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Halifax II DT620 crashed in the Baltic Sea off Store
Heddinge 14/3-1943.
The aircraft belonged to RAF 138 Sqn. Bomber Command and was coded NF-T.
T/O 17:50 Tempsford. OP: SOE to Drop Zone Wrona 614 in Poland.
At Fliegerhorst Kastrup Staffelkapitän Oberleutnant Martin Drewes of 7./NJG 3
was alerted by the Jägerleitoffizier of radar “Seehund” who reported that
several enemy aircrafts was crossing Sjælland from west towards east at low
level. At this level the radar was not able to assist the night fighter and he
could only give the course of the aircraft.
Just after take off in his Bf 110 coded D5+DR Drewes sighted a Halifax at 200
metres height and opened fire at a distance of 80 metres. After a short bust the
Halifax started burning, exploded in the air and fell into the Baltic Sea off
Harvig at 21:42 hours. It fell on 8 metres of water 200 metres from the coast
east of Fisherman Jens Hansens property.
It was DT620 with the crew of Pilot F/S Leslie R.Smith, Co pilot Sgt Horace
R.Harrap RNZAF, Wop Sgt Thomas Mairs, Navigator/Air Bomber Sgt Colin
F.Chambers, Air Gnr. F/S Eugene S.Masson RCAF, Wop/Air Gnr. Sgt Donald R.Ross
RCAF and Flt Engr. Sgt Arthur C.Sixsmith who all perished.
Sgt Mairs have no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial
while Sgt Chambers rests in Fjelie, Sweden. His body was found washed ashore
next to Villa Hage in Bjerred between Malmø and Halskrona on 4/5 1943 at 20:30
hrs. He was found to carry a parachute harness but no chute. The body was left
there for the night guarded by military from the local barracks. In the morning
the body was examined by the local police and laid in a coffin and taken to the
local chapel in Fjelie. Chambers was laid to rest in Fjelie cemetery on 26/5
1943 with full military honours. Military clergyman E. Eberhard performed the
graveside ceremony.
On 15/3 at 00:30 hours a body was found on the beach next to Jens Hansens
property. At 06:30 hours one more flyer was found near by. Both bodies were
taken to Rødvig and handed over to the German Wehrmacht who brought them to
Fliegerhorst Kastrup.
It must have been Mason and Ross who were laid to rest in Copenhagen Bispebjerg
cemetery on 19/3-1943 at 11:00 hrs. A Evangelical Clergyman performed the
graveside ceremony and personnel from the Swiss Consulate in København was
present.
The funeral was ordered by Oberstleutnant and Fliegerhorstkommandant Volbehr and
Oberleutnant Gombert was in charge of the funeral procession. With him were 1
Unteroffizier and 4 men from the Horstkompanie Kastrup and 1 Unteroffizier and 8
men from Flakuntergruppe Seeland as well as 1 Ensign and 8 men from the
Ln.-Stelle. Dress code was: Service uniform without overcoat, with helmet and
carbine, no gas mask. Unteroffizier Ernst of the Bildstelle was present and took
three pictures which was afterwards placed with the deceased`s documents. The
Gruppe Verwaltung der Fl.H.Kdtr. L Kastrup procured two wreaths for the grave.
The coffins were borne into the Chapel of the Bispebjerg cemetery and from there
through the Untergruppe Seeland to the open grave and lowered into it. The salut
of honour was ordered by Oberleutnant Gombert after the consecration of the
bodies in the open grave.
On 21/3 a body was washed ashore near Rødvig. It was secured by the Danish
police and taken to the hospital at Store Heddinge. The body was severely
mutilated and was dressed in a blue grey uniform with three chevrons and a gold
crown on the right upper arm. Futhermore it carried the mark RAS in gold. On
22/3 it is reported that the body had been collected by the Wehrmacht. It must
have been Sgt Smith who was laid to rest in Bispebjerg cemetery on 26/3-1943.
(Via Finn Buch)
Co pilot Sgt Horace R. Harrap
On 29/3 a fisherman brought the body of a flyer to Rødvig harbour. The
Wehrmacht had hired the fisherman to retrieve the aircraft wreck from the sea,
and doing this he had found the body. It was the body of F/Sgt Harrap who was
laid to rest in Bispebjerg cemetery on 7/4-1943.
On 14/4 Fisherman Jens Hansen found yet another body which was taken to Store
Heddinge hospital. It was collected by the Fliegerhorstkommandantur Kastrup on
the same day. Apparently it was the remains of Sgt Mairs who according to some
sources was identified at the hospital, but to this day rests as an unknown
airman in Bispebjerg cemetery.
Staffelkapitän Oberleutnant Martin Drewes
Sources: Letter from Martin Drewes, LBUK, AS 15-42, FAF, Flyhistorisk
Tidsskrift 2-88, CWGC, BCL, RL 19/455. Sonderbefehl Nr. 7.
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