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05.09.1942 Stab II./KG77 Junkers Ju 88A-5 Wnr.140077 Ofw. Kasdorf Location: West of Wadi Natrun, Egypt +
Mission: Attack Landing Ground 100.

Date: 5th September 1942

Time: 04.00 hrs. EST

Unit: Stab II./Kampfgeschwader 77

Type: Junkers Ju 88A-4

Werke/Nr.140077

Code: 3Z + HP (Yellow H)

Location: West of Wadi Natrun, Egypt.

Pilot: Oberfeldwebel. Gustav Kasdorf. Captured POW.

Observer: Oberfeldwebel. Hans Strohmaier. Captured POW.

Radio/Op: Oberfeldwebel. Walter Regener. Captured POW.

Gunner : Feldwebel. Erich Kempe. Captured POW.

REASON FOR LOSS:


This aircraft started from Tymbaki at 0100 hrs to bomb L.G.100, carrying 2 x 500 and 2 x 250 Kg bombs. It was intercepted by a R.A.F. night fighter and shot down. All the crew baled out successfully and were captured.

1 Gustav Kasdorf with wife
Pilot; Oberfeldwebel. Gustav Kasdorf pictured with his wife. (Regener)


2 crew
The crew of the ill-fated Ju 88 from L to R; Fw. Kempe, Ofw. Regener, Ofw. Strohmaier and Ofw. Kasdorf.
They are pictured here celebrating Ofw. Regener's 200th war flight and Ofw. Strohmaier's 100th. 14.04.1942 (Brownless)


3 Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88 of the Kasdorf crew (Regener)


4 Walter Regener

Letter from Walter Regener, Haldensleben, 07.11.1995

Mr Melvin Brownless

After your article in the local newspaper (Volksstimme) of 2.11 I would like to be in contact with you. Maybe I can contribute some thing to the research of the history of the air war.In those days I was stationed in France, Sicily and Crete and had to make attacks on your country and Imperium. In the beginning we were flying the Do17 and later the Ju88. I was working as a radio operator. At first in 1940 we were flying some daylight missions to your country and later we changed to night missions, because

From the day attacks only a few aircraft returned.

We mostly took off from Reims, Rennes or Schiphol (Holland). The actions in the South were flown from Comiso-Sicily or Crete Tympakion.. Mostly night missions.

For our crew the war was already over on the 5th of September 1942.

The last take off from Crete to Egypt, target: an airbase near Cairo.

One of your nightfighters (Hurricane) intercepted us with his guns.South of Alexandria and our “dream”ended. Aircraft burning and crashed in flames.The mechanic was burned in the crash and the three of us, the pilot, the observer and me could save ourselves by parachute. I was hurt. I had got some shrapnel from one of the grenades and in the jump I broke two ribs.

I was taken prisoner by a New Zealand officer and taken to number 6 General Hospital. Later till my recovery I came in prisoncamp number 306 near the Great Bitterlake at the Suez Canal.

On 1 April 1943 we were transported to the States by ship (Westpoint) and from there by rail to Canada.After about 5 weeks we reached our destination.: camp 132 Medicine Hat in the State of Alberta.

There I stayed till September 1944 and a part of the prisoners were moved to Neyes at Lake Superior. On 1 April 1946 we went to England by boat, into the Farm Camp 48, Presteigne Radnorshire. Here I stayed some months. After that I was Billeted, with farmer Fred Kinch, on the Byton Farm, in Radnorshire.

On 29th of December 1946 I came into the Releasecamp and from Hull I was shipped to Cuxhafen and ended up in Munsterlager from where I was realeased as a POW on 17th January 1947.

So far my short biography Already in the beginning as a prisoner I cut my links with the criminal Hitler state. Especially during the time in Canada. And in England when we got the opportunity to follow the news from the media. Since then I cursed this criminal war waged by the Germans. I also state that during my stay in England I was in any aspect treated fair and according to the Geneva Convention. Especially good I liked my stay at the Kinch family. Here I was treated as if I were a brother.

Unfortunately I could not contact them afterwards as I went into the Russian Section of Germany because there my young wife was waiting for me and also my son, born during the time I was a prisoner.I crossed the border illegally, while it still was still possible to get entry into my country.

Now after the unification it would be possible to get again in contact with the Kinch family although unfortunately I do not know if they all are still alive?

Farmer Fred Kinch born 1905

Mrs Elisabeth Kinch born 1906

Son John Kinch born 1929 or 1930

I had the idea to follow this up in 1996 while I have a difficult time behind me. My wife died last year. If she had not been ill for so long I probably had done this already right away after 1990.

I also want to tell you that I still have fotos and 8mm films from 1941/42

Yours

Walter Regener

Walter Regener, Haldensleben, 18.11.1995

Dear Mr. Brownless

Thank you very much for your letter , dated 13.11.95 and also thanks for the foto’s

Today I would like to tell you more elaborate about the happenings that took place during these days.

