LZ 'P' Scenes and Photos, Operation Varsity

Scots guards had Humber scout cars and Stuart light tanks. Could be a pair of those in view?

 

Ho,

I'm reminded of the Christie photo where he catches a SP Gun emerging from Issenbruch onto Bislicher Str. However, going by the shadows it was earlier in day on the 25th.



Regards ...

 

Hi All,

It is likely between 7m and 10m high.

Based of ratios of shadow length and assuming 1.8m for the CLE's.

First attempt and longest side gives us around 9.4m high.
2nd central pole gives 8.5m.
3rd right hand side gives 7.4m.

The guy wires (or whatever the angled bits are if not guy wires) are 14o / 15o off the central pole. Using basic trig this suggests the radius of the guy wires is about 2.4m and dimeter / length of the whole object at the ground is around 5m.

The 2 dark objects on the light central pole are approximately 2m away from each other.

I will need to rebuild the projection files to narrow it down further, but this is an initial gauge on height and other dimensions.

Caveat: If it is located atop the railway embankment this would complicate things.

BR
SH

 

American Paratroops

A pan which captures American Paratroops of the 513th PIR making their way down Isselbruch Str. Probably the work of Lee Howard, RAFFPU. Wonder if their CO, Colonel Coutts, is with this bunch?



Regards ...

 

BU 2550 Location

In an earlier post I thought this Sgt Bert Hardy photo may have been taken east of Hamminkeln. Believe now it was shot on Bislicher Str. looking south on LZ 'R'. Hopefully someday a better quality photo will turn up to show it more clearly.



Regards ...

 

Hi,

Another Hardy photo, location unknown. An opportunity for photo analysis.



Larger Dezoomify pic

Regards ...

 

This is believed to be at Bislich. A carrier of 15th Scottish Division.

 

Thanks alberk,

But where, show me.

Regards ...

 

Hi,

Well I was hoping this was a pic from the Airborne sector. Perhaps taken near Bislich in this vicinity ...?

Bislich outskirts

Regards ...

 

I think behind the wheel standing up on the left we see the shape of the Bislich Catholic Church in the background. It had lost its spire after hits by artillery. The church is situated right behind the dyke.

 

A Horsa by Isselbruch Woods

In another thread where we discussed photos taken in the Isselbruch Str. area I wondered where the glider and men seen in the photo combination below were located. As can be seen if studied both images were taken at the same place, very likely by Lee Howard, RAFFPU. The man with glasses in bottom photo sitting next to a glider pilot is correspondent L. Marsland Gander. The glider seen here is intact, but with nose down after the front wheel broke though the fuselage floor. It appears to be the Horsa on the north west corner of Isselbruch Woods (Seeger's Copse) as seen in aerials.

Gander's group, after they left their own glider, travelled down the west side of LZ 'P' to Bislicher Str. which they presumably used to reach Div HQ at Kopenhof Farm. Why then did these men choose to visit this glider a bit out of the way initially. Perhaps the HQ at Kopenhof was still not set up due to opposition in the area. Gander doesn't mention anything along those lines in his Varsity account with regard the farm itself.

A day or two prior to take-off he did manage to get switched to a Horsa carrying the CRE, out of RAF Rivenhall, as he wanted to be closer to the Public Relations transmitter that he thought was being carried on Major-General Eric Bols' glider also leaving from Rivenhall. He later learned it was damaged after the RASC Hamilcar actually transporting it had a rough landing. Did he make his way to this glider believing it to be the General's or was it a temporary secluded spot where his group waited until things had quieted down?

General Bols' Horsa is said to have landed close by Kopenhof but don't think it has been identified. Apparently after landing and seeking cover the General ended up in a ditch with an American Paratrooper. Rates of pay were discussed.



Regards ...

 

Major-General Eric Bols

The following excerpt was taken from a Pegasus Archive biographical article on Major-General Eric Bols:

"My glider virtually landed in fog which covered the area. ... After my glider had touched down I ran for the nearest ditch. Things were a bit hot on the landing-zone. I found an American Top Sergeant from a parachute unit of the 17th Division sharing the ditch with me. He had also landed adrift due to the smoke. We both had to keep our heads down. When the firing eased a little we discussed, as soldiers always do, our rates of pay. I discovered that this Top Sergeant in the American Army was getting danger money, parachute pay and heaven knows what allowances which added up to a little more pay than I was getting; so, when the time came to move, I suggested that as he was being paid more than me, he had better put his head up first!"

The American paratrooper would no doubt have been with the 513th PIR who were dropped by mistake to the north of their LZ in the British sector. Interestingly there just happens to be a ditch very close by the same glider as pointed out above which can actually be seen in the aerial.

Regards ...

 

Good for cover - but otherwise...
A trooper of the 513th PIR on LZ P. Please note the compass on his left wrist...

 

Hi Cee, I do not remember which thread you used to discuss the work of art showing a jeep in front of a large tree. I came across these pictures while searching for a picture of the chestnut tree at Fuhrmannshof. These photos show the chestnut tree at Köpenhof.


Seeger's copse to the left.

 

Hi,

A lovely old tree. Think it was Alex and SH who posted and linked to pics of the Kopenhof tree.

Regards ...

 

Ditch

A very wet ditch! Here's the one I'm thinking of, but it may have nothing to do with General Bols - highly speculative. I think, however, it would be great to have a confirmed location for his glider and we're the guys to do it ...



Regards ...

 

I always wondered if Gen Bols glider was one of the two that were burnt out (as seen on aerials). There are two very close to the Kopenhof.

 

Yo,

Never heard tell that his glider was set ablaze but it may have happened after unloading jeep and signal equipment which he was able to use to contact various HQs fairly quick. The Pegasus Archive says he landed 100 yards from Kopenhof but it could have been a little more than that.

"The glider in which Bols travelled made a safe landing on LZ-P, no more than a hundred yards from the Kopenhof farm where he had decided to establish himself. Within ten minutes of landing, he was in touch with the 3rd and 5th Parachute Brigades, contact with the 6th Airlanding Brigade followed before the half hour, and a link was soon open to the 53rd Airlanding Light Regiment, the supporting artillery of the 2nd Army, and the air support circling overhead."

Major Brewis' glider was set alight and may have been one of the burn-outs just west of farm.

Regards ...

 

Here are some Horsas to chose from:

 

I thought that was a small embankment at that spot rather than a ditch? It follows a straight line of historic field boundary's across the entire length of DZ P, in other locations it can be seen as a small embankment with or without trees growing atop. I may be mistaken on this though, just thought it was the case based on the pattern and fact that line is fairly distinctive and can be traced for quite some way in either direction (even wondered if it might have demarcated the old extent of the forest at one point).

BR,
SH