Skorve – Flyvrak
Hiking on Skorve has been decided according to the weather conditions. On the western coast of Norway there was hurricane appeared, carrying the wind and rain. My plans for walking somewhere in that area had to be moved to a more undetermined future. There was a chance for explore other terrain and that’s why I ended up in Seljord. Forecasts did not predict any rain in this area, only a strong wind.
About the remains of the American aircraft, a crashed on the slope of the mountain in 1944 I read on the internet before the trip, so it was not surprising when I stumbled on the trail near the Summit of Gøysen leading to the disaster site. I needed perhaps 30 minutes to reach the place. When I get there, I found a lot of plane parts scattered across the slope of mountain.
The tragedy took place on September 9, 1944. Liberator B-24H-10 /11 was on his way from Scotland to the drop zone D 14.2 in the area of Sperillen in the municipality of Buskerud, where he was tasked with supplying containers for local resistance. He flew at height of about 1300 meters and the pilot probably did not notice the wall of Skorve mountain, which suddenly appeared right in front of him. The Liberator was crashed on the mighty rock massif. The eleven-person crew died at place.
A special group of six modified bombers B-24 Liberator under the command of Norwegian colonel Bernt Balchen was established in July 1944. It was supposed to support the local units of the Norwegian resistance, dropping weapons and equipment during night flights. The base of the group was Leuchar in Scotland and the whole action was called ‘’Operation Ball’’. It lasted from July 17 to September 27, 1944. At that time, they were able to deliver 120 tons of equipment, but only 37 of the 65 missions were successful.
Liberators featured in Operation Ball were specially adapted to the tasks they were supposed to do. Most of all, the weight of the machines has been reduced so that they can increase payload and allow higher speeds. Among other things, the machine gun on the bow were removed, giving instead an enlarged range of visibility, useful during night flights and when looking at landmark points. The ball turret on the bottom, replaced by a hatch so-called Joe hole, used to dump paratroopers and containers with weapons, ammunition, explosives and other equipment. Joe (Jane or Josephine for women) was a codename of OSS Agents (Office of Strategic Services) dropped behind enemy line. In Order to slim down the planes as much as possible the oxygen installation required by the crew at high altitudes were removed. They left machine guns on the tail, to ensure protection against German aircrafts. Additional fuel tanks are Installed to increase the range. The machines were painted to a matt black color to make them difficult to detect in the dark. The engine exhaust pipes were fitted with flame dampers. Similar dampers have been installed on machine guns.
The plane that crashed on the slope of Skorve had the designation B-24H-10-FO. It was built in 1942 in the Willow Run factory in Michigan, USA by Ford Motor Company. It was equipped with 4 Pratt & Whitney engines R-1830-65 with 1200 hp each. The standard Liberator had a range of 3700 km, a cruise speed of 346 km/h and a maximum speed of 487 km/h. The length of the aircraft was about 20m and the wingspan was 33, 5m.
Initially, the machine served in 453rd Bombers Group, 734th Bomber Squadron in USA Air Force. It was given the nickname ‘’War Bride’’. From 17 July 1944, the aircraft was served for the American Air Transport Service (AATS), which was a cover for OSS special operations.
The first pilot of ‘’War Bride’’ was the 22-year-old junior officer John B. O’Hara, commander of a 9-man crew. On Saturday, September 9, 1944, they received the task of drop cargo with weapons and equipment for ‘’Boys from the Forest’’, as they often called the guerrillas from the Norwegian resistance. The drop zone was in a place called Gullknappen, to the west of Sperillen in the municipality of Buskerud. This point is defined as D 14.2. In 12 cylindrical containers equipped with parachutes were supposed to find weapons, ammunition, hand grenades, explosives and food. The forecast predicted rain and fog, which was as good news as there was a high probability of avoiding the patrols of Germans air fighters.
At the last moment, to the crew joined sergeant John P. Morris (the gunner), who wanted to reach a complete combat mission as soon as possible. Each pilot had to take 35 combat flight to finish the service. The rest of the crew were: Delbert E. McCrary (second pilot), Lewis T. Bambick (navigator), Paul Bloomberg (bombardier), Bernard F. Gittelman (radio operator), Robert T. Finn (flight engineer), Frank G. Felthouse (armorer gunner), Norman J. McLaughlin (aerial gunner), Wesley C. Bowman (aerial gunner), Robert D. Bourquin (aerial gunner). The aircraft was designated as Crupper-5.
Rear row from the left: junior officer Lewis T. Bambick, 26 years old, navigator; junior officer Delbert E. McCrary, 24 years old, 2nd pilot; junior officer John B. O’Hara, 22 years old, 1st pilot (commander/captain); junior officer Paul Bloomberg, 24 years old, bomber.
Staff Sergeant John P. Morris, 22 years old, was not present when the picture was taken.
It is unclear what was disaster caused. Probably due to weather conditions, ice was beginning to settle on the wings, propeller and hull, increasing the weight of the aircraft. The pilot could not be able to maintain pull up the plane. Perhaps the altitude flaps were icing, bringing the plane to a lower level. Or maybe O’Hara decided to lower the flight, wanting to find an area with warmer air to get rid of the ice from the wings. It could have been higher for this purpose but considering the lack of oxygen installations needed at higher levels it would be equally risky. It is also possible that the instruments failed, which, in combination with poor visibility, could lead to disaster. We probably never get to know the truth.
When between 8 and 9 pm in the evening the Crupper-5 flew into the mount of Skorve, the powerful noise and flash accompanying the explosion alerted the surrounding inhabitants. The entire 11-seater crew was killed in the disaster. They were buried in a collective grave near the place where they died. The equipment that were supposed to be dropped for the guerrillas were confiscated by Germany.
An interesting fact is that just a month later on the slope of the neighboring mountain (Hestenutan), another plane shattered. This time it was a German passenger plane Junkers Ju52-3m with 12 passengers and 3 crew members. Everyone died at place.
After the war, the crew were moved to the war cemetery „Neuville-en-Condroz” in Belgium. In 1950, they returned to their homeland, where they were buried at the Jefferson Barracks National War Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1994, a memorial was erected at Granvin Kulturhus in Seljord center to commemorate the crew that perished in the accident. Right near the place of the accident at Skorve, a memorial plaque has been placed in honor of the 11 American airmen who lost their lives here. On the plaque is a poem by Aslaug Høydal:
Rest in peace on the Norwegian soil.
Rest in peace, which heals the heather.
Rest in peace in Mosamyr.
Rest in peace until dawn.
Source:
Flystyrten_ved_Skorve_i_1944_(Liberator)
technical-annex-c-the-modified-liberators/
carpetbaggers-the-air-arm-of-the-oss-in-europe/
