| Ime | Informacijska tabla Štravberk |
|---|---|
| Opis | Informacijska tabla je postavljena ob križišču nad vasjo Štravberk, kot podroben opis dobodkom z dne 19 marca 1944. Tedaj je v gozdu nad Štravberkom strmoglavil Ameriški težki bombnik B-24 H Consolidated Liberator imenovan "Moo Juice" z deset čalnsko posadko. Na tabli, sestavljeni iz dveh kart, ki dvojezično opisujeta zadnji let bombnika, sestrelitev ter usodo posadke. Pod naslovom je prikazana shema letala, dodana je fotografij rešenih članov posadke ter poročilo o pogrešani posadki MACR. Dodatno je v obliki QR kode podan naslov do spletne strani z video posnetkom očividca Francta Blažiča iz Štravberka:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2jYxe_EZLM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2jYxe_EZLM) |
| Lokacija in dostop | Informacijska tabla je obešena na kozolcu zahondno nad vasjo Štravberk. Koordinate: 45°52'14.10"N 15°11'30.44"E |
| Besedilo na spomeniku | 19. 3. 1944 JE V GOZDU NAD ŠTRAVBERKOM STRMOGLAVIL AMERIŠKI TEŽKI BOMBNIK B-24 LIBERATOR “MOO JUICE” Z 10-ČLANSKO POSADKO. / ON MARCH 19, 1944, THE “MOO JUICE” US B-24 LIBERATOR, HEAVY BOMBER WITH A CREW OF 10 CRASHED IN THE WOODS ABOVE ŠTRAVBERK. Težki bombnik »Moo Juice«, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, serijska številka 42-52225, 737. bombniška eskadrilja, 454. bombniška skupina, 15. Ameriška zračna armada / Heavy bomber »Moo Juice«, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, serial No.: 42-52225, 737th BombardmentSquadron, 454th Bombardment Group, 15th US Air Force 1. Težki bombnik B-24 »Moo Juice« je 19. marca 1944 poletel iz zavezniške vojaške letalske baze v Foggii v južni Italiji nad cilje v tretjem rajhu. V bojni formaciji je bilo več kot 400 težkih bombnikov in spremljevalnih lovskih letal. Glavni cilj 454. bombniške skupine 15. zračne armade je bil bombardirati in uničiti tovarno Steyr-Daimler Puch v Avstriji. / On March 19, 1944, a heavy bomber B-24 “Moo Juice”, took off as a part of a combat formation of more than 400 heavy bombers escorted by fighter planes from the allied military Airbase in Foggia, southern Italy, heading for their targets in the Third Reich. The main goal of the 454th bombing group was to bomb and destroy the factory Steyr-Daimler Puch in Austria. 2. Ob prihodu nad Gradec je bilo napadeno in zadeto večje število ameriških letal, med njimi tudi B-24 »Moo Juice«. / Upon arrival over Graz, several American aircrafts were attacked and hit, including the B-24 »Moo Juice« bomber. 3. Zaradi slabega vremena so namesto Steyerja bombardirali Celovec in Gradec. / Due to bad weather, instead of Steyer, Klagenfurt and Graz were bombed. 4. Med vračanjem v bazo so bombnike, ki so leteli v manjši skupini,blizu Novega mesta napadla nemška lovska letala iz vojaškega letališča Cerklje ob Krki. V tem spopadu je bil bombnik B-24 »Moo Juice« hudo poškodovan, trije člani posadke pa so bili smrtno ranjeni. Preostalim letalcem ni preostalo drugega, kot da izskočijo in letalo prepustijo strmoglavljenju. / On their way back to the base, the German fighter planes from the military airfield at Cerklje ob Krki attacked the bombers flying in a smaller group. The »Moo Juice« B-24 bomber was severely damaged in this battle. Three of the ten aviators were mortally wounded and the rest of the crew was forced to eject, leaving the plane to crash. 5. Sedem letalcev je izskočilo s padali in pristalo v okolici Novega mesta. Pet so jih zajeli domobranci in predali Nemcem, ki so nadzirali to območje. Zajete člane posadke so Nemci poslali v nemška taborišča za zavezniške letalce. Dva člana posadke so s pomočjo domačinov uspeli rešiti partizani in ju odpeljati na osvobojeno ozemlje v Beli krajini ter do partizanskega letališča pri Bosanskem Petrovcu blizu Drvarja. Od tu sta 2. maja 1944 z zavezniškim letalom,skupaj z drugimi rešenimi letalci, poletela v zavezniško letalsko bazo v južni Italiji. Znano je, da je enega od letalcev rešil domačin Jože Dragan iz Sel pri Štravberku. Po letalčevih besedah »Tito, partizani« ga je odpeljal k partizanom. Svoje pogumno dejanje je žal moral plačati z življenjem. Bil je izdan, aretiran in interniran v nemško koncentracijsko taborišče Oberhausen v Avstriji, kjer je umrl. Letalo s tremi mrtvimi letalci na krovu je strmoglavilo v gozdu nad vasjo Štravberk. Domačin Franc Blažič je pred strmoglavljenjem bombnika »Moo Juice« opazoval zračno bitko med manjšo skupino ameriških bombnikov in nemškimi lovci. Na kraju strmoglavljenja je bil med prvimi in skupaj z najbližjim