In their own words...

[bobbysocks]

The Ghost Ship
The date was November 21, 1944; Lt. Harold R. DeBolt with the 401st Squadron was assigned a B-17G number 43-38545 from the 324th Squadron, Hal's 33rd mission. The plane was so new; it didn't have a "Name" yet. It was only the 3rd mission for this plane. The mission was to go back to Merseberg, Germany and was lead by Major Klette.

The weather was terrible, with solid clouds everywhere as the mission proceeded. Most things had been routine until he turned on the bomb run. The formation tended to slow up in the turn and with bomb bay doors open, DeBolt's aircraft stalled and dropped out of formation. At this instant he was attacked by enemy fighters and also began the run through a very heavy and accurate flak barrage. Due to malfunction with the bomb release mechanism, the bombs would not drop. This caused the aircraft to fall further out of formation. About this time the whole ship took the blast from a flak burst just below the bomb bays, the plane was badly damaged.

The explosion caused the bombs to drop but No. 2 and No. 3 engines also went out. No. 2 was out completely and No. 3 was windmilling and causing undue vibration throughout the aircraft. The crew began jettisoning all surplus equipment in an effort to lighten the Fortress as DeBolt set course for home.The plane was losing altitude and was turned to a heading of 270 degrees west, for friendly lines. The crew stayed with the plane as long as they could and when it was down to 2,000 feet, Hal gave the signal for everyone to "bail-out" and they did, while the Fort continued on its way with the autopilot doing its job. All chutes opened and the men were picked up by British infantrymen soon after landing.

The damaged Fortress continued onward, losing altitude and remaining in a perfect landing attitude. The Fortress mysteriously made a perfect three point landing in a plowed field. It ground looped at the end of the field and sat there with engines still running, undamaged in an open field, near Liege, Belgium. The landing was in a flat strip area, near a British Army encampment. A British Officer ran out to help the crew, but only found neatly stacked flying gear inside and was astonished to find no one on board. He inspected the Fort (as a possible German trap) but found no one. He then turned off the operating engines. The British Officers name was Major John Crisp.

The Stars and Stripes published the story the next day and called DeBolt's B-17 - a Ghost Ship, or Phantom Fort.

[Rambo Rich 360]

That's pretty incredible!

[bobbysocks]

Fighter Ace Bruce Carr . . Evading With A Dead Chicken Around
His Neck

After carrying it for several days, 20-year-old Bruce Carr still hadn't
decided how to cook it without the Germans catching him. But, as hungry
as he was, he couldn't bring himself to eat it. In his mind, no meat was
better than raw meat, so he threw it away. Resigning himself to what appeared to
be his unavoidable fate, he turned in the direction of the nearest German
airfield.
Even POW's get to eat. Sometimes. And they aren't constantly dodging
from tree to tree, ditch to culvert. And he was exhausted.

He was tired of trying to find cover where there was none. Carr hadn't
realized that Czechoslovakian forests had no underbrush until, at the edge of
the farm field, struggling out of his parachute he dragged it into the .
During the times he had been screaming along at tree top level in his P-51
"Angels Playmate" the forests and fields had been nothing more than a green
blur behind the Messerchmitts, Focke-Wulfs, trains and trucks he had in his
sights. He never expected to find himself a pedestrian far behind enemy
lines.
The instant antiaircraft shrapnel ripped into the engine, he knew he was in trouble.

Serious trouble.

Clouds of coolant steam hissing through jagged holes in the cowling told Carr
he was about to ride the silk elevator down to a long walk back to his
squadron. A very long walk. This had not been part of the mission plan.
Several years before, when 18-year-old Bruce Carr enlisted in the Army,
in no way could he have imagined himself taking a walking tour of rural
Czechoslovakia with Germans everywhere around him. When he enlisted, all he
had just focused on flying airplanes .. fighter airplanes.

By the time he had joined the military, Carr already knew how to fly. He had
been flying as a private pilot since 1939, soloing in a $25 Piper Cub his
father had bought from a ed pilot who had left it lodged securely in
the top of a tree. His instructor had been an Auburn, NY, native by the name
of Johnny Bruns. " In 1942, after I enlisted, " as Bruce Carr remembers it,
"we went to meet our instructors. I was the last cadet left in the assignment
room and was nervous. Then the door opened and out stepped the man who
was to be my military flight instructor. It was Johnny Bruns !

