On the evening of April 29, 1941, a formation of nine Ju 88s bombers of III/ (Kampf)/Lehrgeschwader 1 took off from Sicily. Their orders were to attack cruisers and destroyers spotted in Malta’s Grand Harbour by reconnaissance aircraft previously that day.

German intelligence was spot on. The previous evening, the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, consisting of six destroyers, had entered the Grand Harbour to join the light cruiser Gloucester in port. The bombers were escorted by BF 109s Messerschmitt fighters of 7./JG26 led by the famous German ace Joachim Müncheberg.

Part of the report compiled by Lt J. Harrow while interrogating the prisoners of war. Photo: Anthony Rogers

At 6.37pm, for the fourth time that day, the air raid sirens in Malta started wailing. Seventeen Hawker Hurricanes of 261 Squadron were scrambled to intercept the oncoming aircraft. The Ju 88s spread out in three formations to bomb their targets. The Hurricanes dove to attack while the German Bf 109s swooped in to defend their charges. The usual melee ensued, with the anti-aircraft (AA) defences and the guns of the ships in harbour joining in. Oberleutnant Müncheberg claimed a Hurricane shot down, as did Ernst Laube although, in reality, none of the British fighters were lost.

But one of the German bombers was in trouble. Hit by AA, the pilot, Rudolf Lenzner, struggled to control his aircraft, which had caught fire. Since there was a danger that the fire would spread, two of the crew bailed out. Then the Hurricanes spotted the stricken bomber.

Pilot Officer Tony Rippon and Pilot Officer Joe Hall attacked and claimed the Ju 88 was shot down. The remaining crewmen hastily abandoned their aircraft which was last seen heading towards the sea. The four German airmen all landed safely by parachute. One was captured at Pembroke Ranges and the other three ended up in the sea and were later picked up.

A Junkers Ju 88A5 7.LG1 (L1+GR). Photo: https://www.asisbiz.com/

The next day, the Germans were interrogated at Corradino prison by assistant defence security officer Lieutenant J. Harrow. The airmen were questioned individually and not in the presence of each other. After noting down their particulars, Harrow put down his notebook and stopped taking notes, to make it seem as if it was a normal conversation.

Hit by AA, the pilot struggled to control his aircraft

They all refused to give him their squadron number and said that the information on their military identity cards was quite sufficient. The observer, Heller, said that the bombs were still on the aircraft when they abandoned it as the AA had damaged the release gear.

Joachim Müncheberg, who claimed a Hurricane shot down while escorting the Ju 88s. He was credited with 19 aerial victories over Malta. Photo: Wikipedia

Harrow noted that, since the talk with Lenzner had lasted quite a while, Heller asked if he might be told what the pilot had said. This suggested to the intelligence officer that the German was a Nazi Party political agent. When Harrow asked Heller if he enjoyed life in Comiso, the German was startled and wanted to know if his comrades had told him that they were based there. He appeared ill at ease and said that it was forbidden for the crew to mention their aerodrome.

Air gunner Paul Kietzmann was wearing his Iron Cross First Class but he would not divulge to Harrow why he had received the award, only saying that it was for ‘Special Services’.

All in all, the morale of the Germans was extremely high. In fact, the pilot, Lenzner fully expected to be back in Germany with his family by Christmas! His attitude only changed when Harrow mentioned the bombardment of German towns by British bombers. The four of them were convinced that the Axis powers were going to win the war. They admitted to have made many trips over Britain and at least four over Malta, participating in the attack of the aircraft carrier Illustrious.

Pilot Officer Tony Rippon who, together with Pilot Officer Joe Hall attacked the damaged Ju 88 and shot it down. Photo: Anthony Rogers

Harrow commented that “the whole four hours interview showed to me that their training from a security point of view leaves nothing to be desired and their sense of discipline is excellent”.

Another interrogation of the prisoners was held on May 6. Again, they revealed little. However, they all complained that they had been robbed of some personal effects. The intelligence officer remarked that medals, badges, photographs, postcards and other items which had disappeared would not only give Britain a bad name if this information got back to Germany but it was also a loss of valuable information.

For instance, on the back of a photograph, he had obtained the number of the squadron while,  on the corner of a postcard, he had found a postal code which confirmed that the squadron HQ in Germany was in Munich. The prisoners were also surprised to find that their internment camp was close to military objectives. The British officer again noted that if this were to be bombed and prisoners killed, there could be reprisals by the Germans on British prisoners of war.

The burning Ju 88 hit the ground near the naval range of Għajn Tuffieħa (above), where it was completely destroyed. Photo: Malta RAMC

The burning Ju 88, marked L1+BT, did not crash into the sea, as the German crewmen believed. It hit the ground near the naval range of Għajn Tuffieħa, where it was completely destroyed.

More information about the crash of Ju 88 L1+BT can be found in Fighters over Malta by Brian Cull and Frederick Galea and Air Battle of Malta by Anthony Rogers.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Anthony Rogers, Ezechiel Busuttil and the Malta Aviation Museum, without whose assistance this article would not have been possible.