Kursk air raid 2.Jun.43: strange He111 with 6 crewmembers?

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Hello gentlemen,

during the well-known great air raid against Kursk 2.Jun43 Luftwaffe has suffered some losses.

According one of the acts with AA claims, one of the He111 was downed on the way home and crashed in Ugroedy area (w. of Kursk). The plane was burned away. Crew: 1 KIA, 1 WIA and 4 POW, altogether 6 person, as written in the act.

Probably in reality wounded man was among 4 POW so it was He111 with usual 5 crewmembers. But maybe the act info is correct and 6th person was involved (war reporter, for example)? Unfortunately names of the airmen are absent in the act.

It seems the sole He111 missing during the raid with whole crew, mentioned in GQM returns, was WNr 110074 (G1+HT) from 9./KG55. But in daily intelligence summary the evidences of an undisclosed POW from II./KG55 (participant of the raid in question) are mentioned. It is additional puzzle.

Best regards,
Andrey

[Monaco]

According to Dierich the crew was composed of five men from 9./KG.55: Uffz. Edgar Belz (pilot), Oblt. Heinz Zander (observer), Uffz. Kurt Winkler (radio-operator), Uffz. Horst Scherhans (mechanic), Gefr. Aegidius Schornstein (gunner) - no 6th crew member is mentioned; maybe the crew member of another downed german plane was captured?

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Hello Monaco,

yes, GQM and Dierich gives 5 men from WNr 110074. So either it is an error in the document (WIA airman was counted twice as WIA and as POW) or it was other, unknown aircraft. For example mentioned above plane from II/KG55.

Withdrawal ("Abgang") for II/KG55 in June 1943 according to "Flugzeugbestand und Bewegungsmeldungen" was 13 (11 due to enemy action and 2 without that action, apart from 1 to "Überholung"). But GQM gives only 3 lost (100% damage) and 5 damaged planes (from 45% to 10%). So not less than 5 planes weren't included in GQM list.
Maybe POW mentioned in the intelligence summary was from one of these unknown planes.

[Nokose]

Andrey, on the German news films they often rolled credits at the beginning of the killed or missing cameramen. If you had the POW's names that would probably be away of determining.

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Hello Nokose,

I haven't the POWs names in this case, and that's exactly why this case is hard to resolve.

Best regards,
Andrey