We took a Stearman to an outlying field, doing aerobatics all the way;
then he got out and soloed me. That was my first flight in the military."

" The guy I had in advanced training in the AT-6 had just graduated himself
and didn't know a bit more than I did," Carr can't help but smile, as he
remembers .. which meant neither one of us knew anything. Zilch ! After three
or four hours in the AT-6, they took me and a few others aside, told us we
were going to fly P-40s and we left for Tipton, Georgia."

" We got to Tipton, and a lieutenant just back from North Africa kneeled on
the P-40's wing, showed me where all the levers were, made sure I knew how
every- thing worked, then said ' If you can get it started .. go fly it' . .
just like that ! I was 19 years old and thought I knew every thing. I didn't
know enough to be scared. They didn't tell us what to do. They just said 'Go
fly,' so I buzzed every cow in that part of the state. Nineteen years old ..
and with 1100 horsepower, what did they expect? Then we went overseas."

By today's standards, Carr and that first contingent of pilots shipped to
England were painfully short of experience. They had so little flight time
that today, they would barely have their civilian pilot's license. Flight
training eventually became more formal, but in those early days, their
training had a hint of fatalistic Darwinism to it: if they learned fast
enough
to survive, they were ready to move on to the next step. Including his 40
hours in the P-40 terrorizing Georgia, Carr had less than 160 hours total
flight time when he arrived in England.

His group in England was to be the pioneering group that would take the
Mustang into combat, and he clearly remembers his introduction to the
airplane. " I thought I was an old P-40 pilot and the -51B would be no big
deal. But I was wrong! I was truly impressed with the airplane. REALLY
impressed! It flew like an airplane. I FLEW a P-40, but in the P-51 - I WAS
PART OF the airplane.. and it was part of me. There was a world of difference."

When he first arrived in England, the instructions were, ' This is a P-51. Go
fly it. Soon, we'll have to form a unit, so fly.' A lot of English cows were
buzzed. On my first long-range mission, we just kept climbing, and I'd never
had an airplane above about 10,000 feet before. Then we were at 30,000 feet
and I couldn't believe it! I'd gone to church as a kid, and I knew that's
where the angels were and that's when I named my airplane 'Angels Playmate.'

Then a bunch of Germans roared down through us, and my leader immediately
dropped tanks and turned hard for home. But I'm not that smart. I'm 19 years
old and this SOB shoots at me, and I'm not going to let him get away with it.
We went round and round, and I'm really mad because he shot at me. Childish
emotions, in retrospect. He couldn't shake me . . but I couldn't get on his
tail to get any hits either. " Before long, we're right down in the trees. I'm
shooting, but I'm not hitting. I am, however, scaring the hell out of him. I'm
at least as excited as he is. Then I tell myself to c-a-l-m d-o-w-n."

" We're roaring around within a few feet of the ground, and he pulls up to go
over some trees, so I just pull the trigger and keep it down. The gun barrels
burned out and one bullet . . a tracer . . came tumbling out . . and made a
great huge arc. It came down and hit him on the left wing about where the
aileron was.

He pulled up, off came the canopy, and he jumped out, but too low for the
chute to open and the airplane crashed. I didn't shoot him down, scared him
to death with one bullet hole in his left wing. My first victory wasn't
a kill - it was more of a suicide."

The rest of Carr's 14 victories were much more conclusive. Being red-hot
fighter pilot, however, was absolutely no use to him as he lay shivering in
the Czechoslovakian forest. He knew he would die if he didn't get some food
and shelter soon.

" I knew where the German field was because I'd flown over it, so I headed in
that direction to surrender. I intended to walk in the main gate, but it was
late afternoon and, for some reason . . I had second thoughts and decided to
wait in the woods until morning."

" While I was lying there, I saw a crew working on an FW 190 right at the edge
of the woods. When they were done, I assumed, just like you assume in America,
that the thing was all finished. The cowling's on. The engine has been run.
The fuel truck has been there. It's ready to go. Maybe a dumb assumption
for a young fellow, but I assumed so. "

Carr got in the airplane and spent the night all hunkered down in the cockpit.

