ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 51203
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| Date: | Monday 29 November 1943 |
| Time: | 16:07 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing B-17F-70-BO Flying Fortress |
| Owner/operator: | 379th BGp /525th BSqn USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-29787 |
| MSN: | 4901 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | North Sea off Petten, Noord-Holland -
 Netherlands
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Kimbolton /AAF Sta.117 |
Update - This information was received from a journalist in Peten. He authored an article in a local historical magazine on this matter, interview eye witnesses, and provide research.
Sgt. Edgar A. Schooley Jr. (tail gunner on the Wilder Nell II, ANC 42-29787), the lone survivor, states that the plane was not hit over Germany while on their bombing mission to Bremen. It was shot down over the Netherlands by ground fire. German 88mm AA ground guns were present and by flying low, the pilot thought to avoid them. The plane was hit by ground fire and ditched a few hundred yards off the shore. The two German fighters showed up after the landing. The bomber made a crash-landing at sea with the nose to the south. The German fighters circled above the bomber but didn't fire. At least 4 crew members climbed into a dinghy and a few others were floating with their life jackets on in the sea. It was tidal and the sea was rough. German forces on the land thought the men in the raft were about to open fire. They opened fire with small arms killing some of the crew. A German lieutenant on the shore halted the fire once he realized the men in the raft were not firing. He and a local civilian tied ropes to themselves and swam out to rescue any survivors, no small task given the ocean conditions. TSgt Schooley was recovered and brought to shore by the German lieutenant. This lieutenant saved his live at the risk of his own something I believe Sgt. Schooley never knew. He was taken to a local building converted to a hospital. Locals contemplated a rescue attempt but the Germans had him thoroughly guarded. The other crew members were killed by the fire or drowned. The time was 16.07 hrs. The Wilder Nell II was claimed to have been “shot down” by Oblt. Erich Bucholz in a Bf (ME) 109, type G-6 who claimed the victory. This is unsubstantiated and does not match witness accounts. The aircraft was inspected by germans after the crash. As the tide moved in and out, it was washed out to sea.
Call Sign: FR-E
Crew:
Pilot 1st Lt. C.H. Lefevre O-793793 USAAF Margraten N-12-14 Initially buried Heiloo
Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. J.R. Miller O-680481 USAAF Margraten WOM
Navigator T/Sgt. J. Spurgiasz 10601178 USAAF Margraten WOM
Bombardier 2nd Lt. A. Valsecchi O-735349 USAAF USA
Engineer T/Sgt. J.C. Mulligan 14036522 USAAF USA
Radio Operator T/Sgt. L. Dixon 39829734 USAAF Belgium C-5-3 Buried Ardennes American Cemetery
LW Gunner S/Sgt. W.W. Leard 39537647 USAAF Margraten WOM
RW Gunner S/Sgt. L.A. Gorn 32411565 USAAF Margraten WOM
BT Gunner S/Sgt. R.W. Hunter 34334614 USAAF Margraten WOM
T Gunner S/Sgt. E.E. Schooley jr. 35663792 USAAF Survived POW
Sources:
https://verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/rs.php?aircraft=&sglo=T3131&date=&location=&pn=&unit=&name=&cemetry=&airforce=&target=&area=&airfield=
Information from Dutch book, "Traces of Heaven" and telephone interview with Edgar A Schooley Jr. in March of 2010, Historical article on the crash written in 2015.
http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/3719
Images:
The photo was taken in Kimbolton England on November 11, 1943 and is in the US Military archives
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Dec-2008 11:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 11-Nov-2010 13:31 | nephew | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 02-Sep-2011 08:42 | Uli Elch | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Aug-2018 13:35 | jvalsecchi | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Nov-2018 15:26 | TigerTimon | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Apr-2020 19:16 | Reno Raines | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
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