Can anyone tell me if there were any Luftwaffe aircraft lost over Northern Ireland during World War II? An elderly friend of mine, who has since passed away, was based at RAF Ballykelly after the war. He told me that he thought there were two Luftwaffe pilots buried in a church graveyard somewhere on the North coast. He didn't elaborate and unfortunatley I cannot ask him further. I would be grateful if anyone can shed any light on this.

YOUR RESPONSES

Rosemary Nelson - Feb '08
I lived to the North of Belfast and seem to remember that a German plane came down in the Lough. I remember the searches of the houses in Trooperslane, looking for the pilot. I think the plane came down opposite Lady Clark's property which was on the shores of the Lough between Carrickfergus and North Belfast. I was only a young child at the time but I do remember the planes over the Lough. Could anyone help with these memories?
I now live in Australia and would like to contact anyone who would remember these events.

Michael McCartney - Mar '07
My mother was evacuated from Belfast in 1940, to a farnm in the north of Ireland. At one time a Kraut aircraft did crash on the farm. Soldiers cordoned off the area of the crash. That's all I know. Mom died in 1976 of cervical cancer, thnks to a lousy diet and impoverished living conditions in Belfast, imposed by the ruling classes during the Thirties. Small wonder they emigrated to Canada in 1953 and never went back!

Paul Pender - Nov '06
I am wondering if anyone can help me, I am looking for information on a he-111 that crashed in the blackstairs mountains in County Wexford, Southern Ireland on Oct 11, 1941 killing 4 airmen, I am trying to find the exact crash site as I live nearby and would like to visit the site, any info would be very helpful, I already have found the names of the airmen and the planes reg number, thank you.

EddieBallymena - Mar 06
Any queries you might have, ask Ernie Cromie, of the Ulster Aviation Society. They have a web page, with his contact details on it. I know for a fact that he has extensive research built up over 30 years about allied aircraft that had crashed all over Ulster, so he may have info on other Axis aircraft, if there were any....

'Carrieduff' - June 05
Did a German Aircraft not come down close to Six road ends between Bangor and Newtownards sometime around 1942? Apparently it crash-landsd into a field, the farmer and his wife rescued the pilot, brought him into their farmhouse, gave him an Ulster fry and then called the security guys.

Vance Pollock, Iceland - May 05
Friday, 19th/Saturday, 20th July 1940 N321
1/KG40 Focke-Wulf FW200C. Brought down by AA fire during a minelaying sortie and crashed into the North Sea between Hartlepool and Sunderland 23.55. Fw H. Kulken and Fw K. Nicolai both captured unhurt. Fw W. Meyer killed. Hptmn R. Stesszyn (Staffelkapitän), Gefr S. Zaunig and Gefr J. Perl all missing believed killed. Aircraft F8+EH lost. The body of Willy Meyer was later washed ashore on the Yorkshire coast and originally buried at Driffield. Undercarriage leg trawled ashore and now in the North-East Aircraft Museum.

Clive Moore - April '05
Several luftwaffe aircraft are known to have come down in the sea around Nothern Ireland, none however crashed on land. A Focke - Wulf Condor belonging to 1st Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 40 (I/KG40) crashed on the 25th of July 1940 whilst on a minelaying sortie at the mouth of Belfast Lough. Three survivors were picked up by a anti-submarine trawler and landed at Larne, no bodies are on record as being recovered.

Squadron Leader J.W Simpson, C.O. of 245 Sqdn based at Aldergrove, shot down two Luftwaffe aircraft whilst stationed there - A Heinkel 111, east of Downpatrick during the air raid on Belfast, during 7/8th April 1941, and a Junkers 88, brought down near Ardglass on 6th May, both aircraft crashing into the sea.

Quite a number of Luftwaffe aircraft did crash in the South either from accidents or combat. About 140 Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine men were interned at the Curragh Camp, separated from Allied servicemen interned, only by a barbed wire fence. There is also a German cemetery in Co Wicklow. It seems unlikely there are any Luftwaffe aircrew buried on the North Coast, although it would be interesting if anyone can prove otherwise.

Patrick - Feb 08
Message to Paul Pender: If you are still looking for the crash site on the Blackstairs mountains I can help you with it.

Rosemary Nelson - Feb 08
I lived to the North of Belfast and seem to remember that a German plane came down in the Lough. I remember the searches of the houses in Trooperslane, looking for the pilot. I think the plane came down opposite Lady Clark's property which was on the shores of the Lough between Carrickfergus andNorth Belfast. I was only a young child at the time but I do remember th planes over the Lough. Could anyone help with these memories?
I now live in Australia and would like to contact anyone who would remember these events.