Page 9 - John Francis Ryan

A more detailed account of this night’s operation is in the Raid Report and Aircraft
Loss Cards Flipbook.

Raid Reports and Aircraft Loss Cards

John’s Lancaster crashed 1.5 miles West of the village of Wieseth, some 32 miles South West of
Nüremburg. (The village is in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria, Germany). The war load, still in
the Lancasters bomb bay as the aircraft hit the ground with great force, ejecting the 4,000 Lb
ʻCookieʼ through the bomb bay doors and into a nearby wood. (This device was left by the
retreating German army and a United States Army Bomb Disposal team possibly defusing the
ʻCookie’sʼ three Anvil type detonators from the front of the bomb after the American Army had
over-run the area). The remaining war load consisted of 9 carriers of
(in total 150 x 4 Lb Incendiaries and 2 x 60 Lb Incendiaries). These devices would have ignited
and destroyed much of the Lancasters aluminium airframe.

A conscripted Polish worker from the near bye hamlet of Höfstetten went to the ʻCookieʼ next day
and unscrewed at least one of the three Anvil type detonators in the bombs nose. And there the
bomb stayed in the wood, used by the local foresters as a seat and a table!
On Sunday March 30 1947, over two years since the crash of John’s Lancaster, during the
th
wedding of Willi Springer from Untermosbach, the ʻCookieʼ exploded causing extensive
destruction to the forested area around the bomb and one presumes stopping the
wedding in its tracks.

The story now moves on to 1998 where Herr Adolf Bayer, who lived in Untermosbach, admitted to
the Wieseth authorities it was he who caused the ʻCookieʼ to explode. On that Sunday morning, he
was making his way to Fetschendorf with his friend, Otto Kronberger. The young lads approached
the bomb and seeing the wax consistency of the explosive Torpex filling leaking from the empty
detonator position at the bombs nose, decided to set it on fire. At first, they had difficulty but with
the use of some rice they had managed to ignite the explosive, (Paraffin or Bees wax is used in
the manufacture of Torpex), so once alight the fire would melt the Torpex and result in the bomb
exploding,but not before the two young lads had run away from the area
The young lads arriving in the village of Fetschendorf as the ʻCookieʼ exploded. The subsequent
Police inquiry did not involve these lads as the Police were aware, that the two lads were in
Fetschendorf and did not suspect they had anything to do with the ʻCookieʼ exploding. Other than
extensive destruction to an area of the wood, there was no other damage or casualties.

And thus, the incident receded into local history. Adolf has since passed away but the webmasters
on contacting the Bürgermeister of Wieseth, Herr Walter Kollmar, who lives in Untermosbach
informed us of this incident and the details immediately following Johns Lancaster crashing. The
Bürgermeister personally knew Adolf.