607 SQUADRON’S FIRST KILL.

   A small article appeared in the ‘Flypast’ August 1985, telling the story of a Jumo engine, thought to be from a Dornier Do 18 shot down, October 17, 1939. In reply to this article, its author Derek Walton received a series of photographs from a man who said he took them while aboard the Destroyer HMS Juno. The code letters can be clearly seen; M7+YK. However, German records state that aircraft of the Royal Navy shot down this aircraft, September 26, 1939. To further muddy the waters: ‘The Blitz Then And Now Vol 1’ shows the same photograph stating that it was shot down, September 26, 1939 but, gives the code letters as: KY+YK. Contemporary newspaper reports appear to show this same series of photographs to cover both events. A closer inspection of one of the photographs shows that the Destroyer in the photograph had two funnels. HMS Juno had one funnel; therefore, these photographs could not have been taken from that ship. What happened that day has been covered with more than a little controversy. Hopefully, the following will dissolve that myth.

   At 7-00 am, October 17, 1939, two Do 18s of 2/KuflGr 606 left their base of List, to the north of Sylt. Duration of the flight was an estimated ten hours. In the lead aircraft was the StaffelKapitan Hptmn Wodarg flying Do 18 8L+AK. Number two in the formation was Do 18: 8L+DK werke No 809 flown by Fw Grabbet. Next to Grabbet sat the observer and commander of the Do 18, Oblt zur see Siegfried Saloga. Behind them at the radio sat Unfw Hilmar Grimm while Uffz Seydel manned the rear gun position. All of the crew were experienced ex Navy men transferred to the Luftwaffe. Normally their route would take them up the coast of Denmark as far as Norway. On this day, however, it was to be different; their route was across the North Sea as far as the Firth of Forth. A general reconnaissance was to be carried out noting ships in the area. Added to the mission was the search for any downed airmen, a raid having taken place on the Firth of Forth the day before. There were He 111s and Ju 88s missing believed to have come down in the sea.

   The two Do 18s were to keep sight of each other but maintain radio silence. The flight was uneventful and routine until the aircraft approached the Isle of May off the Fife coast. It was there that the two aircraft came under heavy and concentrated AA fire from the Destroyer HMS Juno, its crew still on a high state of alert after the raids of the previous day. Hptmn Wodarg decided that discretion was the better part of valour and ordered the two aircraft onto a southerly course. Although at least one of the aircraft carried two bombs under its starboard wing there is no report that they used them.

   Word the there were enemy aircraft in the area and heading south was soon spread. At RAF Acklington in Northumberland, 607, the resident squadron was alerted to the fact that there was possible seaplane activity in their area. The ‘B’ Flight Commander, Flight Lieutenant John Sample, led off blue section at 12-45. The section consisting of Flying Officer Dudley Craig and Pilot Officer Bill Whitty. John Sample was in Gladiator AF-O, K 7995 and Dudley Craig was in his usual AF-L. However, Bill Whitty also states that he was flying AF-L on this day. Their bearing, according to Bill Whitty, was 100 degrees a bearing that would take them roughly to the Tyne approaches. The three Gladiators were cruising at an altitude of 10,000 feet, which they maintained for some twenty-five miles out to sea. Seeing nothing, they then turned onto a more northerly route, the search area taking them towards the area off Berwick. At 1-30, nearing the end of their patrol and still with nothing seen, the Gladiators were ordered back to Acklington. It was then that an aircraft was spotted and identified as: ‘A flying boat of enemy type’. The aircraft was cruising at an altitude of around 2,000 feet on a southerly course and could be seen through breaks in the clouds. John Sample now gave the order to dive on the enemy aircraft and ordered a number one attack from line astern. However, the Do 18 saw the Gladiators beginning their dive and made a dive of its own firstly down to fifty feet then gradually easing down to just twenty feet above the sea as Fw Grabbet attempted to foil any attack from his blind area under the vulnerable tail.

   It was Uffz Seydel, in his rear gun position, that spotted the incoming Gladiators as they dived down on the Do 18’s tail. Still in the dive, Uffz Seydel opened fire at the fighters; return fire that was described by Bill Whitty as; ‘ineffective’. However, according to Hilmar Grimm, Uffz Seydel died very soon after the attack began so, more than likely he was killed in the first burst of gunfire. This would leave the tail position undefended giving rise to the comment that the return fire was ‘ineffective. Hilmar Grimm, as radio operator, was sitting just to the rear of the pilot. When the bullets began to fly, Hilmar Grimm threw himself flat on the floor gaining protection from the Jumo diesel engine overhead.

   Now at the mercy of the pursuing fighters, Fw Grabbet began some evasive action in an attempt to escape. At one point he was observed by Bill Whitty, to almost put the Do 18s wing into the sea whilst in a severe turn. The three Gladiators each made three separate attacks from the rear. All three of the pilots were to note that pieces fell off the Do 18. Bill Whitty observed fuel escaping from a wing tank in the aftermath of one of his attacks. However, the Do 18 flew on showing no further signs of doing anything else. With their ammunition now exhausted and fuel becoming critical, John Sample ordered his section to return to Acklington. As the three pilots turned for home, their last impression was of the Do 18 defiantly flying on. However, with smoke and fuel trailing from it, the Do 18 looked more like a wounded animal looking for a place to die. The three pilots of blue section landed back at Acklington at 2-10 pm.