" Before dawn, it got light and I started studying the cockpit. I can't read
German, so I couldn't decipher dials and I couldn't find the normal switches
like there were in American airplanes. I kept looking , and on the right side
was a smooth panel. Under this was a compartment with something I would
classify as circuit breakers. They didn't look like ours, but they weren't
regular switches either."

I began to think that the Germans were probably no different from the
Americans . . that they would turn off all the switches when finished with the
airplane. I had no earthly idea what those circuit breakers or switches did .
. but I reversed every one of them. If they were off, that would turn them on.
When I did that . . the gauges showed there was electricity on the airplane."

"I'd seen this metal T-handle on the right side of the cockpit that had a word
on it that looked enough like ' starter ' for me to think that's what it was.
But when I pulled it . . nothing happened. Nothing."

But if pulling doesn't work . . you push. And when I did, an inertia starter
started winding up. I let it go for a while, then pulled on the handle and the
engine started. The sun had yet to make it over the far trees and the air base
was just waking up, getting ready to go to war. The FW 190 was one of many
dispersed throughout the woods, and at that time of the morning, the sound of
the engine must have been heard by many Germans not far away on the main
base. But even if they heard it, there was no reason for alarm. The last thing
they expected was one of their fighters taxiing out with a weary Mustang pilot at
the controls. Carr, however, wanted to take no chances.

" The taxiway came out of the woods and turned right towards where I knew the
airfield was because I'd watched them land and take off while I was in the
trees. On the left side of the taxiway, there was a shallow ditch and a space
where there had been two hangars. The slabs were there, but the hangars were
gone, and the area around them had been cleaned of all debris."

" I didn't want to go to the airfield, so I plowed down through the ditch, and
when the airplane started up the other side, I shoved the throttle
forward and took off right between where the two hangars had been."

At that point, Bruce Carr had no time to look around to see what effect the
sight of a Focke-Wulf ERUPTING FROM THE TREES had on the Germans.
Undoubtedly, they were confused, but not unduly concerned. After all, it was probably
just one of their maverick pilots doing something against the rules. They didn't
know it was one of our own maverick pilots doing something against the rules.

Carr had problems more immediate than a bunch of confused Germans. He
had just pulled off the perfect plane-jacking; but he knew nothing about the
airplane, couldn't read the placards and had 200 miles of enemy territory to cross. At
home, there would be hundreds of his friends and fellow warriors, all of whom
were, at that moment, preparing their guns to shoot at airplanes marked with
swastikas and crosses-airplanes identical to the one Bruce Carr was at that
moment flying.

But Carr wasn't thinking that far ahead. First, he had to get there. And
that meant learning how to fly the German fighter.

" There were two buttons behind the throttle and three buttons behind those
two. I wasn't sure what to push . . so I pushed one button and nothing
happened. I pushed the other and the gear started up. As soon as I felt it
coming up and I cleared the fence at the edge of the German field, then
I took it down little lower and headed for home. All I wanted to do was clear the
ground by about six inches.

And there was only one throttle position for me >> FULL FORWARD ! ! "

As I headed for home, I pushed one of the other three buttons, and the flaps
came part way down. I pushed the button next to it, and they came up
again. So I knew how to get the flaps down. But that was all I knew.

I can't make heads or tails out of any of the instruments. None. And I can't
even figure how to change the prop pitch. But I don't sweat that, because
props are full forward when you shut down anyway, and it was running fine.

This time, it was German cows that were buzzed, although, as he streaked cross
fields and through the trees only a few feet off the ground, that was not his
intent. At something over 350 miles an hour below tree-top level, he was
trying to be a difficult target. However, as he crossed the lines . . he
wasn't difficult enough.

" There was no doubt when I crossed the lines because every SOB and his
brother who had a .50-caliber machine gun shot at me. It was all over the
place, and I had no idea which way to go. I didn't do much dodging because I
was just as likely to fly into bullets as around them."

