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Re: JU87B suvivor ?
Phil,
With an eye to updating the information in our EOE Luftwaffe loss DB and further documenting this incident, I reviewed the website you referenced. Our current EOE DB listing:
"May 12. 1940: Stab I./StG2 Junkers Ju87B-1 (5136). Shot down by Hurricanes of No. 3 Squadron south-west of Hasselt and abandoned over Geetbets, north of Grazen, 8.30 a.m. Possibly one of those attacked by P/O Carey. Pilot believed baled out unhurt, BF Uffz Heinrich Basler killed. Aircraft 100% write-off. Major excavation by local enthusiasts 1990 recovered engine, propellor blades, section of fuselage, remains of undercarriage, cockpit canopy, armament, radio, maps, parachute, and scraps of uniform."
On the website it IDs the pilot as Oblt. Dieter Pekrun, which we don't list in our entry, and also states his unit as II./StG2. Shouldn't that be Stab I./StG2, or is our info incorrect? Also, note the difference is spelling for the name of the radio operator. We have Basler as killed, the website says Bassler. Is the spelling from the NVM or what?
Do you know the source of the info attributing the pilot as Pekrun? Does his Flugbuch perhaps still exist, or some unit record with this info? Did anyone do a post-war interview with him that describes the circumstances of this loss? What is the dating for the photo of Pekrun on the website, which appears to show either a Stab I or 2./StG. 2 insignia on the plane? Is this from 1940 or sometime later in his career?
Are any contemporary photos of the crash (a smoking hole in the ground?) known to exist?
Can someone pinpoint the exact contemporary location at Geetbets, ie John Smith farm pasture, or such like?
And finally, the website states definitively the identity of the pilot that shot this Stuka down, which is not consistent with our entry. Why was this victory specifically attributed to P/O Mike Stephens of 3 SQ?
Just want our incident records to be as current as possible.
Thanx for any possible assistance here,
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