An intro plus a question; Luftwaffe losses - 25th August 1940
 

A quick introduction; My name is Simon Brown, I'm an underwater photographer with an interest in aircraft crash sites. Over the years I have photographed a Junkers 52 in Hartvig, a pair of of HE 115s in Trondheim (both in Norway), a P47-D in the English Channel and the Goodwin Sands Dornier Do-17 . Here;s a link to one image from the Dornier.

I have been working with a Weymouth-based skipper to identify some of the aircraft crash sites in the waters around Portland Bill. Of particular interest are Luftwaffe losses on the 25th of August 1940 between 17:00hrs and 18:30hrs (approx).

From the ORB's of 17 Squadron, 87 Squadron & 609 Squadron respectively four pilots claimed a Bf 109, and a further two pilots claimed a 'probable' for the same type.

Listed as MIA from that day is Hptm MACULAN, Alois of 6./JG 53 and we believe he was an Bf 109 pilot shot down during the battle. This pilot, and his participation in the action, is of specific interest.

I have many, many questions and I hope the forum may be able to help. Please excuse me if these questions are somewhat basic or naive, but here goes:-

Do the Luftwaffe records still exist?
Is it possible to search them?
Is there a record of Luftwaffe records listing specific losses on a given day?
Would there be detailed records of the battle from a Luftwaffe perspective?
Would it be possible to trace relatives of an individual pilot?

I have no idea if the above can be answered, but look forward to reading what the forum can share.

Re: An intro plus a question; Luftwaffe losses - 25th August 1940
 

Simon,

In answer to your question, the EoE Project Loss DB for 25 August 1940 lists as follows:

* "25 August 1940: 6./JG53 Messerschmitt Bf109E-4. Shot down by F/O K.W. Tait of No.87 Squadron in combat over Weymouth and crashed and exploded on Chesil Beach 5.30 p.m. FF Hptmn Alois Maculan missing. Aircraft 100% write-off.
This event is well documented but the nature and location of the crash precluded the recovery of the aircraft or its pilot - he has no known grave."


Most German Casualty records, known as NVM still survive, but getting access to them from German authorities if you're not a relative is presently problematic. Several followers of this board, however, have copies of many of these. These usually list the next of kin, along with their addresses at the time, which can be a starting point for locating descendants. Copies of the NVM acquired in more recent times have that information censored off, but earlier acquisitions often have that info intact.

Some German mission records still survive, and there is a narrative manuscript of the German side compiled by the deceased researcher, Henirich Welss, consisting of some 6-7000 typewritten pages in German for the 1939-mid-1940 period in the West. The EoE Project has acquired this and all copyrights to it and the relevant parts to your inquiry have been translated into English, but not yet published. This material probably isn't going to give you more specific information about the loss than that quoted above, but the manuscript will likely tell you more specifically the missions and targets that were flown that day, including by which units.

This should give you a start on your research.

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator

Re: An intro plus a question; Luftwaffe losses - 25th August 1940
 

I also wrote about this day in my book Brothers in Arms

Re: An intro plus a question; Luftwaffe losses - 25th August 1940
 

Many thanks to the forum indeed.

F/O Tait's combat record does indeed record a Bf109 crashing on land. The A/C came down approx 5 miles west of Portland and is listed as crashing into Chesil Bank.

P/O Leary's combat record claims a Bf109, but sadly there is no record of where this A/C came down.

Is there any way of getting an accurate summary of the losses of Bf 109's from the Luftwaffe during that action? It would be very useful to know precisely how many possible aircraft there are to find...