimed at the lead plane in a formation when setting their flak guns, and fighter crews were specially instructed to attack them. Three Pathfinders were lost on April 18, including 42-97569.

A 96th Bombardment Group newsletter provides a nice explanation about the role of the Pathfinder B-17, and notes the following about the loss of your grandfather's plane;

2/L Paul van Boven of the 413th testifies to the fate of the second Pathfinder, 42-97569, assigned to fly with the 94BG. After taking a flak hit which knocked out engines 1 and 4, E/A delivered the coup de grace with a burst of a 20mm. which not only took out #2 but killed the pilot, 1/L John Abrell. The rest of the crew bailed out and were captured.

Sources:

• MACR 4161

• B-17G-20-VE 42-97569

• 8th Air Force Combat Chronology 1944a

• Pathfinder B-17s

• 96th Bombardment Group Newsletter