Ju-52 defection, 25th October 1944

[alanatabz]

A Junkers Ju-52 from Seetransportstaffel 2 in Hommelvik took off on the 25th of October 1944, however it ditched into the sea off Aberdeen next to The fishing boat "Eric Stroud" from Aberdeen picked the crew up after they had signalled that they wished to surrender and taken into harbour.

Anybody have any info on this?

The Eric Stroud was converted in WW1 to a minesweeper, Possibly an armed trawler in WW2

The Ju-52 was a seaplane variant, and may have run out of fuel. Unsure if it was part of Seetransportstaffel 2 or not.

What I'm unsure of is did it ditch beside the trawler (50km off Aberdeen) and was it then spotted by the RAF, or Did the RAF spot it and send the Trawler to it?

Also, any idea of the crew that defected?

[Brian Bines]

There is a 'K' report for this one which shows Ff Ofw Heinz-Jakob Murk b.17-1-1915 and Bf Ogef. Hans Maas b.31-10-1920 both taken prisoner. Apparently their aircraft was fuelled up for a transfer flight from Trondheim which was then delayed by bad weather, so the two decided to take off with the intention of deserting to Iceland . They hit bad weather and poor visibility so with low fuel they came down in a rough sea , being picked up later by a trawler and were surprised to find they were 30 miles off Aberdeen having flown too far south. Their Ju 52 floatplane belonged to 2/TG20 and was marked -- + IK.

[Seaplanes]

I am afraid that 2./T.G.20 never had any floatplanes. However, the Transportfliegerstaffel 2 in Hommelvik had. Their aircraft carried the unit code 8A+-K. Unfortunately it is only scanty information about this incident. It is mentioned in the KTB for Admiral Norwegen. Can anyone provide the W.Nr. of this Ju 52 ?