Donny Fenn1
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- East Kootenays
Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
Hate to be the ventral gunner on the Heinkel!
Check out the deck railings of the ship. /That He was very close!
Donny Fenn1
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- East Kootenays
... and no white face mask or camo on the rifle. Poorly composed PR pic.
Crash of a Heinkel He.111 in Jeneček: 2 killed
Date & Time: Jul 15, 1941
Type of aircraft: Heinkel He.111 (30108)"> Heinkel He.111
Operator: German Air Force - Deutsche Luftwaffe (31222)">
Registration: DA+AZ
Flight Phase: Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type: Training
Survivors: No
Site: Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule: Prague - Prague
Location: Prague-Ruzyne (24941)"> Prague-Ruzyne Prague (Hlavní mesto Praha) (15715)"> Prague (Hlavní mesto Praha)
Country: Czech Republic (13286)"> Czech Republic
Region: Europe
Crew on board: 2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board: 0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities: 2
Circumstances: The crew was conducting a local training flight at Prague-Ruzyne Airport. On approach, the airplane went out of control and crashed into houses located in the village of Jeneček, near the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were killed.
Crew:
Cpl Hans Marahrens, pilot,
Cpl Otto Herbst, copilot.
Explosion of SS John Burke
The attack
At about 0815 hrs, the first kamikaze appeared on the American ship's radar, and orders were immediately given for the convoy to begin evasive maneuvering.[17] Through holes in the clouds, the Japanese pilots sighted the large American force as it steamed through calm seas south of Cebu and Bohol Islands. Finding the convoy without air cover, a group of six Japanese planes began their attack. One of the pilots, flying an Aichi D3A "Val",[3] chose John Burke as his target. Diving through heavy anti-aircraft fire, the Japanese pilot had no intention of pulling out of his steep dive. At 1020, despite the damage to his aircraft, he crashed between Burke's #2 and #3 cargo holds.[14]
A brief flash of fire was visible to most of the ships in the convoy, and for several seconds, only smoke could be seen billowing from her hold. A few seconds later, a huge pillar of fire shot out of Burke's cargo hold, followed by an immense cloud of white smoke.[17] Within seconds all eyes were drawn to Burke where an enormous fireball erupted as her entire cargo of munitions detonated, instantly destroying the ship and killing her crew of 40 merchant marine sailors and 28[18] or 29[19] armed guards. For several seconds, Burke was not visible under an enormous mushroom cloud of smoke, fire and explosions. Several ships nearby were damaged by the force of the blast and flying fragments.[17] The shock wave rocked the entire convoy, and several ships reported that they had been torpedoed. A US Army "FS" type ship just aft of Burke was severely damaged by the blast, sinking before it could be identified.[3] As the cloud of smoke cleared, nearby ships closed on Burke's former position to search for survivors. It was soon clear that Burke, and all men aboard her, were gone.
The Combat Air Patrol arrived at 1213 after the weather cleared, providing air cover for the next three hours.[20]
The Japanese attack that morning was just the beginning of a two-day series of attacks on the convoy, costing several more ships and hundreds of lives. In spite of the near-constant attacks, the force reached its destination at 0648 December 30 with much-needed material for the Mindoro invasion.[21]
Today, SS John Burke's fragments lie 1,500 feet (457 m) below the surface, in the vicinity of 9°1'11"N 123°26'50"E,[22] the location the ship was last seen, in the strait between Negros, Siquijor Islands and Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines.[15]
The attack
At about 0815 hrs, the first kamikaze appeared on the American ship's radar, and orders were immediately given for the convoy to begin evasive maneuvering.[17] Through holes in the clouds, the Japanese pilots sighted the large American force as it steamed through calm seas south of Cebu and Bohol Islands. Finding the convoy without air cover, a group of six Japanese planes began their attack. One of the pilots, flying an Aichi D3A "Val",[3] chose John Burke as his target. Diving through heavy anti-aircraft fire, the Japanese pilot had no intention of pulling out of his steep dive. At 1020, despite the damage to his aircraft, he crashed between Burke's #2 and #3 cargo holds.[14]
A brief flash of fire was visible to most of the ships in the convoy, and for several seconds, only smoke could be seen billowing from her hold. A few seconds later, a huge pillar of fire shot out of Burke's cargo hold, followed by an immense cloud of white smoke.[17] Within seconds all eyes were drawn to Burke where an enormous fireball erupted as her entire cargo of munitions detonated, instantly destroying the ship and killing her crew of 40 merchant marine sailors and 28[18] or 29[19] armed guards. For several seconds, Burke was not visible under an enormous mushroom cloud of smoke, fire and explosions. Several ships nearby were damaged by the force of the blast and flying fragments.[17] The shock wave rocked the entire convoy, and several ships reported that they had been torpedoed. A US Army "FS" type ship just aft of Burke was severely damaged by the blast, sinking before it could be identified.[3] As the cloud of smoke cleared, nearby ships closed on Burke's former position to search for survivors. It was soon clear that Burke, and all men aboard her, were gone.
The Combat Air Patrol arrived at 1213 after the weather cleared, providing air cover for the next three hours.[20]
The Japanese attack that morning was just the beginning of a two-day series of attacks on the convoy, costing several more ships and hundreds of lives. In spite of the near-constant attacks, the force reached its destination at 0648 December 30 with much-needed material for the Mindoro invasion.[21]
Today, SS John Burke's fragments lie 1,500 feet (457 m) below the surface, in the vicinity of 9°1'11"N 123°26'50"E,[22] the location the ship was last seen, in the strait between Negros, Siquijor Islands and Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines.[15]
