In the period described, eleven Dutch RAF aircraft made emergency landings, most on the North Sea or the Channel. In all cases crewmembers were rescued, but one to two crew members were lost in three cases. The Dutch have done their bit of dinghying. In four cases the Germans got to the landing sites first, leading to captivity for the paddling aviators. Amongst these eleven aircraft, there is only one fighter, a Spitfire, that was in fact send on an ASR patrol. The others are three Hudsons and seven Mitchells. Aircraft are not designed to float, but it would seem that the bombers floated a bit better, meaning seconds longer, than the fighter aircraft, giving the crew that bit more time needed to deploy and board the dinghy.
The procedure of Air Sea Rescue was as follows. If the landing was observed from other aircraft, and if a good position fix was transmitted by radio to home, then a fighter patrol would be send out to guard the area, and to radio in a rescue floatplane, or a fast rescue launch. If no position was known, then a patrol, usually with one or two fighters, would be send out to search. These searches were quite often in vain, so a good fix on the ditching position was imperative to the crew's survival. Meantime, the Germans raced their rescue craft to the sites too. If an aircraft emergency-landed close to Europe's coast, then chances were that the enemy would get there first. Unlike some other aircrews that had to dinghy for days, all Dutch paddlers were rescued in hours after the sea landing. Two Dutch RAF paddlers gained a reputation by dinghying to safety twice: Off Vl 1kl G. van der Wolf and Sgt Telegr A.J. de Haan.
Off Vl 1kl G. van der Wolf
Sgt Telegr A.J. de Haan.
In all, 36 Dutch RAF airmen were rescued from the sea. Of these, nine were taken POW. All nine survived the War. Of the 27 others, five would die in combat later in the War.
Aircraft | 1. Hudson Mk. III Nr. V9063 'Islawreker' | ||
Ditched | 30/8/1941 | Place | North Sea near the Lista peninsula, Norway |
Crew lost | 1. Ltz 2kl K. Deen, Obs - MIA 2. Marinier 1kl H.J. Heeren, Ag - MIA 3. Seinersmaat E.H.Chateau, Wop - MIA | ||
Crew Rescued | 4. F/Lt. W. Bakker, Pilot - POW 5. Sgt. C.E. van Huijstee, Ag - POW | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Coastal Command | ||
Base | RAF Leuchars, Fifeshire, GB | ||
Mission | Attack on German shipping | ||
Status | Aircraft shot down by enemy fighter | ||
Remarks |
Aircraft | 2. Hudson Mk. III Nr. AM939 NO-E 'Cheribon' | ||
Ditched | 29/5/1942 | Place | North Sea off Terschelling, NL |
Crew lost | None | ||
Crew Rescued | 1. Off Vl 1kl H. Schaper MWO, DFC, Pilot – POW 2. Sgt Vl A.C. den Boer, Obs – POW 3. Sgt Telegr A.J.I. Lensing, Ag – POW 4. Matroos 2kl M. Loos, Ag - POW | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Coastal Command | ||
Base | RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk, GB | ||
Mission | North Sea anti shipping patrol; take-off 23:00h | ||
Status | Shot down by enemy Flak ship | ||
Remarks | All crew were rescued by the Flak ship |
Aircraft | 3. Hudson Mk. I Nr. N7302 NO-Y | ||
Ditched | 26/10/1942 | Place | Irish Sea off West Kirby |
Crew lost | 1. Korp Vltg Telegr R.J.van Woerkom, Wop - MIA | ||
Crew Rescued | 2. F/O. A.A.J. van Amsterdam, Nav 3. Ac1 A. Hamelink, Ag 4. F/O. N.J. van Lessen, Pilot 5. Off Vl 1kl G. van der Wolf | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Coastal Command | ||
Base | RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk, GB | ||
Mission | Training | ||
Status | Aircraft was emergency-landed at sea as a result of engine failure | ||
Remarks | Survivors were rescued by coaster 'Conister' on 27/10/1942, 06:00h. |
Aircraft | 4. Spitfire Mk. Vb Nr. EP251 VL-R | ||
Ditched | 13/11/1942 | Place | North Sea 30km Northwest of Bergen aan Zee, NL |
Crew lost | None | ||
Crew Rescued | P/O. C. Geesink, Pilot – POW in Stalag Luft III Sagan | ||
Squadron | RAF 167 (Gold Coast) Squadron Fighter Command | ||
Base | RAF Ludham, Norfolk, GB | ||
Mission | North Sea ASR patrol Hoek van Holland to Texel, NL | ||
Status | aircraft shot down by Lt. W. Tschira with Fw.190 from 5./JG1 | ||
Remarks | Rescued from the sea by the Germans |
Aircraft | 5. Mitchell Mk. II B-25C Nr. FR147 NO-C | ||
Ditched | 20/8/1943 | Place | North Sea 150m West of Hoek van Holland, NL, 15:50h |
Crew lost | None | ||
Crew Rescued | 1. P/O. H. Nienhuis, Pilot 2. P/O. J.P. Oele, Obs 3. Cpl. F.A.J. Prinzen, Wop 4. Cpl. D.H.J. Born, Ag | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command | ||
Base | RAF Attlebridge, Norfolk, GB. Aircraft took off from RAF Foulsham, Norfolk, GB, 14:20h | ||
Mission | Ramrod to 'De Schelde' shipyards, Vlissingen, NL | ||
Status | aircraft was emergency-landed at sea at 15:50h after Flak damage | ||
