Brno, Czechoslovakia A/C Factory 08/25/1944
Memories
My father, Jarek Jakubec, was caught in the middle of the bombing raid on 8-25-44 as one of the laborers forced by Germans to save the Third Reich. Unfortunately, he passed away a decade ago but his KuYim raid story is still quite vivid in my memory. He was 19 at the time of the raid and I believe that they were manufacturing parts for FW-190 fighter planes.
Apparently nobody paid attention to the sirens because at that time the bombers were coming with increasing frequency from the Vienna direction but never attacked Brno and its surrounding area. Suddenly somebody in the shop screamed, "They are coming! Run!".
My father dropped his tools and with his buddy ran out to the factory yard and saw a small concrete guard shelter and dove into it. Through a slot type window they saw the B-24s getting low and starting offloading their lethal cargo. They were shit scarred as the first bombs started exploding in the field and getting closer and closer directly towards their small shelter. The ground was moving under their feet with all the explosions and they knew that, "that was it!"
Suddenly, the explosions ended a couple of hundred meters in front of them and the big birds were disappearing overhead. However, they saw the second wave coming as they were getting ready to finish the job. They did not wait a second and bolted out of the shelter and ran for their lives, away from the path of destruction. They did not get far when whistling bombs of the second wave told them that it was the time to hit the ground. About 20m ahead of them was a culvert under the road and they dove in without hesitation. My father was probably a second faster than his buddy and hit the mud first and frantically crawled to the other side with his friend behind him as terrible explosions shook the ground violently. My father thought that his head split apart. And then it was all strangely quiet, although the ground was moving and shock waves were pounding his head. Soon, although it felt like eternity, the explosions ended and my father felt warm blood on the side of his head. He was deaf in one ear. Unfortunately as he called his buddy there was no answer. His buddy was on the wrong side of the road culvert.
Recently, I was searching the internet and recalled my father's story. I found an aerial picture of Kurim Aircraft Factory raid with bombing in progress! It was quite emotional for me to see that photograph knowing that at that frozen moment in the history my father is somewhere there, lying in the culvert.
Provided by Jarek Jakubec Jr.
Son of Jarek Jakubec
Mission # 98 - Kurlim Aircraft Factory Mission # 98 on 8-25-44 was another long mission to destroy German aircraft factories to prevent interception of U. S. Bomber Formations on the way to bomb key targets throughout Germany and German occupied countries. Mission # 98 was designed to destroy the Kurim aircraft factory at Brno, Czechoslovakia, an important factory complex.
 Jarek Jakubec was one of the laborers at the Kurlim Aircraft Factory in Brno that was forced by the Germans to work in their factories to produce goods for the war.
WWII Mission of the 459th Bombardment Group to Brno, Czechoslovakia A/C Factory on 08/25/1944
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