loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

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Karacho
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loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by Karacho »

hello gentlemen,

ca. 3 years ago i located a crashsite from a Short-Stirling in the area of Kalenborn / Vettelschoß in germany.
i found informations and dokuments about this loss.
On crashsite i found more than 400 wreckparts ( small and middle ) , dural-parts, plexiglas, pieces from cockpit, empty mun-cal 303, leather-pieces, and many more....These wreckpart stay by me since today.

Stirling HA-U ( EH 892 or ZM 263 ?? ) started on 24th June 1943 from Downham-Marked to mission Wuppertal / Elberfeld to bomb Bayer AG / Farben.
On the way back the Stirling shot down by a nightfighter, Uffz. Hubatsch, 5. NJG 5 , 2 km east of Kalenborn / 4.800 mtr / 1.50 Uhr. ( 25.6.1943 )
The Stirling was on fire and crashed near the village Vettelschoß in a forrest. One crewmember ( tailgunner ? ) bailed out before crash and became POW. All other crewmembers were killed by the crash, two of them were found a few month later after crash.
Five crwemembers were buried in Vettelschoß and after war reburied to Reichswald.
I try to post here three dokuments (chronik in german ) , that gives information about this loss.....
some more informations i post on website : lostaircraft. com / see LA-number 7292 .
Next time i will post some pics from this crashsite and wreckparts..
greets Karacho
Karacho
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Re: loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by Karacho »

hello,

part 1....

here some german dokuments / Chronik-Vettelschoß ) about the crash from Stirling HA-U.

Also some pics from the crashsite near Vettelschoß und some wreckparts were found in 2011.
More wreckparts i will post when interest....
best regards
Karacho
Attachments
HA-U, part 3
HA-U, part 3
P1020244.JPG (141.46 KiB) Viewed 7628 times
HA-U, part 2
HA-U, part 2
P1020243.JPG (226.53 KiB) Viewed 7628 times
HA-U, part 1
HA-U, part 1
P1020242.JPG (221.61 KiB) Viewed 7628 times
Karacho
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Re: loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by Karacho »

hello,

part 2...

pics from the crashsite of HA-U.
Karacho
Attachments
small wreckparts aside a tree...
small wreckparts aside a tree...
Short Stirling,24.9.2011 004.JPG (243.44 KiB) Viewed 7628 times
a lot of wreckparts found here...
a lot of wreckparts found here...
Short Stirling,24.9.2011 002.JPG (253.3 KiB) Viewed 7628 times
crashsite-impact
crashsite-impact
Short Stirling,24.9.2011 003.JPG (242.8 KiB) Viewed 7628 times
Karacho
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Re: loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by Karacho »

hello,

part 3....
Pics from some wreckparts Stirling HA-U.
Karacho
Attachments
RAF,USAAF 030.JPG
RAF,USAAF 030.JPG (235.33 KiB) Viewed 7628 times
pilot-seat and Stirling-parts 021.JPG
pilot-seat and Stirling-parts 021.JPG (230.45 KiB) Viewed 7628 times
RAF,USAAF 031.JPG
RAF,USAAF 031.JPG (250.25 KiB) Viewed 7628 times
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smudgersmith218
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Re: loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by smudgersmith218 »

Dear Karacho,

Thank you for posting the photographs of the wreckage of EH892 HA-U flown by Squadron Leader Anthony Beck, "C" Flight Commander. "Tony" Beck was one of the squadrons most dynamic flight commanders, this is not my words but fellow flight commander S/Ldr G Rothwell DFC & Bar.

Tony completed 17 operations as captain, plus two as 2nd pilot, the last of which was with the squadron C/O. On this operation to Hamburg they were attacked by a JU88 which was claimed as probable.

Squadron Leader Anthony Becks was ex Territory Army and had served with the 6th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment, his arrival in early January 1943 heralded the addition of a third flight to the squadron. His tour was eventful, his Stirling was hit by flak on numerous occasions and he had a few close calls. Such was his character that he would often deputise as squadron C/O. Sadly I have never been able to locate a photograph of him. The following is taken from the draft of the squadron history : IN-TIME

The first to fall was the respected and experienced flight commander 31-year-old Squadron Leader Anthony Beck at the controls of Short Stirling EH892 HA-U. The aircraft was attacked at 01.50hrs by Uffz Herbert Hubatsch on detachment to I./NJG1, the encounter resulted in the aircraft and five crew members crashing into a hillside near Kalenborn, 2 kms west of Vettelschoss. Aboard was Flying Officer Raymond Johnson as 20-year-old Londoner flying as 2nd pilot. There three survivors, one of which Flying Officer R.N Nuttall the crews rear gunner who reported upon his return that the Stirling had already been damaged by flak prior to the fighter attack and that the bomb aimer, New Zealander Pilot Officer Ronald Phelps-Hopkins had subsequently suffered an head injury which required him being taken to the rest position to receive medical attention. Nuttall went on to confirm that it was his opinion that the front escape hatch was either damaged or jammed during the first encounter or when the night fighter attacked as Squadron Leader Beck’s order to bail out was clearly heard by all the crew, none of the crew positioned in the front of the aircraft managed to escape before the aircraft crashed into the hill side.

