First Air Raid of WWII – 9

11:30 – Recce report received by radio

The reconnaissance aircraft were Heinkel 111s of KG26, also based at Westerland which were spotted at 10.00 hours by the Observer Corps and shortly after by the lookouts on board HMS Edinburgh anchored just east of the Forth Bridge.

At 11.30 hours, during their return flight over the North Sea, the Heinkels came within wireless range of Westerland and details of weather conditions over the target area were transmitted.  But significantly the brush with Spitfires from 602 Squadron confirmed fighter presence in the Dunbar area.  The information was passed to Pohle who had seen the Heinkels depart earlier that morning.

Pohle deduced that the Spitfires were from Drem, which was deeply worrying as a fighter escort for his bombers was not an option due to the long range of the mission. The sleek new RAF fighter was thought to be fast (actually, at least 60 mph faster than the Ju88) and the climbing rate of the Spitfire gave them little chance of escape before being intercepted and the prospect of being fired upon by single aircraft armed with eight .303 machine guns was formidable.

Nevertheless, at 11.55 hours, before the two Heinkels of KG26 had returned, the sound of 24 Junkers Jumo 211 engines pierced the morning quiet at Westerland as Pohle led four groups of three Ju88 each with a four-man crew on board, away from the airfield over 450 miles of sea on a daring daylight raid to Scotland.

Another 1/KG30 senior pilot under Pohle’s command was the aforementioned Leutnant Hans Sigmund Storp whose first mission from Westerland had been the attack of the Ark Royal. Born in 1914, Storp was the son of a forester and became interested in flying from an early age. He gained a diploma for flying at the age of seventeen and had a career as an officer in his sights. In 1932 he joined the navy and as a cadet he sailed around the world on board the cruiser Koln.  Storp transferred to naval flying duties and was given the opportunity to fly practically every type of aircraft available at that time. As a marine pilot he served for nine months in the Legion Kondor in the Spanish Civil War and gleaned much experience. For his service in Spain he had been awarded the lron Cross. On his return to Germany he was sent to the Luftwaffe testing and evaluation centres at Travemunde and Rechlin, where he test flew the first Ju88s.