I read an account from a 12 Devons soldier who said in the centre of the village was a building they entered with the stairs in the centre, it was the Luftwaffe HQ for the area (I’m guessing radio room to all the battery’s out there etc etc). Always wondered what building that is as nothing obvious stands out.
alberk, This one is probably obvious but I could never figure out the location of 6-pounder gun shown with 12th Devons crew. Note the man in far background leaning against rolling barricade ... Regards ....
Cee, That’s at the junction of BrunerStr and RingenburgerStr. Trying to upload the google map pin but won’t let me. Alex
Alex1975uk - this is the location of the dairy. It was taken down in 1977 and replaced by a little shopping area. The address is still called "Molkereiplatz".
We came along way in this thread - from the crashed glider which killed Lt. Slade's platoon via the Hamilcars on LZ P and the MDS at Hagemannshof to the village of Hamminkeln. I am going back to LZ P now - here are some hungry airborne soldiers... Is that machine gun a BAR? Did they just pick up some abandoned US equipment on their LZ?
certainly looks like it. The gun itself laying over on its right hand side it looks like. Could even be the US Parachute it came with used as the trench lining!
I always thought that the BAR was a very long weapon - and therefore difficult to use for paratroops jumping into battle. Did they jump with it stowed away in a kit bag? But it was definitely present in the 17th Airborne - I once found a fully loaded Bar clip. And that was in an area near Diersfordt where - apart from 17th AB Div - no other US troops saw action.
Hamilcar CN 260 Alberk in post #33 has a quote from a page that tells the story of what occurred with the M-22 Locust tank and crew commanded by Lt. Kenward. After landing the nose of their Hamilcar refused to swing open so Lt. Kenward had his driver plow straight through. Interestingly Sgt. Jim Christie (AFPU) photographed a Hamilcar in a field with damage to its nose door. In fact the hole resembles the profile of a tank with turret almost perfectly. CN 260 was one the eight Hamilcars, CN 259 - 266, that delivered the tanks and crews of the 6th AARR to Germany. They left RAF Woodbridge destined for LZ P. Location is unknown at the moment. Sgt Christie took a few photos of Major General E.L. Bols and other Officers at what could have been the 6th Airborne Division HQ at Kopenhof farm. Otherwise I'm not sure how far he ventured into the LZ P area. Attached is a crop which concentrates on the glider. Full photo can be viewed at the IWM. Regards ...
Hello Cee, it is not far from Köpenhof. Judging by the sequence of photos made by Christie on March 25th (if the IWM's numerical order is to be trusted) he moved from LZ P and Köpenhof along Bislicher Straße towards Hamminkeln, where he took various photos in the centre of the village. His photo with the Hamilcar and the two DD-Tanks of 44 RTR was taken (according to the book published by Johann Nitrowski) in the vicinity of Rehagenhof (run by the Joormann family). Heinrich Joormann, then 15 years old, recalls that a large glider had landed in the field between their farm and another farm (Wesens-Stenck). The two farms are circled in the map:
To me it looks as if the passengers of No 272 chose the same way of exiting their Hamilcar - while the one in the background managed to open its nose.
alberk, Have you come across the photos by Taylor on Matt Yates' Chalk Living History Facebook site. Sorry I don't know the photographers full name but he was a Medical Officer with the 102nd Northumberland Hussars Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, 50th Infantry Division. https://www.facebook.com/chalklh/photos/pcb.1791729854422561/1791729447755935 Three of them show the same gliders to the north of LZ P but from various angles with views to east and south. Unfortunately there are copyright restrictions on their publication so can't be posted here. I did an analysis of those but no point posting without original photos. Also very interesting photos of Hamilcar CN 278 which are new to me! Regards ...
