08/28/2026
Today we remember the the Air Crews of the 2nd Bomber Group who fell during the "Air Battle over the White Carpathian Mountains" that occurred on August 29, 1944.
On August 29, 2944, the 15th Air Force conducted "Mission 263", a raid on the Moravska Ostrava industrial complex (current-day city of Ostrava). Nine B-17Gs from the 2nd Bomber Group were attacked by 89 German fighters, and 20 minutes later, eight of them were shot down and crashed in Slovakia (1), the Czech Republic (7), and one crashed and landed in Hungary. 41 US airmen lost their lives, 28 of them were buried in a mass grave in Slavicin. Four fliers evaded capture, and 55 airmen ended up in German POW camps. All the planes of the 20th Bomber Squadron were shot down that day.
Check out these memorials (Memorials, Museums, Cenotaphs , Sculptures and Markers) located in the Czech Republic and Slovakia by doing the Keyword search on or website and search "Mission 263".
Here is the Slavicin Mass Grave Cenotaph:
https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=3361&MemID=4686
A couple of the memorials:
https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=3384&MemID=4698
https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=3396&MemID=4718
Special thanks to Mission 263 - Aug 29,1944 / Letecká bitva 29.8.1944 page & group for remembering this battle and for the several memorials that remember this mission.