B 24DSA 42-40530 - Vognbjerg at Skjern                         RKSK              Updated: 12 AUG 2021 

Airman Surname Init Rank Service Sqdn P_link Plane Operation Crash_site Crash_d Buried_d C_link At_Next
o888312.htm Barron I 2ndLt USAAF 406 p309r.htm B24 42-40530 Drop in DK Vognbjerg at Skjern d070544 o888 o888.htm POW
o888313.htm Gallozzi V S/Sgt USAAF 406 p309r.htm B24 42-40530 Drop in DK Vognbjerg at Skjern d070544 o888 o888.htm POW
o888314.htm Helmer D T/Sgt USAAF 406 p309r.htm B24 42-40530 Drop in DK Vognbjerg at Skjern d070544 o888 o888.htm POW
v999070.htm Holmes F 2ndLt USAAF 406 p309r.htm B24 42-40530 Drop in DK Vognbjerg at Skjern d070544 v999 v999.htm EVD to S
o888315.htm McCaskey J S/Sgt USAAF 406 p309r.htm B24 42-40530 Drop in DK Vognbjerg at Skjern d070544 o888 o888.htm POW
o888311.htm Pipkin G 1stLt USAAF 406 p309r.htm B24 42-40530 Drop in DK Vognbjerg at Skjern d070544 o888 o888.htm POW
u050048.htm Schaaf CDV 2ndLt USAAF 406 p309r.htm B24 42-40530 Drop in DK Vognbjerg at Skjern d070544 b120544 c050.htm Lemvig
v999071.htm Wengert J C T/Sgt USAAF 406 p309r.htm B24 42-40530 Drop in DK Vognbjerg at Skjern d070544 v999 v999.htm EVD to S


  "Natten til den 7. maj 1944 nedkastede "Liberator" B-24DSA (B24 42-40530) en sending våben til den danske modstandsbevægelse på en plads ved Rugård
(Rugaard Gods  her, Paddesøvej 7, 5474 Veflinge) på Fyn.
Under returflyvningen over Jylland blev flyet ramt af tysk flak, brød i brand og nedstyrtede nordvest for Skjern." (FAF) Mere i p309rMACR.
Flystyrtet var her, overblik her og her omkring 400 m nord for Kvembjergevej 15, 6900 Skjern. (Kilde: Keld Vinther).

Flyets navigatør, 2nd Lt Clair Vander Schaaf må være omkommet under faldskærmsudspring. (Skærmen foldede sig ikke ud i tide.) Han blev begravet i Lemvig
den 12. maj 1944 af den tyske værnemagt.

Af de resterende 7 besætningsmedlemmer blev 5 taget til fange. (2nd Lt (Co-Pilot) Israel Barron, Lt (Pilot) George Pipkin, S/Sgt (Tail Gunner) James McCaskey,
S/Sgt (Right Waist Gunner) Vincent Gallozzi og T/Sgt (Top Turret Gunner) Dale Helmer.) De blev ført til Tyske krigsfangelejre.

2 flyvere (2nd Lt (Bombardier) Floyd Holmes og T/Sgt (Radio Operator) Jack C. Wengert blev opsamlet af modstandsbevægelsen og udsejlet til Sverige i løbet af
maj 1944." (FAF) Mere i Dansk Militærhistorie om The Carpetbaggers af Kim Juhler. Se også Anders Bjørnvads beretning og Toldstrups beretning om de 2 flyvere.

Fra en amerikansk rapport gengivet i FAF s. 18:
"Lt Holmes så fra sit udsigtspunkt i næsen tydeligt, at kun en enkelt kanon afgav skud, og at der kun blev afgivet i alt 5 skud."

Dette var et af 15 fly mistet med tab af 69 liv + 3 fly mistet uden tab af liv, 5 af dem i RKSK, se Google Map Rebild,  Mindetavlen i Rebild og Rebild 2012.
Omkring 6500 containere med omkring 700 tons våben, sprængstoffer og mere fra SOE blev nedkastet til dansk modstandsbevægelse.
RAF udførte 284 og USAAF 168 vellykkede nedkastninger over Danmark. Modstandsbevægelsen blev bevæbnet og mindst 4.481 sabotageaktioner blev udført.
8 flyvere.

 On the night before 7 May 1944 "Liberator" B-24DSA (B24 42-40530) dropped a load of weapons for the Danish resistance movement at a site at the
Rugaard estate (Rugaard Gods here, Paddesøvej 7, DK-5474 Veflinge) on Fyn. See Interview with Israel Barron, 52 min. recorded in 2002 with Text Transcript.

The plane was hit by German flak, burst into flames and crashed northwest of Skjern on the return flight over Jutland. (FAF) More in p309rMACR.
The air crash was here, overview here and here about 400 m north of Kvembjergevej 15, 6900 Skjern. (Source: Keld Vinther)

Navigator, 2nd Lt Clair Vander Schaaf must have perished when he hit the ground. (His parachute did not open up in time.) He was buried in Lemvig by the German
Wehrmacht on 12 May 1944.

5 crewmembers were captured (2nd Lt (Co-Pilot) Israel Barron, Lt (Pilot) George Pipkin, S/Sgt (Tail Gunner) James McCaskey, S/Sgt (Right Waist Gunner)
Vincent Gallozzi and T/Sgt (Top Turret Gunner) Dale Helmer.) They were taken to German POW-Camps.

2 airmen (2nd Lt (Bombardier) Floyd Holmes and T/Sgt (Radio Operator) Jack C. Wengert) were picked up by the resistance movement and sailed to Sweden
in May 1944. (Source: FAF) See also Anders Bjørnvad about the 2 airmen, p309r and weapons and Toldstrup about Holmes and Wengert of B24 43-40530.

From an American report quoted in FAF p. 18:
"Lt Holmes, from his vantage point in the nose, saw clearly that only one gun was firing and that a total of five bursts were fired."

This was one of 15 planes crashed with the loss of 69 lives + 3 planes lost without loss of lives, 5 of them on RKSK, see Google Map Rebild, Rebild 2012 and
and the Memorial Plaque in Rebild. About 6,500 containers with about 700 tons of weapons, explosives, and more were dropped to the Danish resistance movement.
The RAF had 284 and the USAAF had 168 successful airdrops over Denmark. The resistance movement was armed and there were at least 4,481 sabotage actions.

This B-24 from 406 BS, 801 BG, 8 AF took off from RAF Harrington.  Harrington Aviation Museum has more about the 801st / 492nd Bomb Group. 8 airmen.