Junkers Ju88 M2+AL near Speeton.
On the night of 9th / 10th July 1941 this aircraft was one of at least three that had set out from their base at Schipol, Holland to carry
out anti-shipping patrols of the North Sea between Whitby and Holy Island. Three aircraft would not make it back home and all three would crash
on the cliffs tops along the Yorkshire coast. One Junkers Ju88 crashed at Speeton just before midnight, another crashed near Sleights just after
midnight and this the third one crashed very close to the first near Speeton at 01.15hrs. They had all flown in from the sea at very low level to
avoid being picked up by ground-based radio detection systems along the East Coast. This third aircraft struck the ground at a shallow angle
near Speeton and the crew escaped remarkably well and became PoW's. Before capture they were able to set fire to the remains of the crashed
aircraft and had apparently taken their dinghy to the cliff top and was considering trying to get down to the shore and try and paddle away before
being captured and taken to Speeton where they stayed the night. One airman slightly injured his head in the crash.
Pilot - Hptm Heinrich Moog, PoW.
Observer - Lt Werner/Walter Blome, PoW.
Wireless Operator - Obfw Alfons Wiese/Wiesa. PoW.
Gunner - Fw Heinz Riehme, PoW.
The aircraft struck the ground at a shallow angle very close to the cliff top and slide across one field, over the field boundary and
came to rest in the field shown in the photograph above.
I was able to visit the site in March 2010 with Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Dick Barton. Dick had spent some time in the village
in the weeks before our visit and managed to find a resident who remembered the incident occuring. After Dick had cleared the visit with
the landowner, Mr Coleman of Speeton agreed to go with us to the site and show us the location, crops had been planted in the weeks before
the visit but afew small items were located on the surface confirming the location. I thank Mr Coleman for spending the day with us and
for his assistance in this visit. The makers plate shown below was found by Mr Colemans father the day after the accident and was taken home.
