ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 277515
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| Date: | Saturday 25 April 1942 |
| Time: | 23:15 |
| Type: |  Junkers Ju-88A-6 |
| Owner/operator: | 12 Staf./KG 30. Luftwaffe - http://www.255.org.uk/pdf_ |
| Registration: | 5K+DW |
| MSN: | 3459 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Gwanceste Hill. Hundred House. Powys -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Evere airfield, Brussels. |
Mission: Raid.
Details:
During this stage of the war, the German Luftwaffe had been directed by Hitler and Reichmarshalll Goring to conduct vengeance and terror raids and the targets were taken straight out of the German tourist guide Baedeker books, the target on this night for the crew of Wk nr3459 was to conduct nuisance raids over the airfields surrounding the city of Bath the night before the main raid.
This aircraft was one of the less common A-6 variants of the successful Junkers 88 bomber. At 21:30hrs the crew took off from Evere airfield in Brussels and set course for Bath. Unknown to the Luftwaffe crews, the British had developed a radio and electronic signal called Meacon, which gave out a false signal. Upon checking his timings and navigation aids, Oberfeldwebel Kreienbrock saw ahead a wide strip of water, he probably deduced that they were off course and before he could get a fix, they became illuminated by searchlights below and received heavy accurate Flak. The guns below belonged to the AAA battery of 351/112 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment on Flat Holme mid channel in the Severn Estuary. The pilot, Oberleutnant Brixius threw the bomber all over the sky, trying to lose the flak. During this time the bomber had received a few hits including wounding the radio operator, Obergefeiter Kochon had shell slinters in his upper arm, the aircraft flew on apparently without any major components hit. They were now lost and apparently dis-orientated because the bomber made landfall near Chepstow and flew north up the Wye valley.
The Flat Holme Gun crews knew they had hit the Junkers and sent word that it was last seen heading northeast. The alert was sent.
255 squadron at RAF High Ercall operated the Bristol Beaufighter mark 2 in the night fighter roll.
Beaufighter X7933 was crewed by F/O Wyrill (pilot) and F/Sgt Willins (w/op & Radar/Op) were on interceptor practice over the city Hereford when they received the alert for E/A activities. Soon the ‘Bogey’ was detected, and its location sent to the Beaufighter crew. They obtained a visual in the vicinity of Hay on Wye and battle was joined. F/O Wyrill reduced his speed from 230mph to 160 to match the Bogey and not to overtake or collide. The glow from the E/A exhausts were observed and found they were identical to those of a Ju88 or a He111. The Bobey was weaving and not showing IFF. Wyrill committed, he fired a two second burst from 100 yards astern and hits were observed, and the bomber took evasive action and disappeared int mist. The Radar maintained contact and visual contact was re-established. F/O Wyrill fired a four second burst from his 20mm cannon and .50MG’s with numerous hits seen striking the bomber causing it to burst into flames and went down below the Beaufighters field of view.
Unseen by the Night-fighter, two crew members of the bomber bailed out leaving the doomed bomber to turn back on itself and plunge into the ground and explode on impact killing the pilot and air gunner.
Meanwhile the Beaufighter crew in their effort to regain a visual came down low and narrowly missed a chimney belonging to a house at Hundred House! The crew observed a huge blaze on the mountainside and the final resting place for the two crew and their bomber. Job done they returned to base.
On the ground the story continues, Police Constable Creed had just returned home, finishing his duties seeing the village pubs out and was still in his uniform, collecting firewood from the garden. Away in the direction of the Wye valley, the sound of irregular engines was easily identified as those from enemy aircraft. As the sounds drew closer, the sound of heavy gun fire and machine gun fire became evident as the battle in the skies drew to a close. He saw fire emitting from the enemy aircraft which he saw impacting onto Gwaunceste Hill two miles to the southeast, the noise was heard as far away as Brecon, 20 miles to the west.
As he took this incident in, his world suddenly exploded into an intense cacophony of noise when the Beaufighter pulled out of its dive and narrowly missed the chimney of his house (The house doubled as the Police Station). Tea and bed forgotten; Creed told his wife to phone Police Headquarters to report the crash. As she was doing this a neighbour who was a member of the local Home Guard drew up along with four other Platoon members in the car. Creed directed them to accompany him up to the crash site to see if anything could be done. On arrival, the scene that greeted them was like a scene from hell with exploding ammunition and the cracking and fizzing of burning aluminium, the only evident object to identify it as an enemy aircraft, was the tail sticking up adorned with the Swastika. There was no way of putting out the intense fire so all they could do was watch it burn. When the flames did die down one of the HG soldiers ventured closer in the attempt to identify the wreck, braving the intense heat and nauseating smell he managed to find a maker’s plate to identify the aircraft as a Junkers 88.
