Heinkel He.111 G1+FP near Long Riston.
In the early hours of 9th May 1941 this aircraft was en-route to bomb Sheffield when it was intercepted by a Defiant night-fighter while over the Hull area.
The Defiant's crew attacked and set fire to the Heinkel's port engine, stopped the starboard engine and killed the pilot. Two of the crew then attempted to
bale out, one of which broke his neck in a heavy landing. The other who baled out suffered his parachute opening too close to the aircraft and it caught in the tail-plane.
The remaining airman (the observer) had to stay inside the aircraft when his parachute opened inside the aircraft, he returned to the cockpit and made a rough landing in a field near Criftins Farm, about a mile north of Long Riston at
01.40hrs. This airman spent a long period of time in hospital probably after sustaining injuries in the landing having not strapped himself in.
My wife's grandmother Margaret Robson was a member of the WAAF and in 1941 was employed in driving ambulances. One night while stationed in the Hull area she was instructed to pick up an injured German airman and later the same night
she was instructed to collect the body of another German airman from a crashed enemy aircraft in the Hull area. I spoke with her at length about this incident. She could not recall the date or location but the only
incident this could relate to are the losses on this night. The dead airman she collected was probably the wireless operator (who died as a result of being dragged down with the aircraft at Long Riston). The survivor
could relate to any of the Germans who baled out of the other two aircraft on this night, however as the others were less seriously injured I suspect that a solo 21 year old female ambulance driver would not be the choice
of guard for these airmen and they were probably taken care of by military units. The most likely the injured airman she collected is the observer (who sustained injuries in striking the cockpit in the Long Riston incident),
whom she took to a hospital in Hull.
Pilot - Fw Gerhard Ender, (killed in the attack). Buried Cannock Chase Cemetery, Staffordshire.
Observer - Fw Heinrich Muller, (seriously injured), PoW.
Wireless Operator - Uffz Bruno Schakat, (baled out but caught in tail). Buried Cannock Chase Cemetery, Staffordshire.
Mechanic - Fw Georg Schopf (baled out but broke neck on landing), PoW.
The graves of the two airmen who died in this incident.
The Heinkel aircraft in the field at Long Riston.
