Crash Site Focke-Wulf 190A 5436

Nieuwkoopse Plassen (ter hoogte van Dorpsstraat), Nieuwkoop

Netherlands, the South Holland Nieuwkoop

A large white cross marks the spot where, on 7 September 1942, Unteroffizier Ludwig Platzer's Focke Wulf crashed into the marshy wetlands of the Nieuwkoopse Plassen. He had taken off from Schiphol shortly before to intercept a formation of American B17 bombers that were on their way to attack the port of Rotterdam. Platzer engaged in combat with one of the accompanying Spitfires and was presumably killed instantly when the Spitfire pilot opened fire. The aircraft spun around its axis and crashed into the soft peat soil. When German soldiers arrived the next day, the aircraft had already sunk so far into the ground that it was no longer possible to recover Ludwig Platzer's body.

In later years, attempts were made to recover the body, but to no avail. However, fragments of the aircraft were found that could be positively identified as belonging to the FW190 5436. These objects are on display at the CRASH Air War and Resistance Museum '40-'45, which is also committed to recovering the body and the aircraft.

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