During the Second World War, over 5,500 aircraft came down in the Netherlands, both Allied and German aircraft. A few of the airmen were lucky to survive the crash, but many others weren’t and sadly lost their lives. To this day, 1,085 airmen are still missing in the Netherlands—young men, most of them in their twenties or early thirties. They lie hidden in some 400 aircraft wrecks scattered across land, lakes, and sea. After the war, the Netherlands was rebuilt and life moved on. Yet for the families of these airmen, the loss remained unresolved. That is why the Dutch government established the National Programme for Aircraft Recovery: to fulfil the heartfelt wish of surviving relatives to bury their loved ones and to finally gain certainty about what happened to them.

ED603’s recovery has been the 7th recovery within the programme.

I feel privileged to have worked as an advisor and liaison for North One TV Productions to help create the show.

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