Shot Down Germans?

I've been researching at RAFVR man at RHEINBERG WAR CEMETERY...and it got me thinking...how many, roughly, Germans were shot down over the UK...and are there any buried here?
cheers
Mark

 

I'm not sure about the UK, but there's a German Cemetary in Wicklow that contains the graves of German Airmen shot down over Ireland. I think it is near Glencree - we used to pass it a lot when on drives with my parents when we were kids. (Of course, I forgot to pay any attention then )

-- Viola

 

I believe there are German burials at CWGC cemeteries in Britain for their shot-down pilots and POWs who died in captivity (disease, accidents). I know there are a few Germans buried at Terlincthun in France, from WW1.

At D-Day plus 60, the German Chancellor, Schroeder, went to a CWGC cemetery to pay tribute to Germans who were buried there. Most of the Germans killed in Normandy are in the cemetery near Omaha Beach where Michael Wittmann is buried.

 

There are some German aircrew buried at Anne's Hill Cemetery in Gosport, Hampshire; I think they were killed when the town was bombed in 1941.

I believe some are also buried at the nearby Haslar Cemetery (although whether these were locally-held German POWs who died at the naval hospital, I am not sure).

Richard

 

Mark

There's a chap who's a moderator on the Great War Discussion Forum called Terry who just about knows everything there is to know about war graves in Britain. If you post a message on a suitable part of that forum Terry will hopefuly be able to give you an answer.

Cheers

Adam

 

...how many, roughly, Germans were shot down over the UK...and are there any buried here?
cheers
Mark
[post=28157]Quoted post[/post]
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I think that the Germans who died whilst POWs and those killed flying over Britain were "concentrated" at Cannock Chase, in many cases.

"The German Cemetery near Broadhurst Green, on Cannock Chase is a memorial to some 5,000 German war dead, where the servicemen's graves are marked by headstones of belgian granite, set in plots of heather and tended by gardeners. "

See here for fuller detail: http://www.joe.shakespeare.btinternet.co.uk/chase.htm

 

Mark,
There are two Germans amongst the war graves in the cemetery at Wareham:
Artur Niebuhr, 13/3/03 - 27/9/40 and Klaus Theisen, 11/9/14 - 27/9/40.

There was an attack on Filton during the day:
Attack on Filton
At 1120 hours two formations consisting of about 25 bombers escorted by 45 Me110s and some Me109s, crossed the coast near Swanage and flew to Filton. At Frome, the Me109s turned back. Eight Squadrons were despatched to meet the attack, one of which intercepted and dispersed the enemy formations before they reached the Bristol Aeroplane Co's Works, but Filton RAF Station was attacked from 11,000 feet. Formations were also intercepted on their return journey.

And an attack on the Bristol area in the evening:

1930 to 2100 Hours
Nine raids from Cherbourg crossed the Coast between Swanage and Selsey and made for the Bristol Channel area, some proceeding to Liverpool.

47 Bf 110s were claimed destroyed that day. Presumably the men at Wareham were from a 110. It would be interesting to know a bit more about them and their aircraft. Does anyone have the info?

With best wishes,
David

 

Hi,
Just to add a little on these German War Graves I came across these German Lads at Hylton Cemetery(castletown)in Sunderland Luftwaffe aircrew I believe;-




