Short Stirling III EE 893 - 75 Sqn - crashed 5./6. September

[K4KittyCrew]

This post was listed on bombercrew.com http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&sourc ... ODzUutmB8A
John
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Hello,

my name is Uwe Benkel and I am a new member.

Since 1989 me and my partners are doing research on missing crewmembers of WW II.

During this time we recovered the remains of more than 100 aircraft including more than 30 missing crewmembers.

More infomrmation you will find on our homepage http://www.flugzeugabstuerze-saarland.de

A few months ago we located the crashsite of the above Stirling.

We would like to get in contact with familymembers of the crew.

This spring we will start excavation of the remains of the aircraft.

Best wishes from Heltersberg/Germany

Uwe Benkel

ARBEITSGRUPPE VERMISSTENFORSCHUNG
Mail: mu.benkel@t-online.de
Homepage: http://www.flugzeugabstuerze-saarland.de

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[Uwe Benkel]

Hello,

great news. One of the crewmembers of the Stirling is still alive in New Zealand. We are in contact with his family.

On February 2011 we will have a exhibition at the townhall of Schwanheim. Some of the eyewitnesses kept parts of the aircraft and they will donate them towards the exhibition. The same day we will search for one of the engines of the aircraft still buried in the ground.

It looks like, that the pilot of the aircraft saved the Schwanheim citizens lives. He flew the burinig aircraft over the village and it crashed outside next to the cemetery. We have planned to build a little memorial at the crashsite.

For more questions you can contact me.

Uwe Benkel
Arbeitsgruppe Vermisstenforschung
Mail: mu.benkel@t-online.de
Homepage: www.flugzeugabstuerze-saarland.de (new infos are available)

[K4KittyCrew]

Hi Uwe,

That really is good news. Please keep us updated.
Regards,
John

[Oggie2620]

Hi Uwe
Thats great news. Have you been in contact with the Assns for 75 Sqn in either New Zealand or the UK... Please let me know if not and I will give you their contact details. Always glad to hear about any new information about 75ers myself.
Dee

[K4KittyCrew]

Hi Folks, Dom ( Skintman) has sent me an update on the recovery program .......... thanks mate.

Dom said ........

The "yellow dot" !!!! this has caused many a discussion on many
forums, with it being said its a marker for amour plating to marking
to denote when the a/c has gone through gas, no one as yet has come up
with a definitive answer to it, but the favorite to date seems to be
favoring the marking of amour plate.

Peter, who sent Dom these photos and details, said ....

Oh what a day....at first: we didn´t find what we expected. No motor and no cockpit:
The larger parts of the stirling were removed by the Wehrmacht in
the past. BUT:-) we found four large armour plates. Two of them had a large
yellow dot on it. Do you know for what it stands ?
One of the plates had a serial number. I think that will help to identify
it. Pictures will follow tomorrow. We also found four huge buckets full of
smaller and larger pieces: Mostly parts of the fuselage and also Oil lines,
cable harness and an outer frame of a cockpit speedo. Some bullets and
british coins.

Many thanks for the update, Peter and Dom.
Regards,
John

[Stirling Project]

Interesting photos there. I'm no expert but the curved item looks like head armour fitted to the first pilots seat top.

John

[Oggie2620]

Thanks Skintman for the pics. Have sent the link to Glen Turner....

[RobTreacher]

Hi there

My father, Neil Treacher was on board EE893 and survived by parachuting. He had told stories of how he had struggled to free a trapped gunner in the flames with a fireaxe but had to jump himself with minutes spare. The pilot, Wilkinson had refused to bale out and instead stayed at the controls until the plane crashed. F/S Simes had been blown from the aircraft and had sustained bad head injuries but survived and was captured.

My father died in 1968 at the age of 46 when I was a young boy and I have been very interested ever since to learn more of his exploits firstly as an airman and then as a POW during the war years.

If there are any pictures in existence of the crash, wreckage, items of interest etc, written accounts etc., I would love to see them.

I am extremely grateful to Uwe and his team for the work they are undertaking.

Please keep me informed and feel free to communicate with me.

Robert Treacher, Auckland, New Zealand.

[K4KittyCrew]

Hi Robert and welcome to the forum. We will endeavour to keep you updated as details come to hand.
Regards,
John

[Oggie2620]

Kitty & anyone else who is interested
Just to let you know if you are on Facebook that 75 Sqn RAF/RNZAF Assn now have a group all of their own...
Dee