sosedom Francem Zupančičem sta kasneje prepeljala trupla ustreljenih letalcev na Otočec (tedaj Št. Peter), kjer so jih pokopali na vaškem pokopališču. O tem priča zapis v mrliški knjigi pod štev. 36, 37 in 38, kjer piše, da so se 19. marca 1944 z letalom ponesrečili trije ameriški letalci. Ameriška vlada je leta 1946 poskrbela za prekop njihovih posmrtnih ostankov v domačo grudo. / Seven of the parachuted airmen landed near Novo mesto. The members of the Home Guard(quislings) captured five of them and handed them over to the Germans controlling this territory. Later on, they sent them to concentration camps for the captured allied airmen. Two of the airmen were rescued by partisans with the support of the local residents and taken to the liberated territory in Bela Krajina, and further on to the partisan airfield at Bosanski Petrovac near Drvar. On 2ndMay, 1944, they were flown to their base in southern Italy along with rescued allied airmen from other missions. One of the American airmen was rescued by Jože Dragan, a local from the Sela pri Štravberku village. He guided the airman to partisans, after hearing the rescued airman say: »Tito, partisans.« Unfortunately, his brave deed cost him his life. He was betrayed, then arrested by the Nazis and sent to their concentration camp Oberhausen in Austria, where he died a tragic death. The »Moo Juice« bomber with the three dead airmen crashed into the woods near Štravberk village. The villager Franc Blažič saw the battle between the small group of American bombers and the group of German fighters. He was one of the first people at the scene of the crash of the unfortunate American bomber. He, along with the help of his closest neighbour Franc Zupančič, transported the bodies of shot airmen to Otočec, where they were buried in the local cemetery. Their death was registered under the numbers 36, 37and 38. Their death certificate also states that on 19thMarch, 1944, three American airmen were mortally wounded in their aircraft. The American government excavated their remains in 1946 and sent them to their homeland. 6. 3. marca 1993 je Lowell G. West, eden od rešenih članov posadke iz sestreljenega bombnika B-24 »Moo Juice«, slovenskemu ljudstvu poslal zahvalno pismo, ker je med drugo svetovno vojno pomagalo njemu in njegovim tovarišem. V pismu je izrazil veliko hvaležnost za vso pomoč v tistih težkih časih, ko so jim slovenski zavedni ljudje vsestransko pomagali ter tvegali svoja življenja in življenja svojih družin za varno vrnitev ponesrečenih zavezniških letalcev v svojo domovino. / On 3rdMarch, 1993, Mr. Lowell G. West, one of the two airmen rescued by the partisans from the crashed »Moo Juice« bomber, sent a thankyou letter to the Slovenian people for helping him and his comrades from the Allied forces during the World War II. In the letter, he expressed deep gratitude for their help in those hard and dangerous times, when Slovenian patriots risked their lives and the lives of their families for helping them to escape from the Nazis and to return to their homeland. Navedba virov / Reference list Vir/Source: Strani iz Poročila o pogrešani posadki letala(Missing Air Crew Report USAF) / Page form Missing Air Crew Report USAF (MACR) Vir/Source: West, D., 2003 / Spomin na očeta, Lowella Westa / A tribute to Dad, Lowell West The Air Force Escape & Evasion Society", Winter 2003-04 Communications, Vol.17, No. 4. / Dec 4, 2003 Vir/Source: Nordwell, E / Družina Ernija in Wilde Zschomler / The Ernie & Wilda Zschomler family The families of Thomas Scouller & John Peter Nordwell Vir/Source: Žganjar, M., 2012, Zlomljena krila /Broken Wings Vir/Source: Leary, William, M., 1995, Fueling the Fires of Resistance, Army Air forces Special Operations in the Balkans during World War II, Air force history museum Program Vir/Source: Vojni dnevniki in poročila misij v marcu 1944 / March 1944 War Diaries and Mission Reports USAF Vir / Source: Elektonska komunikacija z Deanom Westom in Stevom Nordwellom / E-mail communication with Dean West and Steve Nordwell 2021. Izsek širšega območja Evrope/Segment of wider area of Europe Vir/Source: borders – EU 2021, DSM –NASA JPL SRTM 2007 Izsek VTK – list Novo mesto/Segment of VTK – sheet Novo mesto Vir/Source: GI JNA 1956, DSM – GURS 2008 |
| Status | Obstoječi spomeniki |
| Ime vnašalca | A. Kerin |
| Datum prvega vnosa | 2022-02-10T17:41:03+00:00 |
| Spremembe, dopolnila, popravki | Avtor infotable je Andrej Kirn. M. Hladnik 25. 10. 2023 |
| Vrsta spomenika | Informacijska tabla |
| Občina | Novo mesto |