Crew of Heinkel He-111P-4, Wnr.3085 5J+GP of 6/KG4 Crashed at Bents Park,South Shields 16.2.41 after being hit by Anti aircraftfire the Heinkel hit a ballon wire and crashed to the ground where it burnt fiercely a mine still attached to the plane exploded killing one policeman PC Lamb,three fire fighters,Aux Firemen,Purvis,Renwick and Wharton and four members of the crew.Another seventeen members of the Police and Fire Services were wounded in the explosion some critically.The blazing wreck acted as a beacon for other aircraft who dropped their bombs close by.The casualties from this single incident were worse than those caused by the main air raid itself(3Dead 7 injured)Beetz bailed out sucessfully but landed on top of electrified trollybus wires(Tramcar) Wilhelm Beetz. Hylton (Castletown) Cemetery, Durham, England. War Graves Plot Section D Row 1 Grave 697. 16.2.41 Karl Brutzam. Hylton (Castletown) Cemetery, Durham, England. War Graves Plot Section D Row 2 Joint Grave 735. 16.2.41 Franz Janeschitz. Hylton (Castletown) Cemetery, Durham, England. War Graves Plot Section D Row 1 Grave 698. 16.2.41 55538-81 Helmut Jeckstadt. Hylton (Castletown) Cemetery, Durham, England. War Graves Plot Section D Row 2 Grave 734. 16.2.41 Heinz Styra. Hylton (Castletown) Cemetery, Durham, England. War Graves Plot Section D Row 2 Joint Grave 735
Regards
Verrieres

 

There's around a dozen buried in Margate and another dozen in Hawkinge too. Typically just to one side of the Allied graves.

 

The German Cemetery at Glencree County Wicklow.
















This is quite a good site as well , found it doing a web search , purely by chance.

Irish War Memorials

Contains quite a bit of good reading and information.

 

James; Thanks for the heads up on that Irish War Memorials site. I do believe, having checked it, I can add a memorial which they don't yet have.

That'll be immensely satisfying. I So want to help out, where I can

 

Just of of curiosity, why are there mini white crosses underneath the main ones?

 

Steve
James; Thanks for the heads up on that Irish War Memorials site. I do believe, having checked it, I can add a memorial which they don't yet have.

That'll be immensely satisfying. I So want to help out, where I can

Unless to some of the contacts mentioned / " How can I help page".
It is new site to me - one I find to be a refreshing change to be quite honest - hopefully I will be able to make a few contributions in due course.

 

"Steve
James; Thanks for the heads up on that Irish War Memorials site. I do believe, having checked it, I can add a memorial which they don't yet have.
That'll be immensely satisfying. I So want to help out, where I can

Unless to some of the contacts mentioned / " How can I help page".
It is new site to me - one I find to be a refreshing change to be quite honest - hopefully I will be able to make a few contributions in due course."

Yes, please do contribute. I run the Irish War Memorials website, and have had about 20 contributors so far. More than photographs of the memorial are needed. A form, based very closely on that used by the U.K. National Inventory of War Memorials, is to be filled in as far as possible, and can be downloaded. The photographs need to show the names legibly, and I also like a photo of the site, to show the memorial in situ, or of the building if it is inside; you will see the idea on the website. All memorials on the island of Ireland from any conflict up to 1969 are eligible, and the contributor will be acknowledged, of course. I look forward to hearing from you.

Belville

 

The vast majority of German War Graves from WW2 are buried at the Cannock Chase German Cemetery having been exhumed from the original burial places in the 1960s. Only in a few places do the bodies remain - off the top of my head - Lowestoft, Great Bircham, Felixstowe

War Graves German

Link here for Great Bircham

Chris

 

Hi,
After taking some photographs in Hylton Cemetery I`ve been searching for information regarding the men who are buried there.After posting the first set I have now found out enough about these fellows to interest fellow forum users(Well I hope So!)




