He111 loss night 10/11 July 1940

[Brian]

Hi guys

The crew of a Blenheim night fighter of 25 Squadron made a claim for a He111 destroyed during the night of 10/11 July, which was believed to have crashed in France with crew casualties.

Might this have been Oblt Grunwald's aircraft of I/KG1 that crashed near Bapaume?

Any help appreciated.

Cheers
Brian

[Chris Goss]

There is no mention of this in John Foreman's claims book not the potted history of 25 Sqn-is this from the F540? All I have is that Uffz Fridolin Hogg (F), Lt Helmut Grunwald (B), Ogefr Herbert Köster (BF) and Uffz Günter Mende (BM) of 1./KG 1 were killed when the aircraft crashed at Ligny-Tilloy on 11 Jul 40 (which could be 11-12 Jul 40 if a night operation). There was another 1 Staffel loss which came down in the sea as the passenger's body (51 year-old Hptm Karl-Heinz Behrens) was washed ashore on 12 Aug 40. I am sure that Peter C will add to this when he has the time

[Brian]

Hi Chris

The pilot was Flt Sgt John Lingard. Apparently it's recorded in his logbook and is shown on the BoB Monument website.

Do we know if I/KG1 was active over the UK on night of 10/11 July? If not, which units were?

Cheers
Brian

[Chris Goss]

Sorry cannot help further-I see that it is mentioned in the latest Men of the Battle of Britain but no time or location with the assumption it crashed in France. There is no combat report but there is one for Lingard 19-20 July. Bit of a puzzle

[gedburke3]

Gents

I have a copy of John Lingard's log book.
It originated from his widow so I know that it is authentic.
I used it to confirm that Sergeant's Harris, Early, and AC2's Higginbottom and Connolly had flown during the Battle. All had flown operationally with him and are recorded in his logbook.
Sadly, despite the evidence, Harris was not included in the new edition of Wynn which is regretful.

I will need to get into the loft and dig it out but from memory I don't think it mentions combat with a He111.

Gerry

[Brian]

Hi Gerry

Sounds interesting and I await with bated breath!

Did he record serial numbers (specifically 10/11 July and 20 July)?

Cheers
Brian

[gedburke3]

Hi Brian,

As I suspected there is no mention of a He111 on either the 10th or 11th July.
On the 9th July he flew Blenheim L1235 with Sergeant Medworth on an x-raid patrol and records that no contact was made.
On the 10th he flew from North Weald to Martlesham and back in L1437. There are no ops flights on the 10th.
On the 11th he flew L1235 on a VHF, RDF and AI test. He records that they were fired at by friendly AA guns.
On the 20th he flew L1440 from Martlesham to North Weald and flew L1437 from North Weald back to Martlesham. Again he records no ops flights on the 20th.
However, on the 19th he flew Blenheim L1512 on a night patrol with Sergeant Medworth.
They intercepted and shot down a He115 seaplane which fell into the sea 10 miles east of H........
He records that this was the first E/A shot down by 25 squadron.

Regards
Gerry

[Chris Goss]

Another misconception disproved. However, I would like to know where the Men of the Battle of Britain came up with this spurious combat-definitely not Gerry!

[gedburke3]

Hi Chris,

I hope that you are well.
I can only presume that this research originated from the ORB, or other official documentation from the radar station.
The phrase 'supported by evidence from the radar stations' (On the bbm.org web site) would seem to imply this.
However, how would they be able to identify the attacking aircraft or squadrons involved - all very confusing.

I will contact Ted McManus and explain that Lingard did not claim anything on either the 10th or 11th July.

Gerry

[Brian]

Hi Gerry

Good work - well done and thanks.

Cheers
Brian