Se
Google Map p149-167. 8 Halifax mistet. 6 af dem her.
HAL JB804 styrtet
38 km WNW for Stettin.
HAL JB912 styrtet 47 km NW for Stettin. (AR:HAL
DT628)
9 Stirlings mistet. 7 af dem her.
STI BK596 Ved
Stralsund,
STI BF442
Østersøen.
13 Lancasters mistet. 6 af dem her.
LAN ED326
Sporløst,
LAN W4254
Sporløst
LAN ED770 Stettin,
LAN W4795 Ved Renik, LAN ED312 Ved
Malmø,
LAN W4956
Østersøen,
LAN
W4325 Sporløst.
(Aircrew
Remembered-Allied Losses database) Se LAN W4325 i AirmenDK.
Siden flyet startede kun 2 timer og 19 min. før midnat, kan det fastslås at det
styrtede ned et sted mellem "West Slagelse", Stettin og basen i England.
Nogle tal: 20 fly tabt over dansk område med 145 flyvere. 84 af dem begravet i
Danmark, 35 har ingen kendt grav, 25 krigsfanger og 1 mand
nåede Sverige!
Flyvehistorisk Tidsskrift skriver:
"Natten mellem den 20.
og den 21. april 1943 angreb 339 RAF bombefly
Stettin.
Vejret var klart, og markeringen fra
Pathfinders var perfekt. Ca. 40 ha af den centrale bydel blev ramt, og 13 fabrikker
og 380 huse blev totalt ødelagt. 580 personer blev dræbt ved angrebet.
Samtidig angreb 86 Stirlings Heinkel fabrikkerne uden for
Rostock, men på grund
af et kraftigt skydække over målområdet, blev angrebet ændret til
Neptun ubådsværtet i selve Rostock. Samtlige fly fløj ind over Danmark ved Esbjerg,
fortsatte over Jylland og Fyn, og ved Fyns Hoved
kastede Pathfinders gule markeringslys, idet Rostock-formationen skulle
ændre kurs ned langs Storebælt, hvorimod Stettin-formationen skulle
dreje ned over Sjælland til Rügen. Flyvehøjden var givet til 500-1000 fod eller
lavere over Danmark.
13
Lancasters, 8
Halifax og 9
Stirlings gik
tabt, og heraf gik ca. 20 fly tabt over Danmark og
danske farvande. Ca. 20 fly gik tabt pga. flak, medens 66 fly
blev
beskadiget
af hovedsagelig let flak (2 cm), og 80% af disse havde fløjet
lavere end 500 fod, da de blev ramt. Ca. 30 kontakter
og angreb fra tyske
natjagere blev rapporteret.
Me 109
og Me 110 havde
været aktive over målområdet, medens
Ju88 var aktive over Danmark på både ud- og
hjemturen. 2 Ju88 blev rapporteret
nedskudt
af Lancasters fra
5 BG ved Odense og Vejle.
Danske og tyske rapporter har dog ingen oplysninger om
sådanne 2 nedskydninger, men tyskerne
rapporterer
dog om en beskadiget Ju88
fra 11 /NJG3, der måtte nødlande på
Grove (Karup),
medens 4 beskadigede Do217 fra 4/NJG3 nødlandede på Westerland
på Sylt."
(FT
88-32-0)
See
Google Map p149-167. 8 Halifaxes lost. 6 of them here.
HAL JB804
crashed
38 km WNW of Stettin and
HAL JB912
47 km NW of Stettin
(AR:HAL
DT628)
9 Stirlings lost. 7 of them here.
STI BK596
Stralsund,
STI BF442 The Baltic Sea. 13 Lancasters lost. 6 of them here.
LAN ED326
No trace,
LAN W4254
No trace,
LAN ED770
Stettin,
LAN W4795
At Renik,
LAN ED312
At
Malmø,
LAN W4956
The Baltic Sea,
LAN
W4325
No trace.
(Aircrew
Remembered-Allied Losses database) See
LAN W4325 on AirmenDK. Since it took off only 2
hours and 19 minutes before midnight it can be established that it crashed
somewhere between "W. Slagelse", Stettin and the base in England.
Some figures: 20 planes lost over Danish territory with 145 airmen. 84 of them
are buried in Denmark, 35 have no known grave, 25 POWs and
1 man got to Sweden!
(Danish) Aviation Historical Review
writes:
In the night between 20 and 21 April 1943 339 bombers from the RAF attacked
Stettin - Szczecin. The sky was clear and the marking made by the
Pathfinders was perfect.
About
40
ha of the city centre was hit, and 13 factories and 380 houses were
totally destroyed. 580 persons were killed in the attack. At the same time 86
Stirlings attacked
the
Heinkel factories outside Rostock, but due to a heavy
cloud cover over the target area the attack was changed to the
Neptun U-boat
shipyard in the city
of Rostock.
All planes flew over Denmark from Esbjerg to
Fyns Hoved, where the Pathfinders had dropped yellow target indicators. The
Rostock formation then were
to fly to the
south along the Storebælt, while the
Stettin formation was to pass Sjælland to Rügen. The flight level was indicated
to 500-1000 feet or lower over Denmark.
13
Lancasters, 8
Halifaxes and 9
Stirlings were
lost - and about 20 of them were lost over Denmark and Danish waters. About 20
planes were lost due to flak, while
66 planes were damaged by mainly light flak
(20 mm) and 80% of them had flown lower than 500 feet, when they were hit. About
30 engagements and attacks from
German night fighters were reported.
Me 109s and
Me 110s had been active over the target area, while
Ju88s were active over Denmark
when the formation was
outbound
and also during the return flight. 2 Ju88s were
reported shot down by Lancasters from 5 BG at Odense and Vejle. However, Danish
and German records
have no
information about these 2 shotdowns, but the Germans
report of a damaged Ju88
from 11 /NJG3 that made a forced landing at
Grove (Karup), while 4
damaged
Do217 from 4/NJG3 made forced landings at Westerland on Sylt." (FT
88-32-0)
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