Hello, On May 25 1940. A German Dornier 17 crashed in Mouscron on the border Franco-Belge. It was shot by an english AA gun. Does there exist diariefragments of BEF regiments who describes this event??? Thanks
The problem is that whilst there is a lot of interest in aircraft shooting each other down, the same can't be said of guns on the ground...Do you know any more about the aircraft than is easily available on-line, such as where it may first have been hit ? It may have been hit 50km or more away. Trying to ID codes for a Do17Z of AufklarStaffel zbV of Luftflotte 2 which crashed in Belgium on 25.5.40 [Archive] - Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum AufklStaffel zbV. Luftflotte 2 Dornier Do17Z. Shot down by AA fire during a reconnaissance sortie and crashed onto houses at 115-117 Groenstraat in Mouscron 10.15 a.m. BO Lt Herbert Mögelin, BM Fw Günter Dorowski, FF Uffz Hans Metzger, and BF Uffz Johann Steinhagen all killed. Aircraft a 100% write-off. The bodies of the crew were subsequently moved from a field grave near the crash site to the regional cemetery at Deinze, Belgium.
I think it's unlikely that those who did the shooting even knew where it came down. It will be hard to make a link. What evidence do you have that it was hit by British fire rather than French or Belgian ? Are there any German records to indicate the area that it was reconnoitering ? Do you know if it was hit by light or heavy anti-aircraft fire ?
Thans for the reply. I found this in a historical magasine on the Mouscron history: 1. Where the plane was first seen 2. Place of the AA gun 3. Plance of the crash. The magasine mentions British troops searching for the wreckage and survivars. As I know this aerea I think it must be Bef Regiments who were stationed south of the 2RUR. Can you help?
Then I will contribute my bit: 25.5.1940, Do17Z B4+HA , Aufklärungsstaffel zbV Luftflotte 2, crew Lt Hans Metzger (F), Lt Dr. Herbert Mögelin (B), Uffz Johann Steinhagen (Bf) Fw Günter Dorowski (Bm). According to WASt./Volksbund/Gräberkartei: "at the road junction Rue Verte and Rue du Val, near Luingne, K-Grab according to sketch" (Note: K-Grab = Kriegsgrab -> field grave). All 4 initially buried in the field grave near Mouscron, then transferred to Deinze cemetery. After the war, they were buried at the Lommel war cemetery. But the interesting part for you seems to me: "The crash occurred at about 1.30 p.m., shot down by light flak." Note from me: It is said to be a Do-17Z, the Recon version was the 17P: If this is true, only eye and hand camera reconnaissance was possible, which required a low operating altitude. And that would explain the hits from light flak. As for the - possibly - BEF unit in question: The 1st Battalion East Surrey Regiment was a regular army unit which found themselves pushed back to the small village of Risquons-Tout on 25th May 1940. Risquons-Tout was located on the Belgian/French border near the town of Mouscron and the battalion made a small defence here before the remaining front in Belgium collapsed and the general withdrawal to Dunkirk began. Source: BEF Memorial, Risquons-Tout The tracking of corresponding BEF documents should be done by specialists who can do this better than I can. I hope I have been of some help
Well, that's just under 9 km. At an estimated 250 km/h, that's about 2 minutes flying time to the crash site. That's not much, especially since the plane obviously came to rest "in one piece" and apparently didn't burn much either. Try the known BEF units first. If their diaries are inconclusive, try the East Surreys as well.
It's useful to have confirmation that the aircraft is likely to have been hit by light ant-aircraft fire. Infantry battalions did not have their own anti-aircraft capability beyond Bren guns on anti-aircraft mountings. A machine gun wouldn't normally be referred to as 'light flak', I imagine so you need to look at Bofors-equipped Light Anti Aircraft units. Both 2 RUR and 1 KOSB were in 9th Infantry Brigade (part of 3rd Inf. Div.) which was normally under command of 2 Corps. It may therefore be worthwhile to examine the diary of 53 Light anti-aircraft regiment who were allocated to 2 Corps.The war diary is numbered WO167/651
