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| Date: | Tuesday 15 August 1939 |
| Time: | 06:00 approx |
| Type: |  Junkers Ju 87B Stuka (13x) |
| Owner/operator: | Luftwaffe |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 26 / Occupants: 26 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Świętoszów -
 Poland
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Cottbus, Germany |
A dive-bombing demonstration was being put on for senior Luftwaffe commanders.
I./ St.G.76 commanded by Captain Walter Sigel was assigned the task.
The demonstration was to be carried out by the twenty-six Stukas of the Gruppe just after daybreak.
A weather reconnaissance of the target, a forested area near Neuhammer, was carried out and the pilot reported to Captain Sigel that there was broken cloud over the objective between 6,000 and 2,500 feet, but the visibility below the cloud base was good.
Unfortunately however, the cloud layer turned into a bank of early morning fog extending to the ground in the half hour or so that it took the Gruppe to fly to the target, and Sigel could not be informed by those on the ground as he did not have radio communications with them.
The 26 dive bombers commenced their attack at 12,000 feet and soon plunged into the murk.
Alarmed by the prolonged dive without cloud break Captain Sigel was shocked to suddenly see tree tops appearing in the mist in front of him. Shouting a warning to his pilots over the R/T he began a desperate pull out from his 70-degree dive.
He escaped a crash narrowly but 13 of his Stukas did not and ploughed into the ground, killing their 26 pilots and gunners.
Sources:
Wheal, John, "Combat Aircraft Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader 1937-41", Osprey Puplishing, London, 1997, p. 15.
Wikipedia
Luftwaffe War Diaries.
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Aug-2009 05:51 | angels one five | Added |
| 09-Aug-2009 13:25 | angels one five | Updated |
| 28-Aug-2009 18:34 | angels one five | Updated |
| 20-Jul-2011 09:16 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Narrative, ] |
| 20-Aug-2011 14:04 | Uli Elch | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, ] |
| 05-Nov-2011 23:58 | angels one five | Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, ] |
| 06-Nov-2011 01:54 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 06-Nov-2011 01:56 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative, ] |
| 10-Jan-2012 08:38 | Uli Elch | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 10-Jan-2012 15:40 | angels one five | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | Anon. | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-May-2015 07:51 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 15-Dec-2016 22:27 | angels one five | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source, ] |
| 20-Dec-2016 20:54 | Anon. | Updated [Source, ] |
| 10-Apr-2017 08:54 | TB | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 14-Jan-2018 17:40 | angels one five | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source, ] |
| 21-Jun-2021 19:18 | TigerTimon | Updated [Time, ] |
| 27-Sep-2021 19:04 | TigerTimon | Updated [Other fatalities, Photo, ] |
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