Deserters

ejmaztec

A few years ago, I remember seeing a documentary on the subject of USAF deserters in WW2, but I can't find any info on the story. I don't know why, but I found it amusing. One of the aircrew of a B17 was saying that, as they were heading towards Germany in a large formation on a bombing raid, he could see a number of B17s heading away in a north-easterly direction. It was only when he returned to England after the mission, that he discovered that a number of his colleagues had arrived in Sweden.

This activity apparently happened more than once.

At the end of the war, a US representative arrived in Sweden to discuss diplomatic affairs in general, and was extremely embarrassed at the sight of a number of USAF aircraft parked on the tarmac.

I don't know what happened to the deserters, only that they lived out the rest of the war in Sweden. For some strange reason, they preferred chasing blondes around to getting killed.:D

Anybody else heard of this, and what the fate of these characters was?

Morlar

Never heard that story before Have heard that some of the allied & axis crews chose to ditch in Ireland in order to sit out the war though. I am not sure if that one is proveable though I'd imagine it was a factor for some in their decisions.

Mahatma coat

have heard similar meself, apparently a fair few Bombers got "lost" and ended up in Sweden whilst flying from England to Germany

ejmaztec

This trip to Sweden was probably genuine, in that it happened after a bombing mission.:D The people involved in this even had a trip to Ireland.

http://www.sodabob.com/Photos/CSethWWII/?MenuID=60

BOMBING MISSION #64: LAST BOMBING MISSION
June 21, 1944 (15 days after D-Day)
"Left England in Lovely Lady's Avenger at 5 am heading for Berlin with a full load of 500 pound bombs for delivery to air fields and munitions plant..."
"Weather was clear and cold (Outside temp at 20,000 feet was minus 40 below zero). Made trip to Berlin, made bomb run and headed for home when anti aircraft guns filled the sky with lots of flak and exploding shells. We were hit in two engines (note feathered props on one engine), started to loose speed and altitude and couldn't keep up with group so we were flying alone. Had ideas of bailing out but one of the gunners had holes shot in his parachute so decision was made to stay with plane as long as we could . We were down to about 10,000 feet and made quick decision to go to Sweden (neutral country) which was about 100 miles or so across the Baltic sea. It was about 500 miles or so back to England across the North Sea which was very cold water (couldnt last long if we had to ditch the plane there - easy decision)."
"About half way to Sweden a German fighter plane started chasing us and we couldnt fire back, but 2 American P-38s, my favorite fighter, came to our rescue and chased him off."
"While we were heading for Sweden and we knew the plane was badly damaged, we realized our hydraulic system was damaged and the nose turret, which James Branum, was in, wouldn't turn because we were low on hydraulic fluid, so he was stuck (Locked In). We had a manual system to turn the turret so the doors would open, so he could get out. As I was turning the crank, the chain kept creaking and cracking, and we were afraid it might break. Jim said to me, QUOTE Charlie if you break that chain I will haunt you the rest of your life (we laughed about it much later). The chain didn't break, we got him out Ok, and finished up getting ready for landing in Sweden."
"Made it to southern tip of Sweden and the little town of Malmö (see map) and crash landed on a little hill just short of runway... not quite enough power to pull up over the hill. That is where the pictures were taken."
"Every one of us (8 fliers) got out Ok - just a little shaken up but nothing serious. As this was a neutral country we were treated very nice and well taken care of. We stayed at the Grand Hotel in Rättvik, Sweden (190 miles north west of Stockholm) for our 5 months visit to Sweden. It was a nice hotel and a nice little town on Lake Siljan."
"One of the pilots, after finishing his missions, was assigned to air transport command, flying night missions to and from Sweden in an unmarked, black painted B-24. That was good for me and my crew..."
"In early December we were put on a plane and flown to Ireland, then to England back to our old base. Few days there and then by air to New York, by train to Chicago and then by train to Bloomington, IL. Arrived there Dec 23 to be home by Christmas."
"Sixty years ago. It has been a long time....."