Often this went well, as there were no anti-aircraft guns in the area. But sometimes things did not go well either, when the Allies were attacked in the air by German Messerschmitts. In those air battles, aircraft were still sometimes shot out of the sky. This happened to both the Allies and the Germans.
At locations where, according to local lore, aeroplanes have crashed, so-called ‘crash posts’ have been erected: three-metre-high blue-and-white posts topped with a bright red aeroplane. Information boards are attached to the posts, featuring a QR code that links to further details about the crash site. You can come across them all over the countryside – by the roadside, in the woods, or on a farmyard. They do not always mark the exact location of an aeroplane crash, as sites in the middle of a (later constructed) road or in a spot unsuitable for farming were avoided. Nevertheless, they give a rough indication of where an aeroplane crashed in what is now the Noordoostpolder during the Second World War.
At the site of an aeroplane crash on what is now known as Dinah Mightpad (a footpath on Vliegtuigweg in Nagele), a marker post has been erected alongside a viewing panel bearing some information about the aeroplane in question and its crew. Such a see-through panel consists of a Corten steel frame with a transparent panel, on which a drawing visualises something that is no longer visible in the landscape. The ‘aircraft wreck’ viewing panel depicts an aircraft that has just crashed, lying on the recently exposed land with a shattered nose and broken propellers. Two crew members are standing on the battered wing. The information panel explains, amongst other things, what happened to the crew after the crash.
Read more about the vista panel
One such crash pole in the landscape is, of course, already reminiscent of the fate that struck here during World War II. But driving past several of them is nothing short of impressive. That is why we have put together a special aeroplane wreckage route for you: a 50-kilometre cycling route along no fewer than five crash posts, bringing the history of the airmen who crashed in today's Noordoostpolder to life a little more. The route takes you past Schokland, Emmeloord and Marknesse, among other places, and of course other sights are highlighted along the way.
Read more about this cycle route
Would you like to find out more about the aircraft wrecks in the Noordoostpolder? Then do take a look at the Canon Noordoostpolder website. Here you’ll find an overview of every aircraft that crashed or made an emergency landing in the Noordoostpolder during the Second World War. Click on the icon on the left (next to the magnifying glass) on any photo of an aeroplane and you’ll see all the information available about that aeroplane, its crew and where it crashed. Often, there are even eyewitness accounts included. Very interesting.
Discover all crash sites in the Noordoostpolder
