Cpt Albert R. McCraw took off from Pomigliano, Italy in the P-51 Mustang 44-14227 "Hey Rube IV" belonging to flying ace Cpt Daniel J. Zoerb on a mission to escort three bombers bearing Churchill and his diplomats back from the Middle East to Northolt, UK. Eight pilots in three flights were assigned to the mission and took off between 0930 and 1000. The weather was bad and they had problems tracking the bombers flying between the clouds and sky. Around the Paris area, the second flight containing McCraw lost the completely and turned back for Italy on orders from Major Ohr, the mission leader. The latter instructed them to go down and get instructions from Marseilles. Around Rhodes Lt Sullivan saw Cpt McCraw and Lt Carson dip into the clouds and lost radio contact with them around 1350. The French gendarmerie later found the two wrecks. McCraw was originally buried in Les Rives cemetery before being moved to the Rhone Draguignan US cemetery and then to Texas.