Re: possible USAF F-84 or F-104 shot down near Strasbourg?
Bill,
What the old man explained I met there on Lichtnebreg is an amazing and terrible history;
It seems that the (canadian) pilot had bailed out over Luxembourg (I believe) because the jet had apparent engine troubles.
Then the Sabre followed his flight without pilot, eastern, for a long trip.
He arrived over the Vosges mountains and flow over the town of Lichtenberg and then followed his way eastern, in the little valley between Reipertswiller and Rothbach.
The old man explained that the plane arriving at the eastern end of that little valley (about 3 miles eastern from Lichtenberg) suddenly turned 180° back and flow western till he arrived directly over the village of Lichtenberg where it crashed on a house and burned, killing to civilians.
As he explained that to me, he seemed to think that it was "as if someone would have pulled on the commands" and ordered that it had to go back and crash there.
Terrible history...and destenies
I never have searched in the 1960 newspapers (because I'm intersted about WWII pilots and crashes) but sure it must be something here in our local newspaper archives about that drama.
I just know that history because I asked that old man for 3 years ...about the other one crash (our possible F-102).
I at first had believed it was a P47 Thunderbolt crash site (because of the olive painting and USA(A)F star on the part I found), as I found some parts there for some years in the forest.
Did the (canadian) pilot of the Sabre survive?
|