Uffz. Bruno Schulz KIFA 24 April 1940
 

Hello,

On 24 April 1940, Uffz. Bruno Schulz Stab I.(J)/LG 2 was killed and his Bf I09E-4 destroyed (at 100%) in a crash after a collision with a power line.

Both my sources (including Prien's Jagdwaffe book) gave the location as 60 km N Minden, a position that is well inside Germany, but not very precise.

The Volksbund database shows a Uffz Bruno Schulz that died on 24 April 1940. The death place is not shown, and he is buried in Stansdorf, east of Postdam. The man buried there was born on 3 May 1910 in Berlin-Schöneberg. My guess is that he is the same man, brought there for burial by family.

If this is the case, that means that his body was found and so the crash location is probably known. As the cause of the crash was hitting a power line, the aircraft was flying low and so if the pilot could bail out he certainly fell not far away from his aircraft.

So if someone knows where this aircraft crashed I will be interested.

Thanks in advance

Laurent

Re: Uffz. Bruno Schulz KIFA 24 April 1940
 

I have Wiethersheim, 60 km north from Minden, which seems not to make sense. I have not found Wiethersheim in any maps, but Wietersheim is located ca. 6 km northeast Minden. Could it be a mistake made by a clerk?
If the location is 60 km north of Minden, it is very near Bremen. Would it in that case be referred to Bremen, i.e. 25 km southest from Bremen?

The pilot Uffz Bruno Schulz is the man buried in Stansdorf.

Matti

Re: Uffz. Bruno Schulz KIFA 24 April 1940
 

Thanks Matti for the quick and detailled answer

I agree with you that Wietersheim is the probable crash location. Minden is not a so big city to be used as a reference for a crash occuring 60 km away, but 6 km is close enough, and Wietersheim is just at the right place.

Wietersheim is in the area covered by the website http://www.spurensuche-owl.de so I have contacter the web administrator through the website to ask if he can confirm this or not.

Re: Uffz. Bruno Schulz KIFA 24 April 1940
 

Hello,

Two years later, I realize I have not written the result of the research by the administrator of the site http://www.spurensuche-owl.de, who confirmed Wietersheim as the crash site and gave more details.

Here is how the entry now appears in my database:

On 24 April 1940 Uffz Bruno Schulz of Stab I.(J)/LG 2 was killed in a crash north of Minden during a ferry flight. Witnesses reported that he tried to fly under the power line across the Weser River between the hamlets Wietersheim and Todtenhausen, Stadt Petershagen, near the Graßhoff restaurant and the Wietersheim castle. His Bf 109 F-4 hit the line and then crashed in the river Weser at kilometer 210. The aircraft was a total loss.

Schulz is buried in Stansdorf, east of Postdam, probably brought there for burial by family. He was born on 3 May 1910 in Berlin-Schöneberg.

Source:
http://www.rafandluftwaffe.info/luftwaffe1.html
"Die Jagdfliegerverbände der deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945, Teil 2: Der "Sitzkrieg", 1.9.1939 bis 9.5.1940", by Jochen Prien & al, ISBN 3-923457-59-6
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=33766
https://de-de.facebook.com/pages/Spu...30737400343513
http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche.html
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wietersheim
http://www.maplandia.com/germany/nor...e/wietersheim/