The Flight
On Dec 2nd, 1944, the W.H. Cook crew in Corkscrew Charlie left Skipton-on-Swale, bound for Hagen, Germany. They were accompanied by 503 other aircraft. In addition to the crash of Corkscrew Charlie, the heavy icing at altitudes of over 7000 ft. resulted in the loss of another plane which also crashed over France. Two planes collided in England, 14 planes were hit by Flak, and 2 aircraft sustained mechanical and electrical failures.
Due to heavy cloud, the markers could not be seen and the crews had to rely on navigational aides and the glow of markers. As a result damage was widespread, as confirmed by the photographic reconnaisance on Dec. 13th. The Accumulatorem Fabrik A.G,. the primary target, sustained severe damage. The detailed night raid report can be found here:
Page 3 - Bomber stream route map
The crew dropped their bombs about 21:00 hours and then headed south, most likely hit by flak while returning from their mission over Germany during the night. The bomber, which had lost its right-side motor, impacted the peak of an Alsatian hill, some hundred metres above the location of the farm-auberge of Freundstein, near Willer-sur-Thur.
Below are 4 images of the crash site, provided courtesy of Al Mallory, son of F/Sgt Lorne Mallory. It may take time for these crash images, to load. Please be patient.
These images show the how miraculous it was that F/Sgt Lorne Mallory survived: the only portion of the aircraft that did not disintegrate during the crash was the upper turret which he occupied as mid-upper gunner. He succeeded in extricating himself from the burning debris of the cabin, and then rescuers, taking a huge risk, evacuated him, severely burned, towards Willer-sur-Thur.
