Bill Norman has researched this incident in tremendous detail and it is covered in his superb book "Broken Eagles" , he later wrote a more detailed article for "Flypast" magazine. I do not wish to copy his research however the basics of the incident need adding to this website to include all Yorkshire incidents. Bill spoke with me at length about this incident and the events after it.
During the afternoon of 30th March 1941 this aircraft took off from Stavanger and flew toward the North-East coast of England, crossing in the Middlesbrough area. The intended route of the crew was to overfly Manchester where they would carry out an armed photo-reconnaissance sortie of the city. As the aircraft approached the Tees area it was picked up on the Chain Home system and two Spitfires of 41 Squadron, based at Catterick, were scrambled for patrol duties then sent to intercept it. Piloting the two Spitfire were F/Lt Tony Lovell DFC and P/O Archie Winskill. This Ju88 was shot down by the Spitfires at 15.50hrs. It subsequently crashed onto Barnaby Moor, on the Eston Hills, with the loss of all four airmen. Just prior to the aircraft crashing one airman, the ventral gunner, left the aircraft but sadly his parachute failed to deploy correctly, he fell into trees on Flatts Lane and was killed. The general belief in the modern era is that the other three airmen did not have time to escape their stricken aircraft and the went down with it. Bill Norman's research has discovered that one of these three did indeed attempt to get out but he hit the ground before his parachute could properly work, the land on which he landed was very soft and boggy and his body sunk, it was not seen again to be recovered. The parachute was seen by local people on top of this bog and was cut off from the surface as such material was rare in the War. The bodies of these three other airmen were never found and strictly speaking the area of the crash should be treated as a Wargrave but there sadly is nothing on the ground on the Eston Hills to make people aware of this fact. At the time of the crash the area was moorland but it was reclaimed some years ago and is now farmland.
A number of RAF record books included this incident in their pages. Catterick's ORB simply states: "30.03.41. F/Lt Lovell DFC, shot down in flames Ju88." The Enemy Aircraft losses file (held in the PRO) has two entries. "30.03.41. 15.15hrs. Ju88. Wilton Moor, near Eston. 2 killed." and later the same day in greater detail "Ju88 shot down by fighters from high altitude. Dived in at great speed at Barnaby Moor, near Guisborough, Engines, aircraft and 4 killed, buried in crater. 1 baled out, found dead with bullet wounds."
The photograph at the top of this page shows part of the crash site and taken at the time it shows a number of RAF personnel and police investigating the site. I had initially held back on putting the photograph on the internet fearing a breach of copyright but it has now found its way onto the internet through other people and I see little harm in adding it now. The photograph's origin is thought to be the Middlesbrough Evening News, or the fore-runner of this newspaper.
Pilot - Lt Wolfgang Schlott (69004/002), of Saarbrucken. Killed, body never found.
Observer - Lt Otto Meingold (69004/201), of Waldenburg. Killed, body never found.
Wireless Operator - Fw Willi Schmigale (53577-757), of Gollendorf, Frankenstein. Killed, body never found.
Ventral Gunner - Uffz Hans Steigerwald (69004/51), aged 27, of Partenstein. Buried Thornaby on Tees Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Hans Steigerwald and his gravestone at Thornaby Cemetery (photo of Uffz Steigerwald via Melvin Brownless).
I visited crash site with Howard Newbould in October 2006, we searched the very edge of the field and an area of moorland and found a handful of pieces of the aircraft on the surface but enough to confirm the location. A visible depression is still evident where the aircraft crashed further into the field.
Small fragments of the aircraft found by the side of the fence.
Bill Norman informed me that the crash site was dug in 1977 and a lot of the aircraft was recovered.