B-17 remains were recovered from Greifensee Lake

On September 29, 2000,  the B-17 Museum in Utzenstorf recovered the remains of the B-17 “Little Chub”. Among these relics were the following items: engine, propeller, exhaust turbocharger, radio frequency gauge still containing 1.5 volts, parachute, gin turret and various smaller and larger B-17 “Little Chub” parts. These items are now being exhibited at the B-17 Museum in Utzenstorf.

B-17 Greifensee Lake, shot down by Swiss Hunters on April 24, 1944 The B-17 G-50-BO, Serial No. 42-102446, Code JD-M, Nickname “Little Chub”, belonging to the 8th Air Force, 384th Bomb Group, 545th Squadron took off from Grafton Underwood (GB) with the mission to bomb Oberpfaffenhofen (D). The B-17 was attacked by German fighters over Stuttgart. The gunner Sgt. Raymond A. Nawall began his report written after the war as follows: “Our nose was badly hit by shrapnel and the bombardier 2nd Lt. Jesse L. Greenbaum was seriously wounded in his face. At 14.05 the pilot, 1st Lt Everett L. Bailey, and the co-pilot, 2nd Lt James E. Burry, left the formation at an altitude of 2'000 meters and flew towards Switzerland. The rest of the crew consisted of Navigator 2nd Lt Charles D. Gelding, Radio Operator S/Sgt William J. Silag, Ballistic Turret Gunner Sgt Anthony T. Melazzi and gunners Sgt Sidney Pratt, Sgt Richard R. Hollingsworth and Sgt Richard M. Sendlback, who had broken a leg. Sgt. Richard M. Sendlback was treated in the radio room while 2Lt. Greenbaum was nursed between the pilot and the copilot. The bomber was escorted by  Swiss BF -109s and Moranes and directed to Dübendorf for emergency landing. “On approach,  we realised that we could neither drop nor retract the ball tower, but this was absolutely necessary for a belly landing.” (The right main gear could not be extended.) While the crew worked hard on the ball tower, the pilot flew loops over the Greifensee to gain time for the crew members working on the ball tower. The officer in Dübendorf misinterpreted this as an escape attempt and ordered the Swiss fighters to shoot down the B-17. Actually,  the B-17 bomber was in big trouble. The  Swiss fighter plane attack over the Greifensee Lake came as a complete surprise to the Americans and they had no way of explaining their situation. Sgt Raymond A. Nawall recalls: "We were preparing for a belly landing when we were attacked by three fighters. The plane was immediately engulfed in flames and the pilot commanded us to bail out.” The fighter attack killed 2nd Lt Jesse L. Greenbaum and Sgt. Richard M. Sendlback immediately. 1st Lt. Everett L. Bailey's parachute did not open and he was killed when he crashed into a chicken coop. S/Sgt. William J. Silag, S/Sgt. Raymond A. Newall and Sgt. Richard R. Hollingsworth were picked up by Swiss soldiers after landing. 2nd Lt Charles D. Gelding was the only one on the plane who survived the crash. He was rescued from the Greifensee Lake. The bodies of 2nd Lt. Jesse L. Greenbaum, Sgt. Richard M. Sendleback, Sgt. Anthony T. Melazzi, Jr. and Sgt. Sidney J. Pratt were recovered from Lake Greifensee, while 2nd Lt. James E. Burry’s body was not recovered until 1953 by Martin Schaffner(by plane).

Crew:

Pilot: 1st Lt. Everett L. Bailey, KIA

Copilot: 2nd Lt. James E. Burry KIA

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Charles D. Gelding

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Jesse L. Greenbaum KIA

Engineer: S/Sgt. Raymond A. Newall

Radio: S/Sgt. William J. Silag 

Ball Turret: Sgt. Anthony T. Melazzi, Jr.

Right Waist: Sgt. Richard R. Hollingsworth

Left Waist: Sgt. Richard M. Sendleback KIA

Tail Gunner: Sgt. Sidney J. Pratt KIA

Source:  cockpit / Hans-Heiri Stapfer

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