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504 Sqn RAF vs He 115 on 2 April 1940
On 2 April 1940 three Hurricane of 504 Sqn intercepted over the North Sea a formation fo He 115 of 3./KüGr 506 and Flg Off Philipps claimed one shot down.
Then my various sources disagree on what happened:
_ the crew was either killed, or survived. The name of the pilot was Oblt Erwin Birking or Dirking.
_ according to an old "Batailles aériennes" magazine, the Hurricane of Philipps was hit by return fire and he ditched and was rescued with wounds. There is no mention of this loss in FCL book, but I know it is not complete.
To confuse things, an Oblt Erwin Dirking of 3./KüGr 5 was killed on 10 May 1940 while laying mines off Holland (confirmed both by BoFTN and Volksbund)
I would like to have more details for both sides (even if this is posted on the Luftwaffe forum, I hesitate to post two questions), and especially confirm the fate of the people and aircraft involved.
Thanks in advance
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