Luftwaffe losses Convoy PQ17 July 1942

[Brian]

Hi guys

Some time ago we compiled lists of losses sustained by both sides during Convoy PQ18, when the Luftwaffe lost 40+ aircraft.

During PQ17 I believe 5 Luftwaffe aircraft were lost. Has anyone details of these losses, and also the claimants for the various ship losses?

Cheers
Brian

[Brian Bines]

Brian,

possibly these ones :-

4-7 I/125? Bv 138 119 crew of Uffz Kahl missing

4-7 I/KG26 by Tromso engine-trouble He111 H-6 7147 100% crew safe
then Bf Uffz Alfred Milewski noted as injured

4-7 I/KG26 Pl.Qu 69/27 Ost He111 H-6 709? crew of Ltn Hennermann
missing.

4-7 I/KG26 Pl.Qu 69/27 Ost He111 H-6 7156 crew of Ltn. Kaumeyr missing

5-7 I/KG26 Fl.PL Bardufoss He111 H-6 7011 65% Oblt Muller plus one inj and one killed in crash landing following enemy fire

5-7 I/KG26 Malangen Fjord He 111 H-6 7084 100% emergency landing following enemy fire crew safe

Regards

Brian Bines

[Bruce Lander]

Hi Brian,

from SIG Luftwaffe in Norway Site

02.07.42 1./SeeAufl.Gr125 BV 138 C-1 0310034. 7R-GH Kvalöya/Finmark F 100 Crash due to fog on return of recon of PQ 17 Obgfr. Walter Nebendahl (F) KIA Uffz. Heinrich Krüger (1.Bm) KIA Obfhr. Karl Heinz Strahlke (B) KIA Uffz. Willy Rohmann (Bf) KIA

4.07.42 1./125 BV 138 C-1 0310119. 7R+HH PI.Qu Ost/9634 F 100 Missing on recon of PQ 17 Lt. Hugo Siegl (B) MIA Uffz. Walter Kahl (F) MIA Uffz. Herbert Jacob (Bf) MIA Uffz. Helmut Zellner (1.Bm) MIA Obgfr. Helmut Berhardt (2.Bm) MIA

04.07.42 I./KG 26 He 111 H-6 7098 1H+GH PI.Qu 27 Ost/69 F 100 Missing (PQ 17) Lt. Konrad Hennemann (F) MIA Uffz. Herbert Gabriel (B) MIA Uffz. Johnn Zopes (Bf) MIA Obgfr. Artur Scholz (Bs) MIA

04.07.42 I./KG 26 He 111 H-6 7156 1H+MH PI.Qu 27 Ost/69 F 100 Shoot down (PQ 17) Lt. Georg Kaumeyer (F) POW Fw. Felix Schlenkermann (B) POW Uffz. Helmut Clausnitzer (Bf) POW Gfr. Theodor Mands (Bs) POW

04.07.42 I./KG 26 He 111 H-6 4966 PI.Qu 27 Ost/7654 F 25 Enemy fire (PQ 17) Uffz. Gerhard Arnold (Bs) KIA

Cheers

Bruce Lander

[Laurent Rizzotti]

I have more losses than those reported above. Please find below a narrative I am writing on this battle using English, German and Russian (translated by robots...) sources (I can provide them if needed):

German airmen spotted the Russia-bound Allied convoy PQ-17 east of Jan Mayen Island on 1 July and then followed it.

On 2 July 1942 one of these aircraft, the BV 138 C-1 WNr 310034 7R-GH of 1./SeeAufl.Gr125, was returning from its mission when it met fog on the Norwegian coast and it was destroyed in a crash on Kvaløya island, near Hammerfest, Finmark.

Crew:
Obgfr. Walter Nebendahl (F) KIA
Uffz. Heinrich Krüger (1.Bm) WIA
Obfhr. Karl Heinz Strahlke (B) WIA
Uffz. Willy Rohmann (Bf) WIA

The same day, Oberst Ernst-August Roth, Fliegerfuhrer Lofoten, decided to launch a first attack against the Russia-bound convoy PQ-17, still 500 miles from the German airbases in northern Norway. Seven He 115 of 1./KüFlGr 406 took off from Söreisa, a small lake south of Narvik. Guided by radio by the reconnaissance aircraft following the convoy they found it at around 1800 hrs. The intense AA fire prevented them to close the ships and these were able to evade the torpedoes launched from too far.

During the attack the He 115 C WNr 2759 of Hptm Herbert Vater, St Kap of 1/406, was shot down by AA fire from the destroyer HMS Fyry and did an emergency landing in the sea by 73°52N 4°15E (PI.Qu 07 Ost/4415). Oblt zur See Karl-Hermann Burmeister from the same unit landed its He 115 K6+IH, picked the three unhurt crew and took off again in spite of AA fire.

