Kings Somborne Junkers Ju 88A-1 Memorial
This memorial is located next to a Hampshire bridleway and remembers the crew of a Junkers Ju88A-1 crew of I/KG54, which was shot down during the Battle of Britain.
Junkers Ju88A-1 - www.britmodeller.com
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The memorial is located some two miles away from the aircraft crash site and is incorrectly dated, as the bomber was brought to earth on 21 August 1940 at 1415 hours. The crew were all killed, and the Junkers burned out. The Ju 88 had commenced its flight from Evreux, France. The intended target was the Supermarine works located at Eastleigh. A circuitous route took the bomber to St Alban's Head, then to Shaftesbury, before a turn to Salisbury and then onto Romsey. The crew of the aircraft were Oberleutnant Birkenstock, Obergefreiter Freude, Unteroffizier Schulze and Gefreiter Becker.
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Plt Off. Bob Doe - www.the gazette.co.uk
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As the lone Ju 88 made its way over southern England, it had not gone unnoticed by the Y Sector controller of 10 Group. Spitfires of 234 Squadron's Red Section from Middle Wallop were scrambled to make an interception. The pilots were Sqn Ldr J. S. O'Brien (Red 1), Flt Lt C. L. Page (Red 2) and Plt Off. R. T. F. Doe (Red 3). The section soon located the Ju 88, and O'Brien and Doe closed with the bomber, raking it with machine-gun fire and sending it to the ground north of Kings Somborne. The kill was O'Brien's first victory, which he shared with Doe, who was now an Ace with five confirmed kills. Keen to see the results of their work, O'Brien drove Doe to the crash scene where the still smouldering Ju 88 had attracted a crowd of local onlookers. Doe was horrified when he saw the remains of the crew and the results of the interception. He vowed there and then never to go and witness the outcome of such an action again.
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An element of mystery surrounds the crash, as there appears to be no known burial place for the crew. Their remains were removed from the site in the back of an army truck, but no one seems to know where they went or what became of them.
Efforts to raise a memorial in the village to the crew after the war did not materialise. However, in the summer of 1951, Mrs Flora Firbank of Hopland's Estate offered her land to erect a small memorial. At the time, the names of the crew were not known, but later, a small brass plate was added identifying the men. This is what can be seen today and is located below the path of the Ju 88 at the end of its final flight, although it is located two miles away from the crash site.
Efforts to raise a memorial in the village to the crew after the war did not materialise. However, in the summer of 1951, Mrs Flora Firbank of Hopland's Estate offered her land to erect a small memorial. At the time, the names of the crew were not known, but later, a small brass plate was added identifying the men. This is what can be seen today and is located below the path of the Ju 88 at the end of its final flight, although it is located two miles away from the crash site.
Image - Richard Hall