[Peter Cornwell]

Pieter,

As you surely know, the documentary evidence in this case is contradictory. The Lw NVM gives the date of loss as 11 May 1940 and (uncharacteristically) omits any reference to crew functions while the initial French 2º Bureau Report states ‘on 10 May around 6H.30’ and gives the location as ‘in the region of Illange’. A further French report repeats the date as 10 May 1940 but with the location now given as ‘near Buzy’ and includes the crew positions as stated by yourself. As Étain-Buzy is some 20 miles SW of Illange there was clearly some major disparity in the precise location & in the absence of any further reliable evidence I elected to stick to the latter. As for date, I took guidance from the VDK database that recorded the date of death of Ernst George as being 10 May 1940. GILLET appears to have resolved both issues of date & location but nowhere do I find any reference to the aircraft codes carried. Nevertheless, I should have paid more attention to the second French report for the correct crew positions.

So Larry’s question remains unanswered. Do the photos show BEISSER’s He111 down on 10 May 1940 or another?

We have the Do17Z of 4./KG2 down at Illange on 10 May 1940 but no He111 of 1./KG55 down there the following day. I suspect more confusion caused by the conflicting evidence already mentioned?

Thanks for the response.