B17 42-30246 havde været på bombetogt til Rostock. Flyet
landede omkring
her.
"Kl. 14.20 kaldte piloten, 1st Lt William M. Gaillard, over radioen og fortalte,
at han ikke kunne få brændstof fra "Tokyo-tankene". Over målet var
reservetankene blevet
ramt at flak, og fra et andet fly havde man set brændstof
strømme ud. Kort efter forlod B17 42-30246 formationen,
og piloten meddelte, at han ville forsøge at nå
Sverige.
Kl. 15.35 foretog
piloterne en perfekt mavelanding ved Tirstrup, og hele besætningen kunne uskadt
forlade flyet. Tilstrømmende danskere kunne til amerikanernes
store skuffelse
fortælle, at de var landet i Danmark. En maskinkanon og en sæk appelsiner blev
fjernet af besætningen fra flyet, og det blev antændt.
Kort efter ankom tyskerne, men de kunne ikke
forhindre, at flyet totalt udbrændte. De 10 amerikanere fortsatte mod kysten,
men de efterlod et tydeligt spor af appelsinskaller. Da appelsiner var en
mangelvare både i Danmark og Tyskland, kunne tyskerne blot følge sporet, og kl.
19.30 blev 6 amerikanere taget til fange ved Hyllested, ca. 10 km fra
nødlandingsstedet. De sidste 4 flyvere, deriblandt top turret gunner, S/Sgt John
W. Doherty, overnattede på et vist tidspunkt mellem den 20.
og den 26. februar i
to sommerhuse på Grenå sydstrand. Otte dage efter nødlandingen var alle 10
flyvere blevet fanget. De havde også haft det uheld at færdes i en
egn, som var
fyldt med tyskere og deres danske hjælpere, der arbejdede på Tirstrup
flyveplads." (FT 90-102-18)
2nd Lt (Navigator) Thomas F. Gannon og de andre besætningsmedlemmer blev
ført til Tyske krigsfangelejre.
Se
Foto af en B-17 + B-17 i airmen.dk og
Google Map p266-270 20FEB44.
10 flyvere.
B17 42-30246
had been on a bombing raid to Rostock. The plane landed about
here.
“At 14.20 hours the pilot, 1st Lt William M. Gaillard, called on the
radio and reported that he could not get fuel from the “Tokyo-tanks”. The reserve
tanks had been
hit by flak over the target, and from another plane fuel had been
seen pouring out. Shortly after
B17 42-30246
left the formation, and the pilot said that he would try
to get to Sweden.
At 15.35 hours the pilots
made a perfect wheels up-landing at Tirstrup, and all of the crew could
leave the plane unharmed. The Americans were very disappointed
when they
learned from Danes crowding in that they had landed in Denmark. The crew
removed a machine gun and a sack of oranges from the plane and set it
on
fire.
Shortly afterwards the Germans
arrived, but they could not prevent the plane from burning down completely. The
10 Americans went on towards the coast, but they
left a clear track of orange
peels. As no oranges were sold in either Denmark or Germany the Germans just
had to follow the track, and at 19.30 hrs. 6 Americans
were captured at Hyllested,
about 10 km from the site of the forced landing. At some time between 20
February and 26 February the remaining 4 airmen including
top turret gunner,
S/Sgt John W. Doherty slept in two holiday cottages on the beach south of Grenaa.
8 days after the forced landing the 10 airmen had all been
captured. They had
also had the bad luck of having to walk about in an area crowded with Germans
and their Danish helpers who worked on Tirstrup Airfield.”
(FT 90-102-18)
2nd Lt (Navigator) Thomas F. Gannon and the
other crew members were taken to
German POW-Camps.
This
B-17
was from 570
BS, 390 BG, 13
CBW, 3 BD of the 8 AF. It took off from
RAF Framlingham - USAAF
Station 153.
Happy Ending.
See
Photo of a B-17 + B-17s in airmen.dk and
Google Map p266-270 20FEB44.
10 airmen.
|