Seeking info on two FL Ju87B of 9./StG1, 6G+DT, near Dinant, Belgium, and the other, 6G+JT, in France, during May, 1940

[Larry Hickey]

Paul,

Thanx for forwarding these. I have both of them in the EoE Photo DB, and noted the location, which seems totally out of sync with all the several other photos of the a/c that place it in Belgium.

That's the problem with these auction captions and even hand-written notes on the back. Sometimes they really help ID a photo. Other times they are red herrings that send you off on a wild goose chase. In this case, I think we've got a good handle on the location near Dinant, Belgium, but this is only about 90% sure.

Unless and until we get reliable information to the contrary, here is what we're now carrying in our DB for this one:

"23 May 1940 Western Campaign: 9./StG51 Junkers Ju87B (5179). Unserviceable aircraft abandoned at Sorinnes airstrip, east of Dinant, when unit transferred to St Aubin. No crew casualties. Aircraft 6G+DT repairable.
This unit had only arrived from Odendorf on 15 May so this aircraft was grounded sometime afterwards."

This aircraft sat for a long time in place as spectators wore a path all the way around it in the grass, which seems unlikely at a German incident location.