checkmysix
01-09-2012, 06:13 AM
Hi Guys
I live in Faversham in Kent and about Half a Mile away is the Small village of Graveney,here is where at the height of the Battle of Britain
the last Skirmish involving an Foreign Enemy took Place on Mainland
British Soil.
The aircraft is from what I have read elsewhere is 3Z+EL of K.G.77 and is the new A5.
There are no colour references for this aircraft so I have used markings based on Colour Plates of aircraft from same unit.
Here is the story of this little known event.
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/obergren/JU88A-13ZELIIIKG772.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/obergren/JU88A-13ZELIIIKG771.jpg
3Z+EL In flight
Most history books have Bonny Prince Charlie's 1746 defeat at Culloden as the final battle to occur in this country.
But the virtually unheard of Battle of Graveney Marsh in the Kent countryside 194 years later was actually the last action involving a foreign enemy.
The battle took place on September 27 1940 between the crew of a downed German bomber and a company of British soldiers who had been holed up in a pub.
The skirmish in the Kent countryside was between the men of the London Irish Rifles and the four-man crew of a downed German bomber.
The British servicemen, billeted in a pub at Seasalter, near Whitstable, sprung into action when the Junkers 88 landed on the nearby marshland.
The Germans opened fire with the aircraft's machine guns and after a 20 minute fire-fight they finally surrendered.
The battle was hushed up at the time as the British didn't want word getting out that the new model Junkers plane had been captured intact for engineers to examine.
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/obergren/ju88graveney1.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/obergren/ju88graveney2.jpg
'The Junkers 88 was a new marque and was only two weeks old.
'The matter was hushed up at the time because the Air Ministry didn't want it known that the British had recovered the plane and knew the German secrets behind it.
'Yet technically it was the last battle to take place on the British mainland involving an invading enemy.
'It remained forgotten about over the last 70 years.
This is the first time the battle has been officially recognised and commemorated.
Because the men were billeted at The Sportsman, and the pub is still standing today, we thought a plaque that will serve as a permanent reminder was appropriate.'
Phil Harris, the owner of The Sportsman, said: 'I have been aware of the battle for some time.
'The plane's propeller actually stood outside the pub for many years but it was stolen and melted down some time ago.
There wasn't any extraordinary heroism involved in the battle but what happened and why it happened makes it important to remember it.
'We are very proud to now have the plaque commemorating it up on the wall.'
The battle took place on September 27, 1940, after the Junkers 88 was shot down by two Spitfires following a raid over London Pilot Unteroffizer Fritz Ruhlandt landed the plane on Graveney Marsh, which was seen by the men of A Company of the 1st Battalion London Irish Rifles, A group went out to capture the bomber but came under fire from two machine guns.
They returned fire while a smaller group crawled along a dyke to get within 50 yards of the plane before they too started shooting.
There was a heavy exchange of fire before the Germans surrendered, with one of them being shot in the foot. Nobody was killed.
In a dramatic twist, commanding officer Captain John Cantopher overheard one of the captured crew mention in German that the plane should 'go up' at any moment.
With that, he dashed back to the aircraft, located an explosive charge under one of the wings and threw it into a dyke, saving the prized aircraft for British engineers to paw over.
He was awarded a George Medal for this act of bravery.
incredibly, the British had a pint of beer with the German airmen back at the pub before the PoWs were picked up.
I live in Faversham in Kent and about Half a Mile away is the Small village of Graveney,here is where at the height of the Battle of Britain
the last Skirmish involving an Foreign Enemy took Place on Mainland
British Soil.
The aircraft is from what I have read elsewhere is 3Z+EL of K.G.77 and is the new A5.
There are no colour references for this aircraft so I have used markings based on Colour Plates of aircraft from same unit.
Here is the story of this little known event.
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/obergren/JU88A-13ZELIIIKG772.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/obergren/JU88A-13ZELIIIKG771.jpg
3Z+EL In flight
Most history books have Bonny Prince Charlie's 1746 defeat at Culloden as the final battle to occur in this country.
But the virtually unheard of Battle of Graveney Marsh in the Kent countryside 194 years later was actually the last action involving a foreign enemy.
The battle took place on September 27 1940 between the crew of a downed German bomber and a company of British soldiers who had been holed up in a pub.
The skirmish in the Kent countryside was between the men of the London Irish Rifles and the four-man crew of a downed German bomber.
The British servicemen, billeted in a pub at Seasalter, near Whitstable, sprung into action when the Junkers 88 landed on the nearby marshland.
The Germans opened fire with the aircraft's machine guns and after a 20 minute fire-fight they finally surrendered.
The battle was hushed up at the time as the British didn't want word getting out that the new model Junkers plane had been captured intact for engineers to examine.
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/obergren/ju88graveney1.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/obergren/ju88graveney2.jpg
'The Junkers 88 was a new marque and was only two weeks old.
'The matter was hushed up at the time because the Air Ministry didn't want it known that the British had recovered the plane and knew the German secrets behind it.
'Yet technically it was the last battle to take place on the British mainland involving an invading enemy.
'It remained forgotten about over the last 70 years.
This is the first time the battle has been officially recognised and commemorated.
Because the men were billeted at The Sportsman, and the pub is still standing today, we thought a plaque that will serve as a permanent reminder was appropriate.'
Phil Harris, the owner of The Sportsman, said: 'I have been aware of the battle for some time.
'The plane's propeller actually stood outside the pub for many years but it was stolen and melted down some time ago.
There wasn't any extraordinary heroism involved in the battle but what happened and why it happened makes it important to remember it.
'We are very proud to now have the plaque commemorating it up on the wall.'
The battle took place on September 27, 1940, after the Junkers 88 was shot down by two Spitfires following a raid over London Pilot Unteroffizer Fritz Ruhlandt landed the plane on Graveney Marsh, which was seen by the men of A Company of the 1st Battalion London Irish Rifles, A group went out to capture the bomber but came under fire from two machine guns.
They returned fire while a smaller group crawled along a dyke to get within 50 yards of the plane before they too started shooting.
There was a heavy exchange of fire before the Germans surrendered, with one of them being shot in the foot. Nobody was killed.
In a dramatic twist, commanding officer Captain John Cantopher overheard one of the captured crew mention in German that the plane should 'go up' at any moment.
With that, he dashed back to the aircraft, located an explosive charge under one of the wings and threw it into a dyke, saving the prized aircraft for British engineers to paw over.
He was awarded a George Medal for this act of bravery.
incredibly, the British had a pint of beer with the German airmen back at the pub before the PoWs were picked up.