Ham & District Metal Detecting Club had just been given permission to detect on a farm in Alton Hampshire. The day of the dig was Sunday 19th October 2003, the weather for that day was abit chilly, bright blue sky & not a cloud to be seen anywhere. As Barry & I were in charge of the dig for the day as Site officers, we told the members that there was a story about a German Heinkel bomber which had crashed in one of the fields. I asked that if any member found the crash site Please let Barry or I know. As they set off for a good days detecting it was not long before I heard a voice on my radio; “Paul I think I have found the crash site” This came from Mike Oaten. I got myself over the field where he was which was up by the Selborne Road, “What have you got Mike”? I said. In his hand he had three 20mm cannon shells which looked like they had been in a very hot fire, he also had some bits of molten metal. While we were chatting about what Plane this might have been Mick Sammons another member came over. He had also found two 20mm cannon shells & these too had been in a hot fire as they looked like they had melted with the heat. Just looking around the field I tried to imagine what it had been like when this Heinkel bomber was crashing: sense’s of panic & devastation, did any one die here? That got me thinking, I had to discover who had been flying this plane.
The next day I started my investigation. First stop was some books that I had. Confirming a crash had occurred I then turned to the Winchester Record office & began looking at incident sheets for the 14/15 May 1944. I found that an explosion had taken place at Manor Farm West Worldham Hampshire at 2:25am. This was puzzling me, as this was two miles from our crash site. This got me thinking, were there two planes? I had to check this out. The next information source I turned to was the Internet. I have had great success from the net before. Typing in to Google; a search engine; “Luftwaffe Records of Losses around the UK,” this came up with a site called “The Luftwaffe over the Bristol area - German losses”. There were pages & pages of planes shot down on this one site. As I started to scroll down, I began to see that the targets they were going for was Filton airfield, Bristol Docks, Avonmouth & Bath & that the planes were Heinkel's & the date for these missions was 1941. This is looking good I thought. Going down the list, as the years were going up; 1941, 42, 43 still no sign of our plane, no record of it anywhere. I changed websites to “Hampshire Aircraft Crashes and Accidents” It should be in here I thought. As I scrolled down through the many aircraft crashes over the years from 12th July 1910 with the death of Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls, at Southbourne in his Short-Wright Biplane to the most recent on the 4th September 2003 two gliders collided over Lasham, both aircraft crashed but both pilots parachuted safely. So it has to be in here. As I was going down the many lists from 1910 I came to 1939. This is the start of World War Two. It was a real shock to see how many planes had crashed in Hampshire throughout out the air war. Coming to the end of the list there was still no sign of our Heinkel. Where is it? I thought. Continuing on down this list, Suddenly I saw a name of a Village that I recognised it was West Worldham. This was it, I had found it but thinking back to the beginning at Winchester Record office looking at the incident sheets for the 14/15 May 1944 the explosion that took place at Manor Farm West Worldham was in fact a Plane crashing & the plane was a Junkers Ju 188A-2 & there was more. It was shot down by an RAF Mosquito it also said that three crew members were killed. This started me thinking again, was there a dog fight over here on 14/15 May 1944 & was our plane in the field back at Alton, part of that dog fight? That was it I needed to know more now. I wanted the names of the crew of the downed Junkers Ju 88 & the crew names of the Mosquito that took part. I started a big search on the internet that would take me three days to complete This is the story that I found out about that terrible night.
