US Air Force B-24 Liberator Bomber Search for Missing Soldiers off Dutch Coast

In the coming weeks, a search will be made off the coast of Domburg for the bodies of two American soldiers who went missing during the Second World War. They were in a bomb that happened more than eighty years ago off the coast of Zeeland.

The research is being conducted and paid for by the DPAA, American Prisoner of War and Missing Persons Agency. That service is supported by Trident, a company that specializes in maritime archaeology. The work will last in principle until the beginning of May.

If anything is found during the investigation, it will not be published immediately. The remaining relatives will be notified first, according to the city of Veere, which includes Domburg.

“We know roughly where to look, otherwise it would be an impossible task,” Trident’s Bas Coolen said on the radio show De Nieuws BV. If any remains are found, they will be handed over to the Royal Army Rescue and Identification Service. “They take care of the formal transfer to the Americans. “

The long-range bomber, a B-24 Liberator, crashed into the sea near Domburg on November 5, 1943. The ten Americans on board had carried out a bombing raid on Münster, Germany, according to the database on- line B24.net.

The aircraft was heavily damaged by anti-aircraft attacks and German fighter aircraft. Seven of the crew jumped from the plane above Zeeland, the other three could not leave the plane. The body of one of them was washed up near Domburg a few days later, the remains of the other two probably remained on board.

Four of the seven crew members who jumped from the plane survived. They were taken as prisoners of war by the Germans and later returned to the US.

The wreck was identified in 2009 by Navy divers using the serial number of a weapon on board. A diving ban was put in place to keep interested parties away. The wreck itself is covered with a layer of sand so that no remains are lost.

According to the city, the fact that the search for the remains will only take place years later is because technology has improved and there is more knowledge with such places. It is expected that the wreckage will remain in the water, except for parts that may be dislodged and washed ashore.