Should this not be enough, I also still do have my notes, (my memoires) which someone is writing for me because I am not used to use the typewriter without making mistakes. But first these lines:

During the war of 1939/1942 I was in the 4th Staffel , 2nd Group of Kampfgeschwader 77, the peacetime base being Ansbach, Bavaria. At first I participated in the Poland campaign. Right on the first day we had to make an emergency landing in Slowakia as we had been hit by our own bomb shrapnel. Before they had us back with the force in Poland eight days had passed and we participated only a short time in this campaign. That time we were flying a DO17 E with a crew of three.

The ones that carry a number I would like to have returned, the others you can keep for your archives.

From 1.5.1940 I was deployed against France, first in a transport unit with the JU 52, to fly supplies in for the front and later again on the DO17 Z for actions against the enemy. At first we were flying from Belgium and later our base (a field airbase) was Couvron, in France, thereafter Reims. After the actions in France we were deployed against your country, from France, that was end June, beginning of July. At first we had daylight flights. These were prepared very carefully. We were briefed on the coming action. We had to prepare ourselves on the targets in your country.

The first time was from Couvron. From the 16 aircraft with the order to attack the docks in the larger Thames and Tilbury area only 8 returned. During the briefing we were told that if we could not reach the set target, to take the alternative target, also known to us and when that was not possible we should disarm the bombs and drop them over the English Channel and under no circumstance should we attack a civil object.

After take off we reached very quickly the French coast and already a hundred German Messerschmitt fighters were tumbling around us as cover. Then at 5.000 meters we went over the Channel. When we came on the English side it came to an enormous air battle because about the same numbers of Spitfires had met us. On top of that an enormous Flak, we called it Royal Flak. Some of us must have reached the target. Then we took a dive down into the direction of our home base. We thought that at low level flights we were not so vulnarble.

As my notes of those days do not excist anymore I am telling you this from my memory. My wife and her

relatives have destroyed everything which referred to the war for fear of the Russians that came after the British in July 1945. Even in the GDR it was not allowed to have meeting between ex soldiers or pilots etc.. Therefore I do not have any war medals.

Maybe I should mention that I received the Ehren Kreuz II, the EK I ,the front service decoration pin in bronze, silver and gold plus the German Cross in Gold.

In those days the procedure was such that after so and so many active duties these decorations came automaticly.

These daylight actions were repeated in the next days but from our second mission from the 16 only 8 planes came back. In the meantime also cable balloons were deployed over the targets. I remember that once, maybe a year later we hit such a balloon cable.

It gave a terrible shock in the JU88. The cable broke twice and we brought the piece of the cable of the balloon home with us. The beam in the wing had remained intact.Of course everyone was talking about us and our construction engineers had a change to analize the steel cable. It sounds unbelievable but this is what really happened. Again after a couple of days 13 DO17 Z’s took off but unfortunately only 3 including ourselves returned to the home base.

Now we were devastated. A little later high ranking Airforce officers appeared to discuss everything with us and to show us their respect. Shortly after daylight missions at least for our unit were abandoned. Now we were rigging up for night actions.We needed a different aircraft.We recieved the JU88 with a crew of four, she had a tougher construction, carried more bombs, could carry more fuel and of course more bombs.

In the meantime we had moved to Reims.We were housed in the former hotel “Welcome”. I had for example a one bed room and I had been promoted to Feldwebel. We got some time to recover. Like the others I was allowed on home leave again.In the meantime we were having a reasonable good contact with the French population, I cannot say as friends but at least on speaking terms. Many times we had the feeling that they liked us. On the other hand they did not like the army soldiers and especially those of the SS units and they hated them. We met in the cafe’s, sat down with the French at one table and many of us even had a French girlfriend.

We were spenders as we made more money as the simple foot soldiers. We became for example on top of our regular pay another 120 Reichs Mark as aircrew allowance. On top of that at that moment in France there were still all kind of things for sale. Once this was a bath robe for my fiancee at home, or beautiful ladies stockings and of course the famous cosmetics.

Anyway we were doing fine before the so called “storm” which was about to begin : the night missions.

We hammered and hammered, knew practical every important town, of course only on the maps. I remember the following towns that according to our war-management were important to the British war industry. Here maybe a few: Southampton, Oxford, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Porthsmouth, Birmingham, Coventry, Nottingham, Newcastle,Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester,Leicester, Edinborg, Glasgow, And others. We had to rehearse practical daily and had to remember the location and all important details of these town.

They did not relax on the daily target training.

Apart from that the crews had to be trained in night missions and and in dive-bombing. Because the JU88 had all kind of new instruments, for example the dive visor and the “Caruso”, and instrument which should serve to keep the enemy nightfighters away.

In the fall of 1940 our unit started the night missions against England. Despite the excersises quite a number of accidents occurred during take off and landing. The aircraft was robust but “head heavy”. In the dark this was a cause of accidents , also the field lighting remained switched off in order to keef the night fighters from finding the airfield. We could cover 3.000 Km with this palne and it could carry over 3.000 liters of fuel, and also a larger bomb load. The heaviest ones were 1.000 Kilos. Madness!

