LZ 'P' Scenes and Photos, Operation Varsity

Thinking about it, he won’t appear on any 6th Airborne Orbat. He was 1st Airborne Corps staff, part of the planning team. He says in his account he went in just to see how it went.

 

I saw my friend yesterday. We are both so impressed by all your knowledge and we are enjoying listening to your discussions so much, even though we have nothing to contribute.
Many thanks. Jenny

 

The following may be of interest. I know of only one photo taken by Robert Capa after he left the burning farm.



A bit of a sensitive one that alberk brought to our attention here:

Varsity - crash site Horsa BF 473?

Sensitive in the sense that the grandson of the man seen lying dead was a member here for a short time but we were never able to contact him as his email address seems to have gone defunct. The man, an Officer, was initially buried in a nearby field grave.You can see the American paratroopers heading south in the background. A power-line pylon can just be discerned to the upper right.

Regards ...

 

With regard David Shepherd's Kopenhof Print

In another thread where we discussed the activities of the 716 Light Composite Company, RASC on Operation Varsity SH mentioned their RV was at MR 193476 which is just south of Kopenhof Farm, as was the ammo and supply dump they set up nearby at MR 192474. SH created map diagrams showing the RV and dump.

So if these guys are coming and going from this area I doubt very much they would be using the Kopenhof front gate to get back there or leave. To go to the 5th Brigade sector on DZ-B, for example, they might have used the farm track to the west of the burning farm at 42 Bislicher Str. to reach the Am Wall road.

So that might explain British Airborne traffic in that area near the burnt-out farm which initially struck us as being a little bit off the beaten track. Finding an actual photo of the locale the painting/drawing was based on is of course preferred, but then again who knows what surprises still await us ...

Regards ...

 

Map (with road names turned on) attached for Convenience, : )

(I know there are some missing buildings I still have to add but If anyone spots anything wrong that needs changing please let me know)

Best Regards,
SH

 

Hi,

Jenny recently drew our attention to the 6AARR Varsity report in another thread, so perhaps a good opportunity to show a still of what could be the 6AARR CO's tank and perhaps the CO himself, Lieutenant-Colonel Godfrey Stewart. See attached images:



Regards ...

 

Quick Plot of the AARR Hamilcar Grid Ref's

The ? Horsa also maps to right on the edge of Hamminkeln so perhaps when they plotted it they felt it was a bit off as the mapped position would have meant it crashed into the village.

Edit - My roads around 263 are a bit off (the glider maps onto the road just north of where I have shown it)

BR,
SH

 

Hi,

Perhaps this is CN 262? From the book, "Just Passing By", by Bob Walklett:

" ... We lost our troop sergeant and his crew, when his Hamilcar was hit by German anti-aircraft fire, and the T9 and crew, plummeted to earth. The T9 was buried in 9ft of mud on the bank of the River Rhine. Warfare is harsh, and the recollection can bring tears to the eyes, but at the time, the emotional part of the brain is mercifully benumbed. ..."

This incident was said to have been caught on film. I always wondered if a bit of footage of a burning aircraft on the east bank of the Rhine was Hamilcar 262.

Regards ...

 

Found the following in an old email - no doubt the same incident involving CN 262.

" ... I picked up a little ebook (PDF) on the life of RAF Pilot Joe Lane and came across this interesting Op Varsity story. It's amazing that event was caught on film, but it's not one I really want to see:

'In the evening of the operation the senior staff officers were able to attend the debriefing of the aircrews when films taken by cameramen carried on some of the aircraft were shown. One extraordinary film showed a Halifax aircraft ahead towing a Hamilcar glider. Flak was bursting all around and the tail of the Hamilcar was shot off. The glider immediately went into a dive releasing or breaking its tow cable. The camera followed the diving Hamilcar until its tank complete with its crew smashed through the nose loading doors and fell vertically to its doom.'

Regards ...

 

Hi Cee,

I find it amazing that they could get the film developed and ready to show on the evening of the 24th. Anyway, if it existed the footage did not survive in any of the archives I know of. Or have you seen anything like it?

As far as footage is concerned: I am aware of an aircraft that went down near the Rhine and exploded in a fireball. But it is identified as an American C-47 - it crashed near Steppenhof. Another burning C-47 on the fround can be seen further inland, just west of LZ A.

 

Hi,

That does seem like pretty quick film development as you say. If he wrote his memories down sometime later he may have mis-remembered.

I thought there was a bit of aerial footage of something burning near the edge of the east Rhine bank. Of course I can't find it now, so maybe I'm imagining things - but I'll keep looking. Maybe it was the Steppenhof one?

Regards ...

 

This is a C-47 - it is 43-15659 from 316 Troop Carroer Group



Below the location:



Below an enlarged cropping of an aerial from the NCAP:

 

And this is C- 47 (42-92738) which crashed near Steppenhof. With apologies for digressing from the title of this thread....

The fate of the crew:
Cpl William D Reynolds 39412121 - KIA
2nd Lt Oswald A Kornhoff - POW
T/Sgt John P Miller - POW
George M Hoffman (no casualty) - picked up by British

Lt. Hoffman returned at 2145 hors 25 March. (…) After ordering the crew to bail out, which they did, Lt. Hoffman abandoned his aircraft. The drift of his chute brought him down on the Rhine River. He made his way to the east shore of the river and was assisted by troops of the Royal Engineers. (…) The three crew members of Lt. Hoffman’s ship are missing in action.

 

Lo,

Here's the bit I'm thinking of. As usual poor quality - it needed to be lightened. In this case from the Movietone newsreel "Over the Rhine". Looks like the Steppenhof crash from your example?



I doubt they would ever release footage showing men falling to their deaths for obvious reasons.

Regards ...

 

Yo,

Here's the page from the memoir which will no doubt be downsized.



Regards ...

 

Yes, that's the pic I mean (and had attached above)

 

Wonder who the parachutes belong to!

 

"The T9 was buried in 9ft of mud on the bank of the River Rhine."

Wonder if it is still there?

Regards ...

 

I'm reminded of our classic DZ "A" thread ...

Regards ...

 

I had to correct some of the crash sites, though.