A.W. Whitley crashsite in Norway……..

Thanks for that BenderBones, placed that information on his page on our website.

Just to inform: On June 10 2018 a memorial for LAC John Ellwood will take place at the crash site. A memorial made by a piece of the wing- with the permission from the British Ministry of Defence will be unveiled with some famlily of John from England and some close familiy to Flight Lt. Murhpy attending. An invitation to everyone will be sendt out via local newpapers. You are all most welcome to join the event.

Thank you very much. I will try again next week.

Regards

VA

Norway crash sites

Hi..I visited the USAAF B-24 crash site on Gausta Peak,Skorve near Seljord.I couldnt get my GPS to function properly,what settings do you use??
I must get over to Norway again soon..great time last trip…Dave.

Hi,

Just put new batteries in the GPS……… I’m used to Lat. Lon. but here it is….

Main box part:
32V 0574820
UTM 6642250

Tube section and skkin:
32V 0574871
UTM 6642069

Hope this hepls you!

cheers,

-John

GPS

Hello!

I was on the site yesterday bur did not find the part that is left.
Is it possible to have the GPS coordinates. It might help me find it the next time.

Regards

VA

going to see a friend who`s just bought a house near Oslo with a few acres of woods attached,but,expect to visit a couple of sites!!!!!!!!

That’s good Martin – is it Stirling related by any chance?

Thanks Gauteballe

Is there any chance of a higher resolution copy of the newspaper scan please? My email is elliott1940 at yahoo.com.

All the best

Just a quick update on this. I’ve spent a couple of hours at the National Library in Oslo reading 1940 newspapers. I found some additional information:

1. A confirmation from the German occupation authorities that the aircraft had been shot down by flak.

2. A local newspaper report saying that four english airmen had been arrested in Asker.

3. An eyewitness account, that is, a guy who woke up at night because he heard noise from the aircraft engines.He looked out the window, and was able to see the Whitley. Suddenly the noise stopped and there was a large flash of light which lit up the whole area.Shortly after the eyewitness heard another bang, probably as the the aircraft hit the ground. Later, several explosions were heard, presumedly from bombs exploding. The aircraft burnt for half an hour after the crash.

4. A more detailed description of the fuselage of the wreck, saying that the fuselage had several marks from flak hits.

Hello!

I have no idea as to what happened to the disappeared item. I have not been in the area this year. The last time I went was last spring, and the missing part was there then.

I have been told that the wreck was left in this area until the 1950’s. Then it was dismantled and moved to Drammen(nearby city) where it was scrapped. From John’s photos you may see that the part has a relatively rough edge and a rectangular shape, obviously because it has been cut by a tool.

The crash took place just after midnight, and I don’t think the crash itself was filmed or photographed(probably few people had cameras). However, the wreck was left in this area for many years. It must have been some sort of tourist attraction in the years after the war. Obviously, it has been photographed many times. The problem is that I have never seen any photos of it at all. The right person to ask may be the local historian who John met in Sylling.

The aircraft was coming from Oslo, and it must have passed above the municipalities Oslo, Bærum,Asker and Lier(in that order). If the remaining two jumped out over Oslo, they would be outside the coverage area of the journalist who wrote the piece above.

I have read a couple of books that briefly cover this episode, and all mention that one airman died and two were arrested in Asker. They never mention what happened to the other two.

All the best
gb

Hi Gauteballe,

thanks for the translation (it was a bit hard to read in your post), I live in Asker and find it very interesting researching my area during WW2. (I had a milorg (resistance) friend who’s last ‘action’ was a target in Asker but he was arrested by the Gestapo on that morning on a train in Oslo).

The four aircrew that survived must have split up, I wonder where the second two were arrested? Maybe next weekend I’ll go back to Sylling for a hike with my GPS and see what’s left now, then go and visit the RAF graves.

cheers,

-John

Hi John

I have looked up the part number on your metal tag and it is not in my parts catalogue!

This is not uncommon – it probably represents a modification. I am waiting on a later parts cataloque (mine is from 1940), which I expect will include details on modded items (hopefully! :p).

Thanks very much Gautebelle – that must have taken some time and confirms that the Whitley was probably lost to flak. Do you have any idea what happened to the missing remains of the Whitley? Hopefully they have ended up in a museum somewhere and not someones shed.

I wonder if any other photos exist of the crash?

My thanks also Gauteballe for the translation.

Roger Smith.

Hi Gauteballe,

thanks for the translation (it was a bit hard to read in your post), I live in Asker and find it very interesting researching my area during WW2. (I had a milorg (resistance) friend who’s last ‘action’ was a target in Asker but he was arrested by the Gestapo on that morning on a train in Oslo).

The four aircrew that survived must have split up, I wonder where the second two were arrested? Maybe next weekend I’ll go back to Sylling for a hike with my GPS and see what’s left now, then go and visit the RAF graves.

cheers,

-John

Below a tentative translation of the local newspaper article from May 1, 1940.
The name of the municipality is Lier. The neighbouring municipality is called Asker. The rest of the names are geographical locations and farm names.