Leaving the Home Guard to deter unwelcome scavengers, Creed returned home to find his wife and Zoe Owens (the sister of one of the guardsmen) attending to an injured German crew member (Kochon), with another sitting by the fire (Kreienbrock), their identification papers, badges of rank and side arms were on the table.
Ofw Fritz Kreienbrock had descended by parachute and landed near the main trunk road and had scared the life out of a courting couple coming from the direction of Builth Wells, to whom he gave himself up putting them as his captors. They presented Fritz to the wife of PC Creed and left to return home.
Ogefr Paul Kochon had also survived his parachute decent and had landed over five miles away at an isolated Ffynnonau farm, badly injured from the flak splinter, he had no option than to give himself up and kicked the door to the farm. The farmer oblivious to the events over the other side of the hill. After getting over his shock of seeing a strange injured and bleeding German flyer at his door, had the sense to drive him to the Police house at Hundred House.
Daylight, the remainder of the Home Guard turned out and under the command of Sgt Weale patrolled the immediate area with the knowledge that two flyers were missing. An hour or so into their duties they spotted the abandoned canopy of Kreienbrocks parachute. Weale put his men into advantageous firing positions around the area with the view of arresting an injured German. Unknown to them the German was at the Police House after being ‘arrested’ by the courting couple during the night. When the news had got to the Platoon, and they posted a guard around the House the word was sent, and an escort was on its way from Llandrindod Wells to take Kreienbrock as a POW. Kochon was escorted to the hospital at Builth Wells for removal of the splinters, he too then became a POW. Both men saw out the war!
During this time PC Creed ventured up to the crash site to await the officials who would then take over the responsibility. On his way up he came across souvenir hunters coming down the hillside, they returned to the site with him and returned their ill-gotten spoils with a stern telling off! That day there was a steady stream of visitors to the site. Creed took it on himself to bring some dignity to the dead crewmen littered around the scene. Not of a squeamish disposition he collected the scattered remains of the crew and hid them under a sheet until they were collected with the help of the farmer at Llanhailo Farm, taken to the granary there. Afterwards with the help from members of the Home Guard, the farmer and some others took the remains to their first resting place at Glascwm Church.
Crew:
Oblt Guenter Brixius Luftwaffe. Pilot. Killed. @
Ofw Fritz Kreienbrock Luftwaffe. Nav’. Safe. POW.
Ogefr Paul Kochon Luftwaffe. R/Op. Injured. POW.
Fw Adolf Leibig Luftwaffe. A/Gnr. Killed. #
Buried:
@ & # Glascwm Churchyard.
British Government directive for the re-location of Axis soldiers, sailors, and airmen to the German War Graves (Deutsche Soldatenfriedhof)
Military Cemetery Cannock Chase. Block 7. Grave 103 & 104.
Wreckage:
I first visited the site during the late 80’s when the site was within a soft conifer forest, the impact crater and scaring was covered in forest litter and wreckage lay all around with a plaque and a rough cross evident. My second visit, the trees had been harvested and the site was extremely difficult to find but remained. The site now has been planted and is covered in baby pine trees!
A number of artifacts have been found including a flare pistol that ended up in the collection at RAF St Athan (its location now is unknown). Two gold signet rings were found belonging to the two crew members and was returned to the families in Germany.
Additional Information:
The crew of the Beaufighter;
F/O Hugh Graham Stanhope Wyrill DFC 89626 RAFVR was killed on the 20th of November 1942.
F/Sgt John Williams DFM gained a commission, served in North Africa, and survived the war.
Luftwaffe ranks, abbreviations, RAF equivalent.
Oblt = Oberleutnant = Flying Officer.
Ofw = Oberfeldwebel = Flight Sergeant.
Fw = Feldwebel = Sergeant.
Uo = Unteroffizier = Corporal.
Ogefr = Obergefeiter = Leading Airman.
Gefr = Gefreiter = Airman Class 1.
Beaufighter X7933 went to fly with 125 (Newfoundland) squadron RAF at RAF Fairwood Common.
Sources:
No Landing Place *Edward Doylrush*
nationalarchives.gov.uk
cwgc.gov.uk
aircrewrememberancesociety.co.uk/luftwaffelosses
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Apr-2022 05:36 | Davies 62 | Added |
| 05-Jun-2022 20:13 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator] |
| 05-Jun-2022 20:13 | Nepa | Updated [Destination airport, Operator] |
| 22-Oct-2023 18:32 | MDMC | Updated [[Destination airport, Operator]] |
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