Pilot Friedrich Rabe dies 16.09.39 at Cuxhaven

[HenFre]

Hello everyone

Can anyone help me with further information regarding the death of pilot Friedrich Rabe who dies on the 16th of september 1939 at Cuxhaven in Germany.

Regards
Henrik Frederiksen

[Nick Beale]

If I read his death card correctly, he died while being taken to the naval hospital at Cuxhaxen, "tot durch Flugzeugabsturz" (dead from an aircraft crash).

[HenFre]

Thank you very much Nick. Is it possible to obtain further information regarding the crash or are there no records from this early in the war?

I can see that he belonged to jagdgeschwader 77 (although his death card says Jagdstaffel??) and the II. Gruppe was at this time based at Nordholz Fliegerhorst, which is 11,5 km SSW of Cuxhaven.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by HenFre

Thank you very much Nick. Is it possible to obtain further information regarding the crash or are there no records from this early in the war?

Sorry, I have no idea what else there is. I just searched the name in the death record cards on Fold3.com.

[RT]

Some mistery here, not about his death, but how to find the card, I couldn't found in Ancestry nor in Fold 3...
?


Rémi

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by RT

Some mistery here, not about his death, but how to find the card, I couldn't found in Ancestry nor in Fold 3...
?
Rémi

The link I posted above takes you to it. I found it by starting at https://www.fold3.com/image/69304305...friedrich,rabe and searching for Rabe, Friedrich. That gave about 15 matches and I started checking each one.

[John Manrho]

Remi,

Funny, I had the same problem with Ancestry too, but later it showed up with the same information. Don't know what happened.

John

[HenFre]

Thank you Nick for the link to his death card. It really opened up my search for him. I have also found him on the Kracker Lufwaffe Archive: http://www.aircrewremembered.com/Kra...rch_type=exact

Further information was given through: Forum-der-Wehrmacht.

My conclussion to the events that lead to his accident are as follows:
On the morning of the accident Friedrich Rabe was flying the Bf-109 E and was part of Jagdgeschwader 77, II. Gruppe, 5. Staffel. The unit was stationed at Nordholz i the north of Germany by the sea.
The unit was taking off from the airfield and during this takeoff Friedrichs Staffel Kapitän Oberleutnant Pomaska "shifted". This shift caused Friedrich to lose his direction and lead him to collide with a chimney. The crash lead to Friedrich being mortally wounded and he died during transport to the hospital at the naval hospital in Cuxhaven.

Regards
Henrik

[RT]

Just as a matter of curiosity, apart the Death-Card, hard to find..., what docs or testimony confort this loss ?

Rémi

[tonda75]

Hi ,
the following is written in Jägerblatt 3/2003 (I quote in the original):

Fw.Friedrich Rabe *2.1.1915 in Schwarmstedt,wurde am14.9.1939 von der 6./JG 26 in Düsseldorf zur 5./JG 77 .
Olt.Pomaska versetzt und verunglückte tödlich am 16.9.1939 um 9 Uhr nach Start in Nordholz bei Lüdingworth. In Schwarmstedt beigesetzt.

Tony