REASON FOR LOSS:

This aircraft flew into hillside whilst low flying and was totally wrecked. Junkers Ju.88, was being chased by a Bristol Beaufighter from No.219 Squadron and hit hillside at Linhope Rig near Powburn in the early hours of 25th March 1943.

Mr Fairington, of Wooler,Northumberland.

I was working at a place called Linhope Spout. On one particular day as we had arrived there on a job. A shepherd came running towards us and into our building to ring the authorities as he had discovered a German plane (model - Junkers 88) that had crashed there the night before. During my lunch break, I went down to the RAF ambulance to see what was happening. Three officials were carrying away bodies of the two German pilots in blankets. I remember vividly that a pilots arm dropped out of the blanket upon which it was being carried, and the Sgt picking it up by the fingers and just throwing it in the ambulance. Furthermore, the army were called in because they thought that one of the bodies was missing from the planes and they were sent out to search for it. However, they found a log book in one of the German planes which stated that the pilot had actually been killed the night before during an evening raid in Hull.

Radio operator Karl Kleih (via Hall)


Wreckage of this Ju 88 still exists to this day at the crash site (Net)

Burial detail:

Ofw. Friedrich Lang and his three crew were all buried in Chevington Cemetery.

If anyone lives near to this cemetery we would be most grateful for images of the crew’s graves to add to this page of remembrance, you will of course be duly credited.

Researched and compiled by Melvin Brownless with thanks to Steve Hall, updated August 2013.