13th May 1940 He 111 of 1./KG 4

[Bas Maathuis]

Hi all,

On the 13th May 1940 a He 111 P (5J+CH) of 1./KG 4 made an emergency landing along the Langedijk Ysselstein near Utrecht. A few days ago I got a document from the municipality Ysselstein archive stating that this was Wnr.2166 that came down at 14.00 hrs local time and one of the crew was named Paul Bargykowski.

Can anyone confirm the that 5J+CH and Wnr.2166 belong together.
Can anyone fill in the details on the (rest of the) crew.

[gogh]

search with 2912 on this board and you find your answer

[Larry Hickey]

gogh,

I'm puzzled by your reference to W.Nr.2912 as being 5J+CH. I have 2912 as possibly 5J+D? down in Holland the first days of the Western Campaign. I originally thought that this was 5J+DA down with Gesch Kdr on 10.05.40, but that is now known to be W.Nr.2909.

According to the Revised EoE LW Loss DB:
10 May 1940: Stab KG4 Heinkel He111P-2 (2909). Shot down by Fokker G1 of 3-II-1 (1e Lt Noomen & Korp de Vries) during sortie to Waalhaven and belly-landed in St Annapolder between Rockanje and Hellevoetsluis, south of Zwartedijk, 4.15 a.m. Further attacked by another Fokker G1 (2e Lt Sonderman & Sgt Holwerda) prior to landing. BF Oberfw Ewald Reinhardt Frotscher killed, FF Oberfw Oswald Hlubek captured wounded, BO Oberst Martin Fiebig(Geschwaderkommodore), BO Oberlt Klaus Born, and BM Oberfw Otto Blank captured unhurt – all later released. Aircraft 5J+DA 100% write-off. (Note: we have a number of photos of this a/c and crew)

5J+CH I have in our EoE DB as:
"13 May 1940: 1./KG4 Heinkel He111P-2. Engines damaged by AA fire (11.Bt.LuA) over Kanalen Island during sortie to Rotterdam and belly-landed between Biezendijk and Lagedijk, south-east of IJsselstein, 12.00 p.m. Crew all captured unhurt after brief exchange of fire with local troops. Aircraft 5J+CH 100% write-off." I have five photos of this a/c both before it was shot down, down at the site, and also being salvaged.

I do not have a W.Nr. for 5J+CH nor the names of any of the captured crewmembers. I don't have any He111 W.Nr.'s in the 2100 range during the WC. I would very much like to confirm the information from Bas, as it will clear up some of the remaining issues with that loss. I would also like to confirm the identity of the FL He111 W.Nr.2912.

Who can help?

[gogh]

Sorry I have read this link wrong

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showth...highlight=2912

[Larry Hickey]

gogh,

This still doesn't resolve any of the questions posed in this post.

[Pieter H]

Hi Larry and Bas,

We're mixing a few discussions here, but nevertheless that's good because it made me review my data.

• Wnr 2166, the presumed 5J+CH of May 13 was a P-2 model, so that seems to fit. It is intersting to see that the names of the crew are not known, and don't appear in the overviews. That suggests they were shortly afterwards released after the Dutch surrender.
• at closer inspection of the best picture I have of the 5J+DA, I'm convinced the wnr is not 2909, but more likely 2901, making that one also a P-2. But it is at the limit of scan resolution, so not 100% guaranteed. Is there a formal source of 2909 other than the pictures?
• wnr 2912 of the unknown a/c makes that one a P-4. I don't know where your suggestion comes from that this was a 5J+D? coded aircraft, Larry, but if correct that could be the 5J+DN at Zevenbergschehoek (N. of Breda) on May 10. That's the only 5J+D I have other than the 5J+DA. Are there more pictures that could confirm this?

Regards, Pieter

[Bas Maathuis]

Hi Larry, gogh and Pieter,

Thanks for your remarks so far.
I've attached the document to this post. This document is dated 4th Nov 1941, so over a year after the emergency landing, and as you might expect, written in Dutch.
If any questions I'll try to translate.

[Larry Hickey]

Bas,

Yes, a translation would be very helpful.

[Bas Maathuis]

Hi Larry, Pieter,

The letter is an answer from the burgomaster of municipality IJsselstein to the head of police in Amsterdam regarding missing members of the German Luftwaffe, dated 4th November 1941.

“…. I have the honor to inform you that on May 13th 1940, a German aircraft crashed at approximately 2.00 hrs p.m. in a meadow along the Lagendijk. It was a twin-engine aircraft, supposedly a Junker, number 2166. The aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. Mr. Jurrianus Peele, living at Langendijk 101 was an eyewitness. The crew of four were taken prisoner by Dutch soldiers and brought to Lopik. There were no casualties. After the Dutch capitulation a motorcar was requisitioned by the NCO, the aircraft commander, who stated his name was: Paul Bargykowski. He and the other crewmembers left for Emmerich.

Signed by burgomaster of IJsselstein ”

Btw, Pieter may be right about the Wnr of 5J+DA. Jaap Woortman did some research on the He 111 losses over Holland and found that He 111 Wnr.2909 was written off on April 6th 1944.
Source: RL 2 III/778.

[Larry Hickey]

Bas,

Thanx for the translation. W.Nr.2166 is a valid W.Nr. for an He111P, so it is likely that this is the correct W.Nr. for 5J+CH, whose crash site we have very precisely pinpointed on maps.

Regarding the W.Nr.2909 issue, remember that this a/c came down intact and was almost certainly shipped back to Germany for repair. A FL a/c often had a second history after an initial FL. I'm trying to confirm through the WASt that a Paul Bargykowski was a member of 1./KG4 during this period and what his rank was. If he was with 1./KG4, that almost certainly nails some additional detail on this one. I'd like to know the rest of the crew names, but that will take some real luck.

Still mystified by the identity of the He111 to which W.Nr.2912 was assigned. More research required there.

Your efforts have been much appreciated.