Heinkel He.111 A1+FM near Sunk Island.
The precise details of the events surrounding this aircraft and its crash require some work to discover exactly what occurred. The National Archives intelligence file (AIR40/2405) is what I am drawing my account from but
I believe it has some errors in it. Bill Norman gave an account of the incident in his book "Broken Eagles" which has details that are not in the intelligence file and, on balance, I feel is probably correct.
What is fact is that on the night of the 8th / 9th May 1941 the crew of this aircraft were tasked with bombing Sheffield and set out from an airfield in France (probably Lille). The aircraft almost certainly flew from
France out over the Channel and then north up the North Sea before it then turned west to make landfall in the Humber area and head toward Sheffield. AIR40/2405 states that this aircraft released its bombs over the target
and when the aircraft was on the return journey it was intercepted by Kirton-in-Lindsey based Defiant night-fighters. The Defiant attacked and the Heinkel was seen to be struck in the main fuselage which set it on fire.
The AIR40 file goes on to state that in the general panic inside the Heinkel saw the gunner bale out without receiving the order to. The remainder of the crew then remained inside the aircraft and were killed when it
crashed The Stray, near Sunk Island at 01.30hrs. The AIR40 file states that the body of the gunner who baled out was trawled up from the Humber an hour later and that "the remainder of the crew remained in the aircraft
and were killed when it crashed". Then lists the crew as being Reinelt (Dead). Magin (presumed dead). Kalle (presumed dead). Lorenz (presumed dead). Wulf (unwounded). This file is dated 9th May 1941 and some of the
"presumed dead" were probably found at a later date in the wreckage. Clearly there is a descrepancy with all being killed and the crew list that states one was unwounded. One must have survived because the intelligence
file would not have anyone to interview and to be able to state that "there was a general panic amongst the crew" as the document states.
Bill Norman has a similar account, quoting a civil defence file giving the time of the crash as 01.15hrs. He also quotes from further intelligence records and offers a suggestion that a 255 Squadron Defiant,
flown by P/O H S Wyrill and air gunner Sgt Maul, was responsible for shooting down the Heinkel. He also states that a member of the crew (Uffz Franz Magie) became a PoW while Wulf was the only missing airman.
I infer from both accounts that the aircraft was on fire in the air, one baled out over the Humber and was never found. Another baled out possibly over the sea or over land and survived but was not mentioned in both the
intelligence file or Bill Norman's account as having done this. The aircraft with three other crew then crashed and they were killed. The missing gunner was never found and remains listed as missing.
Pilot - Uffz Gunter Reinelt. Buried Brandesburton churchyard, Yorkshire.
Observer - Uffz Franz Magie. PoW.
Wireless Operator - Uffz Jakob Kalle. Buried Brandesburton churchyard, Yorkshire.
Mechanic - Obgfr Rudolf Lorenz. Buried Brandesburton churchyard, Yorkshire.
Gunner - Gefr Heinrich Wulf. Missing.
Three of the crew were later buried at Brandesburton churchyard, Yorkshire, where they still lie.
Gunter Reinelt was born on 24th September 1918 at Annahütte Kalau
Rudolf Lorenz was born on 13th July 1919 at Philippsdorf Sudetengau
Heinrich Wulf was born on
