Natten til den 3. april 1945 styrtede
STI LJ942 i Roskilde Fjord
her nord for Frederikssund. Flyet blev ramt af flak og styrtede i
vandet. Se
Google Map p418r.
Se også
www.gunnarmarboe.dk om Besættelsen
og hverdagsliv 1940-1945
og især
Pilot under jorden om Dillon og andre flyvere fra dette fly.
3 flyvere nåede Sverige, 2 blev krigsfanger og 1 blev begravet i Kirke Værløse.
(Kilde: FT 88-44-51) Her er uddrag af den lange historie:
Natten mellem den 2. og 3. april 1945 skulle tre
Stirlings nedkaste våben til et større dansk modtagehold på Orø (her)
i Isefjorden. Skydækket over Danmark var
meget kraftigt, og to af flyene
vendte om, medens LJ942 fortsatte. Piloten, P/O Charles Thomas Dillon, og
flere af besætningsmedlemmeme var kommet til 299
Squadron
i maj 1944, og de havde fløjet med forsyninger og tropper på
D-dag, til
Arnhem og under
angrebet over Rhinen.
Derudover havde de fløjet adskillige
togter med
forsyninger til modstandsbevægelsen i Frankrig, Holland og Norge, samt to
bombetogter. LJ942 kom ind over Sjælland på højde med Nykøbing S
(her), men
det var svært at få en god landkending, så P/O Dillon begyndte at cirkle
over Hundested. Tyske flak ved Melby (her)
åbnede ild, og flyet blev ramt i
halepartiet. Hurtigt drejede flyet væk fra
området og fløj nu i lav højde sydpå langs Roskilde fjord. P/O Dillon var
overbevist om, at det var den rigtige fjord og ville
begynde at stige, men
beskadigede kabler til højderoret sprang og med voldsom kraft ramte flyet
vandet (her)
600 meter nord for Stenø og ca. 100 meter fra land (nærbillede
her). Charles Dillon slog hovedet og havde et mindre sår over
næsen.
De fem søgte mod land, hvor de fik hjælp hos
fisker Alfred Olsen. De tre sårede flyvere blev afhentet af en ambulance og
bragt til Frederikssund sygehus (her).
Overlæge Gejlager mente at Dillon
sagtens kunne bringes til Sverige, så han kontaktede hurtigt medlemmer af
modstandsbevægelsen. Kl. 11 blev Dillon afhentet
og bragt ud af bagdøren. Det var i
sidste øjeblik, fordi tyskerne gik i det samme ind af hoveddøren. Dillon
tilbragte et par dage
på Strandgården ved Over Dråby (her)
før turen gik videre til Sverige, hvor han ankom kort før befrielsen.
P/O Dillon deltog efter befrielsen i No. 299
Squadron's mange transportaktiviteter. Han fløj adskillige ture til Norge,
og den 21. juli landede han i Kastrup (her).
Da flyet først skulle returnere næste
dag, nåede Dillon at hilse på flere af sine danske hjælpere. Den 6. oktober
1945 fløj F/O Dillon og besætning i Stirling L1668
(5G-J) fra Cairo
med 20 passagerer. Den 7. oktober kl. 00.30 gik Dillon igennem et tykt
skydække i 200 fods højde 1 mile syd for Rennes i Frankrig under et
forsøg
på at finde den
lokale flyveplads. Med hjulene nede og under et svagt drej mistede flyet
pludselig højde, ramte jorden og eksploderede.
Alle 25 ombordværende, inklusive tre ægtepar, blev dræbt.
Se mere om hele besætningen i
den lange historie.
 On the night before 3 April 1945
STI LJ942 crashed into the Roskilde Fjord
here north of Frederikssund. The plane was hit by flak and crashed into the water.
See also www.gunnarmarboe.dk about
a family 1940-1945
and
Pilot under jorden about Dillon and other airmen from this plane. In
Danish but with some photos.
See
Google Map p418r.
3 airmen evaded to Sweden, 2 became POWs and 1 one buried in Kirke
Værløse. (Source: FT 88-44-51) Excerpts from the long story:
In the night between 2 and 3 April
1945 three Stirlings were to drop weapons to a large Danish team who were
ready to receive them in Orø (here)
in the Isefjorden.
The cloud cover was very thick and two of the planes returned, while LJ942
carried on. Pilot, P/O Charles Thomas Dillon and several of the crew members
had
joined 299 Squadron in May 1944, and they had flown with supplies and troops
on D-Day, to
Arnhem and during the attack
across the Rhine. In addition to that
they had flown several sorties with supplies to the resistance movements in
France, Holland and Norway - and two bombing raids. LJ942 approached
Sjælland
(Zealand) near Nykøbing Sjælland
(here),
but it was difficult to get a good sight of land to establish their
position, so P/O Dillon started circling over Hundested.
German flak at Melby (here)
opened fire, and the plane was hit in the tail section. Quickly the plane
turned away from the area and now flew south at a low
height along the Roskilde Fjord. P/O Dillon was convinced that it was the
right fjord (inlet). He tried to climb but damaged cables to the elevator
broke and the plane
crashed heavily into the water (here)
600 metres north of Stenø and about 100 metres from land (at close range
here). Charles Dillon had hurt his head as well and he had
a minor cut
over his nose.
The five airmen went ashore and got help from
fisherman Alfred Olsen. The three wounded airmen were taken in an ambulance to
Frederikssund Hospital
(here).
Consultant Gejlager
thought that it was obvious to take Dillon to Sweden, so he quickly
contacted
members of the resistance. At 11:00 Dillon was fetched and taken out of the
back door. It was at the last moment, as the Germans were just entering via
the
main entrance. Dillon spent a couple of days on Strandgården at Over Dråby (here)
before he went on to Sweden, where he arrived shortly before the liberation.
After the liberation P/O Dillon participated in
the many transports carried out by
No. 299 Squadron. He flew a number of
sorties to Norway, and on 21 July he
landed in Kastrup (here).
As the plane was not to return until next day Dillon found time to meet
several of the Danes, who had helped him. On 6 October 1945
F/O Dillon and his crew of Stirling L1668 flew from Cairo with 20 passengers.
On 7 October at 00:30 Dillon went through a thick cloud cover at an altitude
of
200 feet 1 mile south of Rennes in France trying to find the local airfield.
With the wheels down and in a slight turn the plane suddenly lost altitude,
hit the ground
and exploded. All on board including three married couples were killed.
See more about all of the crew in
the long story. |