When he hopped over the last row of trees and found himself crossing his own
airfield, he pulled up hard to set up for landing. His mind was on flying the
airplane. " I pitched up, pulled the throttle back and punched the buttons I
knew would put the gear and flaps down. I felt the flaps come down, but the
gear wasn't doing anything. I came around and pitched up again, still
punching the button. Nothing was happening and I was really frustrated."

He had been so intent on figuring out his airplane problems, he forgot he was
putting on a very tempting show for the ground personnel. " As I started up
the last time, I saw the air defense guys ripping the tarps off the quad .50s
that ringed the field. I hadn't noticed the machine guns before . . but
I was sure noticing them right then."

" I roared around in as tight a pattern as I could fly and chopped the
throttle. I slid to a halt on the runway and it was a nice belly job, if
I say so myself."

His antics over the runway had drawn quite a crowd, and the airplane had
barely stopped sliding before there were MPs up on the wings trying to drag
him out of the airplane by his arms. What they didn't realize was that
he was still strapped in.

I started throwing some good Anglo-Saxon swear words at them, and they let
loose while I tried to get the seat belt undone, but my hands wouldn't work
and I couldn't do it. Then they started pulling on me again because they
still weren't convinced I was an American.

" I was yelling and hollering; then, suddenly, they let go. A face drops down
into the cockpit in front of mine. It was my Group Commander, George R.
Bickel. " Bickel said, ' Carr, where in the hell have you been , and what have
you been doing now?' Bruce Carr was home and entered the record books as the
only pilot known to leave on a mission flying a Mustang and return flying a
Focke-Wulf.

For several days after the ordeal, he had trouble eating and sleeping, but
when things again fell into place, he took some of the other pilots out to
show them the airplane and how it worked. One of them pointed out a small
handle under the glare shield that he hadn't noticed before. When he pulled
it, the landing gear unlocked and fell out. The handle was a separate,
mechanical uplock. At least, he had figured out the really important things.

Carr finished the war with 14 aerial victories after flying 172 missions,
which included three bailouts because of ground fire. He stayed in the
service, eventually flying 51 missions in Korea in F-86s and 286 in Vietnam,
flying F-100s. That's an amazing 509 combat missions and doesn't include
many others during Viet Nam in other aircraft types.

Bruce Carr continued to actively fly and routinely showed up at air shows in a
P-51D painted up exactly like' Angel's Playmate'. The original ' Angel's
Playmate' was put on display in a museum in Paris, France, right after the war.

There is no such thing as an ex-fighter pilot. They never cease being what
they once were, whether they are in the cockpit or not. There is a profile
into which almost every one of the breed fits, and it is the charter within
that profile that makes the pilot a fighter pilot-not the other way around.

And make no mistake about it, Col. Bruce Carr was definitely a fighter pilot.

[bobbysocks]

On the 30th of April, 1942 a detachment of the 15th Squadron of the South African Air Force, consisting of three Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV. aircraft, under the command of Major J.L.V. de Wet arrived at Kufra, to provide air support to the Garrison maintained by the Sudan Defence Force. On the morning of 4th May, the three aircraft took off on a familiarization and practice mission, never to return. The grim story of the next week is detailed in the War Diary entries:

The testimony of Noel St Malo Juul, the sole survivor, during the subsequent Court of Inquiry is a shocking listing of the DON'T-s of desert survival:

I am an armourer in 15 S.A.A.F. Squadron detachment, KUFRA. On the evening of May 3rd I was detailed by Maj. de Wet to fly in his aircraft on the following morning on a Triangular patrol flight. We took off in formation and started our flight at 06.00 hrs. on May 4th. We completed our patrol as detailed with Maj. de Wet leading throughout the flight, and returned over KUFRA about 08:30 hrs. We flew then away from KUFRA as we had time to spare, but I do not know in which direction. After about half an hour the engine of T.2252 started cutting. This was the starboard engine, and therefore we all force-landed together. The pilots and observers discussed then our position with the aid of maps. At about 11.00 hrs. one aircraft took off and flew away between South and West, as the pilots thought they have ascertained their position from the surrounding hills. This aircraft returned after about half an hour. The pilot 2/Lieut. Wessels could not find KUFRA. We had all this time been transmitting but received no replies. At about 15.00 hrs. on the 4th of May, 2/Lt. Wessels took off again and flew east of South and returned after half an hour. For this flight he had taken some of the petrol from T.2252. he said on returning that KUFRA was not in that direction. we then spent the night all together.

