On April 5, 1943, a B-17 Flying Fortress crashed in the Willemspolder at Dinteloord. This location is along the present-day Willemspolderweg.
There were 10 crew members on board the aircraft. Seven of the 10 crew members perished in the crash. Three crew members survived.
W.H. Parker – Pilot – Perished; buried at the military cemetery in Margraten.
J.S. Clark – Ball turret gunner – Perished.
A.J. Thelen – Co-pilot – Survived; died in 2017 at the age of 91.
P.A. Spaduzzi – Navigator – Perished.
A.L. Milbourne – Bombardier – Survived.
J.M. Creature – Flight engineer – Perished.
J.F. Gross – Radio operator – Perished.
L.H. O'Brian – Tail gunner – Survived.
R.E. Heaft – Waist gunner – Perished.
S.E. Davis – Waist gunner – Perished.
The target of the B-17 that crashed in the Willemspolder was the Erla factories in Mortsel, Belgium, near Antwerp.
Seven of the ten crew members perished in the crash.
Three bailed out by parachute and were taken prisoner by the Germans.
The body of 1st Lt. Parker is buried at the American Cemetery in Margraten.
W.H.Parker
R.E.Heaft-zijschutter.+omgekomen
J.S Clark-buikschutter.+omgekomen
.A.J.Thelen co piloot
P.A.Spaduzzi Navigator
politierapport uit 1943 op pagina 2 verslag van B17 crash
Photo above: the B-17 photographed at an airbase in the UK.
A particularly notable fact about this aircraft is that, in 1942, it was the first plane to carry out bombing raids on German territory.
Photo below: the B-17 photographed minutes before it crashed near Stampersgat.
The B-17 was shot down by Focke-Wulfs flown by pilots Oberfeldwebel Adolf 'Addi' Glunz and Oberleutnant Otto P. "Stotto" Stammberger...
Some additional information: both pilots belonged to 4./JG 26 and were based at Vitry-en-Artois airfield in France (source: Lexikon der Wehrmacht). The claims are recorded as follows: Glunz (Dinteloord: 7,000m) and Stammberger (Bergen-op-Zoom: 7,000m) (source: Luftwaffe claims by Michael Balss). For Glunz, this was his 33rd claim; for Stammberger, his fifth.
