Operation: Victoria Docks, London, England

Date: 1st November 1940 (Friday)

Unit No: 8./KG-55, Luftwaffe

Type: Heinkel He-111P-2

Serial: Werk #1571

Code: G1+JS

Base: Villacoublay/Süd, France

Location: Hornchurch, Essex

Pilot: Oblt. Hans Adalbert Tüffers, Luftwaffe, Age? PoW *

Beobachter: Uffz. Josef Haversteng, Luftwaffe, Age? PoW *

Bordfunker: Uffz. Richard Bubel, Luftwaffe, Age 22. KiA

Bordmechaniker: Uffz. Josef Juvan, Luftwaffe, Age 23. KiA

* Canadian PoW camps

Above: Oblt. Hans Adalbert Tüffers (Courtesy of the Kracker Luftwaffe archive)

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 1st November 1940 Oblt. Tüffers and his crew took off from Villacoublay/Süd in France on a bombing mission against the Victoria Docks in London. Their Heinkel was hit by Anti-Aircraft (AA) fire and it crashed on a block of flats in Matlock Gardens, Hornchurch, Essex.

Oblt. Tüffers and Uffz. Haversteng baled out and were captured with Oblt. Tüffers suffering a broken leg. Information received from researcher Michael O'Hagan, shows that Oblt. Tüffers and Uffz. Haversteng were both transferred to Canada, Tüffers in 1942 and Haversteng in 1941, and were interned in various camps there for the duration of the war. They were transferred back to the United Kingdom in 1946.

Uffz Bubel, and Uffz. Juvan perished when the aircraft crashed spewing fuel everywhere and bursting into flames. The burning fuel engulfed and killed a young family sheltering in an Anderson Air Raid Shelter at No.12 Matlock Gardens.

Above: A series of four images taken the next day showing the remains of the aircraft and the damage sustain to Matlock Gardens in Hornchurch, Essex (Courtesy of Steve Chinrey)

Notes:

8./KG-55 was Staffel 8 of Stab Gruppe III./Kampfgeschwader-55 "Grief" (8 Squadron, Command Group III, Battle Wing 55).

Ranks:

Oblt - Oberleutnant which equates to Flying Officer in the RAF;
Uffz - Unteroffizer which equates to Corporal in the RAF;
Ogefr - Obergefreiter which equates to a Leading Aircraftman (LAC) in the RAF.

Crew Role:

Beobachter (Bo) equates to Observer in the RAF;
Bordfunker (Bf) equates to Wireless Operator in the RAF;
Bordmechaniker (Bm) equates to Flight Engineer in the RAF;
Bordschütze (Bs) equates to Air Gunner in the RAF.

On the 15th September 1940, Oblt. Tüffers’ Heinkel He-111P-2, Werk #1586 G1+AT, was shot down by Spitfires from 152 Sqn, and crashed in the sea 5 miles SW of Swanage at 15:45 hrs. The Heinkel was jointly attacked and claimed as a probable by:

Fg Off. O'Brian flying as ‘Green 1’. Believed to be Peter Geoffrey St. George O'Brian 33329 RAF. He went on to attain the rank of Wg Cdr. and was awarded the DFC and Bar;

Plt Off. Watson flying as ‘Green 2’. Believed to be Plt Off. Arthur Roy Watson 44187 RAF. This was the first of three enemy aircraft destroyed before his Spitfire IA R6597 was shot down on the 28th November 1940 by Bf109s and was killed after his parachute was ripped after being caught on the aircraft when he baled out;

Sgt. Holland flying as ‘Green 3’. Believed to be Sgt. Kenneth Christopher Holland 754503 RAF. Although not credited with a partial claim he was involved in the attack and fired upon the Heinkel. Sgt. Holland was credited with 2 1/3 enemy aircraft destroyed but was KiA flying Spitfire 1A N3173, on the 25th September 1940 by a bullet fired from one of the gunners still aboard the He 111 he had shot down whilst he was following it down to confirm the crash.

Oblt. Tüffers and his Bo, Uffz Heinz Rothen were rescued by the Seenotdienst (Luftwaffe Sea Rescue Service). His Bf Uffz. Andreas Janson, Bm Uffz. Fritz Keil and Bs Ogefr. Rudolf Conrad were posted "Missing in Action” and memorialized on the Laboe Naval Memorial.

Burial details:

Crew:

Uffz. Bubel and Uffz. Juvan were initially buried at the Hornchurch Cemetery in Section Z, Grave 2 and Section Z, Grave 1 respectively. On the 15th November 1962 they were both finally laid to rest at the Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery.

Above: Grave marker for Uffz. Richard Bubel (Courtesy of Forscher scs, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

Uffz. Richard Bubel. Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery, Block 5, Reihe 9, Grab 214. Born on the 23rd March 1918 in Bierbach, Saarpfalz Kreis, Saarland, Germany. Son of Oswald and Katharina (née Riedinger) Bubel of Bierbach, Saarpfalz Kreis, Saarland, Germany.

Above: Grave marker for Uffz. Josef Juvan (Courtesy of Forscher scs, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

Uffz. Josef Juvan. Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery, Block 1, Reihe 2, Grab 44. Born on the 17th February 1917 in Bruckl, Carinthia, Austria. His mother was Maria Juvan, from Carinthia, Austria. His father is unknown.

Also commemorated on the War Memorial at Brückl, Bezirk St. Veit an der Glan, Kärnten, Österreich

Civilians:

Above: Grave marker for William James Bird his wife Margaret Catherine Bird and their daughter Joyce Margaret Bird (Courtesy of Jenna - FindAGrave)

William James Bird aged 29 (born in 1st Qtr of 1911 in Rochford, Essex), his wife Margaret Catherine (née Simmons) Bird aged 26 (born in the 3rd Qtr of 1914 in Poplar, London) and their daughter Joyce Margaret Bird, aged 2 (born on the 25th July 1938), were laid to rest at the Hornchurch Cemetery on the 8th November 1940 in Section A, Grave 1076.

Researched by Ralph Snape with thanks to Steve Chinrey for the crash photographs, and dedicated to the crew, their families and to William James Bird his wife and daughter and to their families (Apr 2024). Many thanks to Michael O'Hagan, PhD, for the PoW information. Michael has a blog outlining his research into the history of German PoWs in Canada. (May 2024)

Other sources listed below: