Cycling route Death Valley De Peel - Crashed bomber (#13)

Crashed bomber

On April 23, 1944, at around 1:30 am, a Halifax Mark III of the 10th Squadron crashed about 2 kilometers west of Griendtsveen. This bomber was flown by Squadron Leader Jack Trobe and was returning from a bombing flight over Düsseldorf. The plane was hit by German anti-aircraft fire and had to make a belly landing in the Deurnese Peel.

William Mowatt, the gunner, and tail gunner Douglas Smith were injured in the crash. Smith lay on one wing of the plane all night blowing a whistle to attract attention, but was not found until the morning.
He was then taken to the Kusters family in the barracks in Griendtsveen and from there to the hospital in Deurne where he was taken prisoner of war. That night, Mowatt ended up with the Fransen family in Liessel and was so seriously injured that the alarmed Mayor Lambooij and the Head of Air Protection, Kees van den Broek, had no choice but to take him to the hospital, where he was also treated by the Germans were arrested.

Of the seven crew members, five managed to avoid arrest.
Three of them were taken by Piet Gitzels from Liessel, with two other members of a gang, to the hiding place in the farm of Hannes van der Putten on the Vloeieind.

Piet later received the Resistance Memorial Cross for his help to people in hiding.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Martin Damen