Salvage of LV905 completed
The salvage of the 78 Squadron Halifax LV905 near Hank has
been completed. The Dutch Air Force started the salvage on 5
September. According to Capt. Spierings, the leader of the
project, they have found an unusual large amount of wreckage
and the condition in which some parts were found is very
good. The ground is very acidic which kills off bacteria
that might eat away at the parts.
Also remarkable was the
enormous amount of interest during the so-called 'open
days'. Every week hundreds of people visited the site to see
what had been dug up.
The main reasons for the
salvage was to prove that five of the crew were still
onboard. Although some bone fragments were found, it is did
not amount up to anything substantial, which means that
individual identification will be impossible. Besides the
fragments a number of personal artifacts have been
recovered, like a watch, pocket knife, some coins, badges, a
lighter and a cigarette holder.
The LV905 was shot down by
a German night fighter, flown by Oblt Heinz Scherfling, on
24/25 May 1944. It returned from a mission to bomb the
marshalling yards at Aachen. All seven of the crew died in
the crash. Two of the crew were recovered at the time and
buried in Oosterhout. The other five were still with the
plane. The graves of all seven men can be found at Jonkerbos
Cemetery in Nijmegen. This crew will be added later to this
website.
This is the Bomb Aim
Computer.
One of the propellers. Note
the way it is bent!
One of the landings gears.
Engine block
Part of the radio. Some
parts show the huge impact of the crash. However, some the
bulbs in this apparatus survived!
Part of the engine. Some
parts seemed in pristine state. This part was actually
dripping oil!
|