Problem with ID of May-June 1940 loss of He111P B3+EM of 4./KG54 during the WC

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

I recently posted a question as to the ID of an He111 fuselage being removed for salvage following the Western Campaign of 1940 that appeared on eBay a few days ago. It has now been determined conclusively that this photo shows B3+EM of 4./KG54. Going all the way back to the Radtke history of KG54, this has been attributed as the a/c of Oblt. Moors shot down in Belgium on May 21, 1940. However, research at the attributed crash site by Peter Taghon has confirmed that Moors' plane came down at Hyfte (Ijfte) near Lochristi, Wallonia, Belgium, and was destroyed in the crash. According to crew interrogation reports Moors' crew was probably flying B3+GM, NOT B3+EM. During the May-June Western Campaign, the 4th Staffel of KG54 lost 9 aircraft crashed or crash-landed by the end of the day on 2.6.40. Aircraft codes, other than B3+EM, are known for five of them and others can be eliminated by the fact that the circumstances do not fit the considerable photo evidence of this forced-landing.

The evidence suggests that B3+EM may have come down somewhere in NW France during the campaign, with the most likely candidate being: "June 2, 1940: 4./KG54 Heinkel He111P. Believed shot down by No. 92 Squadron Spitfires over Dunkirk 8.00 a.m. (Bf) Obergefr Karl Braun and (Bm) Uffz Karl Wissussek wounded. (Bo) Hptmn Lothar Maiwald (Staffelkapitän) and (Ff) Uffz Franz Becker unhurt. Aircraft a 100% write-off." This quote is from a revised entry from Peter Cornwell's TBoFrT&N. The normal StaKap a/c,
B3+AM had already been shot down on May 19th, so it would not have been unusual for Maiwald to be flying an aircraft with a different code.

Do any researchers on this Board have any more precise info on where Maiwald's aircraft came down, and whether the circumstances might fit the B3+EM incident? Photos of this aircraft are in the SHD (former SHAA) Collection at Vincennes. Other photos of this aircraft have appeared in the collections of veterans of the German 19th Infantry Division, which fought in the Lys and Roeselare areas of before moving across the Belgian boarder to the Lille area of France. These places may provide clues to the crash location, and thus the correct identity of B3+EM.

Can anyone provide further assistance? Perhaps someone who has done research at the SHD has found some more clues about the location, date and crew of this aircraft?

Thanks,