Luftwaffe Losses over Falmouth May 1941

[CornwallPhil]

I would be grateful for any additional information on the events/planes/people listed below which have been gleaned from local sources and records:

Thursday 15th May 1941 At 0415 hrs a Ju 88 aircraft impacted the cable at 3000ft of a Barrage Balloon flying at 4000ft. The plane crashed into the harbour & submerged. No survivors were found. It is believed the plane was Junkers 88 A-5(3201) B3+HH Part of Sqn 1/KGS 4.
A second plane was also destroyed during the night off the south west coast of Cornwall.

Sunday 18th May 1941 At 2245 Falmouth HAA No 2 at Restronguet Barton, Mylor, were credited with shooting down an enemy aircraft (Cat A) using their light AA machine guns.

Monday 19th May 1941 Siegfried Roesner, 25, of Cologne was buried at Falmouth. His coffin was draped in the German flag and borne by RAF men, whose Padre conducted the service. His badly injured body had washed ashore on the beach. He had a wallet with an Iron Cross in it. It is believed he was the pilot of the plane that crashed into the Barrage Balloon cable.

Monday 26th May 1941 Herbert Dapp, age 20, German airmen, was buried at Falmouth.

Tuesday 27th May 1941 Nazi bomber shot down over Falmouth.

Wednesday 28th May 1941 A Nazi bomber, shot down by AA fire, crashed at sea half a mile from the shore. There were no survivors.

[RudiS]

Hi,

I only have info on the 15th of May crash:

It was indeed Junkers Ju 88 A-5 WNr 3201 coded B3+HH of 1./KG54
FF: Oblt Arno Fischer KIA
BO: Uffz Siegfried Roesner KIA
BF: Ogefr Erich Kutzner MIA
BS: Gefr Herbert Dapp KIA

Regards,
Rudi.

[Chris Goss]

18-19 May was a Ju 88 A-5, 8213, 7T+BK of 2/606
27 & 28 May 41 was probably a He 111 of KG 55.

[Andy Mitchell]

27-28 May 4./KG55 He 111H-8 (3867) G1+AM.

Shot down into the sea off Gurnard's head. After being attacked by OO F. Oliver and PO Pickering in Spitfires of 66 Sqdn at 10.15 pm while on a sortie over the Bristol channel. Fw. L. kempel and Gefr. J. Wiederer killed. Bodies of Fw. O. Stadel, Fw. M. Göbel and Uffz. K. Nuglan recovered from sea.

Above from Blitz then and Now v3 page 36

[Andy Mitchell]

18/19 May 1941

2./ Küstenfliegergruppe 606 Ju 88A-5 (8219 - 7T+BK) Believed to have crashed into the sea off Falmouthafter being hit by AA fire on a sortie to Ireland.
Hptmn R. Beitzke, Uffz. E. Meyer and Uffz. M. Adam missing. Fw R. Pape killed.

from Blitz then and Now v3 page 34

[John Beaman]

.

[B}]Tuesday 27th May 1941[/b] Nazi bomber shot down over Falmouth.

Wednesday 28th May 1941 A Nazi bomber, shot down by AA fire, crashed at sea half a mile from the shore. There were no survivors.

Let's be careful about the use of the characterization "Nazi". Not all German soldiers were Nazis

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by John Beaman

.
Let's be careful about the use of the characterization "Nazi". Not all German soldiers were Nazis

However, if you were drawing on British newspaper reports of the time, as I suspect this is, then that's exactly what they would say.

[CornwallPhil]

Originally Posted by John Beaman

.



Let's be careful about the use of the characterization "Nazi". Not all German soldiers were Nazis

Fully understood. As Nick has said the last two entries in my original post are drawn from the local Falmouth newspaper at the time and I have used their wording. My first entry is from an RAF ORB and it identified the type of plane. The second is also from military sources and uses the categorisation of 'enemy aircraft'.

[Black6]

Originally Posted by RudiS

Hi,

I only have info on the 15th of May crash:

It was indeed Junkers Ju 88 A-5 WNr 3201 coded B3+HH of 1./KG54
FF: Oblt Arno Fischer KIA
BO: Uffz Siegfried Roesner KIA
BF: Ogefr Erich Kutzner MIA
BS: Gefr Herbert Dapp KIA

Regards,
Rudi.

Oblt Arno Fischer
born 28 Apr 1918 at Richnowo
Killed 15 May 1941
Buried at Cannock Chase Block 5 Row 12 Grave 283

Gefr Herbert Dapp
born 6 May 1921 at Tuebingen
Buried at Cannock Chase Block 5 Row 12 Grave 282

[Black6]

Uffz Siegfried Roesner
born 23 Jul 1916 at Birnacize
Killed 15 May 1941
Buried at Cannock Chase Block 5 Row 12 Grave 281


The body of Kutzner was either lost to the sea or may still be in the wreck of the aircraft.