Memorial Crash Location Liberator B-24J "Able Mabel"

Sint-Jozefsstraat, 8000 Brugge

Belgium West Flanders Brugge

The Liberator B-24J nicknamed "Able Mabel" flew on June 19, 1944 with 509 other American bombers from Hardwick (East England) to Northern France to destroy the V1 launch bases in Fressin and Bachimont.
To keep the German anti-aircraft guns in the dark of the purpose of the mission (Flight 424) for as long as possible, a detour was made. The armada first flew over Ostend and Bruges towards East Flanders. There they made a turn above Maldegem towards France.

Above that municipality, the far right engine of the Able Mable was hit by the Flak. The pilot, 1st Lt. Robert W. Brown, immediately tried to fly back to base. However, the right wing started to burn. The plane lost more and more height. Above the Bruges residential area of Sint-Jozef, Brown could no longer control his aircraft because the right wing broke off. The Liberator dived down in a spiral flight.

The aircraft crashed at 5:50 pm on then still vacant ground flat (barely 30 meters) behind a row of houses (house numbers 43, 47, 45 and 47) in the Pannebekestraat. These houses are still there.

Of the 10 crew members, 7 were able to leave the burning bomber in time and landed in the Bruges suburb of Sint-Andries. They were taken prisoner of war by the Germans.
The co-pilot, 1st Lt. However, Floyd R. Cook and the navigator, 2nd Lt Michael Angelo "Mike" Pietruccioli, had jumped out of the Able Mabel too late and the parachutes were not opened in time. They smashed to the ground. Two days later, the body of nose gunner T. Sgt. Kenneth V. Ehrhart. For some unknown reason, he had not left the plane.

Cook and Ehrhart are buried in the Épinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. A plaque was placed in Jeffers Cemetery in Minnesota, USA.

Commemorative plaque

Jacques Willems was living in another, nearby Bruges neighborhood when he saw the Able Mable crash while burning while 7 parachutes drifted away. A few days later he went to see the wreck.
This event would never let him go. He undertook an extensive investigation. He wrote articles and a detailed book about this (see source list). He was able to make contact with witnesses and the pilot. He was also the initiator for the placement of a memorial plaque. This was placed on a wall (located in the Sint-Jozefstraat) which adjoins the backyard of house no. 49 in the Pannebekestraat. on July 3, 2004, the record was unveiled.
The meadow where the Able Mable crashed was parceled out and built on in 2013. At the place where the wreck was, there are now a parking lot and parking spaces. The listed row of houses is on the right of the photo. The commemorative plaque hangs on the wall opposite the 2 trees.

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