War pilot meets heroine

Reunited: The pilot and the woman who came to his aid

A Northern Ireland woman has been reunited with the American pilot she helped comfort when his B17 bomber crashed 62 years ago.

Elizabeth Ferguson and her mother sailed out to the servicemen after seeing their plane crash-land in Lough Foyle during World War Two.

William Curtis Melton had been on his first mission to deliver the newly-built bomber from Newfoundland to a base in Bedfordshire.

However, three of its engines failed and he had to make an emergency landing.

"When we went into the water, it was dead," he said.

"There was no electricity on, there was no fuel. If you are flying aeroplanes you visualise what you would do under certain circumstances.

"I had it firmly in my mind what I was going to do if I had to land in water. It worked just the way I planned it."

Ms Ferguson, who was 19 at the time and lived in Greencastle in County Donegal, had been about to go sailing with her mother, when they saw the plane coming down.

A B17 bomber similar to the one which lies in Lough Foyle

"I don't know how we knew it was American, but we did," she said.

"Without thinking we just rushed for the steps that were there at that time and rushed down into our dinghy and set sail.

"By the time we came out from the harbour wall, as I remember it, there was no plane.

"It may have been there, but I just remember seeing all these men in life jackets... and a feeling of panic because you were so far away and the tide and wind were coming down."

The plane had, in fact, stayed afloat long enough for eleven people to escape from it.

Ms Ferguson and her mother managed to get to a dinghy carrying the servicemen and stayed alongside it until further help arrived.

Mr Melton explained how he climbed out of a window and could see the heads of his crew.

"I saw an empty dinghy sitting on the wing. I jumped on the wing and got in the dinghy and sat there and waited for someone to come and get me and Elizabeth came up."

Museum exhibition

After it sank, the bomber vanished for many years until its wreckage was located a few miles off Magilligans Point in August 2001.

The discovery, made by Innisowen Sub-Aqua Group, triggered a search for crew members.

They were delighted to discover the pilot was still alive and keen to visit the site.

Arrangements were subsequently made for Mr Melton to return to Ireland and on Saturday he flew from his home in Georgia to meet the woman who had come to his aid.

He was also presented with the controls he used to land the plane.

Seamus Kerry of the local sub-aqua club said it was an emotional day.

"It feels like the thing is finished now. That's the whole piece together. We've got the pilot now, we can nearly close the book."

Pieces of the B17 bomber and personal items of the crew are on display at the Maritime Museum in Greencastle.

The US Government has said it has no plans to retrieve the bomber.