On the morning of the 5th May we drained all the petrol from T.2252 and put it into Z.7513. 2/Lieut. Wessels took off about 11.15 hrs. in a northerly direction, and returned after about half an hour. He had nothing to report, so it ws decided to do no more flying that day.

On the morning of the 6th May, 2/Lt. Pienaar decided to take off in Z.7513 and fly west as this was the only direction that has not been searched. He did not return. We were still trying to receive wireless messages without success.

We were condfident all the time that a search party would find us. Maj. de Wet was uncertain of his position as he had been circling for a suitable forced landing ground. The visibility had been good during all the flights. There was no argument as to our position.

We did not ration the water on the 4th May, and by the following morning had consumed nearly 20 gallons, when we decided to ration water. On the morning of the 6th we received our last ration. On that afternoon we broke open the compasses to extract the alcohol.

On the 6th May in the morning a sand storm blew up, and so we took out the fire extinguishers and used them in the usual manner to try and keep ourselves cool. They relieved us temporarily but soon produced blisters which burst into sores.

The first member of the crews died on the 7th May. It was suggested to Maj. de Wet that he should shoot them as all hope of being found had been given up, but we persuaded him to stick it out. One of the crew, who drank too much alcohol, shot himself from the pain from the alcohol in his stomach. Morphia was used to relieve the pain from the fire extinguisher burns. gentian Violet was also used to relieve the pain of burns, but this gave little relief.

At regular intervals throughout every night we were firing Very lights and tracer ammunition from the turret guns. No ground strips were laid out except to lie on, but a parachute was laid out on a nearby hill. No aircraft nor ground patrols were seen. we did not light any fire.

When at last I did see the Wellington, I was the only one alive, and although I was too weak to fire a Very light I managed to put out some ground strips. The aircraft landed and I was flown back to KUFRA.


The diary of Major de Wet was found, and attached to the Court of Inquiry Proceedings:

Monday 4th Took off 0600 hrs and led 7610 and 2252 on flight Rebiana - Bzema and L.G. No.7. On last leg (No. 7 to Cufra) D.F. gave course to steer 305 deg. On E.T.A. turned to 305 found lost so flew on 125. 2252 engine trouble so landed.
Searched by 7610 and 7513 no avail.
Tuesday 5th D.F contact helio, Cufra, etc. but we cannot receive. they definitely receive us - Kufra gave us Q. 5713 to East gilf 45 miles 90 deg. hannes, frank and Oliver in 5713 on bearing 290 - 100 miles. Did not return.
Wednesday 6th 7610 in bearing 290 - saw nothing. Our last water. Only 1 bottle per man. Sandstorm in afternoon. Most of the fellows dead - started dying 1400 hrs. Still alive but for how long. Van Breda very weak. Still some water left. Broke compass for alcohol - it's stimulating. Not so much heat as previous days - but one must have water.
Thursday 7th (?) Boys are going mad wholesale - they want to shoot each other - very weak myself - will I be able to stop them and stop them from shooting me - Please give us strength.
Friday 6 of us left - out of 12 - no water - we expect to be all gone today. Death will be welcome - we went through hell.
Saturday 9 (?) Hope, Sgt. Vos and Lew also gone. Only me, Shipman and Juul left. we can last if help arrives soon - they know where we are but do not seem to do much about it. Bit of a poor show isnt it. But we will try to stick it out to the very (From this point it is impossible to know what the date is)
Sunday 10th It's the 5th day, second without water and 5th in a temp. of well over 100, But "Thy will be done, Oh Lord".
"Ons kan niks doen behalwe le en wag - miskien kom ons nog weg uit die Hel op Arde Hou diuwels vas hoor !" (We can do nothing except lie and wait - perhaps we may yet get away from this Hell on Earth - Hold tight.)


