B17 425883 styrtede i Nordsøen den 25. juli 1943. AOD har detaljer. Dette er en af beretningerne om flyvere Reddet af fiskere i Nordsøen.

Besætningen blev reddet af fiskekutteren FN 73 "Ternen" af Frederikshavn.
Fra bogen A. Hjorth Rasmussen: Det er nødvendigt at sejle, Fiskeri- og Søfartsmuseet, Esbjerg, 1980:

"Under fiskeri opsamlede FN 73 »Ternen« den 27. juli 1943 10 amerikanske flyvere. Efter at have fisket i et par dage opdagede besætningen ca. 50 sømil vest til syd af Esbjerg (omkring her)  to gummibåde. Besætningen frygtede, at det var tyskere, men en af flyverne råbte straks: »Hello, we are yankies from the USA«, og så var alt i orden. Flyverne havde været på bombetogt over Hamborg, da de sammen med to andre maskiner blev skudt ned og måtte nødlande på havet. I gummibådene blev de beskudt af tyske flyvere, og flere blev alvorligt såret. De havde drevet om i to døgn, men havde delt vand og proviant imellem sig med henblik på 10 døgns ophold. Da flyverne kom ombord på kutteren, bad de som det første om noget vand, men de drak sig hurtigt syge.

Det blev aftalt, at »Ternen« skulle søge vestover, og at kutteren i England eller undervejs skulle have petroleum til at sejle tilbage på. Amerikanerne var flinke og ligetil.
De sov i lukafet, medens besætningen lå i maskinrummet og skipperen i styrehuset. Om natten lå kutteren stille 3 timer.

Ret tidligt kom kutteren i kontakt med en allieret flyver, men forbindelsen glippede. Flyverne tegnede da et stort SOS på et skilt, som blev sat op mellem bommen og dækket. Det varede heller ikke længe, førend maskinerne dykkede ganske tæt ned over kutteren, og kort efter kom to engelske patruljebåde »Ternen« i møde. Stemningen var høj. Englænderne var vildt begejstrede og råbte hurra for fiskerne og de 10 amerikanere. Kutteren fik petroleum og lovning på at blive overvåget af et par flyvere på tilbagevejen. »Ternens« besætning mente dog nok, at det var bedst uden ledsagefly.

»Ternen« kom ind med en for ringe mængde fisk i forhold til det antal dage, kutteren havde været borte. Fiskerne blev enige om at give petroleumspumpen skylden.
Den egentlige baggrund kom først frem efter krigen."

I Vestjysk Fiskeritidende 10. juni 1945 slutter skipper Martin Sørensen, "Ternen", sin beretning om gaver (gummibådene, en flyverdragt, te og cigaretter):
"Vor nervøsitet var stor de første dage i land. Aldrig kunne vi føle os sikre, og efter den 29. august voldte de trofæer vi havde fået af amerikanerne os store besværligheder. Hvor skulle vi gøre af dem? De blev flyttet fra det ene sted til det andet, og min kone rådede mig stærkt til at skaffe dem af vejen. Jeg nænnede det dog ikke, og i dag er jeg glad for, at jeg beholdt dem som et kært minde om den eventyrlige sejlads over Nordsøen med 10 prægtige mandfolk." Mere i p191MACR.

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. 10 flyvere.

On25 July 1943 B17 425883 ditched in the North Sea. AOD has details. This is one of the stories about airmen Rescued by fishermen in the North Sea.

The crew was rescued by the Danish fishing cutter FN 73 "Ternen" of Frederikshavn. (Ternen means The Tern)
From the book A. Hjorth Rasmussen: Det er nødvendigt at sejle, Fiskeri- og Søfartsmuseet, Esbjerg, 1980
                                                       (Sailing is necessary),  Fisheries and Maritime Museum, Esbjerg, 1980:

"On 27 July 1943 FN 73 »Ternen« picked up 10 American airmen while fishing. About 50 nautical miles west to south of Esbjerg (about here) the crew spotted two dinghies after fishing for a couple of days. The crew feared that the men were Germans, but at once one of the airmen shouted, "Hello, we are Yankies from the USA",
and then everything was OK. The airmen had been over Hamburg on a bombing raid, when they and two other planes were shot down and had to ditch in the North Sea. German fighters shot at them in the dinghies, and a number of them were seriously injured. They had drifted around for 48 hours, but they had shared water and food for
a calculated stay of 10 days. When the airmen came aboard the cutter they asked for water for a start, but very soon they had drunk too much, so they fell ill.

It was agreed that the "Ternen" had to sail west, and that the cutter in England or on the way to England was to have kerosene for the return sail. The Americans were nice and straightforward. They slept in the cabin, while the crew lay in the engine room and the skipper in the wheelhouse. During the night the cutter did not move for
3 hours.

Quite soon the cutter made contact with an allied plane, but the contact failed. Then the airmen drew a big SOS on a board that was placed between the derrick and
the deck. It was not long before the planes dived quite near the cutter, and shortly after two British patrol boats came to meet the "Ternen". Everybody was in high spirits. The Englishmen were wildly enthusiastic and cheered the fishermen and the 10 Americans. There was kerosene for the cutter, and the crew were promised that a couple of planes could watch over their return sail. However, the crew of the "Ternen" thought they could do better without escorting planes.

The "Ternen" came back with too little fish for the number of days the cutter had been away. The fishermen agreed to blame the kerosene pump. The real reason was
not told until after the war."

On 10 June 1945 skipper Martin Sørensen, the "Ternen", ends his account in the  Vestjysk Fiskeritidende about presents (the dinghies, an airman´s suit, tea and cigarettes): "Our nervousness was great the first days ashore. We never felt safe, and after 29 August (when the Germans took control) the trophies we had got from the Americans caused us great difficulties. Where were we to put them? They were moved from one place to the other, and my wife strongly advised me to get rid of them.
I did not have the heart to do it, and today I am happy that I kept them as a treasured  memento of the marvellous sail across the North Sea with 10 magnificent men."

See Drawing of the crew of a B-17 * Photo of  a B-17 + B-17s in airmen.dk * B-17 Ball Turret, Ammunition and the story of a Ball Turret Gunner.

This B-17 was from 544 BS, 384 BG, 41 CBW, 1 BD, 8 AF of the USAAF. See 384th Bomb Group (H) * Crew Photo * Sortie Report. More in p191MACR.
It took off from RAF Grafton Underwood - USAAF S. 106. 10 airmen.