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Crashes > of the USAAF
During the approach to a bombing raid on Frankfurt/Main, several B-17s enter the range of anti-aircraft fire. Among them is the B-17 “Texas Glad,” which is hit directly at an altitude of about 7,000 meters and immediately begins to fall. The tanks in the right wing are hit and the aircraft rolls to the right and goes into a nosedive before breaking apart at the height of the Kugelturm. The front part of the B-17 crashes right next to the residential buildings in Odenthal-Funkenhof.
The crew members in the front section are thrown out and try to open their parachutes. None of the parachutes open completely; they all hit the ground in the vicinity of the falling debris around the Funkenhof settlement and are killed instantly. Six of them are buried in the cemetery in Odenthal, while the seventh is seriously wounded and taken to a military hospital in Cologne, where he dies. He is buried in Cologne's Westfriedhof cemetery.
The rear section of the aircraft stabilizes, allowing the remaining men to put on their parachutes, jump out, and reach the ground safely in the Odenthal-Eikamp area. These three crew members are taken prisoner by the Germans.
Additional information:
Landschaft und Geschichte e.V., Odenthal, “Odenthal im 2. Weltkrieg” (Odenthal in World War II), 2015
Below:
Wreckage of the crashed B-17 in Odenthal-Funkenhof
Source: Luftkriegsarchiv-Köln (Cologne Air War Archive)
Top left:
The crash site of the "Texas Glad" at Funkenhof near Odenthal
above right:
The Flak report on the shooting down of the B-17
Left:
The pilot, 1st Lt. Charles Ernest Berry
Left:
The co-pilot, 1st Lt. Norman John Laux