Also when you had to land with the bombs on the home field, when you could not find the target, then we were worried because it often happened that an accident happened while landing onthe home base with this heavy load. The new order was: bring the bombs back to the home base.

Now the year 1940/1941 came. Still all the time missions over England. For met they totalled 90.Nothing to be proud of. Especially from 1941 in the briefings there was hardly any mentioning about the tactics to avoid hitting the civil population.. In fact it was not mentioned any more.

New cruelties were invented every time. To make it possible to make more night flights to England , our unit was moved to Schiphol during the full moon period.From there each crew could fly two missions per night. A terrible undertaking, also when I remember the bombing of Coventry. The ugliest crime, inhumane and horrible for all things, innocent civilians, elder and children had to loose their lives, all according to the Goebels propaganda, retaliation attack. What a sadness.

In the meantime we had been moved –after the criminal attack on Russia- to that country. Thank god only for a couple of months. We were also stationed, apart from East Prussia, in Finland (Helsinki) and we came in action to the Stalin locks in the White Sea Channel. They wanted to destroy these locks to the World Sea with dive bomb attacks.

Now we would again carry our pistols with us, while if we were captured by the Russians one had to prepare for the worse. On the other hand in the actions over England we did not carry any personal weapons. Here we knew that we would be treated fair according to the Geneva Convention.

When I was taken prisoner on 5.9.1942 by the British I did not carry a gun. In between we had been moved to Rennes, when the British Navy Fleet sank the battleship “Bismarck” . We were ordered by the hysterical Goering to attack the British fleet when they long disappeared.. We found no one.

At the end of 1941 we were moved to Sicily. The same story, we bagan with daylight missions, to Malta and later the unpleasnt night attacks, again over 90. In between an attack of the large convoy in the Mediterranean. An English convoy with the “HOOD” which was sunk.

We hit 5.000 Ton freighter.But we had to make an emergency landing near Palermo because an engine had been hit by the Flak of one of the ships. After it looked like we had more or less bombed Malta flat we were again moved to France untill the middle of July 1942 in order to fly again night missions to England. More and more aircraft of our group were shot down. At this moment we had allready recieved 3 ½ times fresh young crew to enforce us. Of course they were lacking experience so we suffered more losses. We were already the “Oldtimers” After this again back to Comiso , Sicily and again action against Malta.

On 16.8.1942 we had to move to Crete, Airfield Tympakion (South Coast) Planning: night missions to Egypt.

On 5.9.1942 our order was: Attack airfield Heliopolis, near Cairo. There we were caught by an English nightfighter (Hurricane) at an altitude of 5.000 meters, a bit to the South of Alexandria.

More accurate notes about this terrible war are written down in my 200 pages memoires. That means that this is my whole life.

Starting in 1916 till 1990 after unification of Germany. After that time I write again daily about my present life.

Dear Mr Brownless, if you need more details, I mean however in order to use them for historical purposes, because my opinion about this terrible war, started by the Germans you do already know. So no glorification. This is what I ask.

My best regards, I have the impression that you are of good will, and I remain with the best greetings

Yours signed

Walter Regener.

5
Udo van den Brock, Steven Hall, Walter Regener and Melvin Brownless raise a glass in Haldensleben of our new friendship with
Walter and return his medals and awards. (Brownless)


The decorations & awards of Ofw. Walter Regener which we returned to Walter by Melvin Brownless, Steven Hall and Udo van den Brock after collection from John Kinch. After tracking down John it was discovered that he still had Walter’s war badges that Walter left behind in England after his return to Germany. Since our visit to Germany to meet with Walter and his family, Walter has had contact with John Kinch and have since met up in England.

6 R.Op badgecc7 reverse
Pictured here his Radio/Operator's badge.


8 Gold war flights badge 110 missions
The 110 mission Gold War Flights Badge.


9 EK. IIcc10 E K. I
ccccccccIron Cross 2nd Class cccccccccccccccccccccc cccccccccccccc Iron Cross 1st Classccccccccccccc


11 D.K.i.G.cc12 D.K.i.G. reverse
German Cross in Gold
cccccccccccccccccccccc cccccccccccccc Reverse of German Cross in Gold


13 Coventry Citizen newspaper August 1996


14 Walter Regenercc 15
Walter pictured in the Luftwaffe (Regener)
ccccccccccccccccccccccWalter revisits Coventry aged 80 years (Brownless)


16 The ruins of Coventry cathedral two days after the German Luftwaffe air raid on the city on the night of 14 November 1940
The devastated Cathedral after the attack on Coventry November 1940


17 Steve Hall, Walter Regener, Melvin Brownless
“Father Forgive” Walter lays a wreath of remembrance at the Alter with Steven Hall and Melvin Brownless (Johnson)


Researched and compiled by Melvin Brownless on behalf of Walter Regener and family. Sadly Walter is no longer with us RIP Walter. (Updated March 2015

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