A few meters east of the junction.

Marker

A rectangular board, written in 3 languages, containing the history of the crash and crew of the aircraft. Included in the info sign are the photos of the crew members.

On February 16, 1945, 1,042 bombers with an escort of 197 fighters were sent to Germany. Their mission was to attack gasoline plants, oil refineries, and marshaling yards. The weather was disappointing, however, it was decided that the mission could be flown anyway. En route, the formation experienced flak which, not in quantity, but in accuracy offered heavy resistance. On the other hand, no enemy aircraft were observed. The formation unloaded the bomb load at an altitude of 23,500 feet, a good 7,000 meters.

One of these bombers, B-24H 42-95080 "Super Wolf," of the 790th Bomb Squadron, 467th Bomb Group, unloaded its bomb load over the Osnabrück marshaling yard. As the aircraft turned back to return home, the crew reported very accurate flak.

At 14:54, the crew of B-24H 42-95080 "Super Wolf" was startled by a loud bang. The aircraft was hit by flak which damaged the fuselage: three large holes were present in the fuselage. The blast was so heavy that the drift meter wires were cut.

A fire started and one of the crew members, flight engineer Walter M. Sies, suffered a head injury. Pilot John D. Mullican gave the order not much later to abandon the plane. One of the other crew members, radar operator Francis W. Connor Jr. later stated, "Sergeant Walter M. Sies was wounded in the head by flak. He asked me to jump with him. As he was leaving the plane, I saw his parachute come out of the pack, but I did not see it open. I lost sight of him as he disappeared through a layer of clouds. The German soldiers who captured us said they had found the body of a crew member."

The parachute of Walter M. Sies did not open. He came down near Roswinkelerstraat on a plot of land belonging to the Smit family that was then being used by the Heinen family. Walter M. Sies was dead instantly. The body of Walter M. Sies was taken by Mr. Pagters by cart to the cemetery in Roswinkel, where he remained overnight in the morgue. The next day he was taken to Nieuw-Dordrecht where he was buried.

The rest of the crew came down near Roswinkel. B-24H 42-95080 'Super Wolf' flew on for some more time and finally crashed between Valthe and Nieuw-Weerdinge. In Roswinkel, many saw the crew come down. All but one of the other crew members were captured and made POWs. Co-pilot Jay S. Young, who was wounded and unconscious, was taken to the hospital in Emmen where he remained until the liberation of Emmen on April 11, 1945. Navigator William J. Caselton managed to go into hiding for about a month before he too was captured.

The crew of the aircraft:

Pilot 2/Lt. J.D. Mullican O-827912 USAAF / prisoner of war

Co-Pilot 2/Lt. J.S. Young O-2063747 USAAF / prisoner of war

Navigator F/O. W.J. Caselton T-132852 USAAF / evader

Special Operator S/Sgt. F.W. Connor Jr. 31299537 USAAF / prisoner of war

Engineer Sgt. W.M. Sies 36457521 USAAF / Margraten cemetery; grave K-16-12

Nose Gunner Sgt. W.H. Willis 32956496 USAAF / prisoner of war

Waist Gunner Sgt. L.E. Tomaski 36627461 USAAF / prisoner of war

Waist Gunner Sgt. C.R. Pratt 33806907 USAAF / prisoner of war

Waist Gunner Sgt. M.J. Brletich 37570442 USAAF / prisoner of war

Source of information: www.slodrenthe.nl, www.tracesofwar.com

Source of photos: www.tracesofwar.com

AMWO needs your help! If you have a close-up shot of the info sign, please share it with us at info@warmemorials.org for transcription.