Oblt ??? of ZG26 Battle of Britain

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Here is the text of van Ishoven's account requested above:

"Seenot
Air~Sea Rescue
Pg 32-34

“..…What it felt like to have to ditch into the Channel and to be rescued by an aircraft is recounted by an Oberleutnant of ZG26 who had to ditch his Messerschmitt Bf110: ‘It was a formidable experience. A white trail of smoke marked the downward path of a Hurricane that we had raked with our machine guns. But now English fighters were climbing upwards to intercept the German bomber group, which was steering a course towards an airfield south of London. The bombers, however, were able to continue on their way unmolested as German fighters attacked the enemy aircraft like a pack of ravenous wolves. Thwarted by our Messerschmitts the disappointed Spitfire and Hurricane pilots wanted to obtain at least one visible result and the last German aircraft, our Messerschmitt Bf110, became the objective for the British aircraft.
‘The enemy surrounded us on every side and we saw gun flashes to right and left. We shot at the enemy whenever possible but they were too many. Their bullets cracked and banged in our fuselage. The dinghy was already shot to ribbons. This could not go on any longer; we began to lose height. To bale out would mean captivity. If only we could reach the channel!
‘As if our aircraft had guessed my thoughts, the left engine suddenly came to life. The altimeter remained about zero, but, all along jumping from cloud to cloud, the Messerschmitt bf110 flew home above enemy territory at some 230km/h. And there, at last, the sea glistened, the last hurdle. But this hurdle was to be our destiny. Shortly before the coast that would have saved us, an accident happened. The engine conked out. Our machine divided down towards the water.
‘Canopy away! We threw away the canopy and were surrounded by fire, then suddenly water, unbelievable amounts of water. I don’t know what happened exactly, anyway we succeeded in getting free from the machine; maybe we were thrown out, maybe the water snatched us from our seats. It lasted only a few seconds, which I cannot describe, then we were swimming in the Channel, both of us side by side near the French coast which was only 500m away.
‘But now disaster threatened. An upward glance showed how the sinking aircraft’s stabilizer was slowly coming towards us. Swim for heaven’s sake, swim… We took off our flying boots and then, with a few heavy puffs, our life jackets inflated. They supported us while the machine sank. But the coast was still some way off and the water was cold and the current was carrying us away from land. My wireless operator had a good idea – he fired a flare from his Very pistol. That saved us. German fighters saw us in the water and four Messerschmitts circled above us. Despite the cold, the wireless operator and I smiled at each other – even if we were exhausted and injured. The fighters signaled a Seenotmaschine which came and took us aboard a short time later.’
Van, Ishoven Armand. The Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. London: Ian Allen, 1980. Print."