B-17G 'Bermondsay Battler' 42-39895 Monument
Details:
On the east roadside of Stoddardtstrasse.
Monument
A rough-hewn stone which a metal plaque is set into. The monument is dedicated in memory of the 10 crew members of the plane. The plaque is written in German and English.
On February 22, 1944, a bomber formation, with Major John Fitzgerald of 532d Bomber Squadron piloting the lead aircraft, took off from Ridgewell Airfield in Essex, United Kingdom to attack the primary target area over aircraft production facilities in Oschersleben, in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Underway to the target area, the formation was reduced to 12 aircraft in heavy weather, in addition to 15 B-17s of the 91st Bomber Group. Since these 27 aircraft were delayed behind the main formation, they had to fly without a fighter escort. One hour after entering German airspace, the group was attacked, and German fighters downed six aircraft, including three from the 535d Bomber Squadron. The group diverted toward a reserve target near Bünde, and encountered over 40 minutes of continuous fighter attack, mostly by Focke-Wulf (Fw) 190s.
1LT Smith's aircraft was damaged heavily in the first wave of these attacks. When his number 2 and number 3 engines caught fire, LT Smith pulled away from the group and attempted to extinguish the fires by putting the aircraft into a steep dive to an altitude of about 1000 meters. He lost control and the aircraft crashed with all crewmembers aboard near the Allhornberg, about 2 km northwest of HIddesen. Hauptmann Günther Specht, then commanding II. Group / 11th Fighter Wing (Jagdgeschwader 11) and flying a Fw 190A-9, is credited with shooting down the "Bermondsay Battler" in the area around Blomberg-Detmold at an altitude of 7100 meters.
All crewmembers were buried initially in a common grave "under the big oak tree" in the Hiddesen town cemetery on 24 February 1944. All were re-interred in Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium (also known as "US Military Cemetery, Neuville-en-Condroz"), while later families received and reburied 2LT Meier in Grand View Cemetery, in Batavia, NY, and T/SGT Zappala in Mount Hope Cemetery in Boston, MA.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
On 16 February 1944, in appreciation for £800,000 raised during Bermondsey's "Wings for Victory Week," the people of Bermondsey christened a B-17 bomber "Rotherhithe's Revenge" (after a South London community devastated on the first day of the Bltiz), Three other bombers were named by their crews also in honor of Bermondsey -- "Bermondsay Battler," "Bermondsey Special," and "London Avenger."
During this mission, two other B-17s from 535th Bomber Squadron were also downed nearby:
- Serial number 42-31696, piloted by 2LT Henry Husted crashed near village Sandebeck, 25 miles southeast of Bielefeld -- two KIA before bailout, 8 crew members taken prisoner.
- Serial number 42-31533, piloted by 2LT Charles Downey, crashed in Hajen an der Weser, 10 miles southeast of Hameln -- seven KIA found in wreckage, 3 crew members taken prisoner.
Hauptmann Specht was killed about a year later, on 1 January 1945 over Belgium in German Operation BODENPLATTE during the Battle of the Bulge.
Sources of information: b17flyingfortress.de/en/b17/42-39895-bermondsay-battler, www.spurensuche-owl.de/front_content.php?idcat=97, bravescout.com/war-effort/bermondsey-b-17-aircraft, www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/aircraft/42-39895
Sources of photos: www.americanairmuseum.com, www.findagrave.com
Monument Text:
381 BG (H) 535 BS (H)
TRIUMPHANT WE FLY
IN MEMORY
TO THE TEN US AIRMEN,
WHO LOST THEIR LIVES HERE
-
ZUM GEDENKEN
AN DIE ZEHN US FLIEGER,
DIE HIER IHR LEBEN VERLOREN
-
S/SGT EDEN, LAWRENCE V.
2nd LT EVANS, ROWLAND H.
2nd LT KAUFMAN, HAROLD W.
T/SGT KEMPER, HAROLD C.
S/SGT LARSON, LESTER P.
S/SGT MANNING, ANDREW F.
2nd LT MEIER, LEONARD P.
1st LT SMITH, LEE W.
SGT SOLWAY, REGINALD C.
T/SGT ZAPPALA, JOHN W.
22. FEB. 1944
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
381st Bomber Group (Heavy)
535th Bomber Squadron, 381st Bomber Group, Heavy
8th Air Force
US Army Air Corps
Wars:
WWII
Other images :