Crashed USAAF B-24 Liberator Macedonia, July 1944

[Jason von Z.]

I just acquired a nice photo album from a Luftwaffe ground combat unit that operated in the Balkans. The album has many interesting photos, but some that caught my attention in particular were several photos showing a crashed USAAF B-24 Liberator. The photos are dated July 1944 on the back, also giving the location as Macedonia.
I am completely unfamiliar with USAAF operations, so does anyone have any ideas about why an American bomber would be over Macedonia at this point in the war? Were they conducting a raid on German held territories further east, or would they possibly have been involved in supply operations to Allied supported partisan units in Macedonia, Yugoslavia or Greece?
Jason

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[R MICHAEL]

very nice pics! I would say that they were on bombing raids to the eastern part of the extended reich. If the planes numbers are visible it is very likely the plane can be researched. Mike

[KAKI3152]

98th BG B-24

B-24 is from 98thBG, note 1 under 47BW symbol.
If July 1944 date is correct, could be:
7-9-44---2 B-24s lost
7-22-44--3 B-24s lost

[Jason von Z.]

Mike: Thanks for your comments. I was very pleased to find these photos in the album.

Carlos: I saw your post last night on the temporary forum before it got erased. Thanks very much for the information, it is very helpful.

Jason

[Brian George]

I noticed something trivial, but odd.

In the last photo (the one of the soldiers looking into the rear turret of the Liberator), check out the rifle being carried by the soldier in the extreme right of the picture. It's a Mosin Nagant 91/30. I'd love to know where he picked it up in Macedonia. Or were these guys rear area types, and ended up with captured weapons.

Brian

[JaimeH]

I noticed something trivial, but odd.

In the last photo (the one of the soldiers looking into the rear turret of the Liberator), check out the rifle being carried by the soldier in the extreme right of the picture. It's a Mosin Nagant 91/30. I'd love to know where he picked it up in Macedonia. Or were these guys rear area types, and ended up with captured weapons.

Brian

Good eye on the rifle, but what nationality are those soldiers?

[Brian George]

Jaime,

You're right, they don't look German. Looking at it again, I see I was wrong on the model of Nagant he's carrying. It is a Czarist era M91. Check out the bayonet scabbard, it looks dented, which means it could be the metal one the Austrians used in WW1 for their captured rifles.

If you look real close, it looks like they are using the Czarist pattern cartridge box. Maybe Bulgarian?

Brian