Cycle Route Wings of Freedom: Crash Site Mustang P-51, W-No. 44-13996, Code PE

During the Operation Market Garden the air fleet of C-47s that towed the gliders was escorted by a large number of American fighter planes. All in all, something like 586 aircraft. It was their task to keep away enemy planes from the Nijmegen area and put the antiaircraftguns (also called flak) out of action.

It was Jack Blanchard’s sixth flight on 23-09-1944 and with his Mustang he dived impudently straight at the flak. But his machine got hit too and he was forced to jump from the burning plane. He landed in the back garden of the van Boekholt house, the man being a ‘Reichsdeutscher’. (a German of the Reich). Various persons were hiding there already and he himself was in hiding as well because he was a conscientious objector. Hannes Weijs, who had lots of contacts with the Germans made a deal with an officer of the Gestapo to get Blanchard and himself across the Meuse to liberated area. Mr Weijs was arrested under suspicion of ‘spying’ and he was imprisoned in Tilburg for five months.

The crash took place at the coordinates: 51.662533, 6.020887.

In collaboration with the municipalities of Bergen, Gennep, Mook-Middelaar and Weeze, the initiative was created for cycling routes 'Wings of Freedom' along crash locations.
In the four municipalities, 28 crash sites have been definitively confirmed. Near each crash site is a memorial sign with information about the cause of the crash. Using the network of cycling nodes, there are four routes of approximately 30 - 40 km. deployed along these places.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: Werkgroep Wings of Freedom
• Photos: Werkgroep Wings of Freedom (1), Peter Schipper (2, 3)
• Vliegtuigcrashroute Wings of Freedom