44-14329
Crashes > of the USAAF
During an escort mission to bomb the Hattenrod airfield near Giessen, 1st Lt. Ray Boyd was attacked by German fighter planes over Cologne. Lt Boyd had previously mistakenly identified these aircraft as P-51 "Mustangs" and reported this to the three other aircraft with him.
In the course of the dogfight, his aircraft caught fire and Lt Boyd was injured in the left leg and foot. He parachuted out and became a German prisoner of war in Cologne.
The pilotless aircraft flew on and crashed in an open field near Pulheim-Sinthern. Remains of the aircraft were discovered in winter 2009 by the AG "Luftkriegsgeschichte Rhein/Mosel" and identified as P-51D-10 MUSTANG/44-14329.
Additional information:
Thanks to Jörg Dietsche of the AG "Luftkriegsgeschichte Rhein/Mosel"
left:
The Pilot, 1st Lt. Ray Archilus Boyd jr.
Source: American Air Museum