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Lancaster III JB412 crashed near Varnæs 29/1-1944.
The aircraft belonged to RAF 83 Sqn Bomber Command and was coded OL-B.
T/o 00:19 Wyton OP: Berlin.
While outbound JB412 was attacked by a JU 88C night fighter of II./NJG 3 with
the crew of Pilot Hauptmann Gerhard Raht, Funker Feldwebel Anton Heinemann and
Bordmechaniker Unteroffizier Werner Hesse and controlled by the radar station
“Star” based at Lütjenhorn in Northern Germany. At 02:37 the Lancaster exploded
in the air and the wreckage were spread over a radius of 2½ kilometres just
north of the village of Varnæs.
During the morning the surviving flyers and their parachutes began to show up.
There were reports of parachutes found at Tråsbøl, Brobøl, Ullerup and Bovrup.
In a field near Bovrup was found a dead flyer and his parachute. In the same
area was found a dead flyer without parachute.
At 07:32 hours a flyer knocked on the door at a farm in Ullerup. The flyer was
picked up by the Wehrmacht.
A flyer landed in parachute on the roof of the house next to the telephone
exchange at Skoletoften 12 in Blans. It was Pilot William Simpson who hurt his
forehead when falling from the roof. He was taken to the exchange and had the
wound dressed. No one of those Danes present had any command of the English
language but Simpson still tried to persuade them into hiding him. Due to there
being quite a lot of German sympathizers in the village no one dared hiding him.
Apparently someone had seen him and at 09:20 two German soldiers arrived on a
motorcycle and picked him up.
At 14:23 a flyer came to the farm Ballegård in Blans. He was picked up by the
Wehrmacht.
Air Bomber P/O Ronald Pilgrim landed near Ullerup and hid in a shack belonging
to the Vicarage. When evening came he sneaked into the barn. Here he was found
around nine o`clock by the son of Reverend Warncke. The Reverend was admitted to
the hospital, but Mrs. Warncke tried to find a way to help the flyer. She called
Reverend Sjellerup of Nybøl and together they tried to find a way out.
They did not have any luck and as a last resort they called the Chief Constable
Bjerre of Gråsten. He however declared that he would inform the Wehrmacht where
they could pick Pilgrim up.
The two dead flyers found near Bovrup were Flt. Engr. Sgt Thomas K. MaCash and
Navigator F/S John J. Martin. They were both laid to rest in Aabenraa cemetery
on 2/2 1944.
The third casulte Air Gnr. F/Sgt John R.Tree RAAF had landed in the
sea and was found drowned in Alssund on 19/6 and was laid to rest in aabenraa
cemetery on 22/6 1944.
The survivors apart from Pilgrim were Pilot P/O William Simpson, W/Op Sgt W.
Livesey and Air Gnr. F/S J.A.Fell. They were sent to Dulag Luft at Oberursel and
on to POW camps.
Sources : AS 70-361, Report Aabenraa police, LBUK, BCL, BA, John Vaupel, CWGC,
Heinemann, Nonnenmacher file.
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