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You're doing a Dutch tour, are you Tony?

Posted by Cees Broere on Thu Jan 31, 2002 09:20:28 AM

In reply top And a P-47 recovered from the Ijsselmeer posted by Tony on Thu Jan 31, 2002 08:38:45 AM

This is again a very well known recovery, which I mentioned some months ago on this board. The wreck was recovered with the remains of the pilot Frank Gallion still inside. It was only recovered (three years after discovery) because it would make good PR, exactly 50 years after war's end.

After recovery the wreck was on display for about a year at Lelystad then dissapeard. It was later advertised in Aeroplane Monthly as being surplus. I immediately contacted the curator and asked him why? He told me the plane was of no historical value to the Dutch Museum at Soesterberg. I asked him then to give hand it over to our museum so we could display it.....he then terminated the conversation, when I called him back some days later he did it again!!

Some time later one of our members was on holiday in Germany where he visited a local museum. You can imagine his reaction when he saw the wreck of the P-47 on display there together with parts of a Ju88 also recoverd in Holland. It had been swapped for some German uniforms.

Can you imagine the horror when the next of kin of Frank Gallion find out that the wreck of their relative who died in combat is now on display in the country which killed him in the first place!!!!!

...Und hier you can see ze wreck of a American Sunderbolt witch waz zhot down by ze glorios Luftwaffe.........

I don't make up these stories you know?

Cees

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