Many thanks Terence , I just wanted to clear up that point , it was a genuine mistake and again sorry to all .
Could not resist. This first photo is of a convoy passing through Belfast Lough. I have edited an image of a Condor and photoshopped it over the original photo. Now we have a Condor attacking shipping in Belfast Lough. This second photo is genuine. It is of the Gun inplacement at Greypoint Fort overlooking Belfast Lough. Regards skyhawk.
Hi skyhawk, If you do that with the convoy picture how can we believe you that the other one is genuine Ah the wonders of photshop. RAF1
Flew over Belfast Lough this evening - nice and bright clear view of the Lough as the "Jet" we wee on lined up on its final approach to Aldergrove , did think of the FW-200 which force landed on the Lough and thought , she must be down there somewhere ! J-C Salgado's FW-200 book was there when I got home so a look through it before hitting the hay. Robert , that is a great photo of the guns at Grey Point fort. Have spent part of this evening looking over Mr. Salgado's book and very good it is. It reads well , is well illustrated , gives good technical data on the aircraft , its types as well as detailing its pre and post war service. The author provides a service history and fate of all Condors , as has already been mentioned some of the identifying works numbers are missing / unknown . Format wise I do prefer it to Jerry Scutts book ( a book which would have benefited from a larger production format and greater clarity). In contrast to J.Scutts book Salgado does provide a full listing of sources primary and secondary, including an article published in Aeroplane by Tony Kearns. Worth buying IMO.
The scene as shown in the "Condor attacks shipping in Belfast Lough" Photo actually did take place. Here are two incidents i have researched and i know there are many more. 27th July 1940:- Enemy aircraft attack shipping Belfast Lough Newspaper extract from the Belfast News Letter. Seaside town described was Bangor. 13 september 1940 The condor arrived at the entrance to Belfast Lough were it flew south and attacked HMT Artic Pioneer with machine gun fire East of Ballywalter. It then attacked several ships anchored in Bangor Bay wich attracted heavy defensive fire. The attack was clearly seen by witnesses from the shore. The condor then flew accross the seafront and towards Bangor railway station. Again eye witnesses saw several bombs fall on the forecourt of the station and in the towns Main street. After the attack the aircraft was reported flying towards Clandeboye then turning in the direction of Newtownards. 3 Hurricanes were scrambled from 245 Squadron at Alderrgrove although by the time they had reached the scene the raider was gone. 245 Squadron Operation Record Books for this date state:- 13/9/1940 Three aircraft were called out to intercept enemy aircraft reported to be attacking shipping outside Belfast Lough. No contact was made, since enemy aircraft took cloud cover immediately before arrival of our Hurricanes, according to reports from ships crews. Damage to shipping was reported to be slight. skyhawk.
Robert you have a very good nose for this material. Thank you. The sight of her flying over Bangor , would have been something to behold ....had she not been trying to bomb the town !
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/weapons-technology-equipment/6384-focke-wulf-fw-200-a-3.html An early Condor encounter post 22.
Thought id include this. I think it was the second post id made when joining the forum. 233 Squadron Hudson and FW 200 Condor combat. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-air/18808-233-squadron-raf-aldergrove-fw-condor-combat.html
Here are a few more incidents reported around the same time. late 1940. Belfast News Letter. Skyhawk.
