HAL JP336
var nødt til at nødlande på havet (måske omkring
her
nordøst for Gjerrild på Djursland) den 24. april 1945.
"Den 23. april 1945 kl. 20.15 lettede F/O
Lawrence Barclay Davey fra Stornoway i HAL JP336. Ved
midnat opdagede flyet en tysk konvoj fra Norge, og under det første angreb blev
flyet svært beskadiget af flak. Davey forsøgte at nå land, men ca. 1 sømil
(måske omkring
her)
nordøst for Gjerrild på Djursland (Gjerrild Fyr
her) måtte flyet lande på vandet, hvor det holdt sig
flydende i brændende tilstand i en halv time. Fra land blev branden observeret,
men ingen sejlede til undsætning.
Da F/O Davey kom
fri af flyet, kunne han høre anden-piloten F/Sgt Thomas Ernest Parker Rosenthal råbe om hjælp inde i den
brændende maskine. Davey krøb ind i
vraget og fik hjulpet Rosenthal ud.
Telegrafisterne F/O John Vilhjalmur Johnson og Sgt
Gerard Anthony Guinane var
også kommet fri af flyet, og i fællesskab fik de
pustet deres
gummibåd op og
roede rundt for at finde de 5 øvrige besætningsmedlemmer, men forgæves.
De kunne se den danske kyst, men vinden kom fra
vest, og strømmen førte dem hurtigt til havs. Den efterfølgende nat døde F/Sgt
Rosenthal, og da gummibåden var
utæt, måtte han begraves til havs. Senere drev Rosenthal dog i land ved Svarthall (måske omkring
her), og den 26. juli 1945 blev han begravet på
Varberg kirkegård i Sverige. Efter 36 timer blev de nødstedte omsider opdaget af
en tysk observationspost på Anholt (her), og to udsendte danske fiskekuttere "Vera" og
"Hafnia" samlede
de 3 flyvere op, og bragte dem ind til Anholt. Via Grenå
(her) blev
de overført til Århus Kommunehospital, hvor de i dagene efter befrielsen nød
stor opmærksomhed."
(FT 91-10-54)
Fra
HAL JP336 er 3 flyvere begravet i Odder og deres navne
er blandt
47 navne i St. Clement Danes og i
Horsens.
Halifax maleri.
Se
Halifax Print * Halifax Mk III på
YAM 2019 *
folk bag en Halifax klar til en
mission. 1 blev
begravet i Sverige, 2 har ingen kendt grav og 3 blev
ført til Tyske
krigsfangelejre. 9 flyvere.
HAL JP336 had to ditch in the Kattegat (maybe about
here
northeast of Gjerrild in Djursland) on 24 April 1945.
"F/O
Lawrence Barclay Davey took off from Stornoway in HAL JP336
on 23 April 1945 at 20:15.
At midnight the plane spotted a German convoy from Norway, and the
plane was
heavily damaged by flak during the first attack. Davey tried to reach land, but
the plane had to ditch about 1 nautical mile (maybe about
here) northeast of
Gjerrild in Djursland (Gjerrild Lighthouse
here). It floated, burning, for half an hour. The fire was seen from land, but
nobody sailed out to their rescue. When F/O Davey
got off the plane, he heard
Co-Pilot F/Sgt Thomas Ernest Parker Rosenthal shouting
for help from within the burning plane. Davey crawled into the wreck and helped
Rosenthal out. The Wireless Operators F/O John Vilhjalmur Johnson
and Sgt
Gerard Anthony Guinane had also come off the plane and
together they inflated their dinghy and rowed around to find the other 5 crew
members, but in vain.
They could see the coast of Denmark, but the wind
came from the west and the current quickly took them off the coast. F/Sgt
Rosenthal died in the following night,
and as the dinghy leaked he had to be
buried at sea. However, Rosenthal later drifted ashore at Svarthall (maybe about
here), and he was buried in Varberg
Churchyard in Sweden on 26 July 1945.
After 36 hours the airmen in distress were finally spotted by a German
observation post on Anholt (here)
and two Danish
fishing boats "Vera" and "Hafnia" were sent out to pick up the 3
airmen. They were then taken to Anholt. Via Grenå (here)
they were transferred to Århus Municipal Hospital. In the days after the
liberation they were met with great attention here." (FT 91-10-54)
3 airmen from
HAL JP336 are buried in Odder, 1 in Sweden, 2 have no
known graves and 3 were taken to
German POW-Camps.
See
No. 58 Squadron RAF * RAF Coastal
Command * This
Halifax from No. 18
Group RAF took off from
RAF Stornoway. Halifax
painting
Halifax-Wikipedia*Halifax Print*Halifax-BC
Museum.Canada *
Halifax-RAF Museum *
Halifax-The Yorkshire Air
Museum * Halifax Mk III
at YAM 2019*LAN-HAL. Robin Hudson of RAFA Stornoway
sent
details of airmen from HAL JP333 * HAL JP302
* HAL JP173 * HAL PN402 * HAL JP299.
Also HAL HX224 * HAL JP336
HAL HR686
and HAL JP330
took
off from
RAF Stornoway. See Lost Airmen from RAF
Stornoway.
9 airmen.
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