W5358 - Luftkriegsarchiv Köln

During the approach to the bombing raid on Essen, the Wellington W5358 was shot at 800 ft. The crew decided to jump out by parachute. They reached safety ground in Frechen and Hürth-Berrenrath and were taken prisoner of war by the Germans.

However, the aircraft continued to fly over Cologne to the Deutscher Ring, today's Ebertplatz. Here it hit the ground near the fountain and lost one of its undercarriages. The force of the impact caused the aeroplane to right itself again, touch the roof of the "Cafe Füllenbach" and crash into the multi-storey building behind it on the left, Greesbergstr. 18. The bomb load exploded on impact, the building was completely destroyed and houses no. 16 and 20 were badly damaged. There were several deaths and injuries, around 280 people lost their homes and were evacuated

The house at Greesbergersstr. 18 was not rebuilt after the war. Today, Turiner Str. runs along this street in the direction of the railway station.