21 Aug Lady Katherine

(Hover over the photograph of Lady Katherine in formation to see Lady Katherine on 25 April 1944.)

a B-17 in distress

The crew that flew in the Lady Katherine (serial # 42-98018) was stationed at Glatton Airfield, the 457th Bombardment Group. 

On August 25, 1944, the commanding officer of Ljungbyhed airfield in southern Sweden received a report that a plane was approaching and sent some of his fighters to meet it. An American fortress, Lady Katherine, had been hit hard by flak on a mission to Peenemünde, the German rocket research center. A large section of the left wing was torn away, causing the bomber to fall into a spin. The ball turret gunner was seriously injured. Pilot Lt. Donald.K. Goss activated the bail-out signal, but no one left the plane!

The bombardier, Lt. Gerhard Hoelzel, maneuvered his way up to the cockpit and asked if they could try to get out of Germany. Since he was originally from that country and had even been a member of the German Youth, he was concerned that if he became a prisoner of war, they would know his history. He was right to be worried because they most certainly would have known.

Suddenly they were over the Baltic Sea, and the crew saw two Swedish fighters approaching to escort them in. Once they were over solid ground, the pilot knew their only option was to crash-land, so once again he sent back the word that his men should jump. The crew put a rip cord on the injured gunner and threw him out the waist door. The pilot prayed that the escorts were radioing the ground position of each man as he parachuted to earth.

Indeed, the Swedish escorts were keeping careful watch. Lars-Erik Ohlsson was one of the fighter pilots. He circled the injured ball turret gunner and made sure he landed safely.

Lt. Donald K. Goss (on left) with Swedish friend. Photo from Kristina Haag Larsen.

Lt. Goss was fighting the controls and sinking lower and lower when he looked over and saw that one of the fighter pilots had thrown his arm out into the slipstream and was beating on the side of his fuselage. The Swede knew that the crew had jumped, and he was signaling to Lt. Goss that he needed to get out quickly. The American bailed out just in time and landed in the freshly plowed field of a chicken farmer. He realized that he owed his life to the Swedish pilot.

Mr. Hillman, the chicken farmer, took good care of the exhausted Lt. Goss. He and his wife had lived in America for several years and were able to give the pilot a hearty “Welcome to Sweden.”

The rest of his crew, except for the ball turret gunner who was taken to the hospital, was together by morning and took the train to Kristianstad. They were treated to lunch at the Mayor’s house, and when they went outside, there was a big crowd asking for their autographs. With their flight jackets, scarves, and big smiles, they must have looked like American movie stars.

The Lady Katherine crashed in some woods outside Ljungbyhed. Fortunately, the fire was put out quickly and did not cause much damage. The wreck was sold for scrap.

Update August 22, 1915: Thanks to Karen Cline, editor and publisher of the Sweden After the Flak series, for drawing my attention to this. Lt. Donald Kenneth Goss died in 2006 at the age of 84. Goss had a distinguished military career not only in World War II but also in Korea and Vietnam. According to his obituary, he pioneered aircraft-to-aircraft airborne refueling capabilities. When he retired from the Air Force in 1965, he had earned 16 medal decorations and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He then went to work as a park ranger at the Van Damme State Park.

Sources:
Making for Sweden, part 2 by Bo Widfeldt and Rolph Wegmann, p. 177-180
Sweden After the Flak, Spring 1999, Lady Katherine by H. Munro Githens and John Anderson

Photo Credits: Willard Reese and T. Olausson, user.tninet.se

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