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A pair of well-researched Battle of Britain JU88 pilot citations for a documented event
Stock No. 71908
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Out of Stock
Citation 1: October medal with Prague bar on 1st October 1939, signed by Luftwaffe-Lehr division Geschwader Dr Robert Knauss. More information and his portrait are available here: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Knauss
Citation 2: Iron cross 2nd Class, awarded 18th September 1940, signed by the commander of the Fliegerkorps: Generaloberst Ulrich Grauert. Grauert’s awards include Knights Cross (29/05/1940), Pilot Observer Badge with Diamonds, Cross of Honour for Front Fighters, EK1 & Spange, EK2 & Spange, 4, 12, 18, 25 years Army Long Service. Grauert was killed in action 15/05/1941 over France when his JU52 was shot down by F/Lt Jerzy Jankiewicz and Sgt Waclaw Giermer, both in Spitfires from 303 Polish fighter Sqn, Grauert was buried in Nampcel, france block 6 grave 784.
Pilot information:
Born in 1915 in Dortmund, Leutnant Hans-Jürgen Grell served with 2KG76 Bomber Squadron of the Luftwaffen-Lehr-division in Greifswald from 1938-39. In 1940 he served as a bomber pilot with 4(II) KG76, flying Dorniers and JU88 aircraft. He was active in 1940 in Belgium, France and the Battle of Britain.
He was killed in action on 24th August 1940, meaning Grell’s EK2 citation (dated 18th September) was awarded posthumously.
During a mission to England, departing from Creil Airfield (France), he was shot down at 12:45hrs by a hurricane from 501 SQN RAF Gravesend, south of Manston. His plane crashed into the English Channel and his body washed ashore on the Dutch coast on September 15th. He was buried the next day in Haamstede (Holland), then re-buried on 1st July 1948 at the German war cemetery in Ysselsteyn (Holland), as were 3 of the 4 crew. The 4th crew member, Radio Operator Uffz Arthur Henneberg, has no known grave. The crew are buried on the same row (4): Pilot Grell is buried in grave 88, Observer FW martin Thomas in grave 93, Gunner Uffz Alfred Wetzker in grave 92. The cemetery was created close to a former German POW camp.
Their mission over Kent involved approximately 80 German aircraft, the ‘Ramsgate Murder Raid’ was described at the time as being “the World’s worst assault from the air” for killing 29 and destroying 1200 homes. No one is certain why Ramsgate (Kent) was singled out. A prominent theory is that the Germans were en route to bomb nearby RAF Manston when an armed trawler in the harbour shot down the leading aircraft and the Germans focussed their firepower there instead. Photographs of the raid, witness accounts and a list of the dead and injured can be found here: http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/1940/id3.htm