Identity of Ju87D remains?

[ianatheling]

Hi

I am in possession of a large number of photos relating to a Ju87D which crashed in the Ukraine in the summer of 1943. A friend has provided me with these in an attempt to uncover the identity of the aircraft. From the photos there are a number pieces of the jigsaw which may help. In addition to the national insignia and yellow theatre band there are;

• A letter on the remains of the underside of the wing. Close examination of the letter, not possible on a photo due to the impact damage, has shown this to be the letter K. Given the position of the letter there are two possibilities as the meaning of the letter. If the complete vbkz was carried under the wing then it would indicate and aircraft of a 2./staffel. I think however that it is more likely to be a single letter and therefore represent the aircraft identification letter within the staffel.
• A WNr. 142 found at two locations. This is presumably not the complete WNr, since 142 was a Ju87A. This information had already been used to raise a query on loss information at LEMB here. Peter had provided; Ju87D-3 - WNr.1142 - II./StG1 - 30% Damaged due to pilot error - Bryansk (Brjansk), Russia on 23-Apr-43 [Gen.Qu.6.Abt. (mfm #9)-Vol.16] as an option. Due to the crash location and time-period (see below) this can be ruled out. Even if the aircraft was repaired the location and time period of the crash do not match this aircraft/unit. I have seen a couple of other Ju87 WNr blocks including 142, although the aircraft could be a Ju87D-3 or Ju87D-5?
• A separate no. 2956 located on the cockpit bulkhead/panzerplate.

These remains were found just north of Oleksiivs’ke Ukraine at 47 50N 38 45 E. This is very close to the Ukrainian – Russian border. Local sources remember the date of the crash to have been July-August 1943.

The key to understanding and limiting the identity of our aircraft is certainly operation Zitadelle (Kursk Offensive). By the beginning of July 1943 stuka units had been consolidated to the north and west of Kursk. This effectively rules out the first two weeks of July as dates for the crash. The failure of the Kursk offensive led to the Stuka units pulling back to defensive positions. One of the resulting areas of Soviet military build-up was around the southern Ukrainian region with an attempt to cross the River Mius. As well as 5/StG2 large sections of StG77 were also moved south to attempt to deal with this threat between 17th and 20th July. Soviet success led to these units retreating north and west by the beginning of August 1943. This should then limit the time period for the crash to between 17th and 31st July 1943.

I cannot find any appropriate losses for stab or I/StG77 during this period. III/StG77 appear to have suffered considerable losses due to air attacks to the their aircraft on the ground. The only aerial loss was a crash landing at their airfield. The only StG77 loss that I can find which could be appropriate was from II/StG77 east of Donetsk (Stalino) at some point between 29th-31st July 1943.

In Henry L. De Zeng IV and Douglas G. Stankey, Dive Bomber and Ground Attack Units of the Luftwaffe 1933-1945, A Reference Source, Volume 1, (Classic, Hersham, 2009), p. 90. I found;

II./StG2… - 5.Staffel…17 July [1943] elements ordered south and temporarily operating from Kuteinikovo airfield 125km north-west of Rostov. 3 Ju87D-3 shot down by AA fire over the Izyum area north east of Kharkov and over the Muis defence line north-west of Rostov, 6 KIA, 18th July; Ju87D-3 shot down by a fighter north-west of Rostov 2 WIA..

Kuteinykove is about 40km east of the crash site, and the crash site is certainly in the general area of those four aircraft lost by 5./StG2 on the 17th to 18th July.

At LEMB here James provided information on these losses as;

• Ju87D-3, 340, Sauer, Fw. Otto, , II., 5., StG2, , T6+FN, , , 17-Jul-43, Crew killed in in crash during Notlandung., , Lfl.4/Eins.Osten, Gen.Qu.6.Abt. (mfm #11)-Vol.19, , PlQu. 70 75, 100%, F, Bf Fw. Otto Füsteneck, ,
• Ju87D-1, 1242, Kade, Ltn. Hartmut, , II., 5., StG2, , , , , 17-Jul-43, Crew KIA due to Flak., , Lfl.4/Eins.Osten, Gen.Qu.6.Abt. (mfm #11)-Vol.19, , PlQu. 88 252, 100%, F, Bf Uffz. Hans Lutz, ,
• Ju87D-3, 1249, Damm, Ltn. Eberhard, , II., II., StG2, , , , , 17-Jul-43, Crew KIA due to Flak., , Lfl.4/Eins.Osten, Gen.Qu.6.Abt. (mfm #11)-Vol.19, , PlQu. 70 753, 100%, F, Bf Fw. Erdfelder, ,
• Ju87D-3, 0581, Sattler, Uffz. Karl, , II., 5., StG2, , , , , 18-Jul-43, Crew WIA due to enemy fighters., , Lfl.4/Eins.Osten, Gen.Qu.6.Abt. (mfm #11)-Vol.19, , PlQu. 88 16, 100%, F, Bf Uffz. Werner Falk, ,

The 5/StG2 losses between 17th-18th July do then seem to be the most likely candidates for the remains, but none of the above perfectly match the information from the remains. WNr.1242 is the closest.

Given the remains found this would suggest T6+KN as the vbkz. Any further information on this code/aircraft could help. Could the remains then be one of these four aircraft, or does the photographic evidence offer other possibilities?.... or have I missed something from my research of the histories of this period?

Ian

[Matti Salonen]

1943-07-17, 5./St.G 2, Ju 87D-3, 131242, T6+KN, 3 km westlich Marinowka (Pl.Qu. 88252), Absturz infolge Flakbeschuß und Aufschlagbrand. Bruch 100 %.
Flugzeugführer Lt Kade, Hartmut, +
Bordfunker, Uffz Lutz, Johann, +

Matti

[ianatheling]

Many thanks Matti. I think the evidence for this aircraft is mounting. It was certainly my favoured choice from James’ list but now we also have the T6+KN vbkz attached to it. The WNr is not a perfect match, but hopefully close enough for that to be recorded on the remains to be an abbreviated version.

Using the LUMA software from http://www.gyges.dk/reporting_grids.htm I have been able to identify Marinowka (Pl.Qu. 88252) as Mar’ynivka (34 Ost 88252). This is just over 5km from the location provided for the remains of the crash. Given that the loss records states 3km west of Marynivka then hopefully we can dismiss the difference of a couple of km between 1943 records and modern estimations.



Cheers
Ian

[ianatheling]

To remove lingering doubts on the identification of this aircraft could anyone confirm or give a view on;

1. That the WNr.142 could be an abridged/abbreviated form of 131242.
2. That the Nr. 2956 on the cockpit bulkhead is not associated directly with the aircraft identification.

Ian