The Eagles Over Europe Project

[Larry Hickey]

Göran,

I think that this reference settles the issue, and "Merlin" is right in his analysis of this incident. The photos show the "Military Farewell" at Mannheim on 23 April 1940 for Clausen and his gunner. That decisively advances the date for an example of the light blue over-spray on 13.(Z)/LG1 Bf110s to that date, a month earlier than I'd suspected, and shakes up the profile order for the EoE project for that Staffel. Got to rethink this.

This may now relate to one of the crash photos that I posted earlier, which "Merlin" thinks may be the crash of Clausen's L1+AL. I'll post this here again for any further comments or help matching other crash photos.

"22 April 1940: 15.(Z)/LG1Messerschmitt Bf110C-1. Crashed into houses near Mannheim-Sandhofen and burnt out following engine failure on maintenance test flight. (FF) Oberlt Walter Clausen (Staffelkapitän) and mechanic killed. Aircraft 100% write-off."

My problem with this match-up is that there are no houses or structures visible in this photo, which, however, certainly looks like the crash of an a/c with a light-colored "A" on the smashed wingtip. This could, however, easily be accounted for by the angle from which the photo was taken, looking away from any structures it hit. Since this would have been a local crash to the airfield at Mannheim-Sandhofen, where the unit was based at the time, you'd certainly expect there to be photos in the collections of unit veterans from that time period. Does anyone else have photos of the scene of this crash, that might settle this issue?

http://ihra.smugmug.com/photos/i-2xZ...-2xZ876S-L.jpg

I should note that here is the alternative candidate for this crash:

12 May 1940: Lu_40-5-12a Bf110C 13-LG1 Possibly Lt Hans Gaffal, WIA-POW, hit trees Cashed & Burned Out at ‘Nugimont’, S of Blagny, France, Chris J. Ehrengardt Coll via 11-06 LJH Visit

The only way to resolve this may be to find another photo of the Clausen wreck with the houses in the background, or, alternatively, a photo of Gaffal's crash at "Nugimont." Who holds the proof for either scenario?

However, it may turn out that it's not wise to question the advice of a magician like "Merlin." He might turn me into a mouse or something for my impertinence. That would look pretty strange, a nearly 2 meter tall half-Viking, half-German mouse with an Irish name. That should scare the hell out of some Anglo-Saxon monks.

Regards,

[F19Gladiator]

Larry,
Just a small correction: Clausen's Bordfunker was not onboard in the accident but a mechanic who was killed. Clausen's Bordfunker did command the ceremony for Clausen and the mechanic the next day according to the book.
I don't beleive the photo you've posted here shows Clausen's Bf110 as according to Eimannsberger's book p.19: "Both wings were torn off in the following collision with houses, the aircraft's fuselage crashed into a street and skidded along it for about 200 meters. The loss of the wings caused the fuel tanks to empty their contents over the houses and into the street. Not until all of the ammunition had exploded could the bodies of Clausen and the mechanic who was with him be removed from the fuselage."
Does not seem to match the linked to photo.
BR
Göran

[Larry Hickey]

Göran,

The text would seem to eliminate this photo as being the wreckage of Clausen's aircraft. However, for the history, I'd still like to locate a photo (s) of that crash.

This now seems much more likely to be the wreckage of Lt Hans Gaffal's L1+AH, down ‘Nugimont’, S of Blagny, France, on 12 May. Again, we still need some confirmation of this.

We're getting there.

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

I have one poor quality photo of this a/c in a salvage dump, but would appreciate knowing about other photos of it if they exist:

"1 September 1939 Polish Campaign: 3./StG1 Junkers Ju87B-1. Forced-landed in open country north of Mlawa damaged in attack by PZL P11s during sortie to bomb the radio station at Babice 5.15 p.m. Possibly that attacked by Ppor. Kazimierz Daszewski of 112 EM. FF Oberlt Bruno Dilley (Staffelkapitän) and gunner both unhurt. Aircraft A5+AL 20% damaged but repairable."

I want to do a color profile of this a/c for the EoE Project.

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Seeking any possible source for this loss just posted on the EoE LW Loss DB by Peter C.

"13 August 1940 3.(F)/22 Dornier Do17P. Lost over the North Sea during long-range reconnaissance sortie, exact circumstances not recorded. FF Lt Reinhold Panhas killed, BO Fw Helmut Otto and BF Uffz Hans Bauer both missing. Aircraft 100% write-off.
The body of Panhans was later recovered from the Kattegat and buried at Göteborg"

Anybody got any ideas or further information?

[Matti Salonen]

Location was 15 West 2970. There is a NVM at WASt. "Lt Panhans am 1940-10-07 bei Langeskar tot angeschwemmt". Otherwise no additional info.

Matti

[Brian Bines]

GQM just shows unknown cause with position "15 West 2970" (east of Aberdeen ?).

[F19Gladiator]

Swedish spelling of the location where Lt.Panhans was found is 'Långeskär' on the Swedish westcoast. First buried at Grebbestad 1940-10-11. In the autumn of 1966 moved to Kviberg, Gothenburg.
Source: page 43, Bo Widfeldt, Tyska Nödlandare 1939-1945, Air Historic Research, 2007. ISBN 91-975467-4-7

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

This photo is from the Holger Nauroth book "The Luftwaffe, From the North Cape to Tobruk 1939-1945" P23. It shows a Bf110C-1 of 2./ZG76 that ran onto soft ground and did a nose stand at Stavanger-Sola AF, Norway, sometime during April-May, 1940. The caption location of Oslo-Fornebu is incorrect as another photo absolutely confirms the location as Stavanger-Sola.

In the far left background is an He111 of an unknown unit but certainly either KG4 or KG26 that FL in soft ground at the same time.

I'm trying to do a color profile of the Bf110, but need photos showing the other side, and any insignia that might be there, presumably the 2./ZG76 "Ladybird" insignia, or possibly a top hat or both.

Regarding the He111, we've been scouring our collections and so far can't find any photos showing this one. It is NOT 1H+CN that did a nose tip at Vaernes, near Trondheim, Norway, during April-May, nor 5H+HP that did a nose tip after the tail was knocked off at Oslo-Fornebu on or about 18.04.40.

Who can help us document these markings of the two nose-tipped a/c at Sola, and/or provide date information regarding them.

http://ihra.smugmug.com/photos/i-vv6...-vv6F4Bm-M.jpg

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

I know getting an ID on this crash is going to be a well-near impossible challenge, but I'm going to take a shot at it. The first step is to see if anyone can ID the a/c type from any detail on the wreckage. No certainty that it's LW; could be French, British, Belgian or Dutch, but probably a fighter. Can any eagle-eye technical expert spot any detail that tells us what type this is?

The second step is does anyone have any other photos of this one, which might include a caption with type, place or date?

http://ihra.smugmug.com/photos/i-PLV...-PLVZgs6-L.jpg