42-3199 - Luftkriegsarchiv Köln

After dropping bombs on Gelsenkirchen, the Calamity Jane was on its way back to its home base in Kimbolton, England. After already being hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire while approaching its target, German fighter planes now had their sights set on it. Captain Walter Hoeckner took aim at the B-17 and hit the nose of the aircraft with his 20mm shells. Major Canfield was fatally wounded, Captain Magee was hit in the shoulder and his arm was broken. Another gunner was also killed by the fire.

As essential parts of the aircraft were damaged and the plane was rapidly losing altitude, the pilot ordered the crew to bail out.

Flying from east to west, the plane thundered over Lindlar and crashed with a dull thud behind the forest at the Lindlar sports field. It immediately burst into flames, the ammunition on board exploded, and five crew members burned to death in the wreckage. They were later recovered and buried in Cologne's South Cemetery.

Six other crew members were able to parachute to safety in time and landed near the crash site, west of Lindlar, and near Engelskirchen.

Their capture varied greatly; one was severely threatened and beaten by civilians. Only a man wearing an NSDAP uniform was able to prevent the angry crowd from lynching the prisoner. The crew member who landed directly at the crash site near a farmhouse fared better. He was welcomed warmly and given coffee and food before being handed over to German soldiers. After the war, out of gratitude, this soldier had his brother deliver a large bouquet of flowers, toys, and sweets to the farmer's children.

The crash site of the B-17 at the sports field in Lindlar

The wreckage of the B-17

The crew of the "Calamity Jane"

Excerpt from the flak logbook dated August 12, 1943

German documents "Namentliche Verlustmeldung" (named loss report) on the crash in Lindlar