Ju-88A-5 4D+EN loss, May 6th/7th 1941

[wwrsimon]

Hello everyone

This Ju-88 of KG30 made a forced landing on Holy Island (Lindisfarne), off the coast of Northumberland early on May 7th 1941, after being attacked by a night fighter. It has been associated with 'Bingo' Day and Frank Lanning of 141 Squadron.

However, in his book 'Broken Eagles, Volume 2,' Bill Norman casts some doubt on the link of 4D+EN to their claim of that night.

The book includes an account from the Ju-88 pilot, Hans Schaber, in whch he states that the Ju-88 was attacked by a night fighter over Glasgow, and he struggled on to crash-land the damaged Ju-88 on Lindisfarne. He states he flew south-eastwards at around 7,000 feet over the Firth of Forth, then out to sea until he reached the Berwick area, by which time he was at 650 feet and strugging to maintain altitude on one engine, where he chose to head inland and make a crash-landing.

Day's combat report, however, states that he sighted a Ju-88 at 9,000 feet, 5 miles east Seaham, on the County Durham coast, where he made his attacks. As Bill Norman points out, that's some 60 miles south of Lindisfarne, and obviously nowhere near Glasgow!

So, are they really the same incidents? Bill Norman said in Broken Eagles Vol. 2 that he believed that credit for the Ju-88 loss 'probably lies elsewhere.'

Two other 141 Sqn Defiants claimed victories that night:

Defiant T3926 claimed a Ju-88 over Clydebank at 01.45, but that came down at Lennoxtown:

https://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.c...ck-lennoxtown/

Defiant N3394 attacked an He-111 in the Glasgow area at 01.15. Could N3394's He-111 possibly be Schaber's Ju-88?

Was there another Ju-88 damaged or shot down off the Durham coast that night which could tie in better with Day's combat report?

Many thanks,

Regards

Simon