Blenheim IV V5645/R Bomber command record its last mission was 30th May 1942. took off 2124 Intruder raid on Night fighter airfield Vechta Germany. Its recorded as crashing. Possible AA. Low level bombing perhaps.? · Records indicate Pilot Officer J Fox NZ41320 Plane crashed 2352hrs on the 30th May 1942 near E harbour Marx E Friesland. He was taken to Marine Hospital and died on June ist Fox was originally buried in Wilhelmshaven but reinterred in 1947. to Sage War cemetery where he was buried with his other 2 crew members John Leonard SGT RAF 1365292 and Al Smithson SGT RAF 1306692. Leeewarden airfield in Holland were the for JJ FOX mission targets for his previous sorties nevertheless, according to BC records Vechta Germany was the last sortie target… yet V5645R was shot down in the E Friesland .Netherlands which does seem strange and in contrast to The German Vechta airfield position, or was this the flight corridor for this mission. QUESTIONS ... Firstly Is there a record of crash sites given German military precision on record taking anywhere to be located,.... Secondly.... Is there some way of locating Intruder records of West Rayham for that night. ( FLIGHT PATHS Briefing Docs etc or the such. Although a Kiwi Fox was seconded to the RAF. JJ FOX was my mothers first husband, They had been married 2 years at his death.Appreciate some advise - information or direction from the group Regards PeterG
I'd start with the Operations Record Book of No. 114 Squadron for the month in question (you'll need to get both Record of Events and Summary of Events): http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8458824 Squadron Number: 114 Records of Events: Y | The National Archives In some ORBs, flight paths are given so you may get lucky there. The AIR81 series of files at Kew has "Casualty packs" which have been declassified. That's the good news. The bad news is that they are incredibly slow in getting them available. Last time I looked they were still in 1941 losses. Here are all the "Fox"es: Search results: fox | The National Archives Regards, Dave
Hi, one of my contacts living up there today, might be able to add missing details. Let me know, if you need help. Stefan.
Hi stefan thank you for the offer, so your contact is in the Netherlands or close to National Archives I have down loaded the info of flights incredibly interesting slightly helpful but does not answer the mystery where they crashed so far from their Vechta AD target. Did they divert to different target, Did they have that licence.see report I include V5645R ... reported as R V5465 Fox leonard Smithson.
An interesting thread but looking late into it,it appears that there are possibly typing or transcribing errors. I think Sonderbusch should be Sanderbusch which is located in Sande,a town, south and close to Wilhelmshaven. The Marine Hospital/Naval Hospital there was known as the Marinelazarette Sanderbusch. I cannot trace its present use but it might now be the Nordwest Krankenhaus Sanderbusch. As regards the loss of Blenheim V 5645. "E Friesland" is the German coastal strip within Lower Saxony and not the Netherlands which means that the aircraft crashed in German territory.
thanks Harry I think I am onto the Marine Hospital, its the crash site I am trying to follow, the sortie was to Vechta yet it appears they where crashing elsewhere, (No. 114 Sqn. Group 2 Blenheim V5645 (RT-'R') ) suggestion being put to me by a researcher were it was at or close to a Marx Airfield, ( called a Flugplatz ) and so am trying to trace the records for that. Given German ability militarily and Locally to record everything I am on that route.. Tell me How do you become a senior member, age experience knowledge. Not being humerious just interested I bow to the knowledge and time spent answering to plebes like myself. this quest is simply to answer a question unanswered for some years by my family. The information was the crash site was close to Kiel Canal, yet the Air ministry sent a 1947 letter stating 'E habour Marx E Friesland' ...... appreciate again your time
V5645 Thanks for your note.I was going to ask what "E harbour" referred to as I had already located the town of Marx,it being a short distance SW from Sande.The town is inland and I thought that there may be a canal there with respect to the reference to "E Harbour". Since you say that there is an airfield there, then I would think that a little research might well throw something up in the area of Friedeburg which is near to Marx. Incidentally, the Kiel Canal is quite a distance from the reported crash area since it runs from the Elbe eastwards to Kiel and is in Schleswig Holstein.However aircraft were known to stray away from the target and area for a number of reasons. An interesting point is that Jever.postwar used by the RAF, was a leading night fighter airfield close to the west of Wilhelmshaven and might well have been involved in the Luftwaffe air defences that night. As you say,it might well be that German records might reveal further information leads.
I think the Marx airfield query has been solved...it looks as if the English translation has been in error leading to "E Harbour" being recorded in reports rather than E Hafen,ie,airfield with a classification of "E" The Luftwaffe classified their operational airfields as E Hafen 1 and E Hafen 11...Roman numerals.These airfields were termed Einsatzhafen,hence E Hafen with two categories as stated. Status 1........ an airfield with good facilities and infrastructure Status 2.........an airfield with facilities and infrastructure not up to the standard of E 1 As for the Marx airfield,it had three concrete runways laid down and was situated 18.5 kms SW of Wilhelmshaven, being located 2.8 kms ESE of Marx.It appears to have been the base of KGr 126 bomber formation during the Blitzkrieg. In 1944,developments took place to house the AR 234 twin engined jet bomber there with the construction of anti blast bays for parked aircraft.As many airfields,Marx had a decoy airfield 5 kms SSW of the airfield at Marx -Ruttelerfeld. Probably Marx airfield was classified as E Hafen 1 at the start of the war and this classificastion was maintained when it was upgraded to accommodate the AR 234. The airfield was well battered by the RAF and USAAF in March and April 1945. Henry L deZeng.....Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-1945 in Germany is an outstanding source.
Thank Harry. Are you aware of any German miltary records kept on their Airforce or where they might be kept and/or AA position..
