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	A wardiary from Tiel states: "At an altitude of 800 meter the second plane pulled right, the first one however came down and crashed near Dreumel; it was a German nightfighter.........."		June 1 or 7 1942?


Several inhabitants of Dreumel have a recollection of a crash of a German plane on the pastures and fields behind the Oude Maasdijk.........

Mrs. Mien Gosseling had heard that a plane was crashed right behind the house of Wim van Kampen in the Veerstraat. She also remembered that the corn on thatlocation already was mowed. The plane had notgone to pieces, but it was gotstuckwith the nose in the ground. The Germans were very quick present.You were not allowed to come near the plane.

Mr. Hent van Koolwijk has a recollection of a German plane that crashed in May 1940.

According to Mr. Jo van Kruijsbergen it was an emergency landing.

Mr. Hent van Sommeren does remember the emergency landing quite well. On the part were the plande landed the corn indeed was mowed. Not onotherparts of the area. This incicates that it was halfway summer.(July/August) He thinks itmust have been either 1942 or 1943. According to him the exact spot is: 50 meters behind the farmhouse of mr. Cornelissen.


Location of the Messerschmitt Bf109

A wardiary of someone in the town of Tiel states:

Monday June 1, 1942
"Tonight a 9.15 p.m. we heard (in Tiel) at a distance so high that the planes were invisible the sound of their engines. After ten minutes we suddenly heard the sound of machine guns. somewhat later we saw two planes diving down towards the earth.

At about 800 meters the second plane pulled right, the first plane however kept diving down and crashed at Dreumel. It was a German fighter. The other plane, an English fighter, made one turn and then headed for four other planes that probably also were involved in an air fight. As we heard later on an English plane was shot down at Zaltbommel."

Somewhat later we read:
Tuesday June 8,1942
"This afternoon a truck of the German Wehrmacht loaded with the fighter that crashed last night, crossed the ferry to Tiel."

We are uncertain about the exact date. Is it June 1 or June 7? It is difficult to see if there is written a 1 or a 7. Is the 8 a miswriting of a 2 or a 3? It is quite possible that the German pilot landed on June 1st and the next day was administrated as damaged without further information.

Studying Allied and German information gives us the following information:

In the evening of June 1, 1942 English Spitfires of 403rd Squadron RAF attacked the harbours of Vlissingen.(NL) The Germans tried to intercept this attack with 2 Fw190’s of 6^e Staffel and 4 Bf 109’s of 4 en 6 Staffel. Al German aircrafts were part of Jagdgeschwader I. The air fight with 120 Spitfires tookplace above sea. the Germans shot down 1 British fighter. On German side there were no losses. (One speaks of a loss when a pilot is killed, missing in action or POW) This could mean that the crash (emergency landing) in the Veerstraat was not administrated as a loss. The Germans however have administrated that one plane was slightly damaged:

"June 2: Uffz Herbert Brackebusch, 6./JG1, Bf 109 F-4. slightly damaged after airfight. Location of crash unknown."

Another source states:

"At 21.15 hours a Bf-109 crashed at Dreumel. The plane was recovered the next day. The pilot is ok."

Summarising we may say that the plane that landed in the Veerstraat at Dreumel was a Messerschmitt Bf109 flown by Uffz Herbert Brakebusch. He was a member of 6/JG1 and stationed at Woensdrecht. He shot an English Hudson that day and was rewarded for this action with the Iron Cross. Brakebusch was killed June 19, 1942 in an air fight above Zeebrugge (Belgium)
		Uffz. Herbert Brakebusch