227146 Hans H. Peters Luftwaffe It was early morning in October 1944 on an airbase in Cottbus, Germany.
It was still dark outside, when suddenly the runway lights were switched on.
We were stunned as a Boeing Fortress B17 landed on the airfield. The aircraft rolled out but the runway was to short and so the B17 slided with the front landing gear in a waterless ditch. We could see that the crew (5 or 7 people, I can't quite remember)came out and fled. But they were captured after a short while. One crew member made it to a small forrest where he was found injured on the next morning. After he was medically attended he and his crew members were hauled off to Cottbus city.
This incident is affirmed by some other still living colleagues of mine. After 60 years.
One of my colleagues could tell, that the Cottbus tower has confirmed that a B17 has sent a mayday call after it was under fire by german flak and that one crew member was injured. So the tower decided to switch on the runway lights.
I am wondering if anyone of the crew is still alive and can tell some more about the circumstances how and why they landed in Cottbus.
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