This is an old event, way back in 2012 but I think themes like this are timeless. A good friend of mine, Mr Karoly Mago ( curator, excavator of the Szolnok Aero Nautical Museum ( Hungary ), historian, a model builder, a great man above anything else ) invited me in October 2012 to an excavation of a shot down airplane, an Handley Page Halifax in place called Bacsbokod in Hungary. Of course I went to the location and did my share in excavation, it's a one in a life time adventure, full of adrenaline and excitement, an privilege of only a few man had to pleasure to experiance.
The history ( courtesy of Mr Mago Karoly ) :
On the night between 26 and 27 th August 1944 the RAF Halifax serial number JD-362 with polish crew flown an supply mission to Warsaw rebellions. The 6th German night fighter squadron was alerted and Wilhelm Johnen finded the airplane and shoted it down near Bacsbokod Hungary. The Hungarian royal police reported : *near Bacsbokod one four engine British plane fell down. The crew is killed, they burned. beside the wreck next items were founded : 2 pcs of id cards, 2 pcs of maps of Europe, 251 lyras.* Ispánovity József remembered: *I was 16 years old Levente ( a kind of police men but only made of teenagers ) and we were send out to protect the wreck. The peaces of the aircraft were burning for solid two days. I saw a many deformed weapons, machine guns a wreck pieces.*
Then a little twist happened, Bacsbokod was mainly German population ( 716 men were members of Volksbund and the SS ) so Dr. Zöldi Márton ( SS oficer ) took the situation under his command ( he had no authoroty what so ever, he did it all on his own hands ) the Royal Hungarian Police stood back, mostly to avoid an confrontation with an SS officer. He broke all the protocols of identification and burying the crew members, he ordered to throw the bodies next to the wreck and covered it with dirt, and he let the locals to take away anything they needed from the site. Nobody confronted to Dr. Zöldi Márton once again most probably nobody wanted to confront to an SS officer.... On the arrival of the Red Army Dr. Zöldi Márton went to west ( never to return to Bacsbokod ) and here fate took another twist, nobody told the Russians about the plane in fear of retaliation. Bács-Bodrog area minister reported on November the 5 th 1945 : * In August 1944 near to Scháffer Mihály farm one British or US airplane crashed, after an aerial battle. Remains of 6 or 7 crew member were found, didn't know for sure, because of the blast the bodies was scattered all around, the human remains were gathered in one casket and buried in villages cemetery (this was an lie ) and all the documentations and id's of the crew were taken by Dr. Zöldi Márton, an SS officer in charge for the region.* All of the witnesses claimed that the human remains are lying beside the wreck at the crash site. In 1946 allied grave identifiers went to Bacsbokod but they never excavate the site.
The Excavation Founding from Baja ( Hungary ) with leadership of Mr. Galambos Gábor made a visit to the site and after an surface exploration they identified the accurate crash site. In November 2011 to The Excavation Founding from Baja joined The Hungarian Excavation Founding from the MH.86 helicopter base in Szolnok and the cleared up an 60 meters long section. Theh founded 18 pcs of human remeains, piece of boot, RAF insignia and a factory plate of the aircraft. After getting all the needed permits they started the official excavation in October 2012. Lots of ammo and aircraft parts were founded, as well as human remains ( bone fragments ) which Dr. Magyar Lóránt identified as human bones without a doubt and dated them from 1944.
The Polish ambassador in Hungary Mr. Andrzej Kalinowski take over the human remains and they were buried in all military honors in cemetery in Solymár.
The crew :
Jan Rodwan-Kuzelowski - sergeant major
Kazimierz S. Sorawka - lieutenant
Stefan G. Kleniewski - second lieutenant
Walaszek Karol - sergeant
Leon Z. Witkowski - sergeant
Edward Jodis - sergeant
Tadeusz Ogrodnik - sergeant
