German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

On the night of 30th March 1941, Wellington bombers of 103 Squadron RAF were preparing to land at Newton in Nottinghamshire after a bombing raid on Brest Harbour against the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, when they were attacked by one or more Junkers 88 night fighters. The aircraft flown by Squadron Leader Mellor crash-landed, causing only light injuries to the crew but the aircraft was written off.

Thus far I have been unable to find any records of this event outside of the Log Book of one of the Mellor Crew and the 103 Squadron Operations Record Book, both of which mention the loss of the aircraft. There is a detailed description of the event in 'Black Swan', the history of 103 Squadron, which was given by the man whose log book I have. I also attach two photos from the same man, showing the crashed Wellington after the attack.

Does anyone know which Luftwaffe unit was operating over Nottinghamshire that night and who was involved from the German side?

Thanks for any help.

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Hello Tim,

The unit was undoubtedly I./NJG2, but for the night in question there is no documented German victory claim, so the identity of the Ju88 pilot/crew remains unknown I'm afraid ..

Cheers, Theo

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Hello Tim
I./NJG 2 claimed nothing on that night according to Parry's Intruders over Britain. But on 31 March 1941 (no time given) a Ju 88 C-4 went missing over North Sea, Gefreiter Otto Kruger and his crew MIA.

Juha

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Thank you Theo and Juha. It is good to get the unit confirmed.

I understood there was no official claim for that night but perhaps one day a comment in a German Flugbuch will come to light mentioning the attack.... A long shot I know!

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Tim

This is W5612 and it crashed after midnight on the 31st.
With a German Intruder missing that same night (as per Juha), possibly on their way back, it is not entirely impossible the Wellington was shot down by that crew.

B Rgds
Stig

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

...or it was lost later on 31 Mar before midnight. Still supposition without firm evidence

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Yes Chris :)

But not entirely impossible?

Cheers
Stig

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Hi all

The mission times for this Wellington were recorded as take-off at 19:00 on 30th March and crash-landing at 00:25 on 31st March, approximately 1 mile from the airfield.

Confusingly, the ORB records the aircraft as 'W5612', while the crew log book I am studying records it as 'R5912'. The photos show 'PM-G' but the serial number is not legible.

Bizarrely, a few days earlier (22nd March), R1452 (confirmed from photos) with the same pilot and same crew (apart from one) on board and also marked 'PM-G' crashed into the bomb-dump on return from a sortie after over-shooting the runway. Once again, nobody was seriously hurt but the aircraft was in a bad way. I think this crew must have had nine lives....

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Hi Tim

R5912 cannot be correct. That was a Lancaster serial number.

R1452 is also very odd since that serial number is recorded as not delivered to any unit at all. Care to post the photo of that one as well?

Cheers
Stig

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

To post #3

Gen.Qu. loss report from April 3, 1941 No. 6:

31.3. I./NJG 2, Pl.Qu. 1587, Motorschaden, Ju 88 C-4 0618 R4+HM 100%
F Gefr Otto Krüger vermisst
Bf Gefr August Kronewitter vermisst
Bm Gefr Heinrich Kellner vermisst.

Regards
Leo

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Stig,

Wellington IC R1452 "SIERRA LEONE I"*- 103 Sqn - Overshot landing and hit obstruction, Newton, on return from Lorient, 21-03-1941.

* W5612, was "SIERRA LEONE II".

See:
Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000 to R9999
Halley,James J.
Tunbridge Wells:Air-Britain (Historians),1996.
pp.98 & 173

Col.

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Thanks Col

Well I only have the first edition of the R1000-R9999 serial file, where it states R1452 was never delivered. Seems that was corrected in a later edition.

The incident is not listed by Chorley either so it must be a rather obscure crash.

I hope you mean 'Sierra Leone II' really was W5612 and not V5612? I can't locate any serial with V5612 so hopefully that is typo...

Cheers
Stig

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Yes, W5612 it is!

Will correct, Thanks.

Col.

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Thanks for all the additional information gentlemen. As requested, here is R1452 on the bomb dump at Newton. The image is not great but the serial number in the log book I have, the Squadron ORB and photo all seem to align.

The blown-up image of the serial is not 100% clear but is hopefully supportive of the ORB and log book 'R1452'.

Re: German Night Fighters over England 30th March 1941
 

Thanks Tim (and Col)

Good enough for me...! :)

Cheers
Stig