Help with combat locations please.

[cheesey]

Hello all.

I,ve just obtained a number of RAF combat reports and need some help in identifying their locations. I,m not familiar with the code systems used and would be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction please!

19th/29th March, 1944. 406 Sqn. (Beaufighter), 1 x He177 destroyed. 23:32hrs.
Location AD 6952.

15th/16th May, 1944. 406 Sqn., 1 x He177 destroyed. 00:57hrs.
Location - Y.9741.

I think that they are both off the south coast of England. But would like precise locations!

Thank....Steve.

[Alex Smart]

Hi,

Somewhere on this site perhaps in the achives is a link to a grid system that may be what you are needing .

Anyone got it handy ?

Alex

[Alex Smart]

OK see the links in the "Sticky" section above the first AD6952 looks to me to be off the West coast of Iceland.
Is that somewhere that you expected ?

Well it was a Canadian Squadron

On the night of the 19th March flying from their Devonshire Base S/L Williams and F/O Kirkpatrick downed an He177 it was the Sqdns 16th victory.

In May, on the 14th P/O McConnell and F/O Kazakoff in a Beaufighter IIF engaged two raiders near the Channel Islands. The first an He177 disappeared during the chase and was thought to have dived into the sea. The second was a Ju88 this eventually exploded as it dropped towards the sea. The following night the same crew downed another He177 that exploded in mid air the Sqdn tally was now 27 kills.

Hope this helps

Alex

[Andy ingham]

Hello Steve
Using the Coordinate translator Y.9741 is equal to:
Latitude : 50° 04' 42'' N, Longitude : 2° 38' 11'' W
which is roughly 25 miles south south west of Portland.
Regards
Andy

[Brian Bines]

Mason's book ''Battle Over Britain'' on page 617 has a map showing Grid squares around the UK, this can be transposed onto larger scale maps. As regards S/L Williams claim for a HE177 on 19/20-3-44 KG100 lost one Heinkel this night but this is thought to have fallen off Skegness to 307 Sqd. during a raid on Hull. The position given by Williams is off the Aldernay. The last He177 combat loss to 2and3/KG100 in the Steinbock raids was on the night of 26/27-4-1944 when Hpt.Heckewerth's aircraft crashed in France on returning with combat damage. There are no known He177 losses to tie to RAF claims for the type during the May raids although there are other Luftwaffe losses which link to the number of claims . Possibly Ju188's were being claimed as 177's,

Regards

Brian Bines

[cheesey]

Thanks all, that has cleared up a couple of things and thrown up some questions as well!

First of all, thanks for pointing me at the Co-ordinate translator.I think i,ve cracked it (?).

I always thought that William,s claim on the 19th March for a He177 was valid but maybe it was something like a Ju188 instead. On page 31 of Osprey,s 'Beaufighter aces of WWII',there is a quote from 406 Sqns., ORB:-

"Contact was made 20 miles off Guernsey, and obtaining a visual on an enemy aircraft at 600ft, the pilot identified it as a He 177. He shot it down into the sea from close range, both engines exploding".

The combat report states:-

"......resulting in a visual at 600ft, target being immediately identified as a He177. There was no IFF response after several attempts. As Kingswear had warned to be careful, S/L Williams closed to 300ft to port of enemy aircraft to make doubly sure of positive identification, by the large square fin and rudder, terrific wing span and position of small engines".

Williams closed to 25ft before firing at starboard engine!

As for Mc Connell's claim for a He177 on the night of the 14/15 May the combat report makes no mention of the enemy a/c hitting the sea! In fact Mc Connell had to pull out of a dive sharpish because his altimeter was reading 100ft BELOW sea level! He also orbited but couldn,t find anything of the enemy a/c. Claimed as a probable 177.

I'm interested in the Luftwaffe activity around this period because I have been looking into German losses around the Channel Islands for some time. Several aircraft were lost near to the islands during these raids and I am keen to make sense of these losses. In fact Guernsey was used as a forming-up point for the raids of the 14th/15th May. Several searchlights on the island were used to form a cone of light as a navigational aid. Both Jersey & Guernsey,s little used airfields were opened during this time and there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that damaged Luftwaffe aircraft may have landed there.

Steve.

[Brian Bines]

Steve all I have for the period is 7-5-44 a Fw190 of NAG13 crashed Guernsey pilot killed, 6/7-4-44 Ju88 of KsG101 hit by own Flak crashed St.Saviors Jersey 3 killed 1 died of injuries,14/15-5-44 Ju188 of 1/KG2 crashed Guernsey crew safe, 20-6-44 He111 of 2/TG30 hit by own Flak crashed Samaraes Jersey crew killed , 24/25-6-44 He111 2/TG30 ditched between Jersey and Cherbourg 4 POW's 1 missing, and 26-12-44 He111 3/TG30 damaged in landing Guernsey crew flown out but taken POW on a later mission,

regards

Brian Bines

[cheesey]

Thank you Brian, very much appreciated.

Any further info on the last two He111s? They are both new to me. By the way, I live about 1/4 of a mile from the He111 crash at Samares !

Steve.

[Brian Bines]

Steve info I have as follows 1./ 24/25-6-1944 He111 H-20 S3+LK 700228 while on a flight to drop supplies to Cherbourg suffered engine trouble and ditched between Jersey and Cherbourg. Surviving crew picked up from their dinghies by R.N. MTB and made POW - FF Ogef Paul Insam, B Gef. Wilhelm Heising, Bf Gef. Friedrich Mascha and Bd Ogef Theodor Maas POW's Bw Ogef Helmut Faber missing. 2./From a 'K' report - He111 of 3/TG30 damaged in landing at Guernsey on 26-12-1944 crew of Hpt Helmut Pliefke had to wait 14 days before being flown out ( aircraft still there at wars end). On 22-2-45 while on another supply flight crew became lost on return and belly-landed near Mache on the French/Swiss border and were taken POW,

Regards

Brian Bines

[cheesey]

Thank you Brian, really great stuff!

You are right about that 111 being in Guernsey. The liberating British troops found it in May '45. I wonder what they did with it?

Steve.