If you would like copies of the ORB for his operations please email me, you have my email.

Kind regards

Steve
No.218 (Gold Coast) Squadron 1918-1945
The Nomads
Karacho
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Re: loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by Karacho »

hello,
some new found wreckparts from HA-U from the last weeks...., june 2014.
by interest, some parts i will donate to the stirling-association.
I meet Ian in July in Recklinghausen and so i can give him the wreckparts from HA-U.....
greets
Karacho
Attachments
P1030281.JPG
P1030281.JPG (246.17 KiB) Viewed 7562 times
P1030277.JPG
P1030277.JPG (244.15 KiB) Viewed 7562 times
P1030273.JPG
P1030273.JPG (210.14 KiB) Viewed 7562 times
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K4KittyCrew
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Re: loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by K4KittyCrew »

Karacho, welcome to the forum and many thanks for your informative post.
Looks like you have spent much time working on the subject and congratulations for your efforts, we appreciate it.
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
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K4KittyCrew
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Re: loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by K4KittyCrew »

Karacho, welcome to the forum and many thanks for your informative post.
Looks like you have spent much time working on the subject and congratulations for your efforts, we appreciate it.
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
Davenport7
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Re: loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by Davenport7 »

Hello all,

I am awaiting the Stirling Project to re-locate then I will be Liaising with John Lathwell RE the wrecked parts for this aircrash which were given to me to pass on from my friend Rene Karrassek who located them.

One question I do have does anyone know whether any of the crew had family that may still be alive and I do know that Quigley,Garbett and Nuttall were POWs.

I was wondering whether anyone on here could do some digging into the crew to see if their are any family out there and let them know of the Stirling project etc.

Crew:

Flying Officer Raymond James Johnson Pilot killed RHEINBERG WAR CEMETERY, Coll. grave 9.F.13-16
2 Flight Sergeant S.G. Garbett Flight Engineer prisoner of war3 Pilot Officer Harold Brisco Barrett Observer killed RHEINBERG WAR CEMETERY, Coll. grave 9.F.13-16
4 Pilot Officer Ronald Vivian Phelps-Hopkins RNZAF Bomb Aimer killed RHEINBERG WAR CEMETERY, 9.F.12
5 Flight Sergeant E. Quigley Rear Gunner prisoner of war
6 Flying Officer R.H. Nuttall Mid Upper Gunner prisoner of war 7 Squadron Leader Anthony Beck Pilot2 / Co-Pilot killed RHEINBERG WAR CEMETERY, Coll. grave 9.F.13-16
8 Flight Officer Leslie George Flynn Radio Operator killed RHEINBERG WAR CEMETERY, Coll. grave 9.F.13-16

Regards

Ian Davenport
rin
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Re: loss of Stirling HA-U from 218. Sqd , 25.6.1943

Post by rin »

Hi all

My name is Ian Nuttall, son of F/L RHNuttall who was the rear gunner on Stirling HA-U and was one of the 3 aircrew who managed to bail out as the aircraft was going down,

His account to me was very like that of earlier posts although the following information might well be of interest.

He was ,at the time, a Gunnery Leader and normally flew with Wing Commander Saville but as he was a gunner short on the night volunteered to fly with P/O Beck. This was ,from memory my father's 43rd trip all of which he has detailed for me in various Bomber Command books.

He tells me that when the order to bail out came he reached out of the turret to grab his 'chute but his turret was jammed and he had to exit through the mid upper hatch. Knowing the plane was very low he jumped and pulled the ripcord instantly. In the next few seconds he saw the plane crash in flames and landed very quickly.He was soon captured and marched off to be interrogated by Gestapo who knew everything about the crews - so much so that he was asked why he wasnt flying with Saville that night!
He was detained in a small hut for a short time and eventually transported to Sagan - Stalag Luft 111 where he spent the rest of the war.

Interestingly he was billeted in the hut from which Harry ran becoming a good friend of Wally Floody - one of the tunnel designers and became one of the 'penguins' distributing the sand through his trouser legs. As such he was entered into the ballot for an escape berth in the intended 2nd batch and my mother told me he was allocated a number around 130 but as we all know 76 was the last one out.

He was then a part of the forced march out of Sagan in early '45 when they were moved towards the centre of Germany sleeping in barns or open countryside and living off potato peelings or whatever food they could lay their hands on. He eventually arrived back in England in Sept/Oct '45.

He had enlisted and trained as a pilot but was told his landing skills were not up to scratch and retrained as a rear gunner. As mentioned I believe he did 43 trips amongst which was a 10 hour job over the Alps to Turin and back when his breath froze. He was awarded the DFM after 1 mission when he was attacked by 2 MEs and despite his hydraulics were shot up he operated the turret manually shooting one down and forcing the other to dis-engage.

He flew Stirlings Wimpeys Lancs and Hampdens from memory andI have a great collection of photos letters and memorabilia including perspex from the turret and his. Stalag Luft 111 dogtag.

My father passed away in 2000 at the age of 83 and I know he would have been thrilled at the finding of the crash site and all of the information that has been collected.

I hope this is of interest to members of the Forum and i would welcome anybodys feedback

Ian Nuttall
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