Air War Memorial Neder-Betuwe 1940-1945

In Opheusden - where the Pijenkampse Veldweg and Parallelweg meet and near the spot where a Douglas C-47A crashed once - you will find the memorial in memory of the 16 known allied aircraft that crashed on the territory of the municipality of Neder during the Second World War. -Be careful.

The memorial is a design by Bart Belonje and consists first of all of a main element: a six meter high cortent steel sheet pile profile that is crowned by a stainless steel, glossy silhouette of a Douglas C-47A. This contrast symbolizes the contrast between war and peace, destruction and construction.

Next to the main element with the silhouette of the C-47A are two lower rows with a total of 16 steel profiles. Each profile represents an allied plane that crashed in the municipality of Neder-Betuwe during the Second World War.

At the top of each profile is a stainless steel plate that depicts the fragments of the aircraft skin of the crashed aircraft. This shows the relevant data of the crashed aircraft, such as type of aircraft, crash date, crash location, captain and number of passengers.

The front row consists of seven profiles with a height of 1.50 m. A second row of nine profiles behind it has a height of 2.00 m. Red beech hedges have been installed behind these rows, their leaf color matching the rust color of the sheet pile profiles. In front of the rows of profiles, walking paths of Grauwacke semi-surfacing have been installed. The profile of the Dakota C-47A is illuminated by a ground spot that is connected to the street lighting. The whole is landscaped by landscape architect Jan Bruyn.

Visitors look up at the crashing plane and the sky behind it and thus become involved in the history and the stories surrounding the air war in this part of the Betuwe.

The memorial was unveiled on 20 September 2019.

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Source

• Text: Airwar-Nederbetuwe.com
• Photos: Arjan Vrieze