Glyndon D. Bell                                                                                         Updated:  15 JAN 2019

Airman: v999090.htm Surname: Bell Init: G D Rank: 1stLt Service: USAAF Sqdn: 548

P_link: p235.htm Plane: B17 42-30336 Operation: Bomb G Crash_site: At Nørholm Gods

Crash_d: d091043 Buried_d: v999 C_link: v999.htm At_Next: EVD to S

Den 9. oktober 1943 lavede B17 42-30336 en perfekt nødlanding nær Nørholm Gods (der er her). Se Foto af besætningen.
Sammen med andre bombefly skulle B17 42-30336 bombe Marienburg i Tyskland, men maskinen havde motorproblemer efter at have krydset Nordsøen.
MACR fastslår: "Klokken 1038 i en højde af 11.600 fod (3.500 m) og med propel nr. 2 kantstillet, vendte fly No. 42-30336 fra denne Group om ud for Nymindegab (her)
efter at være sakket bagud i omkring 8 minutter. Flyet syntes at være under kontrol til det blev tabt af syne."

Flyet havde været over land. Det vendte om og fløj mod England, da flere motorproblemer gjorde en ny beslutning nødvendig. Et forsøg på at flyve hele vejen tilbage
til England over Nordsøen ville være selvmord, så det vendte om igen. Pilot, 1st Lt Glyndon D. Bell beordrede besætningen til at springe ud over land.
De 10 andre flyvere blev snart fanget og
ført til Tyske krigsfangelejre.

Derpå lavede Bell en perfekt nødlanding og fik snart kontakt med hjælpsomme danskere. Han blev ført tværs over Danmark til København.
Den 24. oktober 1943 blev han sejlet til Sverige. AOD har detaljer.

Kommentar: En klog beslutning at springe ud over land i stedet for at drukne i Nordsøen! I mindst 3 andre fly regnede man også chancen for at nå England for lille:
Efter
angrebet på Aalborg, Fliegerhorst Aalborg West 13. august 1940 nåede BLE T1889 Nordsøen, vendte om og nødlandede ved Vust (her). Besætningen
overlevede. Efter et opgivet angreb på Aalborg den 22. februar 1944 nåede B17 42-31377 20 minutter ud over Nordsøen og vendte om. 9 flyvere overlevede!

Schrenk har meget mere!
Den 24. august 1944 nåede B24 4440443 ud over Nordsøen. Besætningen bortset fra piloten sprang ud. 9 flyvere druknede! Piloten klarede at flyve til England!

Se Tegning af besætningen på en B-17 og Foto af en B-17 + B-17 i airmen.dk. 11 flyvere.

On 9 October 1943 B17 42-30336 made a perfect forced landing at the estate Nørholm Gods (which is here). See Photo of the Crew of Li'l Audrey.
Together with other bombers
B17 42-30336 was to bomb Marienburg in Germany, but it had engine trouble when it had crossed the North Sea.
MACR states: "Aircraft No. 42-30336 of this Group, at 1038 hours, altitude 11,600 feet with No. 2 propeller feathered, turned back at Nymindegab (here) off the
Danish coast, after lagging for approximately eight minutes. The ship appeared to be under control until lost to vision."

The plane had been over land. It turned around and headed for England when more engine trouble made a new decision necessary. An attempt to fly all the way
back to England across the North Sea would be suicide, so it turned around again. Pilot, 1st Lt Glyndon D. Bell ordered the crew to bail out over land.
The 10 other airmen were soon captured and taken to
German POW-Camps.

Bell then made a perfect forced landing and soon contacted helpful Danes. He was taken across Denmark to Copenhagen. On 24 October 1943 he was sailed
to Sweden. AOD has details.


Comment
: A wise decision to bail out over land instead of drowning in the North Sea. In at least 3 other planes they also found it hard to reach England:
BLE T1889 reached the North Sea after an attack on Aalborg airfield, Fliegerhorst Aalborg West, on 13 August, 1940, turned around and crash landed. The crew
survived! After an aborted attack on Aalborg on 22 February 1944 B17 42-31377 returned after 20 minutes over the North Sea. 9 airmen survived.
Schrenk has a
lot more.   On 24 August 1944
B24 4440443 reached the North Sea. Apart from the pilot the crew bailed out. 9 airmen drowned!

This B-17 was from 548 BS, 385th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 93 CBW, 3 BD, 8 AF of the USAAF. It took off from RAF Great Ashfield - USAAF Station 155
See Happy Ending and The Eagle. See also Photo of a B-17+ B-17s in airmen.dk and drawing of the crew of a B-17. 11 airmen.