George E. Fritz was a Sergeant in the US Army Air Corp assigned to the 390th Bombardment Group, 570th Squadron of the 8th Army Air Force at station 153 in England in 1943.

Fritz was assigned to Crew #56 (Harding Crew) and flew in a/c # 42-30334, the Virgin Sturgeon. He flew approximately 10 missions from November 1943 through January 1944.

On his final mission, 29 January 1944, minutes after “bombs away” his ship was involved in a mid-air collision with a/c #42-30325, the “Miss Carry” at the rally point while reforming for the flight home. At this point the Virgin Sturgeon came from under the Miss Carry and the two aircraft collided. The Miss Carry suffered damage to the left props still managing to return to base while the right wing of the Virgin Sturgeon was severed and torn up to the fourth engine and the aileron completely torn off. The Sturgeon fell from formation before being lost in the clouds but not before witnesses counted three chutes leaving the ship.

On the sounding of the bail-out alarm, Fritz, along with the tail gunner and the ball turret gunner bailed out at an altitude of about 20,000 feet over Darmstadt Germany.

On reaching the ground, all three were immediately captured and imprisoned. After being interrogated at Dulag Luft, they were transported to Stalag Luft 3, Sagan, where they spent the next 15 months of the war until being liberated by the allies and repatriated and returned to military control. Fritz was then transported to “Camp Lucky Strike” France and finally returned to the US.

It isn’t known for how long but Fritz spent at least some of his last days in a VA retirement home in Lafayette La.

His obituary read; George Edward Fritz, 78 of West Monroe, a retired oil field worker, died Thursday. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. today at Pine Hill Cemetery, Olla, under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, West Monroe.

This information was compiled in my research into the crew of the Virgin Sturgeon.

George E Fritz