Guest Pete Wood Posted 1 October , 2004 Share Posted 1 October , 2004 Any details on this German pilot, aged 21 years old? His seaplane landed in the sea and he was rescued by a British fishing smack. He escaped from Dorchester PoW camp and was captured in Hartlepool 20/9/15, along with a German naval officer, while trying to find and board a Swedish ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSeptember1918 Posted 3 October , 2004 Share Posted 3 October , 2004 My reference might not be accurate , so I'll list it first Pete . Page 88 of Germany's First Air Force ( Peter Kilduff ) and the original refernce was - The War in The Air , vol III , page 150 . The reference is more to the date than to your man . It says : A Zeebrugge based seaplane made a daytime raid over Braintree , Coggeshall and Colchester in Essex ( wonder if Essex girls were the same in 1915 ??? ) on 21 Febuary 1915 . Five days later three seaplanes set out for Britain , two attacked the SS Cordoba without success , the other failed to return to Zeebrugge. The following day a British tug docked at Lowestoft with two German Naval aviators aboard . KptnLtn z see Stephan Prandzynski and Fahnrich zur see ( Midshipman ) Heyen . Their aircraft had gone into the sea on the way over and they had survived a night of rough water and snowstorms only by clinging to the wreckage of the aircraft . Name is spelt different and given as 5 days after your date , nothing sofar on the guy in question , but i'll keep looking . Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSeptember1918 Posted 3 October , 2004 Share Posted 3 October , 2004 Casualities of the GAS gives 21/02/15 as the date that Obltn z.S von Prondzynski from SEE I went MIA . ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted 4 October , 2004 Share Posted 4 October , 2004 On the night of 21st/22nd February 1915 Stephan Prondzynski (pilot) and Fahnrich-zur-See Heym (observer) of SFA 1 flying a Friedrichshafen FF29 serial No.203 passed over Clacton (Essex) at 19.45 and penetrated 25 miles inland to Braintree, where 2 incendiary bombs were released. On the return flight, they dropped a small HE bomb in a field near Coggeshall, and at 20.45 another at Colchester barracks which slightly damaged some buildings. The intruder was not intercepted or attacked. Probably due to engine trouble, the Friedrichshafen came down some distance off the English coast and damaged its floats. The crew were picked up 36 hours later as the wreckage was sinking. Two captured German airmen were reported as being landed at Lowestoft on the 26th February by the tug "New Boy". Source "The Air Defence Of Britain 1914 - 1918" by Frank Cheesman and Christopher Cole. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pete Wood Posted 5 October , 2004 Share Posted 5 October , 2004 Thank you, Gentlemen. That's put that one to rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reminiscene Posted 7 September , 2007 Share Posted 7 September , 2007 My reference might not be accurate , so I'll list it first Pete . Page 88 of Germany's First Air Force ( Peter Kilduff ) and the original refernce was - The War in The