Doorkijkpaneel 4. Vliegtuigwrak

THE LIBERATOR
The Liberator was one of the most famous fighter aircraft of the war. More than 18,000 were produced. With more than 3600 kilos of bombs, the long-range aircraft were on their way to targets in Nazi Germany. But not infrequently they were shot down over the Netherlands by German anti-aircraft guns.

DEPOSED IN IJSSELMEER
That also happened to captain Kent F. Miller and his crew. Their B-24H Liberator, baptized 'Big Banner' by the crew, flew to Germany together with a fleet of 574 bombers on December 22, 1943 to bomb Münster and Osnabrück. On the way back they were hit by German anti-aircraft fire. Captain Miller ordered his crew to bail out. Only after three of the gunners parachuted did Miller see the B-24H flying over a large body of water. He decided to make an emergency landing on the water. 

HARD BLOW
Flight engineer Edward E. Birge stood in the doorway during the emergency landing to measure the speed. When flying very low, the instruments work poorly or not at all. When the plane hit the surface of the water, Birge fell forward against it with such force 
instrument panel, that he was killed. Pilot Kent Miller was hit by the steering wheel and died instantly. The crash was fatal for most crew members. Only co-pilot Charlie Taylor survived the serious crash.

DISAPPEARED IN THE WAVES
While the aircraft disappeared into the waves of the IJsselmeer, Taylor managed to save himself with a rubber boat. He was picked up by a German patrol boat and taken prisoner of war. The bodies of the three gunners and a fourth crew member were found in the IJsselmeer. You are now looking out over the spot where the B-24H Liberator disappeared into the waves.

SALVED
Taylor was there when the 'Big Banner' was lifted from the Oostvaardersplassen by the Royal Air Force Salvage Service in October 1975. To reach the aircraft, the Royal Netherlands Army constructed a Bailey bridge and an earthen dam. The last bit 
to the wreck was bridged with a temporary ferry. A sheet pile was built around the cockpit so that the salvage crews could do their work safely. A little further on you can still see the traces of the sheet pile wall in the puddles.

TRIBUTE TO THEM
A film about the Liberator can be seen in the Nature Experience Center 'De Oostvaarders' in Almere. The names of the crew members who died on December 22, 1943 are: Edward E. Birge (October 12, 1922), James C. Childers (December 6, 1922), John H. Larson (March 26, 1923), Gerald D. McCord (December 30 1916), Kent F. Miller (October 17, 1922), Frank A. Passavant (May 16, 1918), Stanley Pilch Jr. 
(November 26, 1920), Donald Shaffer (February 20, 1922), and William J. Sheehan (April 15, 1923).