ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 273981
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| Date: | Sunday 3 September 1939 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: |  Junkers Ju 87B-1 |
| Owner/operator: | 4.(St)/Tr.Gr. 186 Luftwaffe |
| Registration: | 5220 |
| MSN: | J9+ML |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Hel, Pomeranian Voivodeship -
 Poland
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
In the morning, two German destroyers, Z1 Leberecht Maass and Z9 Wolfgang Zenker, were ordered to investigate the ships in the naval base at Hel. They spotted the Polish destroyer Wicher and the minelayer Gryf and engaged both ships at a range around 12,700 meters (13,900 yd) at around 06:55 hrs. As the Germans approached, Gryf and Wicher started shooting, and soon after them the coastal battery Heliodor Laskowski (four 152 mm guns). Polish return fire was more accurate and forced the German destroyers to make evasive maneuvers and to lay a smoke screen to throw off the aim of the Polish gunners. Leberecht Maass was hit at 0657 hrs, probably by a 152-mm shell from the coast defense battery defending the base, which knocked out power to No. 2 gun, disabled its shell hoists, killed four crewmen (MtrOGfr Wilhelm Piepgras, MtrOGfr Felix Simon, MtrGfr Louis-Friedrich-Paul Sommerlade and MaschOGfr Franz-Otto-Paul Tredup) and wounded another four. The Germans put up a smokescreen and sailed away. Leberecht Maass fired 77 rounds of 127 mm ammunition during the battle. Gryf also hit two or three times by 127 mm rounds. One of the Bofors anti-aircraft guns was destroyed and the left engine was damaged. Six sailors were killed, including the second signaling officer, second lieutenant Lech Dandelski, and a seventh later died from his wounds.
Around 09:00 hrs appeared over the port of Hel Ju 87s of 4.(St)/Tr.Gr. 186. Due to the heavy fire of the Polish anti-aircraft defense, the raid was carried out from a great height. Most of the bombs were dropped on the Gryf, one of them hit the stern, several others exploded nearby. Two more sailors were killed and the ship caught fire, which threatened with an explosion in the stern ammunition chambers. To prevent this from happening, commander Hryniewiecki gave the order to sink them. Of the 8 dead aboard Gryf on this day, four are known: podporucznik mar. II oficer sygnałowy Lech Mieczysław Dandelski, bosman Stanisław Marzec, st. marynarz Kobus and marynarz Jenczelewski). Five other crew of Gryf are known to have died this day, but not in Hel, and were possibly killed in ground battles as part of the crew had left the ship to join improvised units to defend the area.
During the next raid, the German pilots concentrated their attacks on Wicher A raid around 11:00 hrs did no damage. In the morning raids, the Germans lost one aircraft shot down by AA fire, the Ju 87 B-1 WNr 5220 (J9+ML) of 4.(St)/Tr.Gr. 186. Both crew, Uffz Wilhelm Czupryn (pilot) and Funkmaat Erich Reinhard (air gunner), were killed.
Shortly after 13:00 hrs, seaplanes from Kü.Fl.Gr.506 and Kü.Fl.Gr.706 seaplanes appeared over the headland, drawing the attention of the defenders. German dive bombers from 4.(St)/Tr.Gr. 186, commanded by Hauptmann Erich Blattner, launched their attack. In a short time, Wicher was hit with four bombs, in the fore deck, side and amidships. One crew, st. marynarz Edward Kwiatkowski, was killed, and about 20 (17 to 22 according to various reports) were injured. The ship rolled over to starboard and sank at the wharf in the shallow water of the harbor basin. The accounts of some witnesses confirm the fact that the rescuing Poles were fired on by the on-board weapons at the planes.
During the raids against the Wicher, one of the bombs hit the amidships of the still burning Gryf, causing further damage. Gryf's fate was completed around 18:00 hrs after the bombing by seaplanes from 3./Kü.Fl.Gr.506 and 3./Kü.Fl.Gr.706. The wall of the floating dock torn by the explosion pierced the side, causing a fuel leak that was ignited by another bomb. With the pumps out of order, the fire could no longer be contained, the exploding spare anti-aircraft ammunition prevented the rescue teams from getting close to the Gryf. After the evacuation of the crew, it settled at the bottom of the harbor basin, burning for the next two days.
Sources:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORP_Gryf_(1936)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_destroyer_Z1_Leberecht_Maass
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORP_Wicher_(1928)
https://www.gdynia.pl/o-gdyni/module/Files/controller/Default/action/downloadFile/hash/5eea281096c6d76e0794202012407f22
http://www.luftwaffe-zur-see.de/Seeluft/Verlustlisten/Jahr1939.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hel_Fortified_Area
http://www.maplandia.com/poland/pomorskie/puck/hel/
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hel_(Polen)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jan-2022 18:19 | Laurent Rizzotti | Added |
| 12-Jan-2022 16:59 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator] |
| 24-Mar-2022 20:51 | TigerTimon | Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Source] |
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