Plane 337 B17 42-97060 - The North Sea

Airman	Surname	Init	Rank	Service	Sqdn	P_link	Plane	Operation	Crash_site	Crash_d	Buried_d	C_link	At_Next
v997019.htm	Barte	H B	Sgt	USAAF	749	p337.htm	B17 4297060	Bomb G	The North Sea	d050844	v997	v997.htm	EVD to GB
v997015.htm	Cain	W R	Sgt	USAAF	749	p337.htm	B17 4297060	Bomb G	The North Sea	d050844	v997	v997.htm	EVD to GB
v997011.htm	Canfield	C	1stLt	USAAF	749	p337.htm	B17 4297060	Bomb G	The North Sea	d050844	v997	v997.htm	EVD to GB
v997018.htm	Kirkendall	A	Sgt	USAAF	749	p337.htm	B17 4297060	Bomb G	The North Sea	d050844	v997	v997.htm	EVD to GB
v997017.htm	Merriam	A E	T/Sgt	USAAF	749	p337.htm	B17 4297060	Bomb G	The North Sea	d050844	v997	v997.htm	EVD to GB
v997014.htm	Ross	C E	Lt	USAAF	749	p337.htm	B17 4297060	Bomb G	The North Sea	d050844	v997	v997.htm	EVD to GB
v997016.htm	Smith	J	Sgt	USAAF	749	p337.htm	B17 4297060	Bomb G	The North Sea	d050844	v997	v997.htm	EVD to GB
v997012.htm	Snyder	D H	Lt	USAAF	749	p337.htm	B17 4297060	Bomb G	The North Sea	d050844	v997	v997.htm	EVD to GB
v997013.htm	Suddath	W	Lt	USAAF	749	p337.htm	B17 4297060	Bomb G	The North Sea	d050844	v997	v997.htm	EVD to GB

Fra bogen A. Hjorth Rasmussen: Det er nødvendigt at sejle, Fiskeri- og Søfartsmuseet, Esbjerg, 1980:

Esbjerg-kutteren »Erika« reddede den 5. august 1944 9 amerikanske flyvere. Kutteren lå i fiskeri ved Helgoland (som er her) og var blevet passeret mange gange af fly på vej til og fra bombetogter i Tyskland. En dag så besætningen en faldskærm dale ned i det fjerne. Tovene blev straks kappet, og »Erika« satte kurs efter faldskærmen. Da kutteren nåede frem efter en times sejlads, viste det sig, at der lå en stor motorredningsbåd med 9 amerikanske flyvere, som havde måttet forlade deres maskine. De var kommet ombord i redningsbåden, som var kastet ud fra et specialfly, men kunne ikke få redningsbådens motor i gang.

Da »Erika« nåede frem, bad skipperen sine folk holde hænderne oppe på lønningen, for at der ikke skulle ske misforståelser. Flyverne ønskede at komme til Sverige, men det kunne ikke lade sig gøre. Skipperen tilbød at sejle dem til England, selvom det ville betyde, at båd og besætning måtte blive derovre.

Straks efter at flyverne var kommet ombord, morsede telegrafisten OK med en glimtlampe til de ledsagende jagere, og de forsvandt. Fiskerne ville tage redningsbåden ombord af hensyn til risikoen for opdagelse fra luften, men det måtte de ikke. Båden skulle følge efter på slæb, og to mand sad i den det første døgn for at kontrollere »Erikas« kurs. Længere fremme mødte de kutter E 153 »Helsing«. Da et af besætningsmedlemmerne satte sig til at skrive et brev, for at »Helsing« kunne tage det med hjem til familien, stillede en af amerikanerne sig op med en pistol bag skipperen, og »Helsing« måtte sejle. Flyverne var ved at blive desperate, da de ikke kunne forstå et ord af, hvad der blev sagt. Under diskussion om brug af nødsender kom flyverne i håndgemæng. Kaptajnen ville sende SOS, men en af flyverne sagde, at det var noget pjat at bruge nødsenderen, da de trods alt ikke var længere fra Tyskland end fra England. Blev den hørt af tyskerne, kom de selv i fangelejr, men de stakkels danskere, der var taget af sted fra deres kone og børn ville blive skudt. Det ene ord tog det andet, og de kom op at slås. Skipperen bragte sagen ud af verden med et par hårde ord om, at de ikke skulle slås på hans skib. Fly- og kutterbesætning kom ellers godt ud af det med hinanden. Flyverne fik fiskernes reserveundertøj, da de var blevet våde, inden de kom over i kutteren. De havde selv soveposer, som de brugte på dækket og i lukafet. En stor dåse skinke og anden forplejning gjorde snart kokken populær.

