# Parts of B-24J (34 Sqn SAAF) found in Poland



## v2 (Apr 25, 2018)

Success in searching for the remains of the allied Liberator B24L aircraft.

Numerous fragments, including the engine, from the crashed Liberator B24L EW-250 from the period of the Second World War were found in the fields of Krzczonowo.

On Saturday, April 21, at the invitation of the Social Committee to commemorate the Fallen Pilots of SAAF RAF in the Liberator B24L EW-250 catastrophe in 1944, the Association "Wizna 1939" carried out research work in the region of the plane's fall. The search engine was accompanied by a TV crew of the "It was not past - Chronicle of History Stalkers" program edited by Adam Sikorski.

Already at the beginning of the search, with the use of metal detectors, shallow fragments of the airplane plating appeared, stretched on the surface of several hundred square meters. So the eyewitness information about the exact location of the machine's fall has been confirmed. The aim of the whole operation, however, was to extract larger fragments of the wreck, which were suspected that they were deeper. To locate them, you had to use specialized equipment. With its help, the area of the excavation was precisely marked in the field and earthworks were started. It was also necessary to use an excavator made available by the Municipality of Opatowiec.

During the removal of subsequent layers of soil, numerous parts of the machine began to appear, initially identified as engine shell, oil lines, rubber fuel tank liner, radiator parts, engine cylinders and many other parts of the bomber. At the depth of the excavation, about three meters, there were still disturbances in the regular arrangement of soil layers, so it was known that deeper should be the larger element of the broken plane.

The highlight of the search was the extraction of the "heart of the plane" at the depth of 3.5 m - 14 cylinders, weighing more than half a ton, one of the four Liberator B24L engines - Pratt & Whitney power unit model R1630 with 900 hp. Arriving at the place of search, the aviation expert identified several dozen other elements of the aircraft and confirmed their origin.

After the completion of the search, the area was cleaned up and restored to the state from before the search.

It is worth knowing that the plane took off from the military base in Celone, Italy, with the help (dropping of equipment) for partisans operating in the Końskie area. Fired and damaged by German fighters near Tarnów, he attempted to land on the Krzczonów fields.

Out of the eight crew, one airman survived, who was hiding, heroically preserved, until the end of the war, first with the Jańców of Kociny, then in Rachwałowice, later happily returning to England. The fallen soldiers were buried near the place of the catastrophe, then they were exhumed and are now resting at the Rakowicki Cemetery in Krakow.

Sukces w poszukiwaniach szczątków alianckiego samolotu Liberator B24L

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## Airframes (Apr 25, 2018)

Good news.


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## Gnomey (Apr 25, 2018)

Good stuff!


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## vikingBerserker (Apr 25, 2018)

I agree, thank you for posting this.


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