The Crash of Lt. Dan Wilson’s P-38 is part of the History of Schwanberg, Austria
Lt. Dan Wilson was Killed in Action February 19, 1945, at Schwanberg, Austria. The crash is recorded in the town history, which was sent to me by Mayor Karl Schuster in 1989.
1945 15. [should be 25] Feber: Es fallen Sprengbomben aus englischen Kampfflugzeugen in den Kulmerwald. 6 Tage vorher greifen alliierte Kampfflugzeuge auf dem Schwanberger Bahnhof einen Wehrmachtransport an. Ein Flugzeug sturzt auf den heutigen Sportplatz.
Schwanberg 700 Jahre Markt by Dr. Alois Ircher. An undated history of the city, in German, page 41. Dr. Ircher also wrote that Dan Wilson was not shot down, as we took for granted. He said the plane was so low that it hit a telephone or light pole, and that where the plane fell is now a “sportplatz.” He doesn’t know what the German occupiers did with the remains of the plane.
Translation: 1945 February 15 [sic]: High-explosive bombs fall from English fighter planes in the Kulmerwald. 6 days earlier, Allied fighter planes attacked a Wehrmach transport at the Schwanberg train station. A plane crashes on today’s sports field.
The main mission of the 37th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, 15th Air Force that day was was to escort B-24s of the 55th Wing at Bruck, Austria. On their way back to their base at Triolo, Italy, the P-38s were strafing (and an experimental skip-bombing) in the Graz area of Italy.
For more about what happened to Danny Wilson, please see What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers.
