A Xanten Crash … ?

There are a lot of theories about the 513th misdrop. Meanwhile I have my very own theory, still have do do some research. That much said, I don't believe they missed the correct spot crossing the Rhine.

While taking a break from my map worx, I looked at our crash pic again, and it suddenly gave me the creeps. What I saw infront of the hedge, must be some sort of pareidolia.

 

Yeah that is weird. Odd things can sometimes be seen in blurry low rez pics or be interpreted in various ways. For example I thought a horse may have been struck in this post.

A Xanten Crash … ?

Regards ...

 

My interpretation was it was a gap in the hedge where an object (part of the aircraft possibly the rest of the left wing) carried on through the hedge and into the field. This is possibly the object we see cartwheel in the cine footage but without a clearer picture of the rest of the crash scene I don’t think we will ever know for sure (still long term working on this and will add the new building info from the post cards). The ground in front of this hedge gap is disturbed in the same way (darkened) as the ground where the engine detached from the wing root.

The hedge behind this gap is at 90o to what it appears and separates the orchard behind from another field closer to the camera.

BR
SH

 

Yo,

A simple unmarked combine of one of the Xanten postcards and the Paradata pic:



Regards ...

 

Agreed, says the sober expert. The trouble is, if you've seen the sitting soldier once, he won't disappear anymore. At least for me.

The normal furrows run from the left edge of the image (middle) to the right edge of the image (bottom). I think I can see four furrows diagonally.

 

Debris travel

Yes the direction of debris travel is to the left or north (?) across the open field. In my opinion that debris and the tail section of a C-46 was filmed by Jack Chitham as seen in the IWM Xanten footage. However, not everyone agrees that to be the case. All of which makes for an interesting study (my take is covered in the PDF).



It would be great to know who the cine cameraman was that captured the crash from the hill. A photo of Barney Gloster would be nice. Also what became of the sole survivor, Norman E. Rhoads, postwar.

And is there still documentation out there awaiting discovery that could change matters entirely?

Regards ...

Later: Added graphic combine

 

Finally my little map about the American routes is done. It's not a good idea, to mix an old overlay with a modern map. But for several reasons this was the only possible solution for now.

Normally the American ships after turning right, should navigate to Marheeze (NL). But of course, when hit east of the rhine, everything was possible. For example Ed Vosika who was with the 81st TCS, turned west after being hit, and ended up in a crash landing at B-100.

 

Well done O,

It's interesting that the American streams all passed over or near Xanten. Believe it was the 'X' stream that contained the C-46 Serials (A-5 and A-6). Of course they were dropped north of DZ 'X' in the British zones.



Regards ..

 

CN 45 Crew Chief - T/Sgt. Norman Elmer Rhoads - 33054057

Ancestry census information for a Norman E. Rhoads. Perhaps the same man.

-----------------------

Norman E. Rhoads

Age - 20, born about 1920
Birthplace - Pennsylvania
Gender - Male
Race - White
Home in 1940 - 828 E Willard Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Household Members

Head - George E. Rhoads Senior - 43
Wife - Elsie Rhoads - 42
Son - George C. Rhoads Junior - 22
Son - Norman E. Rhoads - 20

----------------------

"Troopers that Jumped" from Chalk 45



Regards ...

 

Thanks for the addition, Cee. Is there a source for this chart, since times differ to IX TCC & Warren. Whatever - one thing is for sure: All units were too early ~ 5 to 10 min. btw: my map uses the official IX TCC timetable.

 

Hi,

I took it from the 17th Airborne Varsity Report, page 109.

Regards ...

 

Primary Images

Here's a visual summary of the photos and footage of the Xanten Crash as I see it. Not everyone shares this view concerning certain events represented here. Where possible I backed up my theories with analysis in the thread and PDF. Will post large size for now, but may change later if too imposing.



Regards ...

 

Crash Sequence as seen in Photobook #89

 

Great find!!

Missed those completely. They appear to be on a perch of some kind. An American helmet?

Regards ...

 

51°38'55.6"N 6°28'26.9"E

Perfect place! Looking NNE is the spot, where LZ S and DZ W crossed the rhine, looking NW we have the Xanten view.

American Inbound Routes

But as can be seen on streetview, from the flat ground nothing could be seen. They must have built some sort of temporary observation tower I think.

cu.

 

Yo,

Yes they are nearby the Furstenberg Retreat as pointed out previously by SH. The house shows up numerous times in the pics. I can see why they would check mark the descending C-46. But why the other - flak?



Regards ...

 

Observation Perch

Not sure if they are in the same yard or a little farther up (?) the hill. The distinctive old house is clearly visible.



Regards ...

 

Yo,

Here's a link to the Canadian Archives where I looked for Gloster March 24th photos. Slightly better quality but not all are digitised. One undigitised photo they describe as the crash of a B-17.

Are these guys atop a house farther up the hill from the Furstenberg mansion with its nearby chapel or was there another tall structure on the "Retreat" property that has since been removed - dunno?

Collection search

Regards ...

 

Observation Post Possibility

The only house up from the "Retreat" and somewhat nearby is 16 Rheinberger Str. An interesting old building in the midst of tall trees nowadays that would block rooftop views towards Xanten. An observation post possibility perhaps ...?



Regards ...

 

Here is a new version of my chart. The aerial view has been rotated, and the section has been changed to include the possible crash site. In addition, two new fixed points have been added. The spire (blue) is located on the Zentralrendantur, the Josephs-Hospital with the dome (red) no longer exists today.

Fun fact: While searching for a picture of the hospital, I came across a postcard showing exactly the same perspective.