[Trendle]

John, apropos „Bodenplatte - The Luftwaffes Last Hope“: About 12 Years ago, I was looking for a crahlanded B-17 Fortress near the little Hamlet Hausen am Tann, 7 Km südlich Balingen (Baden-Württemberg - Germany). An old woman told me in an Restaurant, that a fighter plane crashed nearby on January 1, 1945. So of course I got excited! She described the crash site fairly accurately and after only a short search I found parts of the fighter at the „Schafberg“, 2 Km north Hausen am Tann. She also remembered the name of the pilot: Unteroffizier Hans-Gustav Dierks, participant in “Operation Bodenplatte”. He, who was initially buried in Hausen am Tann, was brought home by his grandmother (?) in 1946 or 1947. He rests today in the honorary cemetery in his native town of Hamm/Westphalia) 5.(St.)/JG 4 / Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-8/R2 / # 681870 / Weiße 7 + presumably disorientation on the return flight „Bodenplatte“
Fred