Crew information for Wettererkundungstaffel 51 loss on 12th June 1940

[rickback4444]

Hi,

Would like to discover who were the crew members killed along with Oberlt. Nissen and Reg Rat Freurienberg on 12th June 1940 when their He 111 crashed in the Thames.

Many thanks

Rick

[Brian]

Hi Rick

An extract from the draft of one my projects:

A He111 of Wekusta 51 flown by Oblt Gerd Nissen, the Staffelkapitän, was shot down off Margate early on the morning of 12 June. Intercepted and engaged initially at 0700 by two Spitfires from 610 Squadron flown by Flt Lt John Ellis (P9451/DW-M) and Sgt Stanley Arnfield (P9495), it was finally shot down at 0720 by Flt Sgt Ernest Gilbert and Sgt Adrian Laws of 64 Squadron. A press report stated:

“A Spitfire pilot patrolling far up above, dived over 11,000 feet to attack. After firing the whole of his ammunition, he saw the Heinkel dive into a cloud with black smoke pouring from its port engine. A second Spitfire then took up the chase, followed closely by two more. They could see the Heinkel staggering low over the water, with its tail splashing the surface repeatedly as the pilot tried in vain to continue his flight. Finally the Heinkel came to rest in the sea and two members of the crew were seen to climb into their dinghy. They were picked up and taken to hospital in a Kent coastal town.”

In fact, three of the crew managed to get out before the aircraft sank but two others - Uffz Franz Bolinski and Uffz Willi Stiegelmeier - were lost. However, one of the survivors - Reg.Rat Dr Hermann Freudenberg, a weather specialist - drowned before help arrived in the form of the fishing boat Golden Spray. The boat’s crew of three, including 16-year-old Ken Ross, dragged the two injured crewmen aboard, including the pilot, who had suffered head injuries and a machine-gun bullet lodged in his arm. Young Ken ripped his own underwear into strips to use as bandages and, in return, Nissen - who had only a shirt, trousers and socks - gave him his socks suspenders as a gift of gratitude. The other survivor, the portly 16-stone observer Obfw Hans Peckhaus, was also seriously injured. On reaching land, both airmen were rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.

Hope this helps,
Brian

[rickback4444]

Thanks Brian,

Sounds very interesting but was not the answer I wanted.

I have information on a Flugzeugfuhrer Edi Kuhn who was killed on the 12th June 1940. I have looked through all the obvious reference books and came across the aircraft above in Peter's book 'The Battle of France'. I was hoping someone would tell me he was a meber of that crew. Now don't know where to go next. Any ideas.

Rick

[Peter Cornwell]

Rick,

Sorry it wasn't the answer you were looking for but it was, nonetheless, a full answer to the question you asked - so well done Brian. There is no record of this airman's death in the VDK database so I suspect it may well have been a training accident rather than an operational loss.