They were shot down in the Lammermoors.
A
Heinkel
He 111 attempting reconnaissance in the Firth of Forth
area on
28 October
1939, was intercepted by British fighters and forced down,
the first to crash on British soil. Here firsthand impressions,
reprinted from the Observer, and the News Chronicle, of this
dramatic encounter.
Scottish countryfolk, and particularly the 600 inhabitants
of Humbie saw British fighters chase the German plane, which
tried hard to shake them off. They saw a display of aerobatics,
which held them spellbound, and finally the German machine
forced to earth. Over 100 people gathered on the high piece
of ground to watch the grim contest. One of them stated, The
plane was brought down about 2 miles away. It came down on
a hillside, struck a stone wall, and even then the pilot would
not give up. He tried to get the machine into the air again,
and ran along the ground for about half a mile before he had
to stop. In the air it was a fine sight. British planes chased
the raider for several miles, and the way they looped and
turned and twisted in the air as the German tried to get away
was marvellous.
Another eyewitness said that a German plane came very low
over the houses at Humbie. I heard machine gun fire and saw
a plane streak across the sky with British fighters in close
pursuit, He added. The enemy plane was forced down and taxied
across a field and then went up again very low and made for
the Lammermoorr Hills, where he was again forced down the
plane went through a wall and then taxied along the heather
and crashed into a hillside. And the verdict of the British
experts was, A fine achievement in circumstances. When the
machine came to a halt the pilot (Kurt Lehmkuhl) was assisted
out by his navigator (Rolf Niehoff ) the only uninjured member
of the crew. A policeman appeared shortly afterwards, and
the pilot speaking good English, said, We surrender as prisoners
of war. Please see to my gunners in the back of the aircraft.
Both the gunners were dead. The German pilot and his companion
were taken as prisoners to Edinburgh.
Other:
Articles:
The Second Great War.
Edited by Sir John Hamilton
The War Illustrated.
Edited by Sir John Hamilton
2194 Days Of War.
ISBN-10: 086136614X
For a complete list of
sources
