Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

I'm pretty sure that that is Isachsen's machine, or at least that is how its been described in the past - from McAulay's book.

Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

Thanks for that photo, RO. Although the book on LG 1 certainly labels it as L1+RK, looking closely at the letters to the right of the Balken Cross, I am inclined to see that 4th letter as an ‘H' rather than a ‘K.'

The narrative in Taghon, Vol. 2, p. 166, notes that the a/c of Ofw. Isachsen was shot down by your dad and F/O Shipard, but, the date is shown as 08.01.1943, not 16/17.01.43. And, as I noted in my 1st reply, the He 111 you inquired about was also shot down on 9.1.43.

"Eventually came in from dead astern and open fire at range of 100 yards with a 4 sec burst. E/A immediately caught fire in both engines and fuselage and went down vertically. No return fire experienced – own aircraft struck by pieces from E/A but no damage done. E/A identified as Ju88. Claim one Ju88 destroyed." (From your Dad's narrative)

But, Ofw. Isachsen says he was hit only in the left engine, and was able to maintain control over the a/c on single engine power. Being over the water, the crew had to decide whether to fly north or south. They decided to fly south to Africa, and after passing the coast began looking for somewhere to land. As it turned out they landed in a mine-field, but all survived. And, a short time later became PoWs.

I think that, indeed, your father's crew did score its victory on the 16/17th and shot down either the Ju 88 of Lt. Werner Schmitz, L1+FN, #142 319, which crashed into the sea, with no survivors (which would seem to agree with your father's narrative of the a/c diving vertically); or the Ju 88 of Ogefr. Scheda, L1+EN, #142 305, from which the crew was able to parachute and be taken prisoner.

Hope this helps,
George

Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

George - do you have any details on why Isachsen was forbidden to fly ?

Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

Ok, thanks Jim. I take it, the correct code then, is L1+RH - bit difficult to see from the photo ? I only ask given your earlier statement :

I did a little more digging on this last night, and found something else that sheds more light on 16th Jan 1943. Extract from 89's Squadron History (Auth Joe Warne) :

'On 16th Jan., F/O Shipard/FS Oxby flew V8447 with 2 passengers to Martuba No 4, (??) and returned with F/O Edwards. He was the controller that night when Shipard/Oxby scrambled in V8447 and shot down two Ju 88s withing 10 minutes around 19.30 hrs. in the area of Tobruk. One crashed on attempting to land and 3 bailed out (one being wounded). That same night, with the same controller, FSs Ronald Gilham Peteres/ Frank Halliday were also scrambled, in X8136, and attacked another Ju 88, observed by F/O Shipard. But the Beaufighter collided with the target and both aircraft went into the sea 10 miles east of Tobruk, with no survivors. It was later established that II/KLG 1 lost two Ju 88s over Tobruk.'

Still have several questions. 1. If Isachsen was one of the POWs - then who were the other two mentioned in Oxby snr's logbook ? 2. Would 'k' reports exist for the prisoner interrogations at PRO, or were these completed only for POWs shot down over Blighty ?

Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

Wow George - where DID you get all this stuff ?? Really excellent work !! I can't explain the date problem - Here's what Oxby snr's logbook entry says for the 16th Jan 43:

Date 16.1.43 V8447 Beaufighter. NFTs at 1105 and 1200. To 'Martuba with two passengers'
1900 Pilot F/O Shipard. Scramble. Two contacts 1. One Ju 88 destroyed. 2. One Ju 88 destroyed. 3 POW. Flying times : night 1.25.

Date discrepancy is a real mystery ?? Can't make that one out, partic as Warnes's Squadron history account says it was the 16th too !
RO.

Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

Although the book on LG 1 certainly labels it as L1+RK, looking closely at the letters to the right of the Balken Cross, I am inclined to see that 4th letter as an ‘H' rather than a ‘K.'

I agree with you on this.

