The Crash - 8 a.m.
As the crew braced themselves, Biddle swung the plane around into wind. Without power, at over 100 knots, he attempted to make a wheels up landing on what appeared to be the only spot possible. We barely missed flying into a house that was in our path as we came down. We did hit a cluster of trees which were a few feet in front of the house with our port wing, shearing branches about six feet from the ground. Biddle brought the tail down first to slow us up and then jammed the nose in. We slewed around and came to a very sudden jarring stop, having landed in approximately 65 feet.
Before we assumed crash positions we had removed the astrodome cover and had thrown it to the rear of the plane. This was done in order to allow us to exit the plane as soon as possible. When the tail hit the ground the astrodome cover came plummeting forward toward Graham and me. I instinctively ducked and in doing so lost my balance and was thrown head first into the main spar, losing consciousness for a few seconds.
From our position Graham and I had no way of knowing that we had made it to land. We fully expected to see water come pouring into the aircraft. Ken was anxious to exit the plane; he helped me to my feet and literally threw me through the hole in the roof where the astrodome had been. As I was on my way out I saw Biddle climbing out of the front escape hatch. For the first time I realized that we would not have to contend with water, we had made it safely to land. I turned to help Graham from the plane and as we jumped to the ground saw that we had attracted a small crowd of people. Graham and I turned to help the other members of the crew exit the plane and with great relief saw them emerge apparently without major injuries.
A hasty check on our physical condition indicated that Neil had sustained a gash on his head and a cut on his hand when the table he was on shattered. Grandy and the radio set had fallen on top of Deeth, both were battered and bruised but not hurt seriously. Biddle had been jolted and flung forward against the control column and was in apparent pain from the pounding he had taken. He also appeared to be in an advanced state of shock. Graham too had been pummelled about but, other than bruised, seemed to be in good shape. I had a large bump on my head and a sore neck. We were very thankful that we had come through with so little in the way of injury that would delay us in putting as much distance as possible between ourselves and the aircraft. We hastily attended to Neil's wounds with medication and bandages from our escape kits.
Our next consideration was to destroy the aircraft and to leave nothing that would be of any military value to the Germans. I had detonated the secret equipment known as IFF before taking crash position, all our code books, maps, charts and any other item of military value had been thrown into the sea. We made absolutely sure that we had left nothing in the plane that would be of any use to the Germans, and then, as training dictated, we attempted to burn the aircraft.
We had been burning in the air but there were no flames evident once we were on the ground. We spent a few fruitless minutes attempting to set it on fire with two of the incendiary bombs that we carried for that purpose. Like the jettison valve, the incendiaries did not work. I climbed into the aircraft and grabbed the Very pistol and the remainder of the cartridges. I shot two cartridges into the plane, the other I shot into what presumably was a pool of hydraulic oil and in a few moments the plane was burning once again.
The delay to set fire to the plane and tend to Neil's wounds allowed more people to gather. The crowd had grown to about thirty people and we could see more on the way. Although we did not know it, we had come down on the out skirts of a small town called Os, a thriving village of approximately 1500 residents, located in the district of Haugland. None of the gathered group attempted to help or impede us, obviously fearful of what their actions might bring from either the German authorities or the resistance movement.
Knowing that we had to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and the aircraft immediately, we approached the nearest individual and asked him if he could tell us exactly where we were. He fortunately spoke English, and pointing toward a hilltop nearby where a group of uniformed men were milling about, stated that there was no time for explanation, that we had better leave immediately as the group on the hilltop were German soldiers and that they would soon be on the way. He did turn and indicate the direction we should take through the mountains to the east. I turned to leave with the other members of the crew and as a gesture of gratitude, thrust the Very pistol that I was still holding into his hands.
After the war we were to learn that the man's name was Magnus Askvik and that he was one of the leaders of the community, being the principal of the local school. We also learned that he was the only English speaking Norwegian at the crash site. With him was his son, Ottar, a young boy of thirteen. Ottar, along with his nine year old brother Ingemar, had just sat down for breakfast with their parents when they heard the plane approaching. They had rushed to the window in time to see us as we approached, hit the trees and crash. Ingemar was restrained by his mother from leaving the house but Ottar was able to go out with his father to the scene of the crash.
In the years to come, Ottar and Ingemar, inspired by what they had seen, played at being pilots, crashing at the site and evading the Germans. They eventually joined the Norwegian Air Force and did become pilots. They have both been flying for many years as Captains with Scandinavian Airlines. They have shown the site and explained the circumstances of our crash there to many of their pilot friends, and all have expressed amazement that we could have survived. All are of the opinion that Biddle performed a miraculous feat in getting the plane down as he did.
