Plane shootdown over Syke
 Crew of the Rikki Tikki Tavi | |
| Shootdown | |
|---|---|
| Date | 29 November 1943 |
| Site | Syke/Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Total fatalities | 8 |
| Total injuries | 2 |
| Total survivors | 2 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing B-17F |
| Aircraft name | "Rikki Tikki Tavi" (Nickname) |
| Operator | United States Army Air Forces |
| Call sign | QJ-D (RCL) |
| Registration | 42-30359 |
| Flight origin | Snetterton/Norfolk, England |
| Destination | Bremen/Bremen, Germany |
| Crew | Pilot: Linwood Langley, Co-Pilot: Berline "Benny" Cipresso, |
During World War II, on the 29 November 1943, a United States Army Air Forces Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" informally known as the Rikki Tikki Tavi was shot down over Syke in what is now Lower Saxony.[1][2] Eight of the ten crew members were killed in the crash, and two survived, including the tail gunner who survived a fall of 28,000 feet inside the tailplane of the aircraft.[1][3][4]
Crash[edit]
The aircraft was a B-17F of the 96th Bombardment Group, which was based at the Snetterton Heath Air Base in East Anglia. It was nicknamed after The Jungle Book character "Rikki Tikki Tavi" by its crew.[5]
On 29 November, 1943, the aircraft, piloted by Second Lieutenant Linwood D. Langley took off base and, together with more than 300 other bombers, took part in an air raid on Bremen.[5] After surviving being hit by anti-aircraft fire above Syke, fire from a German fighter caused the fuselage of the B-17F to break into two parts. Debris fell over the village; fuel and the fuel tank struck and destroyed the Cordes bakery on Waldstraße.[5] Two dead crew members were found lying on the street in the village; another crew member broke through the roof of a house and was found dead inside, hanging from his parachute.
Plane parts, including wings, engines, the tail unit, and pieces of equipment were found in the surrounding woods and fields.[5]
In total eight crew died; the navigator and rear machine gunner survived,[5][2] despite the rear machine gunner not deploying a parachute.[6][7]
Memorial[edit]
On 29 November 2018, on the 75th anniversary of the plane crash, around 25 relatives of four crew members travelled from the United States and to visit Friedeholz near Syke, where the surviving crew members landed.[8][9] They viewed a memorial plaque that has been erected in the forest.[8] The visit was made possible by the city of Syke, the district home association, journalist Ulf Kaack, researcher Jürgen Kuhlmann, the former mayor of Bremen Henning Scherf and the newspaper publisher Dirk Ippen.[8]
In popular culture[edit]
The event was included in 2018 book by German author Ulf Kaack[9] and in a later book Tailspin by John Armbruster.[4]
Gallery[edit]
- Images
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Aerial view of Syke
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Memorial plauqe, near Skye
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References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Krier, David (3 April 2014). "Soldiers Grove veteran survived four-mile fall over Nazi Germany". www.swnews4u.com. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "42-30359 | American Air Museum in Britain". www.americanairmuseum.com. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ↑ Metal Sign, Skye, Germany
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The American Legion (14 Oct 2020). "OUR WWII STORY: Where everybody knows your name". The American Legion. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 29. November 1943: Das Ende der "Rikki Tikki Tavi" in the Kreiszeitung from the 13th of November, 2018 (in German)
- ↑ "The Free Fall Research Page: Wreckage Riders". www.greenharbor.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ↑ Beckett, Jack (2014-07-11). "WWII Wreckage Riders - Surviving the crash". WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Michael Walter: 75 Jahre danach gedenken Amerikaner und Deutsche einer Episode aus dem Krieg in the district newspaper from the 29th of November 2018 (in German)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Moran family group visits WWII crash site". www.swnews4u.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
External links[edit]
- 42-30359, B-17 Flying Fortress American Air Museum in Britain
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