Do 17 finding

[Al Schlageter]

Originally Posted by Fusek

Don't get your hopes up. I believe it is classified as a war grave, to not disturb the final resting place of the two crewmembers that failed to bail out.

It is not a war grave as there is no remains in the a/c.

The Times newspaper article from August 2010:

"On that morning Do17Z, serial no 1160, was piloted by Feldwebel Willi Effmert, aged 24. With him in the cabin cockpit were its navigator Herman Ritzel, 21; wireless operator Helmut Reinhardt, 27; and bomb aimer Heinz Huhn, 21, whose job it would be to release the aircraft's 16 50kg bombs over one of the key fighter stations at either Debden or Hornchurch.

Huhn was never to get his chance. While flying above cloud over the Strait of Dover the Dornier became separated from the rest of 7 Staffel. Some time after 1pm it was flying on its own when it was jumped at 13,000ft over Deal by a Boulton Paul Defiant of 264 Squadron from RAF Hornchurch. A two-seat fighter with a four-gun power-operated turret, the Defiant had suffered severely from Messerschmitt Bf109s during the Battle of Britain. But it was more than a match for the Do17, in spite of the latter's six machine-guns With both his engines hit, and one out of action, Effmert put his aircraft into a shallow glide and made a wheels-up forced landing on the Goodwin Sands at low water. The aircraft appears to have "ground looped" just before final impact, landing on its back and killing Reinhardt and Huhn. Effmert and Ritzel survived to be captured, and spent the remainder of their war as PoWs in Canada."

Reinhardt & Huhn bodies were both recovered with Huhn's grave at Cannock Chase, whilst according to Chris Goss, Reinhardt is buried in Holland...

[major_setback]

Originally Posted by Al Schlageter

It is not a war grave as there is no remains in the a/c.

The Times newspaper article from August 2010:

"On that morning Do17Z, serial no 1160, was piloted by Feldwebel Willi Effmert, aged 24. With him in the cabin cockpit were its navigator Herman Ritzel, 21; wireless operator Helmut Reinhardt, 27; and bomb aimer Heinz Huhn, 21, whose job it would be to release the aircraft's 16 50kg bombs over one of the key fighter stations at either Debden or Hornchurch.

Huhn was never to get his chance. While flying above cloud over the Strait of Dover the Dornier became separated from the rest of 7 Staffel. Some time after 1pm it was flying on its own when it was jumped at 13,000ft over Deal by a Boulton Paul Defiant of 264 Squadron from RAF Hornchurch. A two-seat fighter with a four-gun power-operated turret, the Defiant had suffered severely from Messerschmitt Bf109s during the Battle of Britain. But it was more than a match for the Do17, in spite of the latter's six machine-guns With both his engines hit, and one out of action, Effmert put his aircraft into a shallow glide and made a wheels-up forced landing on the Goodwin Sands at low water. The aircraft appears to have "ground looped" just before final impact, landing on its back and killing Reinhardt and Huhn. Effmert and Ritzel survived to be captured, and spent the remainder of their war as PoWs in Canada."

Reinhardt & Huhn bodies were both recovered with Huhn's grave at Cannock Chase, whilst according to Chris Goss, Reinhardt is buried in Holland...

I wonder why Cannock Chase? It is in the middle of England (where I was born and brought up) and miles from the coast.

[Al Schlageter]

There was a German war dead cemetery there.