Mission 200.Hannover.
Hannover, Germany
The cost.
The route.
The formation.
The B-24 was on a bombing mission to Brunswick on 30 January 1944, departing Hardwick, England at 0730 hours. Eight minutes from the target the aircraft was struck by flak. Engine No. 4 caught fire and engine No. 2 went out. The aircraft crashed in North Holland near the Zuiderzee at approximately 1330 hours. The plane did not explode on impact. Examination of the wreckage showed the top turret had partially descended, the nose turret was blown out, and the bomb bay doors and landing gear were torn off. All ten crew members survived the crash landing. The crew split into pairs after exiting the aircraft. The Dutch underground recovered parachutes, harnesses, and mae wests, and all secret papers and equipment were destroyed.
On January 30, 1944, the aircraft crash-landed approximately 5 miles north of Amersfoort, Holland at approximately 13:30. The ship was on fire at the time of landing and was badly damaged. The crew did not bail out; all members made a crash landing and all were alive on the ground. The aircraft did not explode on striking the ground. Source examined the wreckage and found it badly damaged. No crew members were injured or killed before the crash. Germans immediately converged on the site and the crew scattered upon reaching the ground.
The aircraft, piloted by 1st Lt. Harold J. Killian, was observed by Lt. J. J. Collins to drop out of formation at 1205 hours at coordinates 52 28N 07 40E on January 30, 1944. All four engines were running and the aircraft appeared to be under control. The aircraft made a successful crash landing in northern Holland, south of the Zuider Zee, approximately 25 miles north of Amsterdam. None of the ten crew members bailed out; all rode the aircraft down and were reported unwounded and in apparent good health. After the crash landing, the crew separated and attempted to evade the enemy. The mission altitude was approximately 20,000-22,000 feet. Note: The mission DB target is Hannover; the MACR states Brunswick. targetText set to Brunswick per source. Plane serial unknown.