HELMUT LENT'S BORDFUNKER

[leonventer]

Chris,

Yes, I knew you would certainly have the book. It contains the only material I could find in secondary sources on Lent's crews, so I figured I'd respond with that info anyway, just in case someone was interested.

BTW, there's an intriguing account on page 119 of Lent landing his Bf 110 in inclement weather at Leeuwarden after a sortie. He was alone in the plane, and the rear canopy had been jettisoned because his wireless op had baled out at 100m without being ordered to do so. According to rumors, Reinthal was the Funker who'd abandoned ship, but the book says "a study of Lent's logbook makes that seem extremely unlikely." Are you able to find a FB entry for this incident?

It's a sad fact that there is very little information available on the "invisible" men (e.g. Funkers, ground crew, etc) who played a vital role in night fighter pilots' successes. The only Funker biography I have is "Meine Geschichte und die meiner Familie" by Friedrich Rumpelhardt, who flew with Heinz Schnaufer.

Best regards,
Leon Venter