Gotha crash September 16th 1918 Stalhille

Regulus · 31 March 2003, 09:02 AM

Hi,

On the 16th of September 1918 not far away from the Schlasta 16 airfield at Stalhille a Gotha IV ? crashed killing all of the crew.

Does anyone know anything on the circumstances of this loss ?

Thanks and best from Johan

Soderbaum · 31 March 2003, 10:10 AM

Hi Regulus

The weekly Kofl 4 report says that the crew Zeiger-von Günther - Priggen were all killed in a forced landing during the night 15-16 September 1918, a so called accident...!

They belonged to BG 3/15, but unfortunate I dont have the s/n of the Gotha.. :-[

Perhaps the airfields around Stalhille was to small for a landing Gotha..?..or they misjudged the landing strip..?
However the German units stationed there, Schlasta 16 and the Masosta were experts on night landings...

:

Gunnar

Regulus · 31 March 2003, 10:27 AM

Hi Gunnar,

Thank you very much. An accident was a bit what I expected. As to local sources they say that it happened several hundreds of meters to the west of the airfield, although there seems to be discussion on the identity of the crashed plane on that location. It may also have been the crash of a British plane on that location, whose crew is still burried at the cemetery.

According to other local sources there also seems to have been a crash very close to the Schlasta 16 airfield an the one of Vlissegem, which was very nearby.
I hope to find a possible answer on the location in the archive of the bishop of the province.

In any case both airfields were very large and should have been able to have a Gotha landing over there. Very bizarre thing it is indeed this accident !

I already had the crew and unit, but neither have I found anything upon the serial number untill now.

Thanks and best from Johan

Vigilant · 1 April 2003, 08:45 AM

Quote:

In any case both airfields were very large and should have been able to have a Gotha landing over there. Very bizarre thing it is indeed this accident !

Could it possibly have been an Allied night-fighter? By this stage in the war it was not unknown for fighters to wait over bomber airfields for returning aircraft. Is there any evidence of fighters operating in the area?

Vig.

Soderbaum · 1 April 2003, 09:53 AM

Hi Vigilant

According to German sources the allied actually did have night fighters in the Flanders area around this date...

The nationality and units of these allied night fighters has so far eluded me..

.

As they probably had some co-operation with the allied bomb attacks on Brügge, the first choice ought to be British...?
But as no information seems to exists, and the British(ex Naval) are the best documented my guess is the French Army or Naval Air Service...?

It is also quite possible that the Belgian could have some pilots trained for night fights..?

But, in this case, if allied a/c were in the area the German report "ought" to have mentioned another loss reason..!

:-/
Gunnar