[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Today I received three photos of a Ju87B-1 that force-landed in fairly good condition with an apparently undamaged undercarriage in foot-high grass. The hand-written caption on the back, says "Loon Plage, Dunkirk (France), 16.06.40." It carried the codes S2+MP and the Staffel badge for 6./StG77 (an American bison--or is it just a large bull). My guess is that the date is when the photos were taken, not when the plane force-landed, which would probably have been sometime between about May 26th and June 3rd, 1940, during Operation Dynamo--the Dunkirk evacuation.

The problem is that there is no loss to that unit that even comes close to matching these photos.

In our EoE DB, Peter Cornwell has identified only two a/c from that unit with recorded battle damage in the Dunkirk area, both on May 29th. This fits the right time frame.

"6./StG77 Junkers Ju87B-1. Shot down in the sea by fighters and heavy AA fire during attack on shipping in Dunkirk harbour 7.50 p.m. FF Lt Franz Herlt and BF Gefr Hans Scherber both missing. Aircraft 100% write-off."

Another from that unit was slightly damaged on that same day, with the gunner badly WIA. However, this a/c appears to have returned to base.

"6./StG77 Junkers Ju87B-1. Returned badly damaged by fighters and AA fire during attack on shipping in Dunkirk harbour 7.50 p.m. Pilot unhurt, BF Uffz Hans Siems badly wounded - admitted to hospital in Bitburg. Aircraft under 10% damaged - repairable."

Peter notes: "Luftwaffe General Quartermaster Returns dated 2.6.40 lists these three StG77 losses on May 25 (LJH NOTE: the other was Stabstaffel./StG77), but personnel loss lists for the unit indicate otherwise."

There was no loss or damage reported to any other 6./StG77 Stuka anywhere near Dunkirk during the Western Campaign. A third incident that day resulted in a crew from the Stabstaffel of StG77 being damaged by flak over Dunkirk early that morning and setting down near Calais with 10% battle damage and slight injuries to the crew, including the StaKap of the Stabstaffel. Unless this crew was flying a 6 Staffel a/c and the reported landing site is wrong, this seems an unlikely candidate.

I suspect that the solution to this mystery is that the crew we've recorded as shot down into the sea that day actually came down on land (the a/c in the photos), which at that time would have probably been behind Allied lines. The crewmen are apparently carried as missing in Luftwaffe records, but may have came down on land, got caught up in the chaos of the Dunkirk evacuation and were subsequently lost, without recovery of identifiable bodies. From Peter's notes, it appears that the records for StG77 during this period are incomplete, confusing or both. Does anyone have any information or insight into this incident or StG77 records that would help us resolve this mystery? Seems like a long shot, but you've solved some tough ones before.

Thanks,