Fliegerhorst Gilze-Rijen. Archaeology & Research.

I would say it's very interesting. Apparently there has been some target practicing on the building too. Thanks for sharing these nice pictures. You must have taken these pictures last week when it was icing very hard.

 

Thats correct, the first picture was taken last week, the others about a month ago.

 

Nick could you take take a a few pictures of the Molenschot area for me? I'll try to get you the exact location of the crash site. I'd love to see what it looks like today.

 

If you give me the exact location I'll be happy to do it!
And maybe will search with my metaldetector over there, if thats no problem with you and you're friends. Its you're research work after all.
I can allways talk with the landowner as well. Maybe he knows more.

Research by cause of books and documents is allways nice and a must(!), but I prefer doing my research in the field.

 

Well here you have Molenschot on a Brittish map from 1944.
In my possession!

 

Great map Nick. The crash site is located near the brick factory sout of the village. But I doubt you"ll find anything because debris were scattered over a large area. The pictures I would love are one of the Place were the brick factory is (or was ) , the former zandweg (don't know were that is or if it still exists) and the Vossenberg area. Maybe these places ring a bell?

 

Vossenberg is a village east of Gilze, strange because Molenschot lays to the west.
I know about 2 brickfactorys by head without my archives and they lay west from Rijen (Vijf Eiken) and north of Dorst. Dorst is a village North West of Molenschot .... between Rijen and the city Breda.
Well I'm affraid its going to be a late night.... I'm looking for more info as we speak.

 

Skipper, I have done research on GoogleMaps.
I've spotted a "Zandstraat" (straat means road) indeed south of Molenschot but that road allmost lay in the village Chaam.
Close to that road there is a area called "Valkenberg" !!! Maybe you mis understood Vossenberg??

 

And BINGO.
I was wrong about the zandstraat and valkenberg, I presume. (!!!)

Damn this feels good! I got an copy of a map from 1811 - 1832
And there above the text Lage Heide you can hardly see... "steenbakkerij" What means stonebakery!

1811 - 1832


Here on my map from 1944. Here they call it "Pannenbakkerij". "Pannen" (=old language) means roof tile (in correct modern Dutch: "dakpannen").


On 13.9.1944, taken by the RAF.


And here a military map of today.


Now I am going to locate the Zandweg. And see if there is also something called Vossenberg.

 

Well, enough for tonight. Tomorrow I was going to search on some Flak positions here, but maybe I will take a look and make some pictures for you of the stonefactory. I can't promise you anything. But you will have them soon enough.
The library you mentioned is only open at a Teusday, but that is on newyears-day, stores are most often closed here on the 1st of January. I have send an email as you know to their website, so all we have to do is have some patience! Maybe the location near the stonefactory is mentioned as well in the book.

BTW. How is you're information written? (You can send me that in a PM if you like.) Because Zandweg can be a name of a road, but also it can be a road of sand/dirt ... Zand means in Dutch: sand. It can be misleading!

Goodnight,

 

Thanks a lot Nick, this helps to figure things out. No surpise if the places are not toghether. The aircraft exploded in the sky and parts fell on al those areas including the base itself among yelling Flak soldiers who panicked when they saw burning steel fallling near their positions. On the raf picture you can notice a large white crater west of the brick factory. that sounds intriging.

 

Ahh! Its like that. Hmmm, you want some pictures of Vossenberg? Of what exactly?
Can parts fly that far away? Vossenberg and Molenschot lay way ahead of eachother.
I think about 5 a 6 kilometres.

Last monday I did some airplane finds north of Nerhoven... (nothing special, just many aluminium parts and a unknown object) thats less than a kilometre of Vossenberg ....
And just north of Gilze (at the ending of my street) I found a big aluminium plate with black paint on it some months ago... I presume from a airplane.

If you know where I found the objects, you could say it approximately in one straight line from Vossenberg to Molenschoten, maybe a little bit above.
But I think many planes where hit in that area... and lose parts of material. So its almost impossible to prove.

 

You're planecrash was on January 7th 1945 right Skipper?
The RAF picture is from 1944 so I think it is something else.

 

January 7th 1944, not 1945 Nick that's why I was interested in the white spot on your 1944 picture. It's got to be the place I am looking for. Forget about Vossenberg. What I would like is a few pictures from the general landscape around these places. I would have modern pictures of the crash site, but also I could imagine how the topography is. The picture of Hulten, east of the runways, with the icing is excellent because these were the exact weather conditions on Jan 7th 1944, but it is on the wrong side. By seeing this pictures It would help me to understand what a surviving airman saw upon landing near Gilze-Rijen.

 

Allright, than it could be possible!
Well, its not icing today, more raining. In a minute I'm going to spot some Flak locations and maybe search there for a while. Its not near the stonefactory but maybe I get there.

Regards,
Nick

 

Nick I sent you a private message in your pm section.

 

I'm glad you found the 'Dambuster' information of interest, Nick.

Here's a little more - it's good to remember some of these men.

Lewis Burpee came from Ottawa and served with Guy Gibson in 106 Squadron, so he was one of Gibson's 'inner circle' of trusted comrades. After flying 26 operations with 106 he was awarded the DFM. In September 1942 he married an English girl and shortly after joining 617 Squadron Burpee found that his wife was expecting their first child.

Burpee's Lancaster was part of the third reserve wave and took off to attack the Ruhr Dams from RAF Scampton at 00.11 hours, May 17th 1943. Flying at an altitude of 150ft, Lancaster AJ-S strayed slightly off course and was hit by ground fire from Gilze-Rijen. The Lancaster was seen to imitate Luftwaffe practice by switching its navigation lights on, but the aircraft burst into flames and crashed among buildings on the airfield site. There was then a massive explosion as Barnes Wallis' dam-busting mine exploded causing severe damage.

Burpee's widow left England for Canada to live with his parents, and his son, Lewis J Burpee Jnr was born on Christmas Eve.

A twisted propeller blade from the Lancaster can be seen at the Newark Aviation Museum in England.

This is a superb thread...keep it up !

 

Martin, thats an impressive and interesting story! Soon I will look if I find something more about that event.

Skipper..... I made something for you today.

 

Aha, now you are making me curious!

 

Here you go, pictures I made today near the brickfactory... It still stands today but its not much. (more and old farm with stables) Hope you will enjoy.

Brickfactory, pictures taken by both sides of the road.






Overlooking the village Molenschot. You can see the "Heilige Anna" church in the town. This was the only church who lived trough ww2 here in the region.


Looking towards the airbase Gilze-Rijen, the road you see is called "Lijndonk".



And at last this is the spot where we have seen the "crater" on the RAF pictures ...