Yesterday morning, as we were flying towards Braunschweig in our B24, we noticed over the Channel that the boosters were not working. We managed to stay in formation and drop our bombs on target, but then the misery began. We had to drop leaflets elsewhere in Germany, losing more and more speed. As a result, we became easy prey for four Focke-Wulf. 

They attacked us from the flank and shot holes in our fuel tanks, causing an internal fire in the bomb bay. Another hit caused us to lose altitude, worsening the situation. Flames were shooting out of the plane on all sides, so I gave the order to bail out.

While the rest of the crew bailed out the back, I could see from my position that the men in the front of the glass nose hadn't noticed a thing. Unfortunately, I was not able to reach them in time as I lowered myself down: a huge explosion threw me out of the plane.

The next moment I woke up as my parachute, which had opened by itself, pulled me over a field of crops. There was nothing but nature around me, nothing but silence. Once I was free, I saw a man waving to me from a distance. He told me to hide in the bushes near a burnt-out farmhouse and that I would be picked up at night.

As soon as it was dark, I heard someone say in English that it was safe. He told me his name was Sybe Post and that he himself was hiding nearby with the Meulman family. I was able to stay with them for a while, but not for long.

After a short time, we reached the farm. We walked very quietly past the front house and crawled through a maze of straw bales to where I woke up this morning. Freedom smiled at me through the small stable window.” 

In those early days, Pilot David Talbot watched from a distance as the bodies of navigator Goldman and bomber Moriarty were recovered from the wreckage. Meulman's farm proved to be a hotbed of resistance. With the help of many, Talbot managed to travel south on a forged identity card. He finally reached liberated French territory via a Franco-Belgian smuggling route through the German lines.

Text Hugo van den Ende 
Research Stefan Hendriks