B-24 ‘Liberator’ crew saved by Yugoslav partisans
The crew of “Hubba-Hubba”, a B-24 bomber, is pictured on the snow-covered ground in Yugoslavia during World War II. The crew is surrounded by the family of the commander of the Yugoslavian partisans who rescued them. Photo provided
Staff Sgt. Raymond Hook , radio operator on a B-24 Liberator called the “Hubba-Hubba,” and the other eight members of his crew were shot down on their sixth combat mission to destroy a German oil refinery during the final months of World War II.
They were members of the 450th Bomb Group, the “Cottontails,” flying out of the 15th Air Force base at Manduria, Italy in the country’s toe. It was Jan. 31, 1945, and all 144 B-24s in the group flew this mission.
The 86-year-old Lemon Bay Isles, Fla. resident, who has lived in Englewood for the past 27 years, picks up his story from there:
“Flak — heavy, intense and accurate — was fired at us. I never thought I’d have a chance to write about the mission that brought me closer to death than anything in my life.
“We were flying at 29,000 feet with all the bombers in our group when we lost our number three engine to flak at the IP (Initial Point). Fire was trailing out of the damaged engine until the pilot cut the gas,” Hook recalled more than six decades later.
“When we got on the bomb run we lost our number two engine to flak. Then we caught a burst of flak under our tail and down we went into the clouds.
Sgt. Hook is shown in his dress uniform about the time he was discharged from the Army Air Corps. Note the “Ruptured Duck” patch under his right lapel that signifies he is getting out of the service. Photo provided
“Our pilot tried to contact the lead ship but couldn’t. There we were with both inboard engines out, 800 miles from our base, flak bursting all around us and all nine of us aboard our B-24 were scared as hell,” Hook wrote.
“It was at this point our pilot told the navigator to give him a heading for the Russian lines as he tried to get us out of the clouds. By this time we had dropped down to 19,000 feet but we couldn’t find an opening in the clouds. He brought the plane down to 8,000 feet but still could see nothing. At this point the pilot told us to get our parachutes on and get ready to bail out.
“Just as we got down to 3,000 feet and he was about to give the order to jump, we broke out of the clouds. Right below us was a town and a snow-covered field where we could land our B-24.
“I was so happy I almost cried. We circled the field and all but the pilot and co-pilot got into our ditching position. With only two engines he set the bomber down as soft as silk.
A B-24 like the one pictured above is the type of bomber Staff Sgt. Raymond Hook flew in during World War II. His crew was shot down and crash landed after making a bombing run on a German oil refinery. They were rescued by Yugoslavian Partisans. Art courtesy of Lou Drendel/Aviation-Art.net
“As we waited in the plane, a group of Yugoslav partisans surrounded our B-24. When they found out we were Americans they were hugging and kissing us. We were taken into the town, where we stayed in the home of the partisan commander. Every night they had a big party for us and we were treated like kings.”
Eventually they were taken by train to Bucharest, Romania, and stayed in the American mission until arrangements could be made to fly them back to their base in Italy.
“The ironic part of our misadventure is that we were gone for 28 days. If we had been away two more days we would have been eligible to go home. As it was we went back to base and flew another 16 combat missions.”
Raymond Hook of Lemon Bay Isles mobile home park in Englewood was the radio operator aboard a B-24. he sits at his dinning room table with his records and a model of the bomber in front of him. Sun Photo by Don Moore
Sitting at his dining room table remembering the war, Hook said, “I’m Catholic, and I held a Miraculous Medal in my hand under my glove on every mission. I’m sure that medal kept us safe.”
This story first appeared in print in the Charlotte Sun newspaper, Port Charlotte, Fla. on Friday, March 20, 2009 and is republished with permission.
Click here to view the War Tales fan page on FaceBook.
Click here to search Veterans Records and to obtain information on retrieving lost commendations.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be republished without permission. Links are encouraged.
Raymond M. Hook
06 July 1922 – 23 August 2014
Raymond M. Hook, 92 of Englewood, Florida died August 23, 2014. He was born July 6, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York to Edward and Helen (Hart) Hook.