After an extensive hearing of withesses the Court of Inquiry made the following findings:


The cause of the accident was in our opinion:-

1. The causes of the aircraft forced landing were:

(a) Lack of experience in desert flying by pilots and observers

(b) Failure by the observers to keep accurate navigator's logs

(c) Inability of wireless operators to carry out their duties in the air.

2. The reasons why the searchers failed to locate the three aircraft sooner were:

(a) GROUND SEARCH Lack of accurate information regarding the probable position of the aircraft, difficult terrain, and sand storm conditions made search from the ground far from easy. Nevertheless every effort was made both by No. 15 Squadron detachment and the Sudan defence Force who gave every possible assistance.

(b) AIR SEARCH Despite three aircraft being detailed by No. 203 Group on the day of the loss on prompt advice from No. 15 Squadron detachment, the Bombay did not receive the signalled instructions from Wadi Halfa, the Blenheim became unservicable at Wadi Halfa, and the Wellesley force landed at Station 6. This caused a fatal delay of twenty four hours as on the two following days (May 6th and 7th) visibility in the Kufra area made flying impossible; this weather also affected two other Bombay aircraft sent from No. 216 Squadron by H.Q. R.A.F. M.E. but in addition these did not obtain the call sign of Kufra HF/DF. station. On receipt of instructions from H.Q. R.A.F. M.E. No. 162 Squadron took very prompt and efficient action which resulted in the finding of all three aircraft, the first being located about 36 hours after the original instructions were received by the Squadron.

(c) ASSISTANCE GIVEN BY FORCED LANDED CREWS
(i) Bad D/F procedure even on the ground
(ii) lack of visual signs by day (particularly ground strips and smudge fires)

3. The reasons of the early death of the personnel were:

(a) Failure at first to appreciate their plight.

(b) Failure to ration their water immediately.

(c) Unintelligent use of compass alcohol and fire extinguishers.

...

The Court makes the following recommendations:-

1. That every aircraft likely to fly over desert carries as part of its desert equipment a pamphlet setting out comprehensive instructions covering

(a) Visual signals to be displayed by day and by night.

(b) Information regarding the most economical rationing of food and water.

(c) Precise details as to the use of the first aid kit.

(d) A list of "Donts" regarding compass alcohol, fire extinguishers, urine, leaving the aircraft, etc., etc.

(e) Special instructions regarding the particular type of equipment and its equipment.

2. That only crews experienced in flying over desert should be based at places such as Kufra.

3. No flying should be carried out from Kufra unless at least one serviceable aircraft and crew remains on ground.

4. That no aircraft should leave the vicinity of Kufra until effective two way wireless communication has been established with ground station.

5. That more attention must be paid by navigators to the strict maintenance of accurate navigators' logs at all times.

On the 10th & 11th of November, 2001, during our trip to SE Libya, we have relocated both the forced landing ground, and the possible remains of Z.7513.

By a very strange quirk of fate, during research on the SAAF Blenheims, it emerged that a very similar incident happened to another Blenheim IV of the Groupe Lorraine of the Free French Air Force. On the 5th February 1941, during Leclerc's Kufra campaign, Blenheim T1867 became lost on it's return flight to Faya after bombing Kufra. The remains of the aircraft and the crew beside it were found 18 years later in Ennedi, 250 kilometres to the south east of Ounianga.

more info and subsequent stories here:

http://fjexpeditions.com/frameset/blenheims.htm

[bobbysocks]

the last of the dutch bombers...

It’s the 13th of may 1940, the 4th day of the German invasion. There is a gap in the first line of defence, he “Grebbelinie” but the seccond, the “Waterlinie” is still holding. Near to Rotterdam, the German airborne troops captured the 2 bridges near Dordrecht, called the Moerdijk bridges, leaving the way to Rotterdam open. In the south, the French army retreated, leaving a big gap open for the Wehrmacht, to circumvent the Dutch defense and getting through to the Moerdijk bridges.

At 5.19h, the LVA (dutch airforce) dispatched the very last Dutch bomber, the Fokker T.V 856 to bomb the Moerdijk Bridges with 2 bombs of 300 kg. The bomber was escorted by 2 Fokker G.I’s (numbers 315 and 308 ), the most potent fighter in the LVA.