ohmann climbed into the dinghy , where the German airmen awaited their fate. This materialised in the form of an Irish patrol boat which hauled them aboard and headed into Belfast harbour. Nothing was heard from the other two members of the Condor's crew
thank you so much for sharing this story . i like it very much its a source of knowledge thanks once again Shortly afterwards the anti-submarine trawler HMT Paynter picked up the three survivors close to Black Head light and landed them at Larne.They were taken to the Olderfleet Hotel overlooking the harbour, which had been requisitioned by the Naval Officer in charge at Larne (NOIC) as his headquarters. Under interrogation the prisioners stated that they were members of the crew of a HE111 which had been engaged in reconnaissance. This was an attempt to keep Condor operations secret and conceal its presence for as long as possible. Luftwaffe reports indicate the position were the Condor crashed 15 miles N/E of Belfast, which would be near to the point were thr crew had been picked up. FW Condors of KG40 at Bordeaux-Merignac . HPTM Volkmar Zenker's account "I had descended to 1800 metres over the Irish sea. The engines were idling as i was hoping not to be detected. During the first part of the mission i was flying at 100 metres, but then i opened the throttles very slowly hoping to go lower and get rid of the last mine which had become stuck in its holder. I succeeded but now we were at 15 metres altitude. When i opened the throttles further, the two port engines stopped and the plane banked suddenly. In order to avoid the wingtip hitting the water i stopped the starboard engines and ditched. The plane had not run out of fuel, but there had been an air blockage in the fuel lines caused by the long glide with idled engines." Crew makes ready for a mission. Uffz Heinz Hocker account "Because of the impact the aircraft was full of water very soon. In the cockpit i saw my comrades Wagner and Andreas in the water looking for an exit. I swam to the other exit in the back of the fuselage, called my comrade Hohmann and tolled him to get ready with the dinghy. I pushed open the main door and Zenker swam up to us.We left the aircraft. In pitch-dark night i called together my swimming comrades. I only had a distress signal in a tin and the dinghy which had not yet been inflated. For a very long time we called the missing comrades but in my opinion they went down with the condor. Swimming in the heavy swell i had to inflate the dinghy which took me 8 hours as tghe compressed air bottle had not been connected to it after ots last servicing. Zenker and Hohmann climbed into the dinghy first. In the morning we noticed a steamship on the horizon which was heading for us. I realized that Zenker had exhausted himself and so i took command. In case of capture we should state that we were a reconnaissance flight. Then i searched through Zenker's pockets and threw overboard anything which could prove to be suspicious. The ship which came towards us was manned by English soldiers. The crew stood on deck with their rifles loaded, the officer had a pistol. I shot 2 red flare signals and threw overboard the pistol and ammunition box before putting my hands up. After being taken onboard and searched the sailors supplied us with rum. I was thankfull about that as i could not take any more. On our way into Belfast harbour i saw a ship at the bottom of the harbour. When i asked how it had sunk, i was told it had caught fire."[/QUOTE]
This is the story of a FW200 Condor that crashed in Belfast Lough whilst on a mine laying mission. Focke- Wulf Condor Action 23/24th July 1940 1ST Staffelof Kampfgeschwader 40 (1/KG40) The FW Condor flew from its operational base at Bordeaux-Merignac to Brest-Langveoc airfield near Brittany were it was was loaded with 4 500kg LMA sea mines, Its destination was Belfast Lough. The Condor (F8+BH) took off at 0030 hours local time (1130 hours BST). It had a crew of 5 and was commanded by Hauptmann Volkmar Zenker. They had flown a similar sortie on the night of the 19/20 and there is a strong possibility that theirs was the aircraft observed from Greypoint gun site and the one responsible for sinking the SS Troutpool. SS Troutpool sunk 20th July 1940 SS Troutpool (4886 Tons) owned by Sir R Ropner and Co , was laying anchor about a mile off Bangor Pier. She had been sreaming down the North Channel on the way from ports on the River Plate with a cargo of maize and bran for Avonmouth when Captain Muitt was instructed to put into Belfast Lough for degaussing. A process designed to neutralize the influence of magnetic mines by passing electric current through a cable round the ships hull. Upon completion the Troutpools engines were started and she was swung for compass adjustment. Almost immediately at 1352 hours she was struck by a mine under her bows and minutes later a second mine slightly further aft. Eleven members of the crew were killed in the explosion. She sank slowly in seven fathoms, comming to rest on the sea bed with her superstructure and mast visible at low tide. A u-boat attack was at first considered to be a possible cause and anti-submarine trawlers from Belfast and Larne were despatched to the scene. However when realized that the explosions had occured immediately after the ships engines were started, acoustically detonated mines were persumed to be the cause. SS Troutpool shortly after sinking FW Condor KG40 continued..... The flight to the entrance of Belfast Lough seems to have been uneventful. Shortly after 0200 hours the Condor made its descent through the cloud base to the release point close to Black Head at the southern end of islandmagee. When the release mechanism was activated only three of the mines left the bomb racks. Zenker immediately opened the throttles fully and made a climbing turn to come round again and try and get rid of the remaining mine.This was observed by gunners at Greypoint and the time logged as 0220 hours. Zenker decided to make a second attempt from a very low level although it was obvious from this height the parachute would not open. The remaining mine left the racks but when the throttle