42-3406
Crashes > of the USAAF
On its return flight from the bombing raid on Gelsenkirchen, the B-17 flew into the range of anti-aircraft fire. A direct hit to the nose of the aircraft caused an explosion inside the plane. It immediately went into a left-hand dive, throwing the navigator, 2nd Lt. Pochily, who was standing at his desk, forward through the glass of the nose dome.
A few seconds later, the same thing happened to the bombardier, 2nd Lt. Butler. He was thrown out just as the aircraft exploded in the air over Hommerich. He pulled the ripcord of his parachute and landed, badly wounded in the foot, in the middle of a German military camp. These two were the only ones who survived the explosion. They were both taken prisoner by the Germans and returned home after the war.
Sgt. Brucks was found dead near Lindlar; he had flown only one mission. Stationed in England since June 1, 1942, he held a job within the military administration of the airfield. But his ambition had always been to fly as an air gunner aboard a B-17. The day before the attack, he wrote to his parents, full of pride, that his wish would come true the following day.
2nd Lt. Bolte, pilot 1st Lt. Cunningham, and S/Sgt. Roberts were found dead near Forsbach. S/Sgt. Gotscher was rescued with multiple serious injuries and taken to the hospital in Cologne-Deutz. However, his injuries were so severe that he died there the same day.
All of the dead, except for S/Sgt. Roberts, who was buried in Lindlar, were laid to rest in Cologne cemeteries. After the war, all of them were exhumed and transferred to the United States.
Top:
The crash site near Hommerich, Lindlar
Below:
The crash site of the B-17 in Hommerich
Third row:
Death certificate and death notification for S/Sgt Gotcher
Bottom left:
Sgt. Robert L. Brucks