The photo below, taken in June 2010, at the Brussels Air Museum, shows the crash sites of Allied and German aircraft in Belgium for 1939-1945, giving some idea of the sheer number of planes downed during World War II. Click once on the map to see more detail. Then click again on that image for even greater detail. (For links to websites of Belgian organizations researching WWII crash sites, click here and then scroll down to Belgium.)
Crash Sites in Belgium of Allied and German aircraft, 1939-1945 (Brussels Air Museum)
Legend for Belgian Crash Sites Map
WWII Netherlands Escape Lines 
hello can you help i am trying to find a crashed halifax bomber the crew are at rest in Amberly but i would like to find out where the plane went down please can you help
leeenfield303@hotmail.co.uk tom lewis
Dear Mr. Lewis,
In regard to your posting on my website, have you contacted the Belgian Aviation History Association, specifically Cynrik De Decker at http://users.telenet.be/airwareurope/en/start_e.htm? That is the best source I can suggest. Also try the Word War II Lost Bombers database at http://www.lostbombers.co.uk/.
Best wishes,
Bruce Bolinger
Also looking for a specific crash site. 14Mar1945 B24 downed near Ciney, Belgium. My uncle (the only KIA at the site) is at rest in Neupre, Belgium. First website listed above is in French (I only speak English) and the second was not accessible from the states.
Mr. Ed Reniere researches WWII crashes in Belgium. He says that three B-17s were lost that day, all with several KIAs on board, but none are listed as having crashed in Ciney or even Belgium. Contact me at https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/about-2/contact/ and I will put you in touch with him. Once you have established contact with Mr. Reniere, if you give him the name of your uncle, he will try to provide you with more information on him.
Bruce Bolinger
I’m still hoping someone has a picture of 42-97307 “Flak Shak” which landed severely damaged in Brux Sept. 12, 1944. Is there anyway to pose that question to the people of that area? SOme may even remember the crew as they were there for 3 days before heading back to the UK.
I am searching for more information about Whitley Z6479 MH-M 51 sq he crashed in the night of 16 on 17 juni 1941 at houthalen tenhaagdoornse heide Kindly regards Kevin.
Take a look at the following website: http://aircrewremembered.com/baston-thomas.html. It has a great deal of information about the crash. Best regards, Bruce Bolinger
I am searching for more information about Whitley Z6479 MH-M 51 sq he crashed in the night of 16 on 17 juni 1941 at houthalen tenhaagdoornse heide Kindly regards Kevin here is my email kevinfol@hotmail.com
Can any one tell me about the British four engine bomber that crashed one night near the little village of Rixensart, Belgium. This could have been a Lancaster bomber. Some of the men were able to bail out. Those British heroes who were killed were burried in the Wavre, Belgium cemetery.
I was only a young American citizen at the time. I can still see this Bomber spinning like a leaf falling from a tree. The bomber was just a ball of fire. It came down in a pine grove on the right of the road going from Rixensart to Bierges, The next morning I went on the site of the crass. I also went to the burial at the cemetery in Wavre. The Belgian people showed up in force at the cemetery to the great displeasure of the Germans
Best regards. Christian W. de Marcken
15 Townsend Drive
West Boylston, MA. 01583-102
Telephone: 508-835-3680 e-mail: cwdemarcken@verizon.net
am still trying to get correct location of crashed whitley z6837dy shot down sept1 1941 at
schaffen brabrant Belgium all killed and buried schaffen cemeterywondering if this crash has ever been found
I am trying to learn about my uncle Walter Hollis Preston who was the pilot of a B-17 which crashed due to engine failure over Belgium in 1944. He stayed with the plane until everybody bailed out, but it was too late for him, and he was klled when the plane crashed. A young boy named Pierre helped others hide the crew that survived, from the Germans.
I suggest that you take a look at the FAQ on this website that has suggestions for researching downed airmen at https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/faqs/how-do-i-learn-about-an-allied-airman-who-was-shot-down/. There probably will be some sources listed that will help in your research.
Bruce Bolinger
Hello Miss Gomez, I know a crash site that could be the one you are looking for. I don’t know if it’s the plane of your uncle involved in this crash but some points are similars…. I don’t find a lot of information about this crash on internet so I can’t confirm it was the flight of your uncle. What I know is that a bomber crashed in Gottignies (located between Soignies and Mons in Belgium). It happened in February 1944 or on the 10 May 1944. Soldiers escaped with parachutes but the pilot was killed in the crash. I’m sure of this crash site because it was near my grandparent’s house and they talked about it. I met witnesses and there was an interview about the crash (local french language is not easy to understand but you can watch it via the link below).
It was a plane with about 7 people on board but I don’t know if it was a B17. I’m still trying to find information about this crash.
https://www.leroeulxsouvenirs.be/crash-aerien-entre-gottignies-et-ville-sur-haine-en-1944/
and
https://www.leroeulxsouvenirs.be/parachutages-et-atterrissages-forces-a-thieu-en-1944/
Kind regards,
Etienne
I am looking for information as to the Crash Landing site outside of Weize on March 24, 1945 of a C-47 Number 43-30650. My father ( William Trau) and crew all made it back to England the next day.
About 10 years ago I was working at a assisted living facility in marksville Louisiana. A gentleman told me that he was shot down in a bomber in Belgium.
Everyone survived,and made it back to England the next day. He said a lady with a baby in her arms ran to the crash site yelling In French. The pilot asked the man I knew what the hell she was saying, because he was Cajun french . He said he understood enough to know she was telling them that there were British troops nearby and they ended up helping them to get back to England. I’ve been fascinated by that story for years. I bet it’s the same one.