levers were advanced to climb the aircraft away both port engines failed to respond and the aircraft yawed violently to the left. Zenker at such a low altitude had no time to react, he lost control and the aircraft crashed into the sea. Zenker and two of his crew, Unteroffizier Heinz Hocker and Gefreiter Lothar Hohmann, were able to scramble clear with a rubber float but Feldwebel Willi Andreas (26) and Unteroffizier Rudolf Wagner (25) went down with the aircraft. There is no record of their bodies being recovered. Gun position at Greypoint overlooking Belfast Lough. Shortly afterwards the anti-submarine trawler HMT Paynter picked up the three survivors close to Black Head light and landed them at Larne.They were taken to the Olderfleet Hotel overlooking the harbour, which had been requisitioned by the Naval Officer in charge at Larne (NOIC) as his headquarters. Under interrogation the prisioners stated that they were members of the crew of a HE111 which had been engaged in reconnaissance. This was an attempt to keep Condor operations secret and conceal its presence for as long as possible. Luftwaffe reports indicate the position were the Condor crashed 15 miles N/E of Belfast, which would be near to the point were thr crew had been picked up. FW Condors of KG40 at Bordeaux-Merignac . HPTM Volkmar Zenker's account "I had descended to 1800 metres over the Irish sea. The engines were idling as i was hoping not to be detected. During the first part of the mission i was flying at 100 metres, but then i opened the throttles very slowly hoping to go lower and get rid of the last mine which had become stuck in its holder. I succeeded but now we were at 15 metres altitude. When i opened the throttles further, the two port engines stopped and the plane banked suddenly. In order to avoid the wingtip hitting the water i stopped the starboard engines and ditched. The plane had not run out of fuel, but there had been an air blockage in the fuel lines caused by the long glide with idled engines." Crew makes ready for a mission. Uffz Heinz Hocker account "Because of the impact the aircraft was full of water very soon. In the cockpit i saw my comrades Wagner and Andreas in the water looking for an exit. I swam to the other exit in the back of the fuselage, called my comrade Hohmann and tolled him to get ready with the dinghy. I pushed open the main door and Zenker swam up to us.We left the aircraft. In pitch-dark night i called together my swimming comrades. I only had a distress signal in a tin and the dinghy which had not yet been inflated. For a very long time we called the missing comrades but in my opinion they went down with the condor. Swimming in the heavy swell i had to inflate the dinghy which took me 8 hours as tghe compressed air bottle had not been connected to it after ots last servicing. Zenker and Hohmann climbed into the dinghy first. In the morning we noticed a steamship on the horizon which was heading for us. I realized that Zenker had exhausted himself and so i took command. In case of capture we should state that we were a reconnaissance flight. Then i searched through Zenker's pockets and threw overboard anything which could prove to be suspicious. The ship which came towards us was manned by English soldiers. The crew stood on deck with their rifles loaded, the officer had a pistol. I shot 2 red flare signals and threw overboard the pistol and ammunition box before putting my hands up. After being taken onboard and searched the sailors supplied us with rum. I was thankfull about that as i could not take any more. On our way into Belfast harbour i saw a ship at the bottom of the harbour. When i asked how it had sunk, i was told it had caught fire." Great!! Nice post, I have read information regarding the story of a FW200 Condor that crashed in Belfast Laugh whilst on a mine laying mission. I have also seen the images of condor. I think it is very useful post for those persons who want to know the history of condor mines. So, Thanks for this useful information.
The following pictures are very interesting. This is a convoy at the mouth of Belfast Lough 1940. The sunken ship lying beyond the tankers is the SS Troutpool. Previously described in this thread. This photo must have been taken in and around the period of the FW Condors crash in the Lough. Here is a picture of the SS Troutpool shortly before the war. Another ship in Belfast Lough at the time of the sinking of the SS Troutpool was the MS Abbekerk. The following is an account of what they witnessed. There were already quite a few other ships at anchor and several more were maneuvering to anchor. Suddenly we heard an enormous bang causing everybody including the crews on the other ships to rush to the railings just in time to see an enormous pillar of water crashing down on the foreship of a freighter some 80 meters away. When the ship began to sink towards the bow our captain gave the order to lower the motor launches and ordered the crew to give assistance where needed. The nice thing was that all ships at anchor lowered their boats without any prior agreement. And so a small fleet of rescue boats sailed to the disaster area. From the shore came a couple of tugboats, there was plenty of help. We were now hoping that nobody was killed or injured. It was not long before all the rescue boats returned to their ships but as yet nobody knew what had happened. After the long journey from Colombo we had little to talk about so this was a great occasion for a new subject to air your opinion on. It was eventually agreed that it had been an explosion in hold no1. The following morning we came to know that a German Aircraft had dropped a number of mines in the bay and this ship had sailed onto one of these mines. We had a lot to learn yet! The result was that no ship could either come in or go out of the bay and all had to remain at anchor until a few mine sweepers had cleared the bay.
Another picture of a convoy in Belfast Lough. This is seen from the Seacliff Road in Bangor. ships in this very spot were attacked by a Condor and the towns railway station bombed. Previously discussed. Note the passenger steamer on the right.
