Scottish schoolboy who flew with Luftwaffe

[apache]

Hi

I am looking to try and find more information on a Scottish schoolboy who ended up flying with KG30 from 1939-41.

Friedrich 'Sonny' Hansen was a wireless operator who took part in the first air raid of the war on Britain, on shipping and docks at Rosyth in Scotland in october, 1939.

I know KG30 was based at Sylt on the Island of Westerland, off the coast of Schleswig Holstein and 1 Gruppe was commanded by Hauptmann Helmut Pohle.

The unit was equipped with the JU88. . At 14.45pm on Monday, October 16, 1939, Pohle leading a flight from KG30, arrived suddenely over the Forth estuary and commenced bombing naval vessels anchored below near the Forth Bridge and in the naval base at Rosyth in the first enemy air action of the war.

Pohle was shot down and survived.Others who were shot down and survivedincluded Overleutnant Hans Storp, Feldwebel Hans Georg Heilscher and Hugo Rohnke. In total the Luftwaffe lost two aircraft with four killed and four taken prisoner.

Sonny Hansen was flying with KG30 on the day of the Rosyth raid, on October 16, and it was believed he had died that same day, after his damaged JU88 crashed west of Etten, near Breda in Holland.

His burial place is grave no. 33 at Igsselsleiln cemetery in the parish of Venray, in Holland and the death was recorded in the register of Wahrenholz district of Gifhorn. But the date of death on his hedstone says January 9, 1941.

Hansen's brother Wilhelm Wilson Hansen died on May 3, 1945, as a result of war wounds received while serving as a member of the 2nd unit of the war correspondents department (352), in Prien Hospital in Chiemsee, Bavaria, and is buried in Travnstein cemetery.

It would be great if I could track down a veterans association for KG30 or any of those men who served with it who might remember Hansen.

[Jaap Woortman]

Please contact Robert Reid. He is a member of Toch.

Your Igsselsleiln is Ysselsteyn.

Friedrich Hansen is resting at War Cemetery at Ysselsteyn in the Netherlands in grave Z-2-33

Further information:
Genst.Gen.Qu.6.Abt.(1C) Nr.130/41 g.Kdos. H.Qu., den 11.Jan. 1941.
Luftflotte 2.
Date 9.1.1941
I./K.G.30, F, Etten, Brennend abgestuerzt, Ju88 A5, Wnr.0323, 100% Bruch.
Besatzung gefallen.
Ofw. Schmaljohann, F.
Fw. Groeber, Walter B.
Fw. Hansen, Friedr. Bf.
Gefr. Panke, Fritz Bs. verletzt.

[Andy Saunders]

Having heard this story before I mentioned to Helmut Pohle when I was in contact with him. He told me that he had never heard the story about Hansen and was sure he would have known if he was Scottish. The name "Wilson" in his brothers name tends to add some credibility to the story, but I suspect it may well have been a case of Scottish mother/German father.

[Chris Goss]

I agree with Andy-he was killed in 1941 but there is no evidence to support the Oct 39 story and all attempts to trace family/freinds etc in recent years has come to zero. The Luftwaffe loss report for his death confirms he was born in Scotland

[Robert Reid]

Hello, well old story of Hansen family has risen again.
He wasnt killed in 1939 but in 1941.
The story of 1939 incident is result of faulty research and bad translation
of german documents.
Mother was from edinburgh ,father german and 2 sons were born in scotland,they went to germany after ww1.

An old friend knew family in Scotland.
How the story regarding his death in 1939 came to be is mystery but would take pages to explain.

contact me my message via list.

A friend in UK and myself have spent some time researching Hansens
and there are big gaps in story. Chris and Jaap were kind enough to put me on right track . Hopefully ,by summer we will have the story in form that it can be correctly told.

regards Robert