The narrative in Taghon, Vol. 2, p. 166, notes that the a/c of Ofw. Isachsen was shot down by your dad and F/O Shipard, but, the date is shown as 08.01.1943, not 16/17.01.43. And, as I noted in my 1st reply, the He 111 you inquired about was also shot down on 9.1.43.

Why the date is shown in your source as the 8th Jan is a mystery. I've got the 16th in both Oxby snrs logbook, and Sqdn history. Puzzled by that one. I thought the He111 was the e/a involved in the collision with Peters/Halliday's Beau - both a/c ultimately crashing into the sea. But that can't be correct. The collision was apparently the same night, the 16th Jan, and the He111 was shot down on the 9th. Also, Warne says the e/a was a Ju 88, not a Heinkel. Hmmm.

"Eventually came in from dead astern and open fire at range of 100 yards with a 4 sec burst. E/A immediately caught fire in both engines and fuselage and went down vertically. No return fire experienced – own aircraft struck by pieces from E/A but no damage done. E/A identified as Ju88. Claim one Ju88 destroyed." (From your Dad's narrative)

But, Ofw. Isachsen says he was hit only in the left engine, and was able to maintain control over the a/c on single engine power. Being over the water, the crew had to decide whether to fly north or south. They decided to fly south to Africa, and after passing the coast began looking for somewhere to land. As it turned out they landed in a mine-field, but all survived. And, a short time later became PoWs.

Judging from the photo, I'd say the damage to Ofw. Isachsen's a/c looks pretty superficial. I'm inclined to think his account is probably more reliable than the combat report - he was flying the a/c after all - and he would have had nothing to prove. It could well be Oxby snr/Shipard were mistaken, having seen the a/c perhaps only briefly going down, and at night. Who knows, it must have been diffiuclt not to imagine that you saw both engines smoking, and with the thing losing altitude so rapidly - when in reality, the e/a is simply trying to avoid further punishment ?

I think that, indeed, your father's crew did score its victory on the 16/17th and shot down either the Ju 88 of Lt. Werner Schmitz, L1+FN, #142 319, which crashed into the sea, with no survivors (which would seem to agree with your father's narrative of the a/c diving vertically); or the Ju 88 of Ogefr. Scheda, L1+EN, #142 305, from which the crew was able to parachute and be taken prisoner.

Hmmm. Neither of these options seem right to me. The logbook mentions 3 POWs, (which ok, could have come from L1+EN I guess) but how do we explain the Ju 88 photo in the desert ? It don't look a whole lot like L1+EN to me.. and remember Isachen's machine had cable cutting gear, and heavy cannon for shipping strikes. And finally, those photo(s) were taken by Shipard - and they do look more like L1+RH to me.

Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

Ofw. Isachsen simply stated he was sick -- "Ich war krank und hatte drei Tage Flugverbot."

I have a feeling you are confusing Isachsen (8th) and Schmitz (16th). As I said earlier, Isachsen and his crew all survived the forced landing without major injury. Scheda and his crew were able to parachute to safety, but their a/c crashed. Schmitz and his crew were unable to parachute to safety, so their a/c is probably the one your dad's a/c hit which "went down vertically."

Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

Geez ! It certainly gives one food for thought. George, I'm grateful for the information, and I will certainly be including its content as a speculative discussion in the book. Even if there remain some questions in my mind - it'll at least leave some research questions unanswered for those people interested enough, and better equipped than myself - to unearth the facts surrounding Oxby snr's darkest deeds. (!!) Many thanks, once again.

Kind regards, Richard.

Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

Richard Oxby,

Any news about the biography of your late father, S/L Oxby (senior)?? It has been quite a long time (11 years). I do wish fervently that this book will arise and that we will be able to read very soon.

Adriano B.

Re: Ju88 losses over Tobruk 16th Jan 1943
 

I edited the manuscript for Richard Oxby and returned it but I've heard no more from him since October 2015, sad to say.