JU88 shot down in WW2 in Gulf of Taranto-Italy

[Franco Leo]

Hello, Could you help me? I'm finding information about a "Junker 88", German war airplane crashed in World War II, in the Ionian Sea. It lies at a depth of 35 meters, at about 2,5 miles west of Santa Caterina di Nardò (Gulf of Taranto - north of Gallipoli- Lecce- Italy) - Lat. 40° 8’ 56” – Long 17° 56’ 26”.
Some years ago, some sub of the "COSTA DEL SUD" diving service of Santa Caterina di Nardò, has found and explored it. Human rests have not been recovered. (see videos on their site or at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7kTGsrWObk ).
According some witnesses, on that time (not alive) there was an air-sea battle in front the sea of Santa Caterina di Nardò, and they saw antiaircraft’s fire and bombs explosions on ships and after an aircraft crashed in the sea too. The JU88 could have participated in the sinking of the English Destroyer G45 - HMS QUAIL on 18 may/June 1944 (Lat 40° 7' 14"- Long 17° 50' 3") while it was towing by one Italian transport ship from Taranto’s yards (Italy) to Malta, for important reparations, after having suffered serious damages following the explosion against a mine in the Adriatic (PUGLIOLA -Lat 40° 7' 14" ; Long 17°53' 50"-or CATERINA MADRE - close the two ships - both sunk in the same waters in front of Santa Caterina di Nardò, but they would result in different dates, respectively on 12 and 13 September 1943). The Ju88 could belong to 11./ZG26 (11 Staffels III/ Zerstörergeschwader 26) based in the ELEUSIS’s airport - Attica - Greece.

Such news has been drawn by the comparison of the data furnished by the site "KRAKER LUFTWAFFE ARCHIVE" relatively to another JU88 C6 crashed on June 8th 1944 at Capo Santa Maria di Leuca (south of Lecce - Italy) – not so far from Santa Caterina di Nardò - Pilot OFW Schiller Heinrich (MIA) belonged to the 11./ZG26 3U OV based at ELEUSIS. Probably that was the area of intervention of the 11./ZG26 in that time (after the Italian armistice on 8 sept. 1943). Could it be the same JU88, by the moment there isn’t certainty of the dates of sinking of the ships?
I’ll be very grateful to receive from you any information you could find on the JU88 crashed at Santa Caterina di Nardò and his implication (if) in the sinking of any ships up mentioned, or where find them on the web.
Please send your reply even if negative
Thank a lot.
Franco LEO
P.S. I’m looking forward information on a German aviator dead body too, found on the beach some day after the battle..."

[edNorth]

This Ju 88 wreck video appears be "late production" aircraft (pilot armour seat and front canopy frame) but I do not see any nose guns (aka main equipment of ZG 26 was C-6); Ju 88 C-6 3U+OV was W.Nr. 751001 08.06.1944 [Salonen NVM] However details can fit, except wreck appears lack cuto-nase (balloon wire cutters) in wing leading edges, nose cap and nose guns.
-Ed

[Franco Leo]

Thanks for your reply Ed, but I would like to go over and and discover much more possible details: for example if the crashed airplane is the same quoted on Kracker Luftwaffe Archive. regarding the lacking parts you have to consider the damages provoked by the impact against the water, possible missed parts torn by the nets of the fishermen and the sand that can have buried other details. What does it mean Salonen NVM? And then it would be very interesting to discover that the JU88 could have sunk some ships in that mission; which would also give the correct worth to the pilot.
Franco

[Nick Beale]

Franco,

There's no need to post the same thing two or three times. Your first five posts need to be approved by a moderator before they show up on screen, after that, they'll appear right away. This is done so that we can remove any spam messages before they appear on the forum.

[Franco Leo]

Good to know. Thanks

[edNorth]

I dare not speculate if this is the same aircraft. Quite many Ju 88 aircraft crashed in Italian waters, MTO or the East. Similar as you perhaps, my knowledge of language (Italian) placenames / spelling is a bit confusing on this one, also taken all in Kracker as "fact" complicates this further. I think you need find out if there were nose guns taken off it, but note by (our here, TOCH! forum member, he is the missing persons & fate expert) Matti Salonen, says some parts were recovered in 1997. -Ed

[Franco Leo]

We are convinced that the JU88 was probably involved in the sinking of the destroyer G45 QUAIL, even if the Royal Navy have never officially declared the real causes of sinking of the ship (18 may/June 1944), and we don't know the name of the towboat. We have evidences of the naval/air fight in the early summer 1944. Next to the Caterina Madre relict they have found one German airplane bomb type SC500. The three relicts are all close in a few miles. According the site KRAKER LUFTWAFFE ARCHIVE the JU88 crashed on 8th of june '44

Would someone tell me what that rectangular opening with the rectangular opening is, perforated along the inside edges, sets in the superior part of the fuselage, before the fracture of the anterior stump of the JU88 C-6 relict? (see exactly at 4' at the following video -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7kTGsrWObk). Is there a web site where is possible to view the technical sketches of the aircraft with the purpose to finally understand the real version? Could you help me? Thank you so much

[Scipio]

The plane was object of the thread
Junkers Ju.88 lost and sunk in the Ionian See
at 2010.Regards.