The Eagles Over Europe Project

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

I'm trying to ID two Hs123 losses on 14 May 1940 in the general area of Saint-Germain, Belgium.

5.(S)/LG2 Henschel Hs123 A-1. Shot down by No. 607 Squadron Hurricanes near Saint-Germain (Belgium) at 10.55 a.m. FF Uffz Karl Lückel wounded. Aircraft 100% write-off.
5.(S)/LG2 Henschel Hs123 A-1. Shot down by No. 607 Squadron Hurricanes near Saint-Germain (Belgium)at 10.55 a.m. FF Lt Georg Ritter believed wounded. Aircraft 100% write-off.

There are two photos which may match these two losses.

1) One is on P.279 of Peter Cornwell's "The Battle of France Then and Now." This Hs123. landed on its wheels, is identified as down at "'le Gilbet' at Jausselette, E of Perwez," Belgium. This appears to be only a couple of miles N of St Germain, and is probably one of these two a/c. No code is visible and it does not appear to carry the 5 Staffel bear insignia.

2) Second is a photo of The L2+BN FL and captioned at "Gembloux," Belgium, that is about five miles W of St Germain. This plane wiped out its undercarriage on landing, and did have the 5 Staffel insignia and a fully visible code. The only photo that I know of can be found in the newly published "Batailles Aériennes: La RAF en France en 1939-1940, Part 2," P84 by Jean-Louis Roba.

These are very likely to be the two a/c in these two losses. I want to profile L2+BN for the EoE Project, and would appreciate any additional images of this a/c. Does anyone have any information that would confirm these locations, and which of the two pilots, Lt Georg Ritter and Uffz Karl Lückel, were associated with which Hs123?

Does anyone have any additional photo references or information on either of these two losses?