Remarks | All crew were rescued by a SAR-Walrus floatplane at 18:20h |
Aircraft | 6. Mitchell Mk. II B-25C Nr. FR166 NO-R | ||
Ditched | 25/10/1943 | Place | Escorting fighters saw the aircraft go down at 49º40' N 04º30' W, Center Channel between Brest, F, and Plymouth, GB. |
Crew lost | 1. Res Sgt Vl C.J. Bank, Pilot - MIA | ||
Crew Rescued | 2. Sgt. J. van Dijken, Copilot/Obs - POW, camp unknown 3. Ac1 H.A. Kaufman, Wop/Ag - POW in Stalag Luft III Sagan 4. Cpl. C. Schot, Ag - POW in Stalag Luft I Barth-Vogelsang | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command | ||
Base | RAF Lasham, Hampshire, GB | ||
Mission | Raid on Lanvéoc-Poulmic airfield, Finistère, France; take-off 12.36h; time over target 14.30h | ||
Status | aircraft was emergency-landed at sea after Flak damage sustained over Lanvéoc-Poulmic airfield | ||
Remarks |
Aircraft | 7. Mitchell Mk. II B-25C Nr. FR177 NO-M | ||
Ditched | 18/3/1944 | Place | Channel |
Crew lost | None | ||
Crew Rescued | 1. Off Vl 2kl H.J. Voorspuij, Pilot 2. Sgt Wnr J. Vink, Nav 3. Korp Telegr K.F. van Nouhuys, Wop/Ag 4. Korp Schutter z/m M. Engelsma, Ag | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command | ||
Base | RAF Dunsfold, Surrey, GB | ||
Mission | Construction works at Gorenflos, Somme, France (between Abbeville & Amiens) | ||
Status | aircraft was emergency-landed at sea, position 50.21N/00.45E at 13:14h after Flak damage received over Abbeville, Somme, France | ||
Remarks | All crew were rescued by a SAR-Walrus floatplane at 14:19h |
Aircraft | 8. Mitchell Mk. II Nr. B-25D FR180 NO-H | ||
Ditched | 18/3/1944 | Place | Channel |
Crew lost | None | ||
Crew Rescued | 1. Sgt Vl H.J. Ot, Pilot 2. Sgt Wnr W.F. Gans, Nav 3. Korp Telegr z/m I. Posthumus, Wop/Ag 4. Sgt Schutter J.J.C. Lub, Ag | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command | ||
Base | RAF Dunsfold, Surrey, GB | ||
Mission | Construction works at Gorenflos, Somme, France (between Abbeville & Amiens) | ||
Status | aircraft was emergency-landed at sea 3 miles West of Cayeux, at 13:10h, after Flak damage received 2m South of Abbeville, Somme, France, at 13:02h | ||
Remarks | All crew were rescued by a Sea Otter floatplane at 15:15h. However, the aircraft failed to take off. The crew was transferred to a SAR launch at 19:30h. The crew was back in Dover, Kent, at 21:00h |
Aircraft | 9. Mitchell Mk. II Nr. B-25D FR184 NO-U | ||
Ditched | 4/5/1944 | Place | Channel |
Crew lost | None | ||
Crew Rescued | 1. Off Vl 2kl KMR G.O.J.A. Nuessink, Pilot 2. Off Zwnr 3kl MLD L.Th. Limbosch, Obs 3. Sgt Telegr A.J. de Haan, Wop/Ag 4. Sgt Schutter Ch. van Offeren, Ag | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command | ||
Base | RAF Dunsfold, Surrey, GB | ||
Mission | Attack on Bois de Coquerelle (?), France | ||
Status | aircraft was emergency-landed at sea at 11:24h, position 50.33N/00.58E, after Flak damage received South of Abbeville, Somme, France | ||
Remarks | All crew were rescued by a SAR-Walrus floatplane, and delivered to the shore at Folkestone, Kent, GB |
Aircraft | 10. Mitchell Mk. II B-25D Nr. FR191 NO-A | ||
Ditched | 12/6/1944 | Place | Channel |
Crew lost | None | ||
Crew Rescued | 1. Off Vl 1kl G. van der Wolf, Pilot 2. Off Zwnr 3kl J.W. Arriens, Nav 3. Sgt Telegr T. van Dijk, Wop/Ag 4. Off Schutter 3kl A.J. de Haan, Wop/Ag | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command | ||
Base | RAF Dunsfold, Surrey, GB | ||
Mission | Raid agaist Forêt de Grimbosq, Calvados, France | ||
Status | aircraft was emergency-landed at sea at 21:02h after Flak damage received in the target area. | ||
Remarks | All crew were rescued by destroyer HMS 'Blankney' During this raid, Mitchell FR149 was shot down. The crew managed to leave the aircraft by parachute. Crew: 1. Res 1Lt Vl ML D. Brand, Pilot 2. Off Zwnr 3kl W.C. van Haeften, Nav 3. Sgt Telegr R.P.M. van der Heijden, Wop/Ag 4. Sgt Schutter C. Smit, Ag All were taken POW |
Aircraft | 11. Mitchell Mk. II B-25C Nr. FR143 NO-S | ||
Ditched | 9/8/1944 | Place | Channel |
Crew lost | None | ||
Crew Rescued | 1. Off Vl 2kl L. van der Burg, Pilot 2. Off Zwnr 3kl G.A.G. Pieters, Nav 3. Sgt Telegr A.J. Wams, Wop/Ag 4. Sgt Schutter G. Hofman, Ag | ||
Squadron | RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command | ||
Base | RAF Dunsfold, Surrey, GB | ||
Mission | Raid against ammostorage in Forêt de Lyon, France | ||
Status | aircraft was emergency-landed at sea at 11:44h after Flak damage received in the target area | ||
Remarks | All crew were rescued by a SAR-Walrus floatplane. Off Zwnr 3kl G.A.G. Pieters had shrapnell wounds in a foot. The foot had to be amputated in hospital. |
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
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