[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Among our many projects for the EOE Working Group is accurately locating and documenting photographically every a/c loss during the 16 month period of our research project (9.39-12.40). (Yes, I know this is impossible, but it isn't, just a huge job that only an insane person would tackle; we know we won't get them all, but we'll get a hell of a lot of them).

One tiny aspect of that is trying to come up with a complete and accurate list of all Luftwaffe losses in Holland (concentrating on non-Ju52 losses at the moment) for the first five days of the WC. For those familiar with the sources, the Brongers list is one of the basic tools, although it is essentially a compendium of all victory claims by the Dutch against the Luftwaffe, both by ground and air units, during the period. This results in an apparent overclaim of about 300% of actual (I'm speaking of non-Ju52 only) Luftwaffe losses in the Netherlands for those days.

At the moment, the EOE WG is trying to confirm actual crash locations for several Ju88s from the dawn raid on Schiphol on May 10th. We think that we've got the following one pinpointed now accurately after initially carrying a different location, in the IJsselmeer off Sloten:

"May 10, 1940: 9./KG4 Junkers Ju88A-1 (3035). Shot down during dawn attack on Schiphol and believed crashed just north of the airfield at Hoeve Loevenstein, Sloter, 4.15 a.m. BO Lt Günther Hinsch, HS Obergefr Karl Danzmair, and BF Obergefr Albert Fölsch all killed, FF Uffz Ernst Herzog missing. Aircraft 5J+IT 100% write-off."

Does anyone have any information that would confirm a Ju88 crash (or any a/c crash on May 10th) at this location, and perchance have any photos of this crash, although this is likely to be only badly smashed wreckage?

I'm also looking for photos and/or confirmation of wreck sites for two others from that raid:

"May 10, 1940: 9./KG4 Junkers Ju88A-1 (3041). Shot down during dawn attack on Schiphol and crashed by the Hoofdweg, north of Hoofddorp, near Vijfhuizen, 4.15 a.m. BO Gefr Franz Strada killed, FF Oberlt Friedrich-Karl Rinck, BF Oberfw Wilhelm Rüther, and HS Gefr Ferdinand Wissing captured unhurt – later released. Aircraft 5J+GT 100% write-off."

This Ju88 is well documented by Jansen in his excellent book "Fliegerhorst Schiphol," as coming down intact, with one photo showing the crash. Can anyone help by providing scans of any photos of this crash? We initially had this one as shot down by a Fokker DXXI, but have pulled back from that pending further info and analysis of all Fokker DXXI claims that morning. We would like to be able to attribute every loss to the specific Dutch pilot, and are not just relying on conventional wisdom.

Another Ju88 loss from this attack we currently carry as:

"May 10, 1940: 9./KG4 Junkers Ju88A-1 (6018). Shot down during dawn attack on Schiphol and believed crashed south of the airfield 4.15 a.m. FF Lt Reinhard Graf, BO Oberfw Rudolf Mölle, BM Uffz Otto Pälchen, and BF Obergefr Gerhard Neuber all killed. Aircraft 5J+AT 100% write-off."

We initially thought that the crash site was in the IJsselmeer, but are now not sure of that conclusion. So we need a precise crash location confirmed, and any photos that might exist of the wreckage. Can anyone help here?

Thanx in advance for any assistance that anyone can provide. If anyone has specific info on crash locations not previously well documented, or known to have been documented inaccurately, or photos of such, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. This seemly impossible job can only be accomplished by a huge amount of support by the aviation history community, including the members of this board. All of us will greatly benefit from the results of our collective research and knowledge.

Regards,