The story about the Heinkel battle over Alton was infact a dog fight between a Junkers Ju 188A-2 & a De Havilland Mosquito. It all began late on Sunday 14th of May 1944 the weather was fair to fine when the 11 Junkers 88 took off from their base in France as part of a large wave of bombers. Also on that mission they were joined by 4 Dornier Do 217 over the English Channel. Their target for that night’s mission was Filton near Bristol. As the first wave of bombers approached the English coast they were picked up by radar & fired upon from anti aircraft guns but were able to continue on course to target. By this time the night fighters were scrambled from their airfields. These were Mosquito’s, they had a right to be worried as D-Day was just 22 days away & none of these planes must be able to report back. As they climbed up to the flight level of the Junkers the first to get hit was Ju 188A-2, Wnr.160089. The Crew was Heinz Muhlberger, Werner Heinzemann, Ewald Steinbeck, Artur Kruger & Willi Eberle. The plane started to take some serious damage from the Mosquito fighter which was flown by F/O A.S Mc Evoy & F/O.M.N Austin from 256 Sqn. The Junkers started to lose height & was on fire & going down fast. Heinz Muhlberger bailed out of the stricken plane but Werner Heinzemann, Ewald Steinbeck, Artur Kruger & Willi Eberle were killed as the plane slammed into the ground at Greenland’s Artillery Range, Larkhill Wiltshire. By now the second wave of bombers was well into the mission when they came under fire from Night Fighters. The first of four Dornier Do 217 K-1 WNR 4410 was flown by Lnt.nnes Domschke, Uffz Emil Chmielewski, Uffz Waldemar Jungle & Uffz Otto Schott.
On board they had four 500 LB bombs which were for the target. The night Fighter started to fire upon the Dornier. Things were going very wrong, they tried to jettison the bombs, the rounds of ammunition from the mosquito were ripping the plane apart. Lnt.nnes Domschke was hit & died at his controls; the order came to bail out. The mosquito was on them all the time flown by F/O R.G.Jeffs & F/O E.Spedding from 488 Sq. The Dornier was falling from the night sky with the body of Lnt.nnes Domschke on board. The plane crashed at Camel Cross Cafe, West Camel, near Yeovilton, Somerset. The rest of the crew were captured by the home guard as POW’s. This was turning into a bad night for the Luftwaffe. The rest of the aircraft made it to the target zone & started dropping their bombs. For a brief moment the crews could get on with the job in hand, with all the bombs dropped on Filton & surrounding areas they started their return home, in just 2 hours time they could be back on home soil. As the ten Junkers 188A-2 & the three Dornier Do 217 made their way back home they kept an eye out for the night fighters they knew at any moment could strike with deadly force. Suddenly All hell broke loose, the night fighters were on them once again. One by one the Luftwaffe planes were going down, many Young men dying in their planes. Some Planes made it to the coast only to crash into the sea. But the RAF didn’t have it all their own way.
One Junkers 188A-2 Wnr.1804440 flown by Pilot Flying Officer Karl von Manowarda & his crew Flight Sergeant Ernst Fröhlich, Sergeant Heinrich Kaiser, Flight Mechanic Sergeant Horst Wolf & Flight Sergeant Paul Schmaler, had broken away from the formation & were trying to get home on their own. For some reason they still had two 500lb bombs on board. They came across a night fighter flown by F/Lt. C.M.Ramsay DFC & his navigator F/O. John Edgar DFC. The crew of the Junkers fired on the Mosquito but it got away, it was from 264 Squadron assisting Mc Evoy & Austin on that night who were from 256. F/Lt. C.M.Ramsay DFC & F/O. John Edgar DFC were from Hartford Bridge. By this time F/Lt. C.M.Ramsay had got his Mosquito behind Pilot Karl von Manowarda Junkers & began the dog fight over the Market Town of Alton. Karl von Manowarda tried his best to get his plane & crew out of F/Lt. C.M.Ramsay’s gun sites, but the Mosquito fired its 20mm Hispano cannon at the Junkers both Ramsay & Edgar saw their cannon shells slam into Karl von Manowarda plane ripping it apart. Not to be out done, a Junkers crew member returned fire hitting the Mosquito which in a way proved fatal to the plane. Both planes were in a bad way; the fight was about to end over Alton four crew members were about to die in this dog fight. F/Lt. C.M.Ramsay fired one more time at the Junkers sending it down but the Mosquito was also going down on fire. F/Lt. C.M.Ramsay shouted to his navigator to bail out, & then did so himself, but F/O.John Edgar down with his plane. The Mosquito came down in flames in the field near Whitehouse Farm on the Selborne Road. F/Lt. C.M.Ramsay landed close by but there was nothing he could do to help his friend . The Junkers by this time was breaking up big time & it too was on Fire, also it still carried two 500lb bombs on board Karl von Manowarda told his crew to bail out but only Pilot Karl von Manowarda & Flight Sergeant Ernst Fröhlich did so receiving severe burns from the fire on board. They parachuted to safety & were soon picked up by the home guard & given medical treatment for their burns & injuries that they had suffered. The Junkers exploded just before hitting the ground. Parts of the plane were scattered over a wide area which was the result of one of the 500lb bombs exploding. The other bomb came to rest opposite Manor Farm, West Worldham, Hampshire in a small paddock.
