Looking for info on the first Raid on Belfast (7th April 1941)

[Joost Muller]

Hi there,

I am a newbie here so I hope you'll forgive me should I blunder on etiquette.

I am interested in the history of the first raid on Belfast. Particularly on which units participated and where they flew from.

According to the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland...ry/summer2000/

First Raid - 7th/8th April 1941

Fifteen German planes set out from the Dutch town of Soesterberg on the night of 7th April to attack the town of Dumbarton in Scotland. If the weather was bad over Dumbarton, the German pilots had orders to attack Liverpool instead. If that proved impossible then they were to attack Newcastle. Although Belfast was not on the official target list for that night, the weather conditions over the official target areas were so bad that a number of these aircraft diverted to Belfast and dropped their bombs on the docks area.

Among the targets hit were Rank’s Flour Mill at the Pollock Dock and the aircraft construction shed at Harland and Wolff. Thirteen people lost their lives in this attack. It is not clear how many aircraft took part in the raid but best estimates put the figure at less than ten planes and not all of them were from the squadron that left Soesterberg.

a. I would like to establish that a number of aircraft were indeed from Soesterberg and therefore probably from 1/KG26 (or potentially 1/KG4 who had lost a plane laying mines close to Belfast in august 1940 ). How can I prove which planes/units were involved from Soesterberg?

b. Some planes may may have been from other units. How can I find out which? The potential sources are so many that I would need to narrow it down. The North East of England has been covered from Denmark, Holland, North of France etc..

I'd be very grateful if anyone could point me in the right direction.

[Jaap Woortman]

See the website of the Study Group Airwar 1939-1945 at http://www.airwar39-45.nl/pages/welkom.html?lang=EN
Contact Wybe Buising at [email protected]
He is an expert on Soesterberg.

Jaap

[Joost Muller]

Bedankt Jaap