Ned Palmer                                                                                               Updated:  27 JUL 2014

Airman: o888367.htm Surname: Palmer Init: N Rank: 2ndLt Service: USAAF Sqdn: 333

P_link: p200.htm Plane: B17 42-30146 Operation: Bomb G Crash_site: Avedøre

Crash_d: d290743 Buried_d: o888 C_link: o888.htm At_Next: POW

B17 42-30146 nødlandede her på flyvepladsen i Avedøre den 29. juli 1943.
Nu er Avedøre Gl. Flyveplads, Gl. Køge Landevej 580, 2660 Brøndby Strand, indkørsel her, hjemsted for Aeronautisk Aktivitetscenter Avedøre.

"54 B-17 fløj til Warnemünde (her), og fire fly gik tabt. 2 B-17 fra 96 og 388 BG kolliderede i luften nær den engelske kyst, medens 1 B-17 fra 385 BG nødlandede i Nordsøen på hjemturen. Piloten på 42-30146, 2nd Lt. Ned Palmer, beretter:
»Jeg havde tidligere fløjet på to togter som co­pilot, men den 29. juli blev en pilot syg, og jeg fik chancen som første pilot. Jeg havde ikke tidligere mødt nogen fra besætningen, hvilket var lidt uheldigt. Allerede kort efter start fik vi problemer med motor nr. 2 og 3, men vi fortsatte og håbede, at problemerne ville løse sig. Ved overflyvningen af Danmark måtte begge motorer kantstilles, og da vi nåede Østersøen, begyndte vi at få problemer med motor nr. 4. Vi kunne ikke længere følge med formationen og dykkede ned til lav højde, hvor vi kastede bombelasten, ammunition og alt overflødigt, mens kursen blev sat mod Sverige. Vi prøvede at starte alle
motorer igen, men specielt nr. 4 havde det ikke godt.
 

Vi fik landkending, og navigatøren (2.nd Lt Frank S. Pellegrino) svor på, at det var Sverige. Efter 10 minutter, hvor vi havde kikket efter en flyveplads, fandt vi en stor
mark, der var egnet til en nødlanding. Vi gjorde en enkelt overflyvning, og gik derefter ind med hjulene oppe. Det var min bedste landing i en B-17. Da flyet var stoppet,
var vi alle glade ved udsigten til nogle dages ferie i Sverige. Jeg kravlede ud af vinduet ved pilotsædet, og ud på vingen, hvor jeg til min store forbløffelse opdagede, at
vi var omringet af tyske soldater. Efter et kort forhør, blev vi transporteret til København, hvor vi overnattede. Næste dag gik det sydpå med tog og med færge til
Rostock. Via Berlin kom vi til Dulag Luft Oberursel ved Frankfurt am Main. De fire officerer kom senere til Stalag Luft III, hvor vi tilbragte resten af krigen.«

En bjærgningskommando fra Værløse undersøgte flyet og fandt, at skaden ikke var større end at man ville gøre et forsøg på at reparere det. Flyet blev demonteret og
bragt til Kastrup og med reservedele hentet fra Tyskland lykkedes det Heinkelværkstederne at gøre flyet flyveklar i løbet af et halvt år, men nu forsynet med bjælkekors
og swastika. Hårdnakkede rygter har siden hævdet, at en af de amerikanske piloter virkede som instruktør under testflyvningerne, men det har Lt. Ned Palmer
benægtet på det kraftigste." (FT 88-33-14)

2nd Lieutenant Ned Palmer var Pilot på B17 42-30146.  (Kilde: MACR) Se tegning af besætningen på en B-17. Han blev ført til Tyske krigsfangelejre -
Stalag 7A Moosburg, Bayern (Work Camps 3324-46 Krumbachstrasse 48011, Work Camp 3368 Munich). (Kilde: US National Archives med WWII POWs)

Se Foto af en B-17 + B-17 i airmen.dk. 10 flyvere.

B17 42-30146 crash landed here on the airfield in Avedøre on 29 July 1943.
Now the old airfield at Gl. Køge Landevej 580, 2660 Brøndby Strand, way in here, is a center for associations connected with aviation, including the AAA.

"54 B-17's flew to Warnemunde (here), and 4 planes were lost. 2 B-17's from 96 and 388 BG collided in the air near the English coast while 1 B-17 from 385 ditched in
the North Sea on the home leg. The pilot of 42-30146, 2nd Lt. Ned Palmer, tells, "I had flown earlier on two missions as co-pilot, but on 29 July a pilot fell ill, and I got
the chance as first pilot. I hadn't met any of the crew before, which was a bit unlucky. Right after the start we got trouble with motors no. 2 and 3, but we continued and hoped that the problems would get solved somehow. When we flew over Denmark, both engines had to be feathered, and when we got to the Baltic, we began to have problems with motor no. 4. We couldn't keep up with the formation and dived to a low altitude where we threw out the cargo of bombs, ammunition and all that was superfluous while the course was set towards Sweden. We tried to start all motors again, but especially no. 4 was in bad condition.

We made a landfall, and the navigator (2.nd Lt Frank S. Pellegrino) swore that it was Sweden. After 10 minutes of searching for an airfield we found a large field which
was suitable for a forced landing. We flew over the field once and then flew in with the wheels retracted. It was my best landing in a B-17. When the plane had stopped,
we were all delighted with the prospect of a few days' holiday in Sweden. I crawled out of the window at the pilot seat and out on the wing where to my great surprise I
found that we were surrounded by German soldiers. After a short interrogation we were taken to Copenhagen where we stayed for the night. The following day we went south by train and ferry to Rostock. By way of Berlin we came to Dulag Luft Oberursel near Frankfurt on the Main. The four officers later came to Stalag Luft III where
we spent the rest of the war."

A rescue commando from Værløse examined the plane and found that the damage was not so bad that an attempt to repair it should not be made. The aircraft was dismantled and taken to Kastrup, and with reserve parts fetched from Germany the Heinkel workshop succeeded in making the plane ready to fly in the course of half a year, but now provided with a beam cross (Balkenkreuz) and a swastika. Persistent rumours have later claimed that one of the American pilots worked as an instructor during the test flights, but Ned Palmer has denied this vigorously." (FT 88-33-14 - Translated by KK)

2nd Lieutenant Ned Palmer was the Pilot of B17 42-30146. (Source: MACR) See the drawing of the crew of a B-17. He was taken to German POW-Camps -
Stalag 7A Moosburg Bavaria (Work Camps 3324-46 Krumbachstrasse 48011, Work Camp 3368 Munich). (Source: US National Archives with WWII POWs)

This B-17 belonged to 333 BS, 94 BG, 4 BW, 3 BD, 8 AF. See 94th Bomb Group. It took off from Bury St. Edmunds - USAAF Station 468.
See Photo of a B-17+ B-17s in airmen.dk.  10 airmen.