German soldiers of the Nazi Wehrmacht pose for a downed Vickers Wellington B Mk. IV bomber from composition No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron “Land of Pomerania”/301 Dywizjon Bombowy “Ziemi Pomorskiej” from the British Royal Air Force on the North Sea coast in the vicinity of Dornumergrode.
The picture was taken near the town of Dornumgrode (Dornumergrode, now in the commune of Dornum, Lower Saxony, Germany). Vickers Wellington B Mk. IV was shot down by anti-aircraft fire during the second “attack of thousands of bombers” to Bremen at 02:30 on June 26, 1942. The crew of the aircraft survived, but was captured by the Nazis. Armament and propellers removed from the aircraft.
German soldiers gathered around the downed aircraft are from the 8th (motorized) anti-aircraft division of the Luftwaffe, for which this aircraft was the 34th victory.
In the period from July 1940 in Britain was formed 15 Polish flight units, which were part of the Royal Air Force. The 301st Squadron was formed in Bramkot (Warwickshire, England).
Sources of information about the Vickers Wellington B Mk. IV photo:
Location: Dornumergrode, Germany
Photo date: June 1942