BJ720
Crashes > of the R.A.F.
369 aircraft took off to bomb Essen on the evening of 16 September 1942. German night fighters and anti-aircraft guns began their attack on the bomber fleet as it approached over Holland. 39 aircraft did not return to their home harbour. Among them was the Wellington III, BJ720. It was hit by anti-aircraft fire and, according to unconfirmed reports, crashed in Wesseling.
The entire crew lost their lives and were buried in Cologne's Südfriedhof cemetery. Among them was the W/O, Fl/O Terence William Sutton, who had already survived a crash over Suffolk unharmed on 17 May 1941.
It is not known exactly how the BJ720 crashed and where the exact crash site was. The statements and documents on this are contradictory.
Additional remark:
The only aircraft for which no specific crash location can be assigned on this day is the BJ720. There is nothing to suggest that it crashed in Bottenbroich, as is often claimed. There is no evidence for this. The fact that the death certificates of the crew of the BJ720 show the crash site as "Bottenbroich" is no proof of the correctness of the location. Rather, several dead crews were brought to the military hospital on that day. As it was not possible to tell exactly which person belonged to which crew, they were all labelled "Bottenbroich crash site".
Several crashes are recorded in the anti-aircraft gunnery records at the Federal Archives RL5/1459, all of which can be assigned to a crash site and a specific aircraft. Only one crash with the location "Wesseling" has not yet been assigned to any aircraft. In the context of the exclusion procedure, it is very likely that this is the BJ720.
However, neither the archives in Wesseling nor the archives of neighbouring towns record a crash for this day.
Consequently, the crash has not been definitively clarified, but it is very likely that this crash was attributed to the BJ720.
Status of the research 13/08/2025
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Below:
Fl/O Terence William Sutton, labelled with a red arrow in the group photo.
Source:
IBCC
Above:
The anti-aircraft gunner's diary entry from 16 September 1942 stating the location of the crash in Wesseling.
Next to it the letter from Luftgaukommando VI recognising the downing for the anti-aircraft batteries involved.
Source:
Federal Archives RL5/1458
Left:
Additional notification from the Cologne police as the highest air protection authority regarding the crash in Wesseling on 16 September 1942
Source:
National Archives Washington T971-0010