During the early evening of 1st November 1940 this Junkers Ju88 took off from base at Gilze Rijen in Holland with the crew ordered to attack either Linton on Ouse or Church Fenton aerodrome. The aircraft flew in from the sea somewhere to the north of Whitby and flew into high ground at the head of Glaisdale with the ground shrouded in mist. The aircraft carried a crew of four and they were all killed in the crash. There is still some debate as to why the aircraft came to crash, it is known that a lone aircraft attacked Skinningrove Iron Works on the same night and was engaged by machine guns at the Works. Others also report an aircraft being damaged by ground fire shortly after crossing the coast near Whitby. The full reasons for the crash will probably never be known. As Bill Norman details in his "Broken Eagles" book, one airman had baled out just before impact with the ground and his parachute appeared to foul the aircraft's tail plane, he was dragged to his death. Two other airmen had been thrown out of the aircraft when it crashed. Strangely, all the crew were found barefooted, suggesting they thought they were over the sea and they knew they were not going to make it home.
Pilot - Fw Wilhelm Wowereit (Luftwaffe), aged 25. Buried Thornaby on Tees Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Observer - Obfw Hans Schulte-Mater (Luftwaffe), aged 22. Buried Thornaby on Tees Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Wireless Operator - Uffz Alfred Rodermond (Luftwaffe), aged 22. Buried Thornaby on Tees Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Air Gunner - Uffz Gerhard Pohling (Luftwaffe), aged 25. Buried Thornaby on Tees Cemetery, Yorkshire.
All the crew were buried at Thornaby on Tees Cemetery. Wilhelm Wowereit was born on 30th April 1915 in Berlin. Alfred Rodermond was born on 2nd August 1918 in Spellen. Gerhard Pohling was born on 20th December 1914 in Dresden. Hans Schulte-Mater was born on 20th August 1918 in Frankenholz.
The incident was mentioned in both the Whitby Gazette (left) and Malton Gazette (centre and right) and the photograph of the site appeared in the Middlesbrough Gazette (below).
A large crater either caused by the crash itself or where some of the bombs were later blown up after the crash still exists on the moor. I eventually located the crash site in March 2003 and a little wreckage remains on the surface at the site of the crater and uphill from this point. The photograph below may well be in exactly the same position as the newspaper photograph shown above.
Some remaining wreckage still at the site with all in poor condition.
