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US AIR FORCE KENTUCKY BABE

Bourgois 
On February 11, 2024, it will be 80 years since the Kentucky Babe crashed near our village of Le Quesne.
In the papers of our father, Germain BOURGOIS, we found the letter sent by the US embassy in thanks for the help provided to the members of the crew as well as two photos.
The other helpers from Le Quesne listed on your web page are Madame Paule Guérout, resistance fighter and member of the Bourgogne network, and Mr. Oscar Crépy. They are not the only ones; there were other people who intervened. The baker who gave the clothes of her late husband (a prisoner of war who died in Germany in January 1942), the women who went to join Sokolowski and others...
In one of these photos are Landers, Sokolowki, and in the other there is also Rutherford and two young girls from the village who escorted them on their travels until they were taken care of by the Bourgogne network.,
Heldman, Hayvood, Spining were taken over by other helpers further west and other networks.
Carson, Riley, Lynch and Richey were taken prisoner and Howards died during the attack who is buried in Colleville Cemetery.
I am looking for documents and photos that would allow us to remember and expose this fact to the people of Le Quesne, Beaucamps and neighboring villages (Rutherford came across Beaucamps).
I would like to have more information on the Kentucky Babe, on the mission.
I would like to be able to identify all the members of the crew, and have a photo in uniform for each of them, information on their military career, and know what happened to them after the war.
Spining's daughter came to the scene and handed over some documents to the resistance museum in Forges les Eaux;
Is it still possible to contact other families and by what means ?  Thank you for helping us.


 
Parents
  • 0

    Hello,

    I'm Katie, and Joe Haywood was my grandfather. I heard stories of his escape as a child, ending in Andorra with a massive meal. I have been doing more research in the last couple of years on the details of his crash and escape with the help of the resistance. In the group photo, he is in the back row, the farthest right. Thank you for sharing your story above; it offers some new information. Please contact me if you'd like more information. 

Reply
  • 0

    Hello,

    I'm Katie, and Joe Haywood was my grandfather. I heard stories of his escape as a child, ending in Andorra with a massive meal. I have been doing more research in the last couple of years on the details of his crash and escape with the help of the resistance. In the group photo, he is in the back row, the farthest right. Thank you for sharing your story above; it offers some new information. Please contact me if you'd like more information. 

Children
  • 0 in reply to KWad

    J'ai été très heureux de vous lire.

    J'ai résumé l'évasion de votre grand-père.

    Le vendredi 11 février 1944, après l'attaque mortelle du Kentucky Babe alors qu'il rentrait chez lui endommagé après un bombardement sur Francfort, les aviateurs sautèrent en parachute, (sauf le Sergent Howard qui était décédé). Ils débarquent dans un secteur où l'armée allemande est très présente. Quatre d'entre eux ont été faits prisonniers, les six autres se sont évadés séparément : Spinning vers Aumale, Helmann et Haywood vers le SE, Rutherford, Landers et Sokolowski ont été rapidement récupérés par des assistants.

    Heldmann et Haywood se sont vite retrouvés et se sont dirigés dans la mauvaise direction, directement vers un aérodrome et un camp d'entraînement pour sous-officiers allemands. Ce n'était pas facile pour eux de trouver de l'aide, il y avait des Allemands partout, même chez les villageois. Ils ont erré pendant sept jours, marchant la nuit et se cachant dans des granges jusqu'à ce qu'un agriculteur connaissant la résistance les mette en contact.

    Le réseau "BOURGOGNE" les emmène à Paris en train. Puis après leur avoir fait des papiers d'identité ils les ont escortés avec d'autres (quatorze personnes) toujours en train jusqu'à Foix, au pied des Pyrénées.

    Ils ont traversé la montagne la nuit avec un guide jusqu'à Andorre. Faire ces trails nocturnes en haute montagne en mars a dû être éprouvant ; Le Consulat britannique les a récupéré alors et a organisé leur rapatriement. Ils sont rentrés au Royaume-Uni depuis Casablanca le 3 avril 1944.

    Les détails de l'évasion de Heldmann et Haywood sont décrits dans E&E 544 (et 543).

    Je souhaite identifier tous les membres d'équipage sur la photo et je recherche les familles d'autres aviateurs.

    Merci

    [Moderator note: translation provided]

    I was very happy to read you.

    I summarized your grandfather's escape.

    On Friday, February 11, 1944, after the fatal attack on the Kentucky Babe while returning home damaged from a bombing raid on Frankfurt, the airmen parachuted, (except Sergeant Howard who had died). They land in a sector where the German army is very present. Four of them were taken prisoner, the other six escaped separately: Spinning towards Aumale, Helmann and Haywood towards the SE, Rutherford, Landers and Sokolowski were quickly picked up by assistants.

    Heldmann and Haywood soon found each other and headed in the wrong direction, straight toward an airfield and training camp for German NCOs. It was not easy for them to find help, there were Germans everywhere, even among the villagers. They wandered for seven days, walking at night and hiding in barns until a farmer with knowledge of the resistance brought them into contact.

    The “BURGUNDY” network takes them to Paris by train. Then after giving them identity papers, they escorted them with others (fourteen people) still by train to Foix, at the foot of the Pyrenees.

    They crossed the mountain at night with a guide to Andorra. Doing these night trails in the high mountains in March must have been trying; The British Consulate then collected them and organized their repatriation. They returned to the United Kingdom from Casablanca on April 3, 1944.

    Details of Heldmann and Haywood's escape are described in E&E 544 (and 543).

    I want to identify all the crew members in the photo and am looking for the families of other airmen.

    THANKS