Two Ju87s shot down by Convoy PQ4 22/11/41?

[BrianC]

Hi guys

The following is an extract from the diary of an MN officer aboard one of the freighters of PQ4. I have been unable to verify the claims. Can anyone advise, please?

November 22nd.Crossed Arctic Circle. Course for 75 N. I believe. Stukas dive-bombed the convoy. The flutes under the wings gave a banshee wail and every seventh shell was a tracer so when one of the gunners on the port wing Oerlikon was hit by a tracer it cauterised the wound and he survived the rough handling when the skipper ordered "that corpse off the bridge"I put him in the shelter of the wheelhouse which was re-inforced with concrete slabs) and took over the gun for a few exciting seconds. We were in the vicinity of Jan Mayen island at the extremity of the Stuka's range so it was a short lived raid. They lost two planes and the crew were dead when picked up. Temp. 40 below.


And who were the fatalities?

Cheers
Brian

[igorrB]

All Ju.87 were on south sector of AOK Norwegen. Last sortie from Kirkenes seems to be at 1.11.41.
Jan-Mayen island is 800 km away from Bodoe airstrip so no Ju.87 can reach it in any case. So this is obviously false recollection

[Darius]

Hi Brian,

no attack mentioned in the KTB Skl for 22.-23.11.1941 as far I checked the sources.

Regards

Darius

[Seaplanes]

The only Ju 87 unit in Norway and the north of Finland in November/December 1941, was the lV.(St.)/L.G.1. The only
loss reported around 22 November was on the 20. November when
a Ju 87R-2 W.Nr. 6131 was lost 100% due to an engine fire at Kestenga airfield.
The units planes were mainly used against Soviet ground positions.

[BrianC]

Hi guys

Thanks for the contributions. Just as I thought. However, the diary (not memoir) implies that the convoy was attacked - but by what?

My research would suggest that seamen often reported attacking aircraft as "stukas" whether they were or not Ju87s. So, perhaps the attackers were Ju88s. Is there any mention of Ju88 activity - bombers or reconnaissance aircraft?

For the diary entry to be acceptable, the writer's ship, believed to have been the British Dan-Y-Bryn, was attacked and a crew member seriously wounded.

Over to you!
Cheers
Brian

[edwest2]

Brian,

Have you been to Convoy Web?

http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/hague/index.html

[Tim Oliver]

Don’t forget that the Ju88 was designed to dive bomb as well as carry out horizontal bombing and strictly speaking was therefore a ‘Stuka’. Much more likely that they were Ju88s rather than Ju87s.

[igorrB]

Only Ju.88 gruppe Far North that period was II./KG 30 and it was based at Kemi, Finland.
In Abendmeldung of Gefechtsstab LF 5 we can read that weather was really bad and there was no bomber's sortie, only recon. Gefechtsstab was responsible for Finland and Finnmark of course, but regions are near.
Only planes can be over PQ-4 - recon/meteo planes. They can't dive.

[igorrB]

+Seelage from LF 5 at 22.11.41:
Nordmeer and Barentssee keine neuen Lagemeldungen.
Also no mention about PQ-4 in Admiralty War Diary

[BrianC]

Hi guys

So not Ju87s or Ju88 bombers, therefore possibly/probably a lone Ju88 recon aircraft? Any further suggestions?

The entry stating that two aircraft were shot down and dead crewmen being recovered from the seems to have been an exaggeration of facts! But why record such in one's own diary?

Any further thoughts?

Cheers
Brian