Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

Thanks to Matti, it would appear that the above and his crew were lost on 16 Jan 43 in a He 177 A-1, 15233, E8+FH. The cause is stated as being force-landed at Gumrak due to fighter attack or possibly during mission to Poljakowka crashing ca. 3 km nordwestl.d. Talovoy-Schlucht or 'Am boden beim LKW Transport volltreffer einer schweren bombe' Can anyone unravel how he and his crew were killed?

Re: Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

Hi Chris,
'Am boden beim LKW Transport volltreffer einer schweren bombe' would mean something like: on the ground during a transport on a lorry by a direct hit of a heavy bomb"...

Re: Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

That is my understanding which in this case doesn't make sense

Re: Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

Re: Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

The only reference to Poljakowka I could find was as a distict of Davlekanovo in the republic of Baschkortostan well away from the Mission to Gumrak on the GQM. However Talovoy came up as being next to Gumrak so I take the location as 3km. N/W of the Talovoy Gorge/Gulch. The usual cause quoted for the loss of Maj Schede is crashed in flames following engine fire. Is it possible he crash landed and was killed when the truck sent to pick them up was bombed ?

Re: Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

Now you understand my confusion especially as he was linked to He 177 A-1, 15233, E8+FH!

Re: Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

Quadrant WNW of Stalingrad :

Re: Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

udf_00 , thanks for the map which neatly ties up the locations.

Regards
Brian Bines

Re: Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

According to Dmitry Degtev and Dmitry Zubov (item 30 of Chapter 4 of the book “Hitler's Air Bridges: The Luftwaffe's Supply Operations of the Second World War”): “the fate of Major Kurt Schede became clear only after seventy-four years. At the end of 2016, the wreckage of a He 177 was found on the ravine near the village of Talovaya Balka (Svitlovodsky district of the Kirovograd area, now in Ukraine)”.

According to the Russian historians, only small fragments of the German bomber were found, but some included the nameplates and badge of the pilot, thus confirming this was the machine of Major Kurt Schede and his crew. Due to the bad weather at Zaporozhye, the crew may have opted to land at the reserve field, in Kirovograd. Apparently, the Bordfunker radioed that the airplane was fired at by anti-aircraft guns (AA), near Polyakovka, and crashed soon afterwards. The probable cause of their loss would be, therefore: “friendly fire”.

Does anyone knows the Historians who have dig out the remains of Major Schede and of his machine? Are there images of those items found on the place where the wreckage was found? Was he re-buried accordingly? What are the news from the Ukraine area about this He 177 finding?

Adriano

Re: Death of Maj Kurt Schede I/KG 50
 

Nothing of that makes any sense.
All reports so far indicate Schede's aircraft went down very close to Stalingrad.
I can't see how it is possible his aircraft can be located near a place called Talovaya Balka
I can't find that place, but something called Balka Talovaya instead. Same place?
Whatever the case, Kirovograd area is nowhere near Stalingrad.

B Rgds
Stig