Bogø Tidende 07 JUL 2010 Se
Google Map p396.
Forsvundet for 65 år siden Se
To WW2 flymotorer og
Fotos fra havbunden.
Af Christian Lau Sørensen
07.07.2010. Links tilføjet 2017 af Anders Straarup.
Onsdag d. 14. februar 1945 kl. 18:05 lettede fire
Handley Page
Halifax BIII-fly fra
Full Sutton Luftbasen nær York i England. De
fire fly, tilhørende Royal Air Force´s
77 eskadrille, var en del af
en større aktion mod den tyske værnemagt, og havde til
mission at udlægge miner i Kadetrenden sydøst for Gedser.
Hvert fly
medbragte fire store 1850 punds havminer. Klokken 00:30 vendte det
første fly tilbage til Full Sutton. Flyet havde
afbrudt sin mission, da deres radar
havde svigtet undervejs.
Tyve minutter senere, kl. 00:50, vendte det andet og kl. 00:55
det tredje fly tilbage
til luftbasen. Begge fly efter succesfulde
missioner, hvor minerne var blevet kastet som planlagt. Det
fjerde fly kaldet MZ924 hørte man aldrig mere fra, og det blev antaget, at
det måtte være gået tabt. De øvrige fly
rapporterede, at der på ruten
havde været beskeden flak fra
land og at enkelte tyske jagerfly var blevet observeret, dog uden
at det havde ført til luftkamp.
Samme nat rapporteredes til den tyske værnemagt fra en tysk
natjager af typen Junkers Ju 88 G-6, at pilot Oberleutnant
Herbert Koch kl. 21:45 havde skudt et allieret bombefly ned
over Smålandshavet.
Ombord på MZ924 var syv mand. Små to måneder efter MZ924´s forsvinden
dukkede det første af besætningsmedlemmerne
op, da liget af Wireless Operator F.Sgt. Maurice C. Eddleston d.
10. april 1945 drev i land nær Guldborg. To uger senere, den
24. april 1945 drev liget af Air Bomber F.O. Arthur Wood i land
på
kysten ved Alstrup. Navigatør F.O. James Ritchie blev fundet
på kysten nær Knudshoved Odde d. 7. maj 1945. Ved Skælskør
blev piloten F.Lt. John P. Braund fundet den 14. maj. Air
Gunner F. Sgt. Dennis S. Watson drev i land på Bogø d. 9. juni
1945. 14. juli blev Rear Gunner F.Sgt. Ronald E. Russel fundet
på Knudshoved Odde, og endelig blev Flight Engineer F.Sgt
Raymond L. Leforte fundet ved kysten nær Sortsø Hotel på
Nordfalster 23. juli 1945. Hermed var alle syv
besætningsmedlemmer fundet, og alle blev begravet på danske
kirkegårde nær ved hvor de blev fundet.
Rent geografisk er alle syv besætningsmedlemmer drevet i land
ved en kyst langs Smålandshavet eller umiddelbart tæt derved.
Dette indikerer, at det fly, som Herbert Koch skød ned over
Smålandshavet om aftenen den 14. februar, sandsynligvis har
været MZ924.
I sommeren 2004 besluttede min bror Malte og jeg, at vi ville
forsøge at finde et flyvrag, der efter sigende skulle ligge nær
Femø. Vi havde flere gange hørt flyet
omtalt på Femø, og her
var det altid blevet nævnt, at det var resterne af en
Spitfire
fra
anden verdenskrig, der lå ude i vandet.
En dejlig sommerdag i 2004 sejlede vi af sted og da der på
positionen hvor flyet angiveligt skulle ligge ikke var dybere vand
end at vi rimeligt klart kunne se hav-bunden startede vi med at
snorkle. Eftersøgningen gav dog ikke noget resultat, hvorefter vi
besluttede at trække paravane. Med en mand i vandet og en i
båden
fik vi hurtigt bevæget os et stykke væk fra vores
udgangsposition, hvilket skulle
vise sig at give resultat, idet der
efter en times tid begyndte at dukke metaldele
op på
havbunden. Det blev hurtigt klart at der ikke var tale om en
Spitfire, men om
et større fly. Der blev blandt meget andet
fundet mere end 10 brændstofmålere
der afslørede at der var
tale om et firemotors fly. Senere fundne propeller og et
ekstra
kig på de hidtil fundne gashåndtag overbeviste os om at der var
tale om et Halifax fly, helt præcist et Halifax BIII.
Under identifikationen af flyvraget satte Ib Lødsen fra Danmarks
Flyhistoriske
Selskab mig i forbindelse med Paul Leforte fra
England. Paul er nevø til Raymond
L. Leforte, der var flight
engineer på MZ924 da det forsvandt i 1945. Paul har
gennem
længere tid beskæftiget sig med RAF´s 77. eskadrille som
MZ924
tilhørte, og var derfor meget interesseret i at høre om
fundet ved Femø.
