1940-05-11, He-126, Piershil

Leutnant Flieger Alfred Franke

Feldwebel Joachim Lindner

11 may: Hs-126 B-1 of Aufkl..Staffel/7 Fl.Div shot down near PIERSHIL (Pinksterhaven) by RAF Hurricane of 17th. Squadron (F/O Jefferies). Crew killed: Lt Alfred Franke en Fw Joachim Lindner; buried at Rotterdam; currently Ystn BU-228 en BU-229.

- DVL(56) : 100% Bruch; LLC(11); Source: Onderwater/Wust, Weiss(35), Auwerda(T482) en Ystn

Crash

May 11th. 1940, at 16.30 hours. In the afternoon a German plane was shot down. It was a Henschel He-126-B-1, departed from the base Cologne-Ostheim. The tactical reconnaissance of the area south of Rotterdam ends fatally for the crew. They are discovered by a British plane near the Pinksterhaven, the seperation between Piershil and Zuid-Beijerland, and their plane is shot down. Their bodies are taken by Dutch soldiers from the wreak and the same day Flieger Leutnant Alfred Franke and Joachim Lindner are buried at Piershil. A few months later, in August 1940, the bodies are transferred to the German-built hero's graves on the cemetery Crooswijk in Rotterdam. After the war, they were reburied on the German military cemetery at Ysselsteyn. The then 20-year old - Lindner and 23-year-old Franke lie buried side by side in the grave numbers BU-228 and BU-229.

http://www.piershil.com/index.php/oorlog/430-vliegtuigcrashes-nabij-piershil

Crew

Joachim Lindner

Ten pre-production Hs 126A-0 similar to the Hs 126 V3 were built and delivered before the end of 1937. There success in operational use speeded the production and already in early 1938 the first Hs 126A-1 were delivered to the Luftwaffe. The A-1 was fitted with the 880 hp BMW 132Dc nine cylinder air cooled direct injection radial engine as the intended Bramo 323 Fafnir was restricted. In late 1939 the Hs 126B-1 was in production fitted with the Bramo 323 Fafnir in the 850 hp A-1 or Q-1, or in the 900 hp A-2 or Q-2 engine variants; and with improved equipment.

The armament consisted of two on the starboard side mounted 0.312 in (7.92 mm) machineguns: a fixed forward firing MG 17 and a flexible MG 15 in the gunner/observer position, this gun had a recess in fuselage when not in use. Further a bomb of 110 lb (50 kg) could be fitted below the port fuselage; an equipment bay could hold a bomb load of ten 22 lb (10 kg) bombs, or a Zeiss Rb topographic camera, or a smoke-screen apparatus.

Operational history

By the time the Hs 126A-1 joined the Luftwaffe, the re-equipping of reconnaissance formations was already well advanced, and by the start of World War II in September 1939, Germany already had several good short range observation and long range recon aircraft. The Hs 126 was in German use from 1938 to 1945, until 1942 as the standard tactical reconnaissance aircraft seeing action on all fronts as it equipped 80% of its type-units. After than it was used as glider-tug and it played a role in night ground-attacks against partisans.

Specifications (Hs 126B-1)

General characteristics

• • Crew: Two (pilot and observer/gunner)

• Length: 10.9 m (35 ft 7 in)

• Wingspan: 14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)

• Height: 3.8 m (12 ft 4 in)

• Wing area: 31.6 m² (340 ft²)

• Empty weight: 2,030 kg (4,480 lb)

• Loaded weight: 6,820 lb (3,090 kg)

• Powerplant: 1× Bramo 323 9-cylinder radial engine, 634 kW (850 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 356 km/h at 3,000 m (221 mph at 9,850 ft)

• Combat radius: 998 km (620 mi)

• Service ceiling: 8,530 m (28,000 ft)

• Rate of climb: 550 m/min (1,800 ft/min)

• Wing loading: 97.8 kg/m² (20.1 lb/ft²)

• Power/mass: 0.21 kW/kg (0.13 hp/lb)

Armament

• 1 × forward-firing 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine gun

• 1 × flexible 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun in the observer/gunner

• Up to 150 kg (330 lb) of bombs

Unit

Aufklärungsstaffel (F) des II. Flakkorps

Staffelkapitän:

• • Obstlt Langhuth, 12.39 - 7.40

Formed 12.39 in Köln-Ostheim, to support the II. Flakkorps. In 5.40 instead attached to the Luftlandekorps.

In 7.40 disbanded, and was absorbed by 1.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.121.

Bases:

It seems that during the invasion of Holland the unit was attached to the 7th Flieger Div.

7. Flieger-Division (7th Air Division) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was created on 1 September 1938 in Berlin to organize the German Fallschirmjäger (parachute) units. It was redesignated 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division on 1 May 1943.

Most of the division fought in the invasion of the Netherlands, primarly to capture three key bridges (Schachter, Veldwezelt and at Vroenhoeven) and the Eben Emael fortress as well as the failed attack on the Hague where a large number of Germans were taken prisorner. During the fighting in the Netherlands in Rotterdam the division commander Kurt Student was accidentaly shot in the head by soldiers from Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.

During the summer of 1940 the division was preparing for the planned invasion of the United Kingdom, Operation Seelöwe, but those plans were shelved in October.

The German plan for the invasion of Belgium, France, and the Netherlands in May 1940 called for the use of the 7th Flieger division to aid in the advance through the capture of key bridges and the fortress of Eben Emael.

The attack upon the Netherlands included the majority of the 7th Flieger Division in cooperation with 22nd Luftlande-Infanterie Division. The primary goal of the air landings was to capture the Dutch seat of residence, The Hague; a secondary goal was to secure critical bridges in order to allow a German mechanized advance through the fortified positions of the Dutch defenses. These bridges were those at Dordrecht, Moerdijk, and the Nieuwe Maas. The parachute drops were also used to capture the Waalhoven airfield near Rotterdam, where additional forces would be air-landed.

Initially the attacks were successful, but hard fought and some units took heavy casualties. The attack on The Hague was a failure: many paratroopers were captured and 1,200 prisoners of both divisions were transported to England. All bridges were successfully held against Dutch counterattacks however. The air landings occupied Dutch troops at a time when they were needed to slow the German land advance.

Claim

This victory is claimed by F / O J. Jefferies. It took some effort to find all details of Jefferies because his actions are described under different names. Presumably he had a double last name what has caused this confusion. Eventually he would be buried under the name of Latimer. He is best known as Squadron Leader Jefferies Jerrard-Latimer and was nicknamed "Venca Fast Ride" that he received as S / L at the 310th squadron Czech.

11/05/1940: Fighter Patrol, NL

At 17.00 hrs No. 17 Sqdn. claimed three Me 109's (by S/L G.C. Tomlinson, Sgt A.F. Pavey and F/O R.V. Meredith) and two Hs126's (by F/O J. Jeffries and Sgt N.R. Wynn) destroyed, in Rotterdam/Delft/The Hague area.

http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/17_squadron.html

On May 19 F / O J. Jeffries, then part of 85th. Sqdr., claimed another ME-109 over France. This claim has not been confirmed.

from left: F/O Boulton F/Lt. Jefferies, F/Lt. Sinclair

Jefferies had an interesting flying career and served with several Fighter Squadrons before transferring to bomber command as a Squadron leader. At the time of his death he was S/L of 106th Lancaster Sqdr. He was one of the few Fighter aces that became Bomber pilots. He was awarded the D.F.C. for shooting down 4 enemy aircraft and damaging 2 others during the "Battle of Britain".