Heath N. Liddle                                                                                        Updated:  05 JUL 2012

Airman: v999037.htm Surname: Liddle Init: H N 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).

De fire sidste besætningsmedlemmer (Right Waist Gunner Sgt Marvin Carraway,  Ball Turret Gunner Sgt Gunner Heath Liddle, Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Horace Shelton og Pilot 2nd Lt John Whiteman) blev ad omveje samlet hos Ernst Petersen i Hasle. Den 1. juni kom de ombord på fiskekutteren "Svanen" og kursen blev sat mod Simrishamn (her), som man nåede fredag morgen den 2. juni kl. 04.00. Flyverne kom derfra direkte til den amerikanske konsul i Stockholm, og allerede den 11. 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).

After some detours the last four crew members (Right Waist Gunner Sgt Marvin Carraway,  Ball Turret Gunner Sgt Heath Liddle, Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Horace Shelton and Pilot 2nd Lt John Whiteman) were gathered at Ernst Petersen´s in Hasle. On 1 June they came aboard the fishing boat "Svanen" ("The Swan") and the course was set for Simrishamn (here) which they reached on Friday morning 2 June at 04:00. From there the airmen came directly to the American consul in Stockholm, and they were back in England as early as 11 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.