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| Flooding in Wieringwerd on 17 April 1945. Source: http://www.zijpermuseum.nl/niestadt/wm/images/ns28627.jpg |
On their way to Germany, the Allied bombers always flew over
Schagen, then Barsingerhorn and on to the East. At Schagen the Germans had set
up anti-aircraft artillery and it was always in full use when the planes flew
by. Usually the grenades would explode somewhere in the Schagen area, but on
one occasion it happened directly above our farm in Barsingerhorn.
I was standing behind the farmhouse along with a couple of boys of my age when it suddenly started to rain grenade splinters. As fast as we could, we sought shelter under a thatched roof. We saw shrapnel falling to the ground, bouncing up into the air a couple of metres, before coming to rest on the ground. The ragged shards metal were so hot that you had to wait for them to cool down before picking them up.All of a sudden, for no apparent reason, I started to panic and sought shelter deep in the hay, much to everyone’s amusement. This had never happened to me before, and never happened again.
In Bussum, I had seen V2 rockets launched from a distance on a couple of occasions.
In Barsingerhorn, I only saw this once but it was really quite spectacular. It was launched in the Den Helder area about 15 km away. The rocket shot up vertically very fast and straight, leaving behind a trail of white gas. At an altitude of approximately 10,000 metres it turned horizontally and started to make its way towards England. At this point the rocket motor cut out and the white trail stopped. The trail gradually faded, by which time the bomb must already have reached its goal in England.
But the most spectacular sight I have ever seen, occurred very close by. A fleet of American Flying Fortresses – very heavy B17 bomber aircraft – on their way to Germany, approached Barsingerhorn at an altitude of about 2,000 metres. Above Schagen they ran into anti-aircraft fire. Little white clouds of exploding grenades appeared everywhere between the planes. To my initial surprise, I saw seven little clouds that did not stay in the air, but slowly descended. Then I realised they were parachutes.
Next I noticed the outer port motor of one of the planes had caught fire. Soon the wing between the two port motors broke in two and the piece of wing with the outer motor spiraled its way downward, trailing a thick black stripe of smoke. Of course, the aircraft itself was also doomed to crash and it looked as if it was coming straight towards me. The automatic pilot had kept it on course until the loss of half of its left wing. Slowly the plane started to turn anti-clockwise flying in a direction that was a little to my left.
Behind the farmhouse where I was standing, there was a ditch filled with putrid runoff from a heap of manure. I remember being reluctant to jump in unless it was absolutely necessary.
When the intact starboard wing turned vertically into the sky, I clearly saw the green camouflage of the top of the plane's fuselage. The gun-turrets stood profiled against the clear blue sky. It probably lasted a matter of seconds, but to me it seemed an eternity. Firstly, I had no idea where the plane would land: in front of me, on me or behind me. Eventually it crashed about a kilometre to the left behind me. Strangely, I never heard it come down, and nothing remained of the heavy bomb-laden Flying Fortress. The soft clay completely absorbed it. All that remained was a shallow hollow in the ground.
Meanwhile seven parachutes were still suspended in the air. German soldiers on motorbikes with sidecars raced to where they thought the parachutists would land, but the local population got there first.
As far as I know, the Germans only found the first pilot. During his interrogation, he steadfastly maintained that he didn't know how many crew members were on board.
The American airmen didn't have to stay in hiding for long. Shortly after their accident, the Germans capitulated and they were freed.
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Footnote:
I wasn't able to find any links to sites listing either a V2 launch neer Barsingerhorn, or a downed American B-17 in the period between March and early May 1945.
The site www.V2rocket.com lists all V2 launches. An enormous number occurred from The Hague, which makes me wonder if my father confused Den Helder with Den Haag. For a native Dutch person this is unlikely though. For more on V2 rockets, here is a page with excellent information.
The site www.accident-report.com lists American plane crashes in that period. There is no record of an incident anywhere near Barsingerhorn in that period.
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