On the night of the 5th Setember 1940 at 23;18hrs ,a 6/KG4 Heinkel He 111P (3065) received a direct hit from Anti Aircraft fire during a night bombing sortie and crashed in flames onto two houses in Suffolk Street,Hendon ,in Sunderland the houses were both set on fire and one person who had took refuge in a shelter was killed. 46 year old Mrs Rachel Stormont, was killed, her husband severely injured, and their 15-year-old daughter, was slightly injured. Oberlt H-W. Schröder, Uffz F. Reitz, Obergefr R. Marten and Gefr J. Wich were killed. Heinkel 5J+JP was totally destroyed. The remains of two of the crew were recovered from the wreckage of their aircraft and buried in Hylton Cemetery, Castletown.Schröder and Reitz bailed out but their chutes failed to develop and both were found several streets from the crash site with massive head injuries.All were buried with full military honours.
The Northern Echo of September 7th 1940 reported how the plane was met by a "terrific barrage" of anti-aircraft fire. According to our reporter, a shell appeared to score a direct hit. The plane broke up and came down burning in one of the most densely populated parts of the town. The major portion of the machine struck the roof of a house and then fell on to the air raid shelter where, a 46 year old women was killed her husband and 15-year-old daughter injured. Bombs from the crashed plane littered the surrounding streets, one of which exploded in Ward Street. Sunderland was one of the main targets of the German bombing raids, because of the importance of the Wear shipyards to the war effort.
In 2002 during redevelopment work a mechanical digger found remnants of the crashed aircraft but what the digger uncovered next was to lead to hundreds of people spending several uncomfortable nights in local schools and community centres .A 1000lb bomb was uncovered and due to its condition had to be defused on site the operation lasting several days. The decision was made to transport the bomb to the beaches at Hendon/Ryhope for detonation at the time my sister ,who is a Police sergeant `Volunteered to escort the lorry carrying the bomb to its final destination.
Several eye witnesses to the Heinkel`s last minutes were traced by the local press ,one witness Mrs Eve Douglas recalled "I remember the night it was shot down clearly, because it was my birthday. "I was living in Ryhope at the time and knew there was a raid, because I could hear the ack-ack battery in Grangetown "Then I saw the bomber caught up in the searchlights and saw it hit and going down in flames. "It was a quiet night and I could hear the cheers of the men manning the gun when they hit it." When the Police knocked on my door at three in the morning I realised the German plane was coming back to haunt us.
It was also reported in the press that on that night in 1940 … 'crowds in the streets and people standing in doorways cheered wildly when this bomber was brought down'. I know these were different times but reading that line makes me uncomfortable as four young men Oberlt H-W. Schröder, Uffz F. Reitz, Obergefr R. Marten and Gefr J. Wich, and one women Mrs Stormont died…crowds cheered


Two newspaper images(Echo)of the remains of the Bomber in Suffolk Street Sunderland in 1940



Funeral of the Heinkel Bomber Crew at Hylton(Castletown)Cemetery in Sunderland
Regards
Verrieres

 

They are small wooden crosses with a poppy on them, from The Royal British Legion.
Like these...


oh, Thanks James

 

Hi,
Out of all the photographs of the German Luftwaffe graves I took earlier this month in Hylton Castletown cemetery in Sunderland only two remain without background stories one reads ein deutscher soldat and until recently I had no information regarding his past or his sad demise but I have been told recently that this man was part of the crew of a Junkers 88-4 from1/KGr coded S4+EH .The second and last German grave referes to Lieutnant Dietar Andresen also a crew member on board the Junkers JU 88.



On the evening of the 15th January 1942 Junkers JU 88 S4+EH was involved in a raid on the North East Coast of England. At 1650hrs the JU 88 was hit by Anti Aircraft fire from one of the shore batteries the pilot was unable to control the aircraft and it spun into the sea just off the Tyneside Coast,no crew were seen to bail out of the stricken plane.On the 27th January a lone German body was washed up on the beach near to Tynemouth Haven,he was identified as Lt Dietar Andresen a crew member from the JU 88 He was buried at Hylton Castletown Cemetery he was 22years of age.A second body was washed up shortly afterwards but could not be positively identified,it is thought he was either Feldwebel Franz Gruschka(Gunner) Unteroffizier Friedrich Pett(Pilot) or Unteroffizier Josef Scholze(Wireless Operator)the other missing crew from the Junkers.
Regards
Verrieres

 

During the war a German A/C either a Ju 88, or an Me 110 crashed while strafing an airfield near Lincoln' not much was left, however the two crewmen were identified and buried. Many years later a farmer ploughing over the crash site found an identity disc which indicated a third crew member, enquiries revealed that it was an aircraft mechanic who was posted as a deserter. Of course he was not, he was just getting the ride of his life, unfortunatly his last one. I believe the burial site has been amended to include the third name.