The 3 planes very low to avoid the German fighters. When passing Dordrecht, they ascended to an altitude of about 1000m. Shortly before they reached the bridges, they were attacked bij 8 Bf109’s of JG26. While being attacked, the 3 planes first flew over the water, made a 180° turn to the north and attacked the bridge with one of the bombs. They missed the bridge by a mere 50m. They saw that they missed, so they turned and headed back south again. Then they made another 180° tun and attacked the bridge again. They threw the second bomb and this time they hit the bridge. Unfortunately the bomb didn’t explode. After this, the 3 planes flew over Dordrecht, back to Schiphol. They were chased by several Bf109’s. One of the G.I’s was attacked by 4 Messerschmitts, finally killing the pilot, lt. Schoute. The plane crashed in a polder. The gunner tried to bail out, but fell to the ground and died as well.

The T.V Was attacked several times and finally crashed near Ridderkerk, killing all 5 crewmembers. One G.I could escape and safely landed at Schiphol airport at 6 o’clock.

One last strange note. The G.I and the T.V were declared been shot down by Hauptmann Karl Ebbinghausen. His Messerschmitt Bf109 still seems to be on display at the Militairy airforce museum at Duxford, England.

[bobbysocks]

Aviator has a blast from a wartime past.

When Lee Lamar sat Friday behind the controls of a vintage B-24 Liberator bomber, it was as if nearly 63 years had faded away.
Lamar of Mission recalls Nov. 18, 1944, with perfect clarity. The four-engine B-24 he co-piloted during World War II had been gunned down over what was then northern Italy.
“They (the Germans) kept hitting us and hitting us,” Lamar said. “It was hard to control with just two right engines. We lost altitude from 20,000 to 5,000 feet.”
The B-24’s two left engines had been shot out. The plane had lost its hydraulics. Lamar and nine other crew members spent the next 30 minutes trying to nudge the plane back to Allied territory in southern Italy, but they didn’t make it.
The men parachuted shortly before the plane crashed in what is now Croatia. Everyone survived — seven escaped and three were captured, including Lamar.
Fast forward to today.
Lamar, now 86, will return to the crash site next month to meet with an archaeologist who discovered the wreckage and tracked down Lamar through the Internet.
Accompanying the veteran will be Park University professor Dennis Okerstrom, who will film the excavation and create a documentary about Lamar’s last mission. The objective was to destroy a German airfield so fighter planes couldn’t take off. Lamar and his comrades succeeded.
Okerstrom called World War II an “extraordinary” time when young men were called into combat. And Lamar, a mere 23 years old when he was shot down, earned the nickname “Pappy” because he was the oldest on board. Other crew members were barely out of adolescence — 17-, 18- and 19-year-olds, Okerstrom said.
“He was one of several million who had to do the horrible time,” Okerstrom said.
Lamar said three other crewmates are still living, but their deteriorating health will prevent them from returning to Croatia.
The bomber Lamar briefly flew Friday is the last flying B-24 in the world, said Hunter Chaney, spokesman for The Collings Foundation, which works to educate the public about World War II through aircraft shows.
The foundation arranged for Lamar to take the helm during a flight from Fort Collins, Colo., to Kansas City. The foundation has the B-24 and a B-17 bomber on display at the Wheeler Downtown Airport until Monday.
“Most of these World War II veterans are in the mid- to late-80s,” Chaney said. “One of our primary objectives is to remind people what these fellows did in the war.”
After his three-hour trip Friday, Lamar was tired, giddy and emotional. He was dressed in a replica leather flight jacket and cap in 90-degree weather. A reporter asked Lamar when he last had flown a B-24.
“Nov. 18, 1944,” he responded as tears welled in his eyes.
Then, he straightened up and faced reporters calmly. He said he had forgotten how much strength it required to control the plane. And the plane’s instrument panel was much like he remembered.
“I enjoyed it,” he said. “It’s an opportunity that a lot people don’t get.”
Regarding the trip to Croatia, Lamar said he hoped to find something he left behind.
“I buried a perfectly good parachute over at the intersection of two stone walls,” he said, referring to the military policy of hiding gear.
Lamar, Okerstrom, their families and several Park University students will depart Aug. 3 for Croatia.