Paul havde i forvejen forsket lidt i historien
bag MZ 924, og kunne blandt andet
sende
rapporten fra Full
Sutton Luftbasen den dag hvor MZ924 lettede for sidste gang,
samt kort og informationer om den rute de havde planlagt ved
mine-udlægningen i Kadetrenden. Kortet viser at MZ924 havde
planlagt at passere over Femø efter at have kastet minerne.
Taget i betragtning hvor lang tid det tog de øvrige fly at
gennemføre ruten, passer
det med at MZ924 har været over
Smålandshavet kl. 21:45 hvor
Herbert Koch nedskød et fly i
området. Det er dog ikke endeligt bekræftet at det er MX924 der
ligger ved Femø, men der er ikke mange andre muligheder.
Se ovenstående artikel i Sportsdykkeren,
Oktober 2009.
Flymotorer bjerget*Foto WW2 flymotorer +
Fotos Dykkertur 2010 - IW
Af Jørgen Stæhr
07.07.2010.
Links tilføjet 2017 af Anders Straarup.
Ovenstående artikel omkring en nedskudt engelsk
bombemaskine er interessant derved, at den giver forklaringen
på hvorfor Bogø Kirkegård er blevet det sidste hvilested for en
udenlandsk flyver der omkom under anden verdenskrig, og
samtidig giver den en fortrinlig baggrund for denne lille
fortælling om en
ekspedition der tog sin begyndelse i slutningen
af sidste uge da Jan havnefoged
med sin slæbebåd ”Explorer” og
Svend Erik fra Færgecafeen som observatør
samt Gustav med
sin ”River Thames” og en håndfuld dykkere tog til Femø for at
lede efter yderligere bevis for at flyvraget som ligger der, er den
forsvundne
Halifax BIII MZ924.
Halifax blev fabrikeret i mange udgaver og var oprindeligt
bestykket med Rolls-
Royce Merlin motorer, men i slutningen af
krigen, da man producerede et større
antal (2091 stk.) Halifax
BIII gik man over til de noget kraftigere 1.650 hp. Bristol
Hercules motorer. De gæve ekspeditionsdeltagere fik ikke endelig
bevist at flyet
ved Femø er MZ924, men de kom alligevel et nyk
nærmere, idet man efter timers dykning fandt to store
stjernemotorer som er af samme type som blev brugt på Halifax BIII nemlig
den ovenfor nævnte Bristol Hercules.
Sådanne motorer vejer op mod en
ton stykket, så de er ikke noget man sådan lige putter i lommen. Heldigvis
er ”Explorer” udstyret med en kraftig hydraulisk kran, og selv om der skulle
ases og mases en del lå begge motorer efter en tid sikkert på
agterdækket
klar til i triumf at blive sejlet til Bogø Havn.
En af de nærmeste
dage bliver de to klenodier spulet rene efter i årtier at have
ligget på
havsens bund halvt nedsunket i mudder, og inden længe er den ene af
motorerne på vej til Nordjylland udenfor
Aalborg, hvor Danmarks Flyhistoriske
Selskab har sit museum.
Kommentar i 2018: Nogle dele blev sendt en motor til Nordjylland. Ib
Lødsen
var den førende ekspert i Danmark vedrørende flyvrag, og han var den
drivende
kraft i ovennævnte selskab, som blev lukket efter hans død i 2014.
Se
også oplysninger fra Ib
Walbum om fund fra
HAL MZ924 siden 1988. |
Bogø Tidende - Bogø News 07 JUL 2010
See
Google Map p396.
Disappeared 65 years ago Two WW2 engines
* Photos from the sea bed.
By Christian Lau Sørensen 07.07.2010. Links added 2017 by Anders
Straarup.
At 18.05 hrs on
14 FEB 1945 4 Handley Page Halifax BIII planes took off from
RAF
Full Sutton
near York in England. The 4 planes of
77 Squadron RAF were a part of a large
action against the German Wehrmacht. Their mission was to lay mines in the
Kadetrenden south east of Gedser.
Each plane carried 4 big 1850 lbs.
seamines. At 00.30 hrs the first plane returned to
RAF Full Sutton. The
plane had aborted its mission as their radar had failed while they were on
their way.
20 minutes later,
at 00.50 hrs, the second plane returned to base. The third plane returned at
00.55 hrs. Both planes had carried out successful missions where mines had
been dropped as planned. There was no news from the fourth plane
MZ924, and
it was considered lost. The other planes reported that flak from land had
been modest and that a few German fighters had been observed, but there had
been no aerial combat.
On the same night
it was reported to the German Wehrmacht from a German
Junkers JU 88 G-6
night fighter that Pilot Oberleutnant Herbert Koch at 21.45 hrs had shot
down an Allied bomber over the Smaalandshavet.
