42-3231 - Luftkriegsarchiv Köln

On the return flight from the bombing raid on Gelsenkirchen, the B-17 ‘Inferno’ was attacked by several German fighter aircraft. Despite evasive manoeuvres and fierce resistance, the aircraft was hit several times and a fire broke out inside. The pilot gave the order to bail out, which at least six crew members managed to do. They reached the ground and were taken prisoner by the Germans.

We can only speculate about what happened next, as the exact crash site has not yet been located. It is highly likely that the aircraft crashed into one of the coal pits near Liblar, exploded and has not been found to this day. It is unclear whether anyone was still on board at the time of the crash, but it is very likely.

However, it is also possible that the four crew members, who are still listed as missing, also parachuted out and landed in the vast network of pits and water bodies around Liblar, where they lost their lives.

Nowhere in the wider vicinity of the presumed crash site were any unidentified soldiers recovered or buried on that day. There are no German records relating to the crash.

The crash site near Liblar with its numerous coal mines

The B-17F   “INFERNO”   42-3231

The crew of the “INFERNO”:

Back row, from left to right:   Esty, Carrington, Smithwick, Taber

Front row, from left to right: Parkins, Scholand, Brittain, Wingate, Smalley, Schmidlapp