Shot down by Night Fighter Lt. Gunther Franz 5.NJG1. on the return from a bombing mission to Cologne at about 02.23 h
The plane crashed close to Olen (Belgium) in the hamlet of “Gerheiden”
Local resident André Brankaerts (+) recalled: “We wore awakened by a tremendous noise. We stormed out of the house and just saw an enormous plane going down, the left wing was on fire, all the trees were on fire from the fuel that run out of the wing”
Six of the crewmembers did not survive,
Two crewmembers left the burning plane on time, one of them was captured by the Germans.
See here the stoty of the evasion of Sgt Douglas Eldridge who survived to the crash.
Source: Plans Hunters
The wreckage of the aircraft
