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 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, 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) Mere i
p200MACR.
Se Foto af en B-17 + B-17 i
airmen.dk. Alle 10 flyvere blev ført til Tyske
krigsfangelejre.
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, 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)
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. More in
p200MACR.
See Photo of a B-17+ B-17s in airmen.dk. All 10
airmen were taken to
German POW-Camps.
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