Memorial Crash Mosquito

This memorial at Gijbeland farm commemorates the crash of a Mosquito on 28 May 1943.

On the monument is a plaque with the following text:
Sunday, June 6, 1943
Another month passed full of all kinds of events. Friday a week ago we were awakened at night by a terrible noise. It was clear light day in the attic and I thought; "The house is on fire, I was terrified!" It was a lot of walking and talking outside and when I looked out the back window there was a terrible fire nearby. In the morning we heard that a burning plane had flown over the houses and with a terrible crash not far behind the farm of J.W. van de Berg, therefore also close to us, had crashed in the country.

On board the English Havilland mosquito DZ 432 of the 109th R.A.F. squadron were two young Canadian crewmembers. Pilot Cameron (Fritz) Chrysler and navigator Raymond Hutchings Logan were returning from a target marking mission over the city of Essen in Germany. Their aircraft came burning from the east (Brandwijk) when it exploded at 01:54 at an altitude of a few kilometers, on the border of the Gijbeland and Zevenhoven polders.

Pilot Chrysler was thrown from the cockpit, seat and all. He managed to free himself and open his parachute. He reached the ground safely near the Gijbelandse mill, although he suffered a head wound and hurt both legs on landing in the dark night. Navigator Ray Logan was less fortunate. His lifeless body was found lying on the bank of the ditch the next morning by curious villagers. Later that day, German soldiers appeared and Chrysler and his dead buddy were taken to Rotterdam. There, 23-year-old Raymond Hutchings Logan was buried at Crooswijk Rotterdam General Cemetery. For Chrysler, the war was not over yet. He was taken to Germany as a prisoner of war and returned home safely after the end of the war.

The debris of the plane was left behind in the Zevenhoven polder. The wreckage of their "Mozzie" was scattered over the meadows. German soldiers took the remains of the aircraft out of the country. They collected them and took them with them. However, the two engines of the aircraft have never been salvaged. always in the ground. A propeller of the aircraft was also left behind and for many years it partially stuck out of the ground as a silent witness to this tragic event. It had a great attraction for the youth. This was to the dismay of the then owner of the plot In July 2004 Arjan Wemmers recovered the propeller and in March 2005 it was recovered by the Royal Netherlands Air Force recovery service.

At the beginning of May of the same year, pilot Cameron Kent (Fritz) Chrysler paid another short visit to Bleskensgraaf after 62. This time accompanied by his two daughters under much happier circumstances. On Saturday morning, May 26, 2007, the monument, containing the propeller, was unveiled. This in memory of the two Canadian pilots. R. John Logan, his wife Tellma and the mayor of Graafstroom, Dirk van der Borg unveiled the monument.
R. John Logan is the younger brother of killed navigator Ray Logan. John was 17 years old when his brother left for England in June 1942. John never saw him again and was deeply moved when he discovered in 2007 what exactly had happened.

To learn more about this history, visit www.mosquitocrash.com

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries & David Izelaar
• Photos: David Izelaar