PB385
Crashes > of the R.A.F.
On this clear but cold evening, 992 bombers took off for the last major attack on Düsseldorf. Among them was the Lancaster III, PB385 of the 49th Sqd, which took off from Fulbeck shortly after 16:00. They reached Düsseldorf at around 19:00, dropped their bombs, turned towards Cologne and set off on their return flight. Up to this point, the crew's second mission had gone without any major incidents.
Suddenly, however, they were attacked by night fighters. Ofw. Wilhelm Morlock of the 3rd/NJG 1 pursued the Lancaster with his HE 219 and took it under fire. The Lancaster was hit so hard that it caught fire. Coming from a north-easterly direction, the aircraft disintegrated in mid-air and crashed in the centre of Golzheim at around 21:00. Several parts of the plane crashed in the village, one engine crashed into the Esser family home, killing the farmer Peter Esser and the Polish forced labourer Zosia Maczak. The contemporary map below shows the crash sites of the individual aircraft parts.
All crew members were killed in the crash and were buried in the cemetery in Golzheim and transferred to Rheinberg British Cemetery in May 1947.
Additional sources:
Book: Josef Rubel " Kleines Dorf inmitten des großen Infernos <Die Jahre 1943 und 1944 in und um Golzheim>" 2009
above:
The map shows the crash site GOLZHEIM
centre:
The crash sites of the aircraft parts are marked on this contemporary map
below:
This map shows the crash sites from today's perspective
bottom left:
The first graves of the crew at the cemetery in Golzheim