Also on 2 July 1942 two Ilyushin bombers DB-3F of 5./2. gvSAP VVS were shot down by German fighters in Kunes area, Finmark, during an attack on Banak airfield in Lakselv. A third bomber managed to escape by flying low above the Laksefjord. Both bombers were shot down by Obfw.Helmut Kischnick of 4./JG 5.

Cpt. Pavel Dmitrievich Zubkov was killed with the three members of his crew, Cpt.Gavril Dmitrievich Ioshkin, P/O Fedor Aleksandrovich Mikhajlichenko and Sgt.Ivan Ivanovich Maltsev. One of the airmen managed to bail out from the burning aircraft, but the altitude was too low. The three others were found badly burnt and beheaded beside the wreck. The Captain was buried at the spot by the Germans, while the rest were left beside the wreckage. They were later buried by some Norwegian roadworkers.

The four crew of the second bomber, Maj Aleksej Vasilevich Krylov, Cpt Grigorij Juljevich Vering, Sgt Mikhail Ivanovich Vakhnin and Sgt Boris Sergeevich Makeev, were also killed.

On 4 July 1942 the BV 138 C-1 WNr 310119 7R+HH of 1./Aufkl.Gr.125 (See) was posted missing in Pl.Qu. 27 Ost/9634, 300 km northeast of Bear Island, during another mission to follow the convoy PQ-17. Some sources say it was shot down by a British aircraft but it is very unlikely in this area.

Crew (all lost):
Lt. Hugo Siegl (observer)
Uffz. Walter Kahl (pilot)
Uffz. Herbert Jacob (radio)
Uffz. Helmut Zellner (1st flight engineer)
Obgfr. Helmut Berhardt (2nd flight engineer)

Around 05.00 hours, He 115s of I./KuFlGr 906, led by Oberst Eberhard Peukert, finally located the convoy PQ-17 and attacked. The American Liberty ship "Christopher Newport" was hit and sunk, becoming the first casualty of the convoy. Patrick Hugh Wright, an Armed Guard on the ship, fired his .30 cal machine gun at the approaching torpedo until it struck the ship. At 19.30 hours, Ju 88s of KG 30, based at Banak, attacked the convoy but no hits were scored.

At 20.30 hours, 25 He 111s of I./KG 26, led by Oberst Bernot Eicke and carrying torpedoes, attacked the convoy. Lt. Konrad Hennemann was able to score a hit on the freighter "Navarino" but he in turn was hit by defending AA fire and the whole crew was killed when their He 111 H-6 WNr 7098 1H+GH crashed. The He 111 H-6 WNr 7156 1H+MH of Lt. Georg Kanmayr was then hit and crashed but all 4 crewmen were rescued by a British ship. Oberst Eicke torpedoed the freighter "William Hopper" and the British ship was soon abandoned. Another 2 ships were sunk by the time KG 26 left the convoy.

Crew of He 111 H-6 WNr 7098 1H+GH (all killed):
Lt. Konrad Hennemann (F)
Uffz. Herbert Gabriel (B)
Uffz. Johnn Zopes (Bf)
Obgfr. Artur Scholz (Bs)

Crew of He 111 H-6 WNr 7156 1H+MH (all captured):
Lt. Georg Kaumeyer (F)
Fw. Felix Schlenkermann (B)
Uffz. Helmut Clausnitzer (Bf)
Gfr. Theodor Mands (Bs)

(I have both losses given by Brian Bines for 5 July 1942 but I have not written a narrative yet for this day. I have written the next days, however)

After the convoy PQ-17 had scattered when the British learned that the Tirpitz was at sea, U-Boote and Luftwaffe bombers sank many isolated ships on the 5th and 6th of July. The Germans claimed 28 ships sunk and concluded that the convoy had been totally annihilated. So Fliegerfuhrer Nord-Ost cancelled the ship hunting and insted dispatched again his aircraft against naval and aviation installations in Murmansk region.

On 7 July, a total of 22 Ju 88s and 12 Ju 87s, escorted by 56 Bf 109s and 4 Bf 110s, flew four missions, two against Murmansk, one against Rosta shipyard and one against Vaenga airfield. There was only one German loss, the Ju 87 R-4 WNr 6209 L1+EK of I./St.G 5 that was shot down by Soviet fighters near Murmansk. Both crew, Uffz. Günter Holm (pilot) and Fw. Rudolf Friecke (radio), were killed.

