Lancaster LM387; 101 Sqdn, 20/21st Jan 1944; 'Map Sheet 7' Query

Discussion in 'War Cemeteries & War Memorial Research' started by malcwayland, Jan 6, 2021.

  1. malcwayland

    malcwayland Active Member

    Good Evening,

    I and another researcher are investigating the whereabouts of the remains of the above 8 man crew, who are on the Runnymede Memorial. They were shot down on only their second op during a raid on Berlin. We believe they may have been removed from marked graves by an American Graves unit to an American military cemetery when they were recovering ed the body of a US airman who buried near them.

    My colleague has stated "Whilst looking at correspondence from June 1949 from the RAF Liaison Officer with the American Graves Registration Commission to Air Ministry Casualty Section I came upon a map reference "A. 149 228 on Sheet 7 Germany". The location is around Ludwigslust some 100 miles northwest'ish of Berlin.

    Looking at the map series I am aware of GSGS 4346 (1:250,000) the map covering this area is M54 (Schwerin).

    The GSGS 4416 (AMS M641) (1:100,000) the map covering this area is L6 (Schwerin).

    The other map I am aware of is the GSGS 4414 (1:25,000) maps 2634 and 2635 (Ludwigslust and Neustad) which hardly seem to fit the bill.

    None of these have the matching reference nor, as far as I can see, anywhere like the the map reference.

    The nomenclature of 'Sheet 7' seems to imply that it was a common 'go to' reference, perhaps compiled from a series of some of the other map series?

    Any clues to Sheet 7 would be gratefully received"

    Regards

    Malcolm and Mike
     
    Lindele likes this.
  2. Lindele

    Lindele formerly HA96


    Not sure,but I can ask my friend, another researcher which has a good"record" finding this kind of info, Shall I go ahead?
    Stefan.
     
  3. malcwayland

    malcwayland Active Member

    By all means, Stefan - any help at all is much appreciated, thank you.
    Malcolm
     
  4. Richard Lewis

    Richard Lewis Member

    Hello Malcom and Mike

    Nowhere near Ludwigslust, grid reference ‘A 149228’ can be found on these two maps:
    Germany 1:25,000 GSGS 4414, Sheet 4505, Moers (1944)
    Central Europe 1:100,000 GSGS 4416, Sheet Q1, Essen (1944)

    Another ‘A 149228’ also occurs about 50 kms north of Dresden, but that’s even further away.

    However by 1949 the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid system was being introduced to replace the wartime Nord de Guerre system. The following map of Gresse about 50km east of Ludwigslust contains a UTM grid reference of 149228 but has a prefix of ‘PE’, not ‘A’
    Germany 1:25,000 GSGS 4414, Sheet2530, Gresse (1951)

    As for ‘Sheet 7 Germany’ I’m as puzzled as you are.

    Sorry couldn’t be more help.

    Richard
     
  5. Lindele

    Lindele formerly HA96

    Malcolm,
    my friend came back today with what he called: "What a curious story."
    LM 387 was shot down by night fighters, Major Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein claimed the shot down for himself. There was another claim from another pilot as well.
    All killed men were buried soon after the crash in Ludwigslust. End 1944 their remains were taken out again and buried at another place. After that he told me, no trace of what happened then.
    He lists all names, ranks and ages (some very young), I also have the report of that shot down action.
    I hate wars, what a waste of men. RIP
    Stefan.
     
  6. malcwayland

    malcwayland Active Member

    Thank you Stefan,

    I was aware Major Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein of the Stab/NJG 2 based at Deelen airfield in the Netherlands in a Ju 88 R-2 R4+AA claimed the kill, as did Oberfeldwebel Hans Berschwinger of the 4./NJG 2 in a Ju 88 C-6. The Prinz was killed the following night, and Berschwinger on the 15th Feb 1944. I have details of the crew, 2 were Canadian (Pilot Perry and Nav Dowler), the W/Op (Searle) came from the village where I live now and it was his involvement that sparked my interest. I suspect the remains were removed to an American Cemetery at the same time the US Graves unit exhumed an American airman near where the crew of LM387 were buried.

    You say "I also have the report of that shot down action". I would be very interested in seeing that, Stefan. Please PM me if you need my e-mail address.

    Many thanks, Malcolm
     
  7. malcwayland

    malcwayland Active Member

    Hello, Richard,

    Many thanks for your input. 'Sheet 7' is certainly a bit of an enigma, but I will let Mike - who is far more knowledgeable than I on the subject of WW2 maps than am I - aware of your comments.

    Thanks again, Malcolm
     

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