Ju88 crash Bethersden Kent Werk No 4347 (interesting Story) info help please

Hi would anyone know any information on Ju88 Werk num 4347 that crashed at Lovelace Place Farm, Bethersden, Kent.

Airman Fenger Survived
Loshke "
Diecke "
Muller Killed

Date of crash 16/17 Jan 1943

The other info that i am also interested in, is that apparently one of the airman had managed to escape capture when he decided to steal the fire chiefs car, he managed to get as far as Leeds in Kent until he had run out of fuel, he was captured 2 days later.

Would one know the identity of the airman and any other information on this story.

Many thanks as always.

 

Nothing interesting , so post deleted....

 

From The Blitz Then and Now volume 3 page 202

Jan 17-18 night 1943

No information on any escape adventures though!

 

Then and Now Blitz vol 3 page 202

2/KG6 Junkers Ju88A-14(4347) .Shot down by Squadron Leader I.G.Esplin and Flying Officer A.H.J.Palmer in a Beaufighter of No 29 Squadron.
Fell at Lovelace Place Farm,Bethersden,Kent 5.50am.
Oberfw K.Diecke (injured).
Uffz K.Fenger and Uffz K.Losch baled out and taken prisoner.
Fw. E.Muller baled and but parachute failed and he was killed
Aircraft 3E+GK destroyed


snap

 

Many thanks for the above 2 replies, i knew it was shot down by a beufighter of 29 squadron, but didnt know which pilots/airman.
Very helpful Thank you.

(Still a mystery reference the story about the Luftwaffe airman who had escaped capture though)

 

good day hawker1966,sm,yesterday,03:18pm.re:ju88 crash bethersden,(interesting story)pity they did not record the pilots.escape and capture.interesting post,regards bernard85 :indexCA7C9VES:

 

hI hA

Flying Officer A.H.J. Palmer was my grandfather and I have the Intelligence report and a brief account in his flying log book relating to this incident- although I suspect he did not know events on the ground after they had shot the plane down....

 

This is covered rather well in Vol 10 of the Luftwaffe Crash Archive series (page 1159-1160) and also has two images of the crash site.
Basically the aircraft and crew were on their second sortie of the night from Beauvais/Tille to attack the King George Dock in London which was also the target for the first sortie.
The pilot took such evasive action that the Observer got completely lost and an argument broke out. In the vicinity of the Thames they had just been warned by a German ground warning station that there was a nightfighter in the area when they were attacked. The aircraft was damaged and dived vertically into the ground.
Bomb load for this second sortie was 2 x HE 500kg, 2 x ABB 500kg and 10 x HE 50kg/incendiaries.

The person who stole the car was the gunner, Unteroffizier Karl Loesch.

The crew had had a stressful night as on their first sortie the aircraft in front of them was shot down by an intruder with the bomb load detonating and they saw several intruders before they had even reached the French coast. After bombing the target they experienced such intense anti-aircraft fire that the pilot had to criss-cross London several times to find a way through and then on the return to France they were attacked by an intruder but managed to evade it by diving down to tree top level which at night must of been a bit hairy.
So I dare say the crew were already highly strung before they set off on the second sortie resulting in the argument.

Crew:
Flugzeugfuhrer - Oberfeldwebel Kurt Diecke (who held the German Cross in Gold (DKiG)).
Beobachter - Unteroffizier Karl Fenger
Bordfunker - Feldwebel Erich Muller
Bordschutze - Unteroffizier Karl Loesch.

In addition to the pilot's DKiG the whole crew had been awarded the EK I (Iron Cross 1st Class).
The gunner had volunteered for the paratroopers in 1939 but was found to be physically unsuitable so was posted to KG-77 and served with them as a parachute packer. He was anxious to fly so was given gunnery training and assigned as flying personnel in the spring of 1942. He had completed 5 missions at the time he was shot down.

 

Hi
Sorry for the delayed reply to this thread.
Mosquito Palmer very interesting in regard to your grandfather, i believe there is a big part of the aircraft that your grandfather had shot down ( The 2 engines i believe) at the Shoreham aircraft museum in Kent. A great display.

Hucks216 thank you for your very detailed account in regard to the flight of the JU88 and clearing up that it was the air gunner who had escaped.
Unfortunately i cannot find where i had read that the airman had escaped in the fire chiefs car i hadn't saved it at the time, hopefully i will come across it again at some point in the near future.

 

Isnt Shoreham in Sussex?

TD

 

Hi Funnily enough I was at Shoreham Aviation Museum today - excellent venue with some really interesting exhibits. Shoreham Village is in Kent not Shoreham By Sea which is in Sussex. You will see the remains of JU88 shot down by my grandfather and Ian Esplin (pilot) over Lovelace Farm as well as many other recovered memorabilia and stories from the past.

 

Thanks for the geographical update and for showing up my ignorance, my Avatar is wrong about you

TD

 

Yes a Great Museum it must be even more appealing in regard to your grandfathers story in relation to the JU88.

Tricky Dicky your have to visit the museum one day they also do a mean bacon doorstep.
But make sure you head for Kent though.

 

Thank you for this information I found the story very interesting and learned a lot from it what got me interested in this story is that I have a piece of the aircraft many thanks for your time

 

Hi lengthorn
What part of the aircraft do you have if you don’t mind me asking.

 

The Shoreham Museum is due to reopen on Sunday 23rd May and then every Sunday until Remembrance Day.

 

I have a few pieces as well! Just won them in an auction. Will post pics when I get them.

 

Great - I have seom of information about the Ju88 that was shot down by my grandfather including their report on the day (Lovelace Farm) and the event is marked in his log book.

 

Wonderful! I'm still waiting for the bits to be shipped to me but they'll hopefully come in the next day or so. The auction I won has bits from 2 different JU88s and I think 3 parts came from the one your grandfather shot down. If that is the case I'd be more than happy to give you one of the bits if you're interested.