Stavanger Sola 24 April 1940

[Chris Anderson]

I’m researching the RAF career of my uncle Sgt Observer George C. Durie. He was killed in action with 107 Squadron on 24th April 1940 on a raid to Stavanger in the last days of the Norwegian campaign. The ORB for 107 Squadron says his Blenheim aircraft failed to return from a bombing raid by six aircraft on Sola in the early hours of 24th April 1940 and “Enemy fighters were encountered”. The other five returned safely. Can anyone tell me anything about the action and the Luftwaffe aircraft involved ?
Thanks
Chris

[Nick Beale]

http://www.ghostbombers.com/1940/Losses/loss_02.html

Bletchley Park issued the following reports based on deciphered German signals re attacks on Stavanger on 24 April:

CX/FJ/46 25.4.40

4. A source in Stavanger reports that as a result of an (English) air attack on Sola aerodrome early on 24.4 one aircraft had been set on fire, but otherwise no damage had been done. (B)
5. Pilots of II./JG 77 claimed to have shot down two Lockheed Hudsons and a Hampton Hereford on the morning of 24.4 150 km SW of Stavanger.

CX/FJ/65 4.5.40

6. Iron Crosses have been awarded to:

1) Obltn. Staffelkapitän Hentschel, 4. Staffel of JG 77for shooting down 4 enemy planes, distinguished conduct during English raid of 20/4 Stavanger etc.
2) Ltn. (?) Struckmeier, 5. Staffel for shooting down 4 enemy a/c, dive attacks in support of army at Stavanger and distinguished conduct during raid of 20/4.
3) Unteroffizier Petermann (II./JG 77) was also recommended for an Iron Cross for shooting down a “Hampden-Hereford” on 24/4.

[Chris Goss]

Claims by Fw Robert Menge 5./JG 77 Hudson 0740 hrs, Lt Edgar Struckmann 5./JG 77 Hudson 0740 hrs Uffz Werner Petermann 5./JG 77 Hampden 0840 hrs Hptm Günther Reinecke Stab I./ZG 76 Hudson 0805 hrs. Just the 107 Sqn loss from Bomber Command but two Hudsons from 220 Sqn and another from 224 Sqn were also lost.

[Chris Anderson]

Thanks very much for your prompt replies. Uffz Petermann seems to be the most likely candidate for shooting down the Blenheim. What type of aircraft would he have been flying ?

Nick - Could Uffz Petermann have misidentified a Blenheim for a Hampden/Hereford. ?

Chris - The times quoted for Petermann’s action are confusing. The 107 Squadron ORB gives take off times as 01:20 and 01:25 and the landing times of the 5 surviving Blenheims as 05:40. That would mean that the Blenheims would be overhead Stavanger at roughly 03:30, disregarding wind speeds, How would that correspond with the times in the Luftwaffe records ? What time zone would the Luftwaffe have used ?

Chris Anderson

[Nick Beale]

Petermann would have flown a Bf 109.
You get the impression that plots could mistake any type of aircraft for just about any other type they'd ever heard of!
As far as I know, the RAF were on GMT+1 while the Germans were on GMT+2 at the time.

[Merlin]

Chris,

the RAF attack time at Stavanger was roughly at 3:30 (equal to GMT 2:30).
Sunrise at Stavanger on 24. April is at GMT 4:00. Still during darkness the reported "fighter attacks" were highly unlikely. The only German nightfighter elements (IV./JG 2 with the Bf 109D) at that time in the North were based at Aalborg/DK, which is some 200km away from Stavanger.

The wording "failed to return" could have had many reasons, either the Blenheim was shot down by AA or failed due to technical problems.

[Laurent Rizzotti]

The old book "Fledging Eagles" by Shores and co has the following for this raid:
"At 0120 six 107 Squadron Blenheims set off for Stavanger, but were picked up on a newly setup Wurzburg radar of 7/LgNachrRegt 3 when still about 25 miles out. Consequently the bomber crews found fighters waiting for them when they arrived over the airfield at low level. Here L8750 (Plt Off J.D. Murphy) was apparently shot down by Bf 110s of I/ZG 76, crashing west of Stavanger. A Dornier Do 215B reconnaissance-bomber of 1(F)/ObdL was destroyed on the ground during this attack. "

Interesting info about the radar, but still to be taken as only a possibility. In the rest of the page, the book describe how two groups of 3 Hudsons each were engaged each by a pair of Bf 109s, the first losing two shot down (of 220 Sqn) by two German pilots identified as Lt Demes and Ofw Arnoldy, that did not claim that day. Then a Hudson of 224 Sqn in patrol was shot down by "Hpt Günther Reinecke, Gruppenkommandeur of I/ZG 76" according to the book.

The book have many details on the Hudson battles, probably coming from ORB, and they took place around a trio of French destroyers returning from a raid in the Skagerrak. Both the time and the location of the now known three claims of JG 77 are coherent with this battle. And in my humble opinion German pilots at that time will probably identify correctly Blenheims, while Hudsons were less often sighted by them.

That leaves with no clear victor against the 107 Sqn Blenheim. Would be interesting to check 107 Sqn ORB or combat reports if they exist to see if the German fighters met are decribed in more details (with type or number of engine).

[Laurent Rizzotti]

A small remark: 24 April 1940 was certainly not one of the last days of the Norwegian campaign, that started on 9 April and ended in June. Even if we only consider Bomber Command involvement, that stopped on 10 May with the German attack against France, Belgium and Netherlands. Still the last raid by Blenheims was on 2 May.

I checked the Bomber Command War Diaries book by Middlebrook and Everitt. It says that during the night of 23-24 April 16 Whitleys, 12 Wellingtons and 6 Blenheims were despatched to attack airfields, 1 Whitley and 1 Blenheim being lost.
Then during day 6 Blenheims were despatched to bomb Stavanger airfield but abandonned task because of weather.

L8750 was the only Blenheim lost that day, so the above source is another saying that the 107 Sqn was a night operation and so less likely to meet fighters.

[Chris Anderson]

Thanks again to all who are responding to this thread. You’ve given me a lot of information to consider. My grandfather received the attached letter from W/Cdr Basil Embry a day or two after the event. I thought you guys might find it of historical interest although it doesn’t add much to what we already know. It seems longer than I would have expected and is very complimentary about Sgt George Durie. However, I’m sure he wrote many (far too many !) such letters.

Regards

Chris Anderson

[SteveR]

Hoping the OP is still around...

I've had a dig through 107 Squadron's ORB and Appendices. The attack was started at 0340 hours in conditions of very good visibility - said to be 25-30 miles - due to a bright moon and the glow of the rising sun beginning to show over the eastern horizon.

One of the Blenheims that got back reported being attacked by a Bf 110 in two separate incidents. Two firing passes made the first time before it broke off, one firing pass the second time before breaking off. It's unclear whether it was the same Bf 110 or two different ones.

This leads me to think it could have been Hptm. Reinecke that shot down your uncle's Blenheim but it's hard to reconcile the time differences (unless the clerk who typed up the claim made a typo). AA fire is still a possibility though, as is mechanical failure.

Btw, Reinecke was shot down and killed on 30 April 1940 (attacking Wellingtons of 37 Squadron I believe).