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Re: Rüdiger von Kirchmayr
Hello Monaco,
Very strange indeed. I don't know of any such Sunderland loss, and their fates are generally well documented. However, a very similar case involves Catalina FP138 of RAF 45 Group (ex-Ferry Command), lost on 7 April 1943. Apparently the crew were lost and when low on fuel approached the French coast off Plougheuneau, near Brest. It seems two - or four - fighters from 8./JG 2 were involved, with Fw. Walter Ebert claiming the Catalina shot down. Three of the six crew on board died and the other three were captured.
Long ago I saved an online article on one of the crew, Alan Rodgers, from the St. Bees village website. It is very good. The excellent history of RAF Ferry Command, 'OCEAN BRIDGE' by Carl A. Christie, has very little on this loss.
Volumes 1 and 2 of the 'LUFTWAFFE ACES' series by Johannes Mathews and John Foreman support the above. Indeed their entry for von Kirchmayr shows him with JG 1 in 1943.
Hope this helps as a start to resolving this little mystery.
Regards,
Martin Gleeson.
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