Jack R. Culliton                                                                                       Updated:  05 JUL 2012

Airman: v999032.htm Surname: Culliton Init: J R Rank: Sgt Service: USAAF Sqdn: 615

P_link: p325.htm Plane: B17 42-31619 Operation: Bomb G Crash_site: Sosegård, Bornholm

Crash_d: d240544 Buried_d: v999 C_link: v999.htm At_Next: EVD to S

B17 42-31619 nødlandede her. (Kilde: Erik Dyreborg)  Se mindetavlen, kort, oplysninger og links i Fra basen til Bornholm og De 10 flyveres flugtruter.

"Flyet blev ramt i vingen af flak over Berlin og begyndte hurtigt at miste brændstof. Over Bornholm blev flyet atter beskudt af flak, og piloten valgte på grund af de svære beskadigelser at foretage en mavelanding ved Sosegård. Landingen var perfekt, men regn og kraftig blæst forhindrede besætningen i at sætte ild til flyet, selv om de viklede en olievædet faldskærm omkring den ene motor.

Amerikanerne forsvandt ad en nærliggende ådal og kom frem mod Åkirkeby, hvor man mener, at de blev taget op af en lastbilchauffør, der kørte dem til Almindingen. Her spredte de sig to og to i det store skovområde. (Ved denne flyver ses kun hans og hans ledsagers historie. Se resten ved B17 42-31619).

Top Turret Gunner, S/Sgt Richard O´Bannon og Tail Gunner, Sgt Jack Culliton nåede til Sandvig (her), hvor de blev anvist en robåd. Om natten stod de til søs og lydløst passerede de et par uddykkede ubåde ca. 1 sømil fra kysten. De roede godt til hele natten, men næste morgen kunne de stadig ikke se land. De var blevet fortalt, at Sverige kun lå 7 miles væk, men da de roede direkte mod nord, sejlede de således parallelt med den skånske østkyst. De fortsatte den næste nat, og den anden morgen kom de ind i en tågebanke, hvilket de var lykkelige for, idet de kort forinden var blevet fulgt af et ubådsperiskop. Ved ca. 11-tiden kom de ud af tågen og blev samlet op af en finsk damper, der satte dem af i Trelleborg (her). Den 5. juni var de tilbage i England." (FT 87-94-7)

Nogle detaljer passer ikke helt med bogen Flugten fra Bornholm 1944, lavet efter et stort arbejde. Enhver historie afhænger af kilderne.
Se tegning af besætningen på en B-17, Foto af en B-17 + B-17 i airmen.dk samt B-17 Ball Turret, Ammunition og Ball Turret Gunner. 10 flyvere.

B17 42-31619 crash landed here.  (Source: Erik Dyreborg)  See memorial plaque, maps, information and links From Base to Bornholm and Escape Routes.

"The plane was hit by flak over Berlin, and it soon started losing fuel. Over Bornholm flak started again, and the pilot decided due to the heavy damages to make a belly landing at Sosegård. The landing was perfect, but rain and strong wind prevented the crew from making the plane catch fire, even if they wrapped a parachute stained with oil around an engine.

The Americans disappeared along a neighbouring creek in the direction of Åkirkeby, where some people think they were picked up by a truck driver, who drove them to Almindingen. Here they dispersed in twos in the big forest. (At this airman you only read the story of him and his companion. See the others at B17 42-31619).

Top Turret Gunner, S/Sgt Richard O´Bannon and Tail Gunner, Sgt Jack Culliton reached Sandvig (here), where they were assigned a rowing boat. At night they went to sea, and without a sound they passed a couple of submarines, which had surfaced about 1 nautical mile off the coast. They rowed well all of the night, but next morning they were still unable to see land. They had been told that Sweden was only 7 miles away, but as they were rowing directly north, they were sailing parallel with the east coast of Sweden. They carried on the next night, and on the second morning they got into a fog bank. They were happy with that since a short while before they had been followed by a periscope of a submarine. At about 11 a.m. they came out of the fog and were picked up by a Finnish steamer, which set them down in Trelleborg (here). They were back in England on 5 June." (FT 87-94-7)

Some details do not agree with the book Flugten fra Bornholm 1944 (The Escape from Bornholm 1944) written after careful research. Any story depends on the sources.
See a drawing of the crew of a B-17, Photo of  a B-17 + B-17s in airmen.dk and B-17 Ball Turret, Ammunition and the story of a Ball Turret Gunner.
This B-17 belonged to 615 BS, 401 BG, 94 CBW, 1 BD, 8 AF of the USAAF. See The 401st Bomb Group (H) Association and 401st Air Expeditionary Group.
It took off from RAF Deenethorpe - USAAF Station 128. 10 airmen.