He115 claimed by Blenheims 3 August 1940

[Peter Cornwell]

Brian,

There are no Lw losses that correspond to the ‘probable He115’ claimed by three Blenheims of No.235 Squadron on the afternoon of 3 August 1940. And as Matti says, the airmen you name were lost on the night of 28/29 July 1940 as follows:

3./KüFlGr. 506 Heinkel He115C-1 (2776). Badly damaged by naval AA fire during early morning torpedo attack on convoy between Hartlepool and the Tyne and believed crashed in the Kattegat during return flight. BO Oberlt zur See Gerhard Ballier and FF Lt Leo Ducoffre both missing, BF Obergefr Fritz Fischer killed. Aircraft 100% lost.
The body of Fritz Fischer later came ashore in Sweden.

There were errors in the reporting of this loss at unit level - possibly occasioned by the further losses on 2 August 1940 as detailed by Brian BINES. As he says, the GQM Returns record the loss on 2 August 1940 in a document issued the following day. However, the original NVM of 3./KüFlGr506 gives the date of loss as 28 July 1940 (later manually amended to 2 August 1940) but the July date is confirmed by the KTB of the QM ObdM. The VDK database also confirms the date of death of Obergefr FISCHER as 28 July 1940.