I am sorry to say but that map is wrong, it is full of errors.
If you want to know about crash sites in Belgium just contact us
http://www.planehunters.be
I am searching for the crash site of Short Stirling EE905 RAF, shot down near Willerzie Belgium on 31 July 1943. 2 aircrew were killed and remaining 5 survived, My father Sgt JDH Carleton successfully evaded capture, helped by French & Belgian resistance back to UK in January 1944. Is there any information on its whereabouts?
Hi John
That map is wrong,i don’t know who made it.
Regards
Benny Ceulaers
Chairman Planehunters Recovery Team
Hello John, do you have any more information regarding the crash of the EE905-QS-S. I know this region well. There are several possible places.
I am looking for any and all the info of the b-24 liberater that was namedsnow goose. My 2nd cousin Vernon james king was one of the men killed in the firey wreak over a belguim town or bosenwant. Please help me, there is a nice monument that holds the names of all crew
Response: I found three videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbTrK-ii5lc , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSGUzc8wYTg, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ZZa7klSZY) and one website (https://www.google.com/search?ei=OQUIXYKqGcLQ9APg1rWoCw&q=B-24%2B%22Snow+Goose%22&oq=B-24%2B%22Snow+Goose%22&gs_l=psy-ab.3…3861.5137..5931…0.0..0.108.344.3j1……0….1..gws-wiz…….0i71j0i8i10i30.FiVPpTyR5u0) on the subject of the crash of the “Snow Goose”. The nearest town is Bolsward and the next largest town is Sneek. They are in the Dutch province of Friesland. The historical society for Bolsward (the Stichting Bolsward Historie) has a website at https://stichtingbolswardshistorie.nl/contact/. I suggest you contact them. Another source of information would be the associations that research aviation crash sites. Go to https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/aircraft-crash-sites/ on this website to see a list of ten such Dutch organizations (https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/aircraft-crash-sites/). Also see the page on this website entitled “How Do I Learn About an Allied Airman Who Was Shot Down?” which is at https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/faqs/how-do-i-learn-about-an-allied-airman-who-was-shot-down/. Scroll down the to such headings as “Enlistment Records”, “Learning About the Bombing Mission,” “Learning About His Base in England,” etc. and follow up the links provided there.
Bruce Bolinger
Webmaster
Hello. My grandfather Warren B McAllister was pilot of the Hun Runner, 42-97967, of the 379th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. On January 15, 1945, he and his crew had to bail out over Roye, France. The autopilot was set, and the bomber apparently landed itself in Sart-Messire-Guillaume, near Court St Etienne, Belgium. I can find no records to substantiate this. My grandfather did receive photos (which I have copies of) in the 1990s of the townspeople around the plane. Is there any local records of this crash? Thank you.
Hello, I am French and i have one friend in USA: Colonel Steven A. Ruffin. We talk about the B 17. He give me your post.
I have a French friend who bought 3 pictures of the B17. Send me an email and I will send them to you. The Air Force says:
“B-17 42-97967 / 379 BG – 524 BS
15 January 1945. It landed at about 5 p.m. on the way back from a raid on Germany in Mr. Bocquet’s field. A strong fog led the nine airmen to jump, leaving the aircraft to land on its own.”
It is thus added to the long list of aircraft abandoned to their fate by the crew and, perfectly compensated, continuing to fly as if nothing had happened until the last drop of fuel: there are bombers of course, “shot down” but not completed, but also, more recently, fighters after ejection such as Mirage III (Creil or Colmar) or the Russian MIG 23 which had fallen on a house on the Belgian border, I believe in 1986, the pilot had abandoned it (fall of the reactor) off Rostock!
The holes therefore more likely come from the butchering for a trophy more than from the Flak.
Best Regards
Jean-Marc Simon
Hello Jean-Marc. Wow! Thank you for your post. I would very much like for you to send me those photos, as well as any extra information you may have about the incident. For example, do you know who Mr. Bocquet is and where his field was located?
I am unsure about how to find your email. If you would like to reply to me, my email is alabma814@yahoo.com
Again, thank you for your help!
hi can anyone help me
is there any record about franz blaimschein obergefreiter 31years
he crashed his plane in Bastogne on 4 marz 1945 belguim thats what i think
hes burried at recongne bastogne
The following page on this website, https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/links-to-other-escape-and-evasion-websites/links-allied-aircraft-crashes-in-the-netherlands-belgium-and-france/, provides links to websites about WWII airplane crashes, There are several dealing with crashes of German planes. You might find them helpful.
Best wishes,
Bruce Bolinger, Webmaster
Eugene Franklin Palmer was KIA over Belgium on March 14, 1945 piloting a P47 Thunderbolt. He was my mother’s first husband. I am trying to locate where the crash site is.
Dear Mr. Kirn,
I suggest that you look at the following page on this website: https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/aircraft-crash-sites/. You may be able to find some useful links.
Best wishes,
Bruce Bolinger
Hi,
I’m searching for the immatriculation and the name of a B-17 which crashed in a field of Regelem during the summer of 1944. The plane would have been shot down by the DCA. Then, the pilot told the other people aboard to jump off the plane and he would have crashed the plane into a field.
He saved my grandpa’s life by doing that.
If you find any further informations I’d appreciate it if you told me.
Thanks,
Mathis
I have a painted cartoon given to my mother who was an RAF nursing sister. It was a gift to her by a patient as described below:
“ Souvenir From Belgian Airman
Ch. Leyssen Xmas 1941 “
Does anyone know of him/ his family ?