September 2018 FLYPAST 35landing and take-off accidents occurred from 1939 to 1941
Men Behind
the Bf 109
1,5001,500
Schypek flew 20 missions in July
1940, most of them scrambles
against intruding Blenheims.
Relocating from Rotterdam to
Hermelinghen in the Pas-de-Calais
on August 8 enabled II./JG 54
to reach Britain. Three days later,
Schypek flew his first sortie over
England, a fighter sweep above the
Dover-Canterbury area between
1027 and 1138hrs.
On this mission, Hptm Dietrich
Hrabak, Staffel Kapitän of 4./JG 54,
and the newly promoted Ofw Hier
each claimed a Spitfire off Dover.
(Hier had been repatriated after
being shot down on November 22,
1939.) One Bf 109 was damaged,
while another crashed due to
engine failure.
Curiously, Uffz Ferdinand Decker,
a groundcrewman from 5./JG
54, was wounded by two British
fighters while flying in a twin-
engined Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Weihe
monoplane. This had taken off at
1100hrs to help drop a dinghy to
two survivors of a Blenheim of 53
Squadron shot down earlier. Decker
was wounded in the leg for his
troubles by Flt Lt Edward Smith of
610 Squadron off Calais; Smith had
claimed to have damaged a Heinkel
He 59 biplane.Left centre
A Bf 109E-3 believed to
have been fl own by the
Adjutant of II./JG 54, Oblt
Heinz Stegmann, who was
reported missing in action
on September 27, 1940.Left
A Bf 109 E-1 of 5./JG 54
coded ‘Black 4’, which
has crash-landed at some
stage during the Battle of
Britain. It has a yellow-
painted cowling, possibly
identifying it as Wk Nr
3416, which ‘bellied in’ on
October 8, 1940.Left
Bf 109 E-1, Wk Nr 6009
‘White 9’ of 1./JG 76. Just
visible is the Bf 109E of
the Gr Kdr, Hptm Wilfried
von Müller-Rienzburg,
Stubendorf, summer 1939.Below left
A Fw 58 being used for
air-sea rescue duties,
similar to the example
damaged by 610 Squadron
on August 11, 1940. The
white scheme with Red
Cross markings was later
changed to standard
Luftwaffe camoufl age.Schypek flew 20 missions in Julyagainst intruding Blenheims.afternoon with eight crew killed, one
captured. Shortly afterwards, Oblt
Georg Schneider of 3./JG 21 shot
down another Blenheim, this time
from 82 Squadron. Plt Off Ralph
Percy and wireless operator Sgt A
M Clark were killed; observer Sgt
Arthur Stanley baled out and was
captured. Schneider was killed by
return fire.Battle of Britain
The newly formed II./JG 54,
commanded initially by Major
Richard Kraut and then Hptm
Otto-Hans Winterer, remained in
Rotterdam for the opening phases
of the Battle of Britain. The gruppe
claimed 14 Blenheims and a single
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
without loss in just over a month.and silenced the rear gunner. I flew
the next attack and must have hit
the cockpit and one engine which
trailed black smoke. The Blenheim
went into a dive and crashed outside
Haarlem. No parachutes.”
The German fighters had
intercepted six Blenheims of
235 Squadron engaged on a
reconnaissance of the Zuiderzee.
It is believed Schypek’s victim was
Blenheim N3543 flown by Plt
Off Alan Wales, which crashed
at Oegstgeest, killing the pilot,
observer Sgt John Needham and
wireless operator Sgt Tom Jordan.
Von Bonin claimed another three
Blenheims, as did Gf Willi Knorp of
2./JG 54.
Another three 235 Squadron
Blenheims were lost in combat that