42-29640
Crashes > of the USAAF
On the return flight from the bombing raid on Gelsenkirchen, the B-17 ‘Ol Ironside’, under the command of 1st Lt. Pentz, was attacked by several German fighter aircraft. It fell behind the bomber formation and was hit several times, resulting in a fire inside the aircraft.
Neither the MACR nor any other records indicate that the pilot ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft. It is therefore highly likely that the pilot attempted an emergency landing, as the aircraft made a crash landing in a harvested cornfield near Linnich.
Only the navigator, 1st Lt Benjamin Street, was killed during this mission and was buried as an ‘unknown soldier’ at the municipal cemetery in Mönchengladbach. In 1949, his remains were exhumed and laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
The rest of the crew were taken as German prisoners of war; 2nd Lt Russel Philpit was repatriated to the USA early on due to his injuries.
The shooting down of the B-17 was credited to Corporal Erich Kaiser of 1st Squadron, JG1.
Additional source:
Thanks to Martin von dem Broch from Linnich for the photograph of the crashed B-17 42-29640
Above:
The crash zone and the crash site at Linnich.
Below:
The B-17 F that crash-landed in a field near Linnich.
Source: Martin von dem Broch, Linnich
bottom left:
1st Lt. Benjamin Bartolomew Street, who did not survive the crash and was buried in the cemetery in Mönchen Gladbach.
bottom right:
Extract from the anti-aircraft diary containing the entry regarding the shooting down of the B-17
Source: BAMA RL/1452
at the very bottom:
The crew of the B-17 42-29640
Source: American Air Museum