Hptm Gerhard Plischke, + 17 Nov 39

[Chris Goss]

There are numerous ways of spelling this officer's name and confusion as to the unit he was with. Some records say 3/KG 51, others say 8/KG 51 whilst another even says 8/KG 1 (his pilot on the day of his death was Lt Rudolf Henne who later flew with 5/KG 51 but Kaiser's RK book says Henne was with 8/KG 1 on 17 Nov 39). Any ideas anyone?

[Merlin]

Hptm. Plischke was killed that day as Staffelkapitän of 8./KG 51.

[Larry deZeng]

Chris G:

17 Nov 39: flew a night leaflet mission to the Bordeaux-Marseille area; one He 111 crashed in northern Italy on the return flight killing Hptm. Gerhard Plischke and one other crew member. (This is from my unit notes and probably taken from Shores.)

Chris Shores in his Fledgling Beagles says on p.112:

"Hpt Gerhard Plischke, a pilot of an 8. Staffel [KG 51 - ed.] aircraft, force-landed at Unterlillach, just over the Austro-Italian frontier, the pilot being killed and one other member of the crew injured."

L.

Nachschrift: Here is what we have in our Officer Careers listings. I will ask Doug S. if he remembers where he got this from as the information is really, really bad.

PLISEKE (PLOESCHKE?), Gerhard. 17.11.39 Hptm. and Staka 3./KG 51, KIA during leaflet sortie to
Marseille and Bordeaux - became disoriented in bad weather and bailed out over the Austrian/Italian
border near Untertillisch, and crashed about 20 km SW of Liens. 3./ or 8./?

[Chris Goss]

Thanks both-you understand my questioning especially when you look at Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kampfflieger Band 1 pages 200-201 where the 8/KG 1 comes in!

[Larry deZeng]

III./KG 1 and thus 8. Staffel were not yet formed on 17 November 1939.

III./KG 1 (First Formation)

Formation and Training. (Dec 39 - Feb 40)
Formed 15 December 1939 at Burg near Magdeburg (new) and equipped with Heinkel He 111 bombers. Following training and workup, the Gruppe was declared operational on 2 Feb 1940.

Phony War West and Attack on France and the Low Countries. (Feb 40 - Jun 40)
20.2.40: transferred to Nordhausen in Thuringia and from there began flying occasional night reconnaissance and propaganda leaflet—dropping sorties over eastern France. No losses were reported while flying these missions.

L.

[Chris Goss]

Who would be an aviation historian, eh?

[Doug Stankey]

This sent me into a tizzy! After rummaging about, I conclude that the part that Larry refers to is an apparent temporary note that was to have been deleted after hashing out some issue. Sometimes I miss these in the final edit prior to release. Normally these notes are conspicuously flagged for easy removal. Sorry about that. However, the correct version does appear a little further on:

PLOESCHKE, G. 16.11.39 Hptm., Staka 3./KG 51 KIA - He 111 H abandoned over Italian/Austrian border after disorientation in storm conditions during a leaflet raid to Bordeaux and Marseille.

As for source for this, it appears that my main source was on page 116 of:
Cornwell, Peter D. The Battle of France Then and Now (Old Harrow: After the Battle, 2007). ISBN: 9-781870-067652.

I shall clean out the offending temporary note.

Is everyone happy now?

[Larry deZeng]

Thanks, Douglas, because we now know that this is Shores vs Cornwell. Hopefully, one or both of them will step forward and reveal their sources so we can try to get to the bottom of this. Should they fail to do so, a detachment of Hell's Angels, Banditos, Outlaws and Devil's Disciples mounted on Harleys can pay them a visit and make then an offer they can't refuse.

L.

[Larry Hickey]

Larry,

Peter won't be available for a couple of weeks to reply for his part, so please don't bring down the incantations of hell on his head until he has an opportunity to reply.

In the meantime, here is our most recent (hopefully) EoE LW Loss listing for this one:

"17 November 1939: 3./KG51 Heinkel He111H. Lost bearings due to severe storm conditions during leaflet-dropping sortie to Marseille and Bordeaux, and finally abandoned over the Austrian/Italian frontier near Untertillach, south-west of Lienz. (Beo) Hptmn Gerhard Ploeschke (Staffelkapitän) killed. (Ff) Lt Rudolf Henne baled out injured, rest of crew baled out unhurt. Aircraft 100% write-off."

[Peter Cornwell]

Not AFK just yet. My source for the entry quoted by Larry was the GQM Returns which quotes the unit as 3./KG51 and the surname of the Stakap as 'PLOESCHKE'. However, DIERICH provides 'PLISCHKE' and Stakap of 8./KG51 so 'you pays your money & takes your choice'. Unfortunately, neither variation features in the VDK database nor in my 1944 edition of the Dienstalterliste so I am unable to verify one way or another though I do note that Matti also has him listed as PLISCHKE and Stakap of 3./KG51. So call off the hounds - the approaching chords of Black Betty are deafening.