[Ian Jewison]

Originally Posted by mhuxt

Hi:

The Luftwaffe Archives Group website once had a post quoting a book titled Torpedo Los! by Rudi Schmitt regarding this action. It stated:

Lost from II./ K.G. 26 were 6 Ju.88s and the following crews:
1.Oblt. Karl-Heinz Küchenmeister, Uffz. Siegfried Berndt, Georg Bollwinkel, Fw. Heinz Schaller
2. Lt. Gerhard Schäfer, Uffz. Otto Bauer, Fw. Hubert Hoppe, Ogefr. Richard Gattner
3. Uffz. Kurt Langendorf, Uffz. Stephan Schmädicke, Ogefr. Hans Holländer, Fw. Werner Jorden
4. Fw. Hubert Traub, Uffz. Karl Walldorf, Ewald Wolkenhoff, Heinz Reale
5. Oblt. Fritz Dombrowkski, Fähnr. Alfons Pallek, Fw. Johannes Stumpf, Gefr. Koglin
6. Oblt. Friedrich Ebert, Ofw. Helmut von der Höh, Uffz. Willi Flesch, Ogefr. Harald Reimer
All 24 men never showed up again, MIA.
III./ K.G. 26 lost one Ju.188 and one crew:
Ofw. Zimmermann, Ofw. Herbert Kunze, Fw. Behrend, Ofw. Weyhrauch all MIA.

I also have also seen a claim on http://www.luftwaffe.no/RAFClaims.html for a Ju 88 on this day by Ltn. Thorlief Eriksen RNoAF and his navigator Fnr. Johan Hansen-Just RNoAF of 333 Squadron. However, I can't be sure if this claim was part of the melee above or a separate action - would welcome input on this.

Cheers,

Mark

PS Laurent, thanks for the link. That's a great site.

I am glad some info is in this thread that I was looking for....initially I was looking for the unit that was responsible for shooting down II/KG 26 aircraft on 21.4.1945.

I have just read "Achtung-Torpedos Los!" by Rudi Schmidt on the incident and there is an error in the crew listing of Langendorf.

Aircraft Ju 88 A-17

(F) Uffz. Langendorf, Kurt [vm.]
(B) Uffz. Schmädicke, Stephan [vm.]
(Bf) Ogfr. Holländer, Hans [vm.]
(Bs) Fw. Jorden, Werner [vm.]

The Bordschützen was actually Fw. Arno Oskar Jordan, however the Fw. abbreviation must have confused someone somewhere as his rank is recorded as Feuerwerker on the Volksbund site, a rank he never was as he was indeed a Feldwebel.....he remains lost at sea and I did not see him in the Vemisstenbildliste.

/Ian