1st March 1941

The Banffshire coast appears to have been busy on this date.

sources :

Luftwaffe Over Scotland by Les Taylor

The Air Attack on Convoys EN79 and WN91, Saturday, 1 March 1941 (mv Atheltemplar , ss Tewkesbury , & ss Forthbank ) by Bernard de Neumann

The Press and Journal 13th August 1977

In 'The Air Attack on Convoys EN79 and WN91, Saturday, 1 March 1941 (mv Atheltemplar , ss Tewkesbury , & ss Forthbank )' , Bernard de Neumann describes a German air attack on convoy EN79, which resulted in damage to several ships. One of the merchantmen ss Tewkesbury, armed with Hotchiss machine guns reported hitting a twin-engined German bomber which flew off with smoke trailing from it. Several ships in convoy WN91 were also damaged.

Bernard de Neumann attributes the crashing of a He 111H-5 W.Nr 3774 1H+BK, piloted by Oblt. Hatto Kühn, off Whitehills, Melrose Head, to the action by ss Tewkesbury.

Based on the timings of the two incidents, distance and that He 111 pilot Oblt. Hatto Kühn stated that they had crashed due to engine failure.

It should be noted that there are two Whitehills, near Banff. A fishing village a couple of miles west of Banff, and a small area on Melrose Head which lies several miles to the east of Banff.

Les Taylor in 'Luftwaffe over Scotland' records that on 1.3.41 there was a German air raid on Banff, and that a He 115 was shot down by Anti Aircraft fire, crashing off Whitehills. In appendix C he adds more detail about the aircraft. identifying it as 1H+BK from Kampstaffel 2/1/KG26 flown by Oblt Hatto Kühn.

Any additional information or corrections are welcome. contact@banffshirethings.uk

Version 1.3 30.6.26

The He 115 and He 111H-5 were both German twin-engined bombers operating along the British coast in this period, although the He 1115 would be soon phased out of this area, due to its vulnerability.

Whilst both are twin-engined bombers, the He 115 was a float-plane.

It appears that the aircraft in the two sources are in fact the same one, the He111H-5 of Hatto Kühn, perhaps a typo in 'Luftwaffe over Scotland'

If accurately reported, it is perhaps significant, that Hatto said they were hit by flak after an attack, and not during.

In 1977 Hatto Kühn returned to site of his crash, and his visit was widely reported in local newspapers. The wreckage of his plane having been found in 1976, and an engine recovered.

In the Press and Journal (13th August 1977) article about the visit, he says that "after an attack on an Allied convoy east of Troup Head. The plane was struck by flak and the port engine set ablaze". Unable to gain height required to regain control, Kühn ditched. He and his crew took to a dinghy and paddled ashore, where they were captured.

In Bernard de Neumann's account, he says that via channels, possibly the Red Cross, the German authorities were told that the aircraft had been shot down by Anti-Aircraft batteries at Banff.

He questions why the Tewkesbury incident was suppressed, concluding it was likely to be that government policy was to not report combat success by merchant vessels.