MZ924 had a crew
of 7 airmen. A little less than two months after MZ924 had failed to return
the first of the crew members appeared, as the body of Wireless Operator,
Flight Sergeant Maurice C. Eddleston was washed ashore near Guldborg. Two
weeks later, on 24 APR 1945 the body of Air Bomber, Flying Officer
Arthur
Wood was washed ashore on the coast near Alstrup. Navigator, Flying Officer
James Ritchie was found on the coast near Knudshoved Odde on 07 MAY 1945. On
14 MAY Pilot, Flight Sergeant John P. Braund was found near Skælskør.
Air Gunner, Flight Sergeant Dennis S. Watson was
washed ashore on Bogø on 09 JUN 1945. Air
Gunner, Flight Sergeant Ronald E. Russell was found at Knudshoved Odde, and
finally Flight Engineer, Flight Sergeant Raymond L. Leforte was found on the
coast near Sortsø Hotel, North Falster, on 23 JUL 1945. Thus all 7 crew
members had been found, and they were all buried in Danish churchyards near
the places where they had been found.
Geographically
all 7 crew members were washed ashore on a coast along the Smaalandshavet or
quite near that. This indicates that the plane shot down by Herbert
Koch over the Smaalandshavet in the evening of 14 FEB was probably MZ924.
In the summer of 2004 my brother Malte and I decided that we would
try to find the wreckage of a plane that was said to lie near Femø. A number
of times we had heard people on Femø talking about the plane and here it had
always been mentioned that the remnants of a World War II
Spitfire were
lying in the water.
On a lovely day
in the summer of 2004 we sailed off. At the position where the plane was
said to be lying, the water was not deeper than we could fairly well see the
sea bed, so we used our snorkels to start with. However, the search was
unsuccessful, so we decided to pull a paravane. With one man in the water
and one in the boat we quickly moved some distance away from our starting
point, which paid off as metal parts appeared on the sea bed after about an
hour. Very soon it was clear that it was not a Spitfire but a larger plane.
Among other items more than 10 fuel meters revealed that it was a
four-engined plane. Propellers found later and another look at the throttles
found so far convinced us that it was a Halifax plane, a Halifax BIII to be
quite exact.
During the
identification of the wreckage of the plane Ib Lødsen of the Danish Society
of Aviation History put me in touch with Paul Leforte from England. Paul is the
nephew of Raymond L. Leforte, the Flight Engineer of MZ924 when it
disappeared in 1945. For a long time Paul has been occupied with the 77
Squadron RAF that MZ924 belonged to, so he was very interested in hearing
about the find at Femø.
Before that Paul
had done some reseach in the story behind MZ924 and he was able to send
the
report from RAF Full Sutton from the day when MZ94 took off for the last
time and map and information about the route planned for the mine laying in
the Kadetrenden. The map shows that MZ924 had planned to fly over Femø when
the mines had been laid.
Considering how
long the other planes took to complete the flight, it matches the
information that
MZ924 had been over the Smaalandshavet at 21.45 hrs when
Herbert Koch shot
down a plane in the area. However, so far it has not been finally confirmed
that it is MZ924 that lies near Femø, but there are not many other
possibilities.
See the above article
in the Sportsdykkeren (The Scuba Diver) OCT 2009.
Engines of a plane salvaged*Photos
Two WW2 engines+Diving
trip in 2010
By Jørgen Stæhr
07.07.2010.
Links added 2017 by Anders Straarup.
The above article about a shot down English bomber is interesting because it
explains why Bogø Churchyard has become the last resting place for a foreign
airman who perished during World War II, and at the same time it is an
excellent background for this little story of an expedition. It began at the
end of last week when Jan, the harbour master, with his tug boat "Explorer"
and Svend Erik from "The Ferry Café" as an observer and Gustav with his
"River Thames" and a handful of divers sailed to Femø to search for further
evidence that the wreckage lying there really is the disappeared Halifax
BIII MZ924.
Halifax was produced in a number of versions, originally equipped with
Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, but towards the end of the war when a great
number (2091) of Halifax BIIIs were produced, the more powerful 1,650 hp
Bristol
Hercules engines were used. The doughty members of the expedition did not
finally prove that the plane near Femø is MZ924, but they managed to come a
bit closer, when after hours of diving they found two big radial engines of
the same kind as used on Halifax BIII, namely the above mentioned Bristol
Hercules.
Each engine of that kind has a weight of nearly a ton, you
do not just put it into your pocket. Fortunately "Explorer" is equipped with
a powerful hydraulic crane and even if it took quite some work, both engines
after a while were lying safely on the quarterdeck ready to be sailed in
triumph to the harbour of Bogø.
One of the next days the two treasures will be washed down after having been
on the sea bed for decades halfway down in the mud. Before long one of the
engines will be on its way to North Jutland near
Aalborg where the Danish Society
of Aviation History has its museum.
Comment in 2018: Some parts were sent to North Jutland. Ib Lødsen was the leading expert in
Denmark on wreckages of planes, and he was the driving force behind the
above mentioned society which was closed after his death in 2014.
See also
information
from Ib Walbum about finds from
HAL MZ924 since 1988.
|
