A painting of the “Sunrise Serenade” during it’s final moments before it crashed has been done by Kurt Basslé of Belgium. Each 17"x25" print is signed and numbered by the artist and limited to 250 prints.
During a bombing raid on railroad installations at Schaarbeek (Brussels, Belgium) on May 1, 1944, B-17G “Sunrise Serenade” was hit by German anti aircraft fire. The plane belonged to the 452nd Bomb Group, 730th Sq. The crew bailed out safely, but the pilot 1st Lt. Francis C. Smedley, stayed aboard; probably to prevent the bomber from crashing in the town of Asse. Few minutes later the plane broke in two, killing its pilot. The bomber eventually crashed near the castle "Nieuwermolen” at St. Ulriks-Kapelle, Brussels.
E-mail:aviationartbassle@scarlet.be