As the crew braced themselves, Biddle swung the plane around into wind. Without power, at over 100 knots, he attempted to make a wheels up landing on what appeared to be the only spot possible. We barely missed flying into a house that was in our path as we came down. We did hit a cluster of trees which were a few feet in front of the house with our port wing, shearing branches about six feet from the ground. Biddle brought the tail down first to slow us up and then jammed the nose in. We slewed around and came to a very sudden jarring stop, having landed in approximately 65 feet.
Before we assumed crash positions we had removed the astrodome cover and had thrown it to the rear of the plane. This was done in order to allow us to exit the plane as soon as possible. When the tail hit the ground the astrodome cover came plummeting forward toward Graham and me. I instinctively ducked and in doing so lost my balance and was thrown head first into the main spar, losing consciousness for a few seconds.
From our position Graham and I had no way of knowing that we had made it to land. We fully expected to see water come pouring into the aircraft. Ken was anxious to exit the plane; he helped me to my feet and literally threw me through the hole in the roof where the astrodome had been. As I was on my way out I saw Biddle climbing out of the front escape hatch. For the first time I realized that we would not have to contend with water, we had made it safely to land. I turned to help Graham from the plane and as we jumped to the ground saw that we had attracted a small crowd of people. Graham and I turned to help the other members of the crew exit the plane and with great relief saw them emerge apparently without major injuries.
A hasty check on our physical condition indicated that Neil had sustained a gash on his head and a cut on his hand when the table he was on shattered. Grandy and the radio set had fallen on top of Deeth, both were battered and bruised but not hurt seriously. Biddle had been jolted and flung forward against the control column and was in apparent pain from the pounding he had taken. He also appeared to be in an advanced state of shock. Graham too had been pummelled about but, other than bruised, seemed to be in good shape. I had a large bump on my head and a sore neck. We were very thankful that we had come through with so little in the way of injury that would delay us in putting as much distance as possible between ourselves and the aircraft. We hastily attended to Neil's wounds with medication and bandages from our escape kits.
Our next consideration was to destroy the aircraft and to leave nothing that would be of any military value to the Germans. I had detonated the secret equipment known as IFF before taking crash position, all our code books, maps, charts and any other item of military value had been thrown into the sea. We made absolutely sure that we had left nothing in the plane that would be of any use to the Germans, and then, as training dictated, we attempted to burn the aircraft.
We had been burning in the air but there were no flames evident once we were on the ground. We spent a few fruitless minutes attempting to set it on fire with two of the incendiary bombs that we carried for that purpose. Like the jettison valve, the incendiaries did not work. I climbed into the aircraft and grabbed the Very pistol and the remainder of the cartridges. I shot two cartridges into the plane, the other I shot into what presumably was a pool of hydraulic oil and in a few moments the plane was burning once again.
The delay to set fire to the plane and tend to Neil's wounds allowed more people to gather. The crowd had grown to about thirty people and we could see more on the way. Although we did not know it, we had come down on the out skirts of a small town called Os, a thriving village of approximately 1500 residents, located in the district of Haugland. None of the gathered group attempted to help or impede us, obviously fearful of what their actions might bring from either the German authorities or the resistance movement.
Knowing that we had to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and the aircraft immediately, we approached the nearest individual and asked him if he could tell us exactly where we were. He fortunately spoke English, and pointing toward a hilltop nearby where a group of uniformed men were milling about, stated that there was no time for explanation, that we had better leave immediately as the group on the hilltop were German soldiers and that they would soon be on the way. He did turn and indicate the direction we should take through the mountains to the east. I turned to leave with the other members of the crew and as a gesture of gratitude, thrust the Very pistol that I was still holding into his hands.
After the war we were to learn that the man's name was Magnus Askvik and that he was one of the leaders of the community, being the principal of the local school. We also learned that he was the only English speaking Norwegian at the crash site. With him was his son, Ottar, a young boy of thirteen. Ottar, along with his nine year old brother Ingemar, had just sat down for breakfast with their parents when they heard the plane approaching. They had rushed to the window in time to see us as we approached, hit the trees and crash. Ingemar was restrained by his mother from leaving the house but Ottar was able to go out with his father to the scene of the crash.
In the years to come, Ottar and Ingemar, inspired by what they had seen, played at being pilots, crashing at the site and evading the Germans. They eventually joined the Norwegian Air Force and did become pilots. They have both been flying for many years as Captains with Scandinavian Airlines. They have shown the site and explained the circumstances of our crash there to many of their pilot friends, and all have expressed amazement that we could have survived. All are of the opinion that Biddle performed a miraculous feat in getting the plane down as he did.