Da »Erika« nåede de engelske minefelter, skød amerikanerne signallys op, idet en rekognosceringsmaskine var i nærheden. Den engelske maskine gav kutteren en sejlrute gennem minefelterne. Ca 40 mil fra den engelske kyst og på højde med Hartlepool blev flyverne taget over i en engelsk hurtigbåd. 1 1/2 døgn efter ankomsten til England blev det meddelt over BBC, at »Erika« var blevet antruffet i Nordsøen under fiskeri på forbudt område, og at besætningen nu befandt sig i England.

Se Tegning af besætningen på en B-17*Foto af en B-17 + B-17 i airmen.dk*B-17 Ball Turret, Ammunition og Ball Turret Gunner*B-17 Flyvende Fæstning. 9 flyvere.

On 5 August 1944 the "Erika" of Esbjerg rescued 9 American airmen. The cutter was fishing at Heligoland (which is here) and had been overflown many times by planes flying to or from Germany on bombing raids. One day the crew saw a parachute going down far away. The cable was cut immediately, and the "Erika" sailed for the parachute. When the cutter arrived after sailing for an hour it appeared that there was a big motor lifeboat with 9 American airmen, who had had to leave their plane. They had come aboard the lifeboat, which had been dropped by a special plane, but they were unable to start the engine.

When the "Erika" arrived, the skipper told his crew to keep their hands on the gunwale to avoid any misunderstanding. The airmen wished to go to Sweden, but that was out of the question. The skipper offered to sail them to England, even if it meant that the crew and the ship had to stay there.

As soon as the airmen had come aboard the radio operator morsed OK with a signal lamp to the fighters near "Erika" and they disappeared. The fishermen wanted to take the lifeboat on board due to the risk of being spotted from the air, but they were not allowed to do so. The boat had to be in tow, and for the first 24 hours 2 men were sitting in it to check the "Erika"´s course. Further down the route they met cutter E 153 »Helsing«. When one of the crew members sat down to write a letter, so that the "Helsing" could bring it to his family, one of the Americans placed himself behind the skipper with his gun, and "Helsing" had to leave. The airmen were growing desperate, as they did not understand a word of what was said. During the discussion of sending a distress signal over the radio the airmen started a scuffle. The captain wanted to send an SOS, but one of the airmen said that it made no sense to use the radio, since after all they were not further away from Germany than from England. If it was heard by the Germans, they would be taken to a POW camp themselves, but the poor Danes who had left their wives and children would be shot. One word took the other, and they started fighting. The skipper closed the matter with harsh words that there should be no fighting on his ship. Apart from that the crews of the plane and of the cutter got along very well with each other. The airmen got the fishermen´s extra underwear, as they had become wet before they got on board the cutter. They had their own sleeping bags, which they used on the deck and in the cabin. A big tin of ham and more soon made the cook popular.

The Americans fired a signal light when the "Erika" reached the British minefields, as a reconnaissance plane was near. The British aircraft gave the cutter a sailing route through the minefields. About 40 miles from the coast of England off Hartlepool the airmen were transferred to a British launch. 36 hours after the cutter arrived in England it was announced in the BBC that the "Erika" had been spotted in the North See fishing in a prohibited area, and that the crew now were in England.