“The aircraft which crashed at Toverudmarka in Sylling, was the main conversation issue in Lier yesterday.Already at 9.30 our journalists were in the area. Along the roads and at the farms men gathered in small groups, discussing last night’s gloomy event.
A lot of people had seen the light cones across the sky, they had heard the angry noise of the anti-aircraft guns, and they had seen the big airplane crash down on the hilltop.

Hans Toverud was one of the first to visit the crash site, and he and his father gave us the first authentic information, which we printed in our paper yesterday. Later we met sheriff Skogen, who arrived to perform the first police investigations, along with a crew who would seek the area and bring eventual casualties down to the village.

There was a hard and fast climb up the hill. The search crewmembers were bringing their skis. For the others it was very demanding, because the snow’s ability to carry us was limited. Frequently, we had snow up to our hips, and each such “breakthrough” demanded certain efforts.

It was relatively steep up there, but after a half-hour march, we were standing on the hilltop watching the remains of the aircraft.

It turned out to be a Vickers-Armstrong bomber of the usual type. It had ploughed through the wood, and it was not difficult to see its path. A wide street with a length of around 50 meters showed that the aircraft had come from the north-east. In this area threes 15 cm thick had been broken like matches. Here one of the engines had been removed, probably at the collision with the trees. We found it around 50 yards from the aircraft. Here also lay dispersed smaller parts of a wing.

The aircraft itself lay in a small deepening in the mountain. In the crash it had been broken into two behind its wings. The front part of the aircraft had turned 90 degrees on the flying direction. A fire had affected this part, but the damage was not as total as we had expected. The fuel tanks were thrown far away and had been broken by explosions. The noise heard at Toverud and elsewhere was probably the explosion of the fuel tanks, because there were no signs of bomb explosions.

The back part of the aircraft was relatively undamaged. Some marks and irregular holes probably stemmed from flak hits, but they may also have been created by the crash itself.

In front of the aircraft there were 5 bombs of medium calibre. None of them had exploded in spite of going through some rough treatment during the crash. On some of them the guide rails had been squeezed, and partly pressed against the bomb chamber. The bombs were cylindrically shaped and had a length of around 75 cm, and their diameter was 10-12 cm. Bombs of several shapes and smaller calibres lay dispersed in the area.

Several meters in front of the wreck we found engine number 2, it had been removed from the rest of the aircraft and thrown forward by the crash. Small parts of the airplane, smoke bombs and machinegun ammunition had been spread around in a relatively large area.

A detailed investigation showed that there was no more than one dead at the site, but how had the rest of the crew survived, and where did they go? The aircraft must have had a crew of at least four members, possibly five. A bit away from the wreck, we found footprints in the snow. It seemed like these went straight down the hillside. Where did the ones who left the footprints go in the darkness of the night? When we left the site, nothing could give an answer to this question. Neither could anything tell us how the crew members got out of the aircraft. They may have jumped out in parachutes, but none such could be seen in the area. They may have escaped the downing without major wounds. The intact back part of the aircraft may form the basis of such a hypothesis.

There are no clear indications as to the reason of the crash. Most likely, the aircraft has been hit by flak above or close to Oslo and later it has caught fire. Some of the witnesses claimed to have heard machinegun fire, and indicated that fighters shot down the plane.
The holes in the fuselage indicated that grenades had played a part in the drama, and we have every reason to believe that the artillery stopped the flight of the British giant bird through the air.

Naturally, there were many curious people who climbed up the hill top to watch the wreck. Staff from the sheriff’s office placed guards who were told to see that no one touched anything.

In the end we took a last view over the village, which was basking in glorious sunshine and where people on the fields were busy with preparations for the spring farming.
Even if death is ravaging life will go on.

During talks with Lier Sheriff office this morning we were told the investigations at and around the wreck had brought no further results.
The footprints leading towards the village disappeared in the forest, and it may be confirmed that they have not been put there by any of the airmen.

The sheriff informed that two British airmen had been arrested in Asker yesterday and interned as POWs.They had jumped out in parachutes.
The plane had a crew of five, and one assumes that the remaining two have jumped out before the plane reached Lier. One has no idea as to the whereabouts of these two, but if they are alive they must get in touch with people soon.”

That’s alright! Take your time – I have been collecting information on Whitley losses for almost 10 years.

Cheers

Hello Elliott!

Thanks for welcoming me.

I’ll provide you with a translation sometime during the weekend. The piece is very long, so I’ll need some time to translate it.

Hi Gauteballe

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for posting the newspaper scan and the photo – very interesting indeed. I would love to read a translation of the newspaper article if you have the time to provide one.

All the best

Hello!

I found this forum by coincidence, and I’d like to join in.

Two years ago, my colleague(who may join the discussion shortly) and I spent a lot of time finding and investigating this crash site.

We took photographs of what we found.

I attach two images:

1. A photo of the part that has obviously disappeared.
2. A copy of the local newspaper from May 1, 1940. I had to split it in two so that it could be scanned. It is written in norwegian. If anybody’s interested in an english translation, just give me a hint, and I’ll provide you with one.