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Re: Ulrich Veh
David,
I guess your father was shot down while flying Lancaster JA708 of No. 97 Squadron, captained by F/L Fletcher. Theo Boiten may well be right when he assumes your father’s Lanc fell to Ulrich Veh’s Bf 109. However, we have to be cautious with such assumptions, since Feldwebel Veh wasn’t the only Luftwaffe’s pilot to have claimed four-engine bombers that night at about the same time and location.
As far as timing is concerned, your father’s Lancaster was shot down at 22:47 German time. Times mentioned in German combat reports weren’t always accurate or were rounded up. So the time frame to be researched must be slightly widened, for instance from 22:35 to 23:00.
During this time frame, no less than 13 four-engine bombers were officially claimed as destroyed.
Of these 13 claims, five were made in an area consistent with the probable crash site of your father’s Lancaster, that is near Maikammer, or some 35 km South-West of Mannheim. The probable distance between the locations according to the claims and Maikammer are approximately as follows:
- 35 km: Stab/JG 300, a Viermot claimed at 22:51, 5,000 m over Mannheim.
- 30 km: 3./JG 300 (Ulrich Veh), a Viermot claimed at 22:50, 3,800 m South of Mannheim.
- 25 km: 3./NJG 1, a Lancaster claimed at 22:58, 4,800 m, 5 km West of Ludwigshafen.
- 20 km: 8./NJG 1, a Lancaster claimed at 22:55, 5,500 m, 10 km West of Ludwigshafen.
- Less than 15 km: 2./NJG 1, a Lancaster claimed at 22:50, 5,300 m, South of Dürkheim.
Of note is that Bill Chorley, in his book “Bomber Command Losses”, writes that Lancaster JA708 was “shot down from 16,000 feet [about 4,800 meters] by a night fighter”.
So the closest claim for Lancaster JA708 in terms of time, location and altitude is the one of Uffz. Brunner of 2./NJG 1. In my opinion, that means only that Uffz. Brunner as well as Feldwebel Veh — and maybe a few others — were the possible victors of your father’s Lancaster, but that it is almost impossible to ascertain which pilot shot it down...
Best Regards
Richard Goyat
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