15/16 April 1941 and "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham

[George 118]

Hello,

On 15/16 April 1941 John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham was to have his most successful night, shooting down three He 111s.

One of them was the He 111P-2 WrNr 2857 "G1 + ES" of 8./KG55.

Any idea about the others two ?
The damaged He 111P-2 WrNr 2832 "G1 + DS" of 8./KG55 piloted by Uffz Walter Költzsch is one of these ?

Thanks in advance

[Chris Goss]

The initial signal on these combats state first one came down on land at Southampton, second two were last seen going down vertically. Cosme Gomm also claimed two. A number of He 111s returned damaged but only two actually failed to return. 5 claimed destroyed but only two from KG 55 lost

[George 118]

Hello,

Gomm shot down a Ju 88A-5 (4280 "B3 + DC") of Stab II./KG 54 and a He 111P-4 of StabII./KG 55 (3094 "GI + AC")

Also, Uffz Walter Költzsch remained at the controls of his damaged He 111P-2 WrNr 2832 "G1 + DS" of 8./KG55 , returning to Caen France. The incident took place over Gloucestershire (Cunningham engaged a He 111 over Monmouthshire - The distance between Gloucester and Monmouth is 21 miles) when he was attacked by a night fighter, and ordered the crew to bail out.
Remaining crew (POW): Gefr Hubert Häffner (B), Uffz Herbert Czaplinski (Bf), Ogefr Heinrich Schmidt (Bm)

If I am not wrong I believe that He 111P-2 WrNr 2832 "G1 + DS" of 8./KG55 damaged by Cunningham.

Regards
George

[Chris Goss]

I have Fw Fritz Költsch (some records say Ofw) being damaged by Flak attacking Belfast and after 3 crew baled out, it crash-landed at Villacoublay with 35% damage? This was a very busy night with German bombers all over the place. The Belfast attackers noted heavy Flak but one night fighter (no attack), returning crews reporting being attacked by night fighters north and south of Birmingham, west of Bristol and south of Portland with no damage. The Villacoublay incident was not even mentioned

[Adriano Baumgartner]

George, good afternoon.

What are you looking for more precisely?

As Gomm's biographer (at least one amongst several), I do have quite a lot of his side of the story.

https://clubedeautores.com.br/livro/...dfc-um-tributo

Are you looking particularly for Cunningham's claims, or general LW losses into your area in England?

Adriano

[Chris Goss]

Adriano: Luftwaffe losses that night were a Ju 88 (Gomm's) and two He 111s over this part of UK 2 with Gomm and Cunningham claiming 5 between themselves. The difficulty is we know who Gomm got and one of Cunningham's but who were the other two he claimed as destroyed that night. Luftwaffe records do not throw any light on this

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Adriano Baumgartner

George, good afternoon.

Are you looking particularly for Cunningham's claims, or general LW losses into your area in England?

Adriano

Losses for the night 15/16 April are given in this situation report: https://wwii.germandocsinrussia.org/...inspect/zoom/5

[George 118]

Originally Posted by Chris Goss

Adriano: Luftwaffe losses that night were a Ju 88 (Gomm's) and two He 111s over this part of UK 2 with Gomm and Cunningham claiming 5 between themselves. The difficulty is we know who Gomm got and one of Cunningham's but who were the other two he claimed as destroyed that night. Luftwaffe records do not throw any light on this

Exactly that is my problem as Mr Goss said.
From Kracker database the He 111P-2 "G1 + DS" mentioned as 2832 and not 2812 and that '' the incident took place over Gloucestershire when he was attacked by a night fighter''

Also, Mr Baumgartner I am interested to know more about Cunningham's claims.

Many thanks for the report Mr Beale

Regards
George

[Chris Goss]

Kracker is a useful tool but contains errors and assumptions which is understandable due to its size

[Adriano Baumgartner]

George,
Some info about his claims can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C...m_(RAF_officer)

There are other sources as well and you certainly have read his Combat Reports, at NARA KEW (Files AIR 50)

I acquired this book, believing to find more about his wartime and combat claims as well, but was disapointed. > Golley, John (1999). John "Cat's-Eyes" Cunningham: The Aviation Legend. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84037-059-1.

However, you may know or have read his RO or Navigator's memoirs:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Boo...-srp1-_-title1

As FILE AIR 27 confirm, Gomm was the first to take-off on the night you are researching. On that particular night, I also only managed to find G1+ES being credited to Cunningham's crew.

A.