Two He 111 of 5./KG 26 collided 3rd september 1940

[Bas Maathuis]

He 111 Wn 3252 flewn by Ff Oblt. G. Zobernig collided over Blerick Netherlands with He 111 Wn 3164 flewn by Oblt. W. Wanderer.

Of both crews 4 men jumped to savety, but six were killed.

Oblt. G. Zobernig, Ysselsteyn L-10-227
Oblt. W. Wanderer, Ysselsteyn L-10-226
Gfr. H. Bette, Ysselsteyn L-10-228
Gfr. W. Hermstedt, Ysselsteyn O-1-9
Ogfr. W. Steitz, Ysselsteyn L-9-221
Ogfr. W. Herberger, Ysselsteyn L-10-229

Does anyone have the names and ranks of the other four crewmembers
Can anyone piece together the crews for me.
Anything else you wish to share....

Source:
-Lagebericht 6705/40
-Venlo archive
-SGLO archive

[Jaap Woortman]

Genst.Gen.Qu.6.Abt.(1C) Nr.4135/40 g.Kdos. H.Qu., den 5.Sept. 1940.

Luftflotte 2.
15.
3.9.40
5./K.G.26, H, Maasbree bei Venlo, Absturz infolge Zusammenstoss in der Luft,
He 111H-3 Wnr.3252 100% Bruch. 3 Tote(Obltn.Wanderer)
He 111H-3 Wnr.3164 100% Bruch. 3 Tote(Ltn.Zebernig)

A start.

Jaap

[DDT]

Hallo Bas,

Checking Rudi Schmidt's book "Achtung - Torpedo Los!", this is what I found:

Oblt. Werner Wanderer
Ogefr. Willi Herberger
Ogefr. Walter Steitz

Lt. Georg Zobernig
Gefr. Helmut Bette
Gefr. Werner Hermstadt

Unfortunatly the surviving crewmembers of both planes are not mentioned.
Hope this helps

Kind Regards,

Dirk

[Bas Maathuis]

Jaap and Dirk.

Thanks for your help; all bits and pieces help solve the puzzle.
But I'm not there yet.

I expect they're fuselage codes to be 1H+*N
Can anyone provide me with the missing letter?

Tia

[RT]

Herberger willi oge bf t-A 53576/200-241019-Inse O,pr,
Steitz walter oge hs t-A Schüler,, 53576/101-140418-Wiesbaden
Wanderer werner oblt b t-A 62723/88-290614-Stuttgart
Bette helmut ge bs t-A 62723/75-130117-Hertinghausen krs Kassel
Hermstadt werner ge hs t-A Schüler,, 62723/100-040617-Forst Marienheim
Zobernig georg ltn f t-A 62723/96-101114-Klagenfurt


The NVM doesn't give the codes

Remi

[Bas Maathuis]

Remi,

Thanks for the additional info; much appreciated!

[RT]

For the first one Wanderer don't flew but was flown by .... the bame of the pilot missing

Remi

[Bas Maathuis]

Thanks again Remi.

[robert]

Hi,

I wonder if somebody has additional information`s if this accident took place during a formation flight? II./KG26 carried out no combat missions on this day. It had been just transferred to Holland.

Regards

Robert

[RT]

Indeed you hv see that it an "H" flight

[Bas Maathuis]

Robert and Remi,

I found that this was a formation flight with nine He 111's. Two a/c collided in mid-air.
Both planes crashed between Maasbree and Blerick, while pieces of these planes came as far as Venlo.

[robert]

Hi,

so they were probably flying "Gelaenderkundung".

Regards

Robert