   For some unknown reason the Do18 was fleeing not south east back to Sylt but, north on a course that would take them back to the Firth of Forth. The Do 18, although still flying, had not fared so well in the attack. Apart from the leaking fuel and the bullet holes, Uffz Seydel lay dead. Observer and Commander of the aircraft, Oblt zur see Siegfried Saloga had been shot in the leg and had wounds to the face. Pilot, Fw Grabbet, remained in his seat but was having difficulty flying the aircraft as he had been shot in the arm. It was decided that they could not fly much further and the Do 18 of Hptmn Wodarg was contacted. Somewhat miraculously this aircraft had avoided any action and had remained undetected by the Gladiators of 607 Squadron. The decision was taken to land both aircraft and Hptmn Wodarg’s Do 18 would take off the crew of the stricken 8L+DK. At this point, Hilmar Grimm had to work the throttle settings under the instructions of Fw Grabbet, the aircraft eventually touching down on the sea some forty miles to the east of Berwick.

   On inspection of the rubber life raft however, it was found to have been damaged by gunfire. Although the life raft of 8L+AK was intact, it was decided not to use it. This decision may have had something to do with the fact that, when Hilmar Grimm put out the SOS not only was it picked up by the other Do 18 but also by HMS Juno. The Destroyer was now traveling at high speed towards them. In fact, Hilmar Grimm was to state that HMS Juno arrived on the scene quite quickly. The conclusion being, that once more the Do 18’s came under accurate fire from HMS Juno. It was at this point Hptmn Wodarg decided there was nothing more he could do apart from save his own crew. Knowing at least that HMS Juno would save the other crew he departed the scene.

   HMS Juno took off the crew: the wounded two were transferred to the sick bay while Hilmar Grimm was kept segregated. The Do 18’s radio logbook, lead backed for disposal in an emergency, was also delivered into the hands of HMS Juno’s Captain and, ultimately, the intelligence service. The Captain of HMS Juno decided to tow the stricken Do 18 to the mainland. However, it had more holes in it than originally thought and the aircraft sank and its towline was cut free. HMS Juno deposited the German crewmen at the port of Leith. After medical treatment, Fw Grabbet had his arm amputated, and Oblt zur see Siegfried Saloga were sent on to POW camps. Fw Hilmar Grimm was to remain segregated until after his interrogation before being passed on to a POW camp. Unffz Seydel was originally buried with full military honours in Mussleborough. After the war his remains were moved to the Deutcher Soldatenfriedhof at Cannock Chase, Staffordshire.

   Under interrogation, Ufw Hilmar Grimm, seemed to forget that he was only obliged to give his name, rank and number. Instead he gave the names and details of the other crewmen as well as radio information and the aircrafts navigation equipment. He was also to give information on the base at Sylt as well as other staffles based there. He was also to confirm that the Do 18, shot down, September 26, 1939, was coded M7+YK. Hilmar Grimm stated that he had been in the German Navy for almost eight years and it was with regret that he was transferred to the Luftwaffe some three years earlier, emphasizing that this move had been made: ‘involuntarily’. His interrogation prompted the Interrogation Officer to record: ‘Assistant Observer and wireless operator Grimm, whose nerves appears to have been somewhat shattered by his experience, is willing to impart all the information in his possession.’ Oblt zur see Siegfried Saloga was interrogated later and he admitted only to being: Disappointed at being taken prisoner’. When Fw Grabbet was asked the point of his mission he replied that: ‘… they were out for a joy ride’.   

   Shortly after the Gladiators of 607 Squadron landed back at Acklington, they were informed that the Do18 had been shot down, landing on the sea. Each of the three pilots was awarded a third of a kill. Wynn’s ‘Men Of The Battle Of Britain’ gives a similar entry for each of the pilots but wrongly dates the event as October 16, 1939. The 607 Squadron ORB, gives a description of the events of the day, however, it says of the Do 18: ‘…it was not immediately destroyed, it was found by a trawler about 50 – 60 miles from the coast and four of the crew were rescued and taken prisoner.’ Lack of communication between the Royal Navy and the RAF can be blamed for citing the trawler. The logbook of Dudley Craig gives a brief description of the events and mentions that the Do 18: ‘Was forced down’. It finishes with: ‘Probably Johnnies work’, a reference to the leadership of John Sample.

   At the same time, 1-30 pm, as blue section were going into action against the Do 18, yellow section, Jim Bazin, Bobby Pumphrey and Monty Thompson, of 607 Squadron were scrambled. They were subsequently to engage four Do 18s over the North Sea. Although bits were seen to be ‘flying off’, all the do 18s in this formation managed to make good their escape. The demise of Do 18, 8L+DK did, however, give 607 Squadron not only its first engagement of WW 2 but also its first ‘kill’.

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