He moved to the Englewood area in 1982 from Long Island, New York. He was a retired Payroll Clerk for the New York City Department of Sanitation. He was a proud American and veteran of the Army Air Corp during World War II. He was a member of the Edgewater Club of Lemon Bay Isles and a member of V.F.W. Post #10476 and American Legion Post #113 both of Rotonda West.
He is survived by his daughter Maureen (Fred) Riebeling of Englewood and his son, Gary Hook of Long Island, New York; 8 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren, he was predeceased by his wife Emma, his sons, Raymond, Jr. and Dennis.
Lemon Bay Funeral Home and Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.
A gathering of family and friends will be held on Wednesday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Lemon Bay Funeral Home. Funeral services will be private at the convenience of the family.
War Tales 
My Uncle, Dimitri Metro was on B-24 which crash landed in Yugoslavia, and I have been trying to find out if it was Hubba-Hubba…It looks like him, but can’t see it good enough. Is their any way to get a list of the crew members? Means a lot to me. thanks
My father was the Crew Chief for Hubba Bubba in Manduriaa, but completed his tour and returned to the U.S. before the crash, although he told me not just three years ago, before he passed away, that the ship had gone down, but didn’t know the outcomes. In honor of him and all our WW II fly boys, thank you for the history. My father altered his name after the war for business purposes given that it was a Greek name difficult for meat and potatos Americans. Serving as Crew Chief for Hubba Bubba, he was Sgt. Jean Parathiras. If familiar to you, would love to communicate.
Be well, All,
Chris Paris
Christopher thank you for sharing the information about your father.
Unfortunately, Mr. Hook died in August 2014. His page has been updated to reflect that information.
Thank you for reading War Tales.
Hi Peter
I was recently contacted by a gentlemen who is writing a book about a group of b -24 planes which were taken down in yugoslavia.
I do not have the link handy but my godfather was a nose gunner and was forced to parachute out.
My grandparents were notified that their son was MIA.
Some months later she received a number of letters informing them of his duties and how everyone talked away the dangers.
Later that week she received additional mail, he had been rescued and hopefully would see them soon.
my e mail is georgeschiazza@comcast.net
Hi, George, my father was crew chief to Hubba Bubba. Before he
passed away, he had relayed to me that he had heard the ship had gone down in enemy territory a time after he had completed his tour of duty. I don’t know if he had returned to the states, already, in preparation for the Pacific campaign. Incredible fearless heroes, all of them.
Christopher –
Is your father in the main picture?
Thank you for your inquiry, Don. In answer, no, I looked. Also,
I failed to mention, earlier, that he had changed his name, legally, after the war and his marriage for business purposes. While he served in the 450th, his original name was John Parathiras.
If your uncle is Demetro Barna, 449bg, Grottaglia, from Cleveland, Ohio, I have some data on him and his crew.
Dear Sir
give me a few days to get back
There is gentlemen writing a book about a number of planes shot down over this area I only have an exceprt from the book but /I can put you in contact with him
I will send you what I have
Not this one. See: http://www.450thbg.com/real/macr/holder/12079.shtml
BTW “A B-24 like the one pictured above” is actually a B-17.
Thank you, Don Moore, for your very timely response, and informing me of Mr. Hook’s demise, about the same time as my dad’s. My dad did attend the 450th reunion when it was held, here, in San Antonio a number of years ago. I’d like to think they saw each other, then. To the end of his life, he stayed in contact with Nancy, wonderful lady who persisted in archiving data and information for the 450th’s website. Although probably remiss, I just didn’t have the heart to inform her of his passing. I hope she’ll forgive me, and I thank her for befriending the most courageous man I ever knew in my life.
Be well.
You might contact whomever was in charge of the 450th reunion. There might be a guest list or some sort of roster. Let me know what you find out, if you don’t mind.
Thank God for the Nancys in this world.
Shame on you all!
Why do you say that?
My father-in-law was a turret gunner on a Liberator and it was shot down over Yugoslavia. He was in the 15th. He survived. That was the second time he was shot down and survived.
We don’t have much information and would love to have more details.
Dear Mary,
I most likely have some info on his rescue (I have almost all Escape statements from 15AAF).
Please send me a mail on vathra (at) yahoo.com