This one was a UXB. An eye witness at the time said” the road around the farm & church was a blaze with aviation fuel lighting up the night sky, one of the Junkers’s engine’s was smouldering in the middle of the road. Parts of the plane were everywhere. One part of the fuselage came to rest against the St Nichola’s church wall as if someone had just placed it there for safe keeping & was coming back for it later. All this took place at 2.25am on 15th May 1944. The bodies of (Navigator/Bomb Aimer) Sergeant Heinrich Kaiser age 24, Flight Mechanic Sergeant Horst Wolf age 24, & Gunner Flight Sergeant Paul Schmaler age 29 were found in different fields near the crash. In the Day light of Monday 15th the weather was fair with slight showers F/O.John Edgar’s body was recovered from his downed Mosquito. He was taken back to his home town Leadgate ST.Ives & buried with full Military Honours As for bodies of Heinrich Kaiser, Horst Wolf, Paul Schmaler they were also found at day break. They were taken to Brookwood Military Cemetery where they were laid to rest. Saturday the 15th May 2004 will be 60 years to the date that 4 young men lost their lives over the Market Town of Alton & small village of West Worldham. Also on the same mission the Luftwaffe lost 13 young men killed & 29 missing & 9 were taken POW’s at least their war was over. Most of the crews on that night would have been in their 20’s like so many other young men, they had given their lives for their Country. I felt that I knew these 4 young men in a funny sort of way I had to visit them & pay my respects. Even the Luftwaffe crew were just carrying out orders, fighting a war that they thought was right. After all I have discovered over the last three days I wondered if any of the men who survived are still living today. I contacted the RAF Museum in Hendon who were very helpful & gave me a name of a website that might be of use. This website was none other than 264 Squadron. On the website was a name for contact, Geoff Faulkner. I gave Geoff a ring right away, I started to tell him all about the story & what I was looking for. There was a stunned silence on the other end of the phone but then Geoff spoke. “So” he said “you want to know all about my best friend F/Lt. Charles. M. Ramsay who few Mosquito night fighters in 1944”.
Geoff told me that F/Lt. Charles. M. Ramsay is alive & well & living in Holland with his wife & that he attends the 264 Squadron Reunion when he can. Geoff also told me that Pilot Flying Officer Karl von Manowarda of the downed Junkers 188A-2 was also still alive & has been in contact with F/Lt. Charles. M. Ramsay to talk about 14th/15th May 1944 But that’s another story. So the next time you're out metal detecting and find a canon shell in a field just look at it & it just might have a story to tell....
Now I thought that was the end of the story, But just two weeks after I wrote the story for a Magazine, I had a Phone Call at home from F/Lt Charles Ramsay of 264 Squadron, I was Speechless to say the least, Geoff had told F/Lt Charles Ramsay that I had found his Aircraft. We chatted for 20 minutes about that night back in 1944, He told me things that was not in the story & that what I had written was just about the truth of it with some parts missing, He started to tell me what happen on that night on the 14th /15th May 1944.. F/Lt Charles Ramsay sent me a four page letter about the last moments of him & Johnny had together in the Mosquito before it crashed. One day soon I will fill in the gaps of the last Moments F/Lt Charles Ramsay DFC & John Edgar DFC spent together.. I can tell you chatting to him was unreal it was like chatting to a Ghost but in this case he is a live at 87. I can tell you this is the best way to end this story I could not have wished a better ending. Sadly in 2005 Mr Charles Ramsay he like to be know as passed away peacefully in his sleep at the grand old of 88.. The Shells in the Photo are from F/Lt. Charles. M. Ramsay that he had on board his Mosquito that night..
Paul - UK
