Need ID of 2./KG54 He111 down in Belgium 27.5.40

[Larry Hickey]

This is one that will take some of our Belgian friends to settle. Several photos are known to exist of an intact belly-landed He111P with the codes B3+BK, indicating 2./KG54, during the May-June, 1940 Blitzkrieg in the west. This is almost certain to have taken place somewhere in Belgium. Using Peter Cornwell's new book, it is evident that there are only two likely possibilities for this loss, which appears to have been pretty badly shot up by flak and fighters during an attack on harbor installations at Zeebrugge and Nieuport on 27.5.40:

1) An aircraft that came down at Middelburg, about 10 miles NE of Bruges, Belgium, with 2 killed, and 3 slightly WIA

2) An aircraft that was also damaged by 56 SQ RAF and flak that apparently came down at an unknown Belgian location with 2 slightly WIA, admitted to hospital (what hospital?), and 3 others captured unhurt.

Does anyone know which aircraft was B3+BK, and where specifically the second aircraft came down? Does anyone have any photos or information on the crash of the one that was NOT B3+BK?

Thanx,

[Chris Goss]

Larry: Surely Peter's new book must give what is accepted to be the definative 2008 answer to any question to any question on the Battle of France?

[Larry Hickey]

Chris,

Peter has generously provided me an advance copy of his files for the book for use in the EOE Project, and I assure you, after working with them for the past few weeks, that they are monumentally valuable. It is a MUST HAVE volume for anyone interested in the subject. I can't say enough good things about what he has accomplished. The NVMs were a hugely valuable resource for him. However, that does not mean that for the Luftwaffe, every possible plane code/W.Nr., and crash location has been identified. Everything he was able to document is there, but many losses for which photos do exist aren't matched with information that can be obtained from a careful study of photos and some other sources, including some FB. Peter didn't have all of the photos, and in other cases, the codes/W.Nr.s couldn't be attributed without question to a specific crash. Peter's approach was that if information couldn't be reasonably proven, he didn't include it. He isn't in the speculation business. As Peter says, this is the "state of his knowledge" as of 11/07, and all of us will be using his book to further advance the knowledge of Luftwaffe losses, codes, crews and W.Nr.s for many years to come. Peter knows and expects this. Matching photos with wreck information is an almost endless task. Peter has given us the most comprehensive list of wreck/crash info, crews and crash locations that was probably humanly possible (something like 1800+ Luftwaffe losses in the west from 1.9.39 through 24.6.40), but now it is up to all of us, including Peter, to carry the torch forward and get the rest of what is knowable documented. That is what the EOE Project is all about. In recent days, Peter and I have been burning up the internet adding more match ups to his data base. I'm sure that he can be more eloquent on this subject than me, but that is how I see it.

Regards,

[Peter Cornwell]

Thanks Chris for your generous comments both here & elsewhere. Praise from a well-respected peer is always most welcome. I look forward to reading your review of the book in due course.

And Larry - I couldn't have put it better myself, many thanks. Of course, there is much still to learn but my hope is that The Battle of France Then & Now will provide us all with an accessible & reliable framework to further research on the subject for some years to come.

Now what about that He111 chaps ?