The German escort fighters claimed 12 victories but only one Soviet fighter was lost, a Kittyhawk of 2 GIAP VVS-SF that crashed near Chelnopushka during a forced landing attempt. The pilot was unhurt.

On 8 July the Fw 200 C-4 WNr 101 F8+EH of 1./KG 40 was shot down in the Barents Sea, 160 miles N Kapp Svyatoi Nos (Pl.Qu.47-Ost-4270), by the American merchant ship Bellingham, one of the survivors of the convoy PQ 17. The pilot, Oblt. Albert Gramkow (Staffelkapitän), was killed with the 7 other crew.

Crew:
Oblt. Albert Gramkow (F)
Ofw. Anton Mohaim (F)
Obgfr. Gerhardt von Stocki (Bf)
Uffz. Heinz Laxy (Bf)
Ofw. Rüdiger Wedding (Bm)
Uffz. Franz Welters (Bs)
Fw. Gerhard Fischer (Bm)
Lt. Georg Liebenhau (B)

On 9 July, U-Boote reported sightings of the remaining PQ-17 freighters at sea, and KG 30 was hurriedly returned to ship hunting. In the early hours of July 10, in the endless Polar day, three freighters attempting to reach the White Sea came under repeated attacks by the Ju 88s of KG 30. El Capitan was hit by three bombs and abandonned by the crew. Later it was achieved by an U-Boot and sank with its cargo of four Boston bombers, eight Valentine tanks and 7,500 tons of other war equipement. The German bombers also hit the Soviet destroyers Sokrushitel’nyy and Gremyashchiy during this action.

Pe-3 fighters of 95 IAP VVS-SSF were sent to the area and shot down the Ju 88 A-4 WNr 2137 4D+AH of 1./KG 30 over the Barents Sea, in Pl.Qu. 37 Ost 9089, north of Iokanga.

Crew (all lost):
Hptm. Eberhard Schröder (pilot, Staffelkapitän)
Uffz Rudolf Decker (observer)
Uffz Hans Mühlpoltner (radio)
Uffz. Albert Agel (air gunner)

The same day, the Ju 88 A-4 WNr 140043 4D+QA of Erpr.St./KG 30 was shot down by Soviet AA fire over Iokanga, on the Barents Sea coast, and probably fell in the sea.

Crew (all missing):
Ofw. Kurt Meyer (F)
Uffz.Josef Gaier (B)
Uffz. Rudi Schneider (Bf)
Uffz. Josef Lyske (Bs)

_____________________________________________

There are also some losses of German fighters of JG 5 during these weeks, but rather during operations against Murmansk than during operation against PQ 17.

Outside the two DB-3 reported above on 2 July 1942 and the Kittyhawk on the 7th, the Soviet Northern Fleet aviation reported the following losses, for which I have few details:
3 July: 1 Hurricane
4 July: 1 Hurricane
6 July: 2 Pe-3 of 95 IAP (probably in operations to cover the ships of PQ-17, one crew killed in crash due to bad weather)
8 July: a Tomahawk of 2 GIAP and a Hurricane of 78 IAP
10 July: a DB-3

[Chris Goss]

I have photos of Vater's rescue plus a photo taken during the attack by one in the He 115 crews

[Juha]

Originally Posted by Brian

Hi guys


Some time ago we compiled lists of losses sustained by both sides during Convoy PQ18, when the Luftwaffe lost 40+ aircraft...
Cheers
Brian

I have mist that, I think that LW lost 26-31 a/c, depending how one counts the planes that crashed during the return, during the PQ-18 battles.

Juha

[Brian]

Hi Juha

See PM

Best wishes
Brian

[Juha]

Hello Brian
message received, thanks a lot!

Juha

[robert]

Hi,

I found some additional details (KTB Lofoten):
2.7.40
19.20 hrs: 1 He 115 of 1./406 was force-landed N of the convoy.
At 21.10 hrs crew of Hptm. Vater was picked up by crew of Olt. Burmeister.
21.50 hrs: no communication with Bv 138 G 1./125. At 19.06 this seaplane must be force-landed in grid 6041 17 East off the coast due to bad weather. At 21.10 hrs it had taken off. At 22.00 hrs phone call from Fluko that seaplane was crashed near Brennehosmen. 3 men rescued and 2 KIA (pilot drowned trapped in the wreck and 1.BM was not seen).
At 23.35 hrs Bv 138 G of 3./906 reported being shelled by naval flak at 22.40 hrs and now flying with disabled starboard engine. On 3.7.42 at 02.30 hrs seaplane was landed on water and at 02.55 hrs beached in grid 8187 requesting help. Crew was unhurt.

Regards

Robert