An Orkney dive boat has found the remains of a second world war bomber on the seabed off Lerwick. Divers from the Stromness based Valkyrie have located the final resting place of a Luftwaffe Junkers 88 bomber which was on a long range reconnaissance mission over Orkney and Shetland in March 1944 when it was shot down by anti aircraft fire from batteries in Lerwick and Bressay. Although the existence of the wreck had been known about - until now the exact position had remained a mystery. Hazel Weaver the owner of the Valkyrie takes up the story. On the 5th March 1944 the Junkers 88 D-1 bomber A6+BH of the Aufklarungsgruppe 120 (Reconnaissance group 120) based in Sola, Norway and another aircraft from the group were on a long range reconnaissance mission over Orkney and Shetland to report on shipping movements and defences. Separating from his wingman East of Orkney, Feldwebel Eugan Marggraf approached Shetland and flew at 300 meters Northwards. Nearing land he was immediately engaged by the alert gunners of the Lerwick 3.7 inch anti-aircraft batteries and light anti-aircraft batteries on Bressay which opened fire hitting the JU88s port engine. The bomber was badly damaged and the Sergent (Feldwebel) had to ditch the aircraft close to the North end of Bressay where the crew of four had a chance to swim to shore. The radio operator Unteroffizier Anton Reisch, observer OberLeutenant Alfred Cardaun and the pilot Feldwebel Marggraf managed to escape the sinking aircraft and swam, unwounded to shore on a small island called The Holm of Beosetter. However the gunner, Unteroffizier Bruno Lindner was either killed in the crash or did not escape the bomber in time and perished. The three survivors were recovered by an air/sea rescue launch from Lerwick and were questioned by RAF intelligence before being interred as prisoners of war. Divers from the Mv Valkyrie had carried out a search of the area where the bomber was said to have crashed and after several unsuccessful attempts over the last two seasons, came up trumps in July this year, with the discovery of one of the engines. Further parts were discovered in subsequent dives and the widely scattered remnants of JU88, registration A6+BH have been found and photographed. The engine, a V12 Jumo aero engine, has been found in about 12 metres of water while sections of the aluminium skin and some parts of the aircraft frame lie deeper in almost 30 meters.. The aircraft is presumed to have broken up on impact and this combined with the action of the waves in the shallow waters and dredging operations have further dispersed the wreckage over a wide area. Further dives are planned over the next year and further parts of the aircraft including the second engine and undercarriage are expected to be found. Following the discovery, aircraft crash researchers Kevin Heath of Stromness in Orkney and Dave Earl undertook the painstaking work to identify the crashed aircraft and its crew. Kevin is one of the few researchers of this type in the country and provides huge volumes of information to help and facilitate the underwater discoveries around the Northern Isles. Many parts of his research are undertaken through “ARGOS” (Aircraft Research Group Orkney and Shetland) of which Dave is also a prominent member and researcher. Although the exact position of the JU88 must remain undisclosed, the approximate location will be released to provide some information to any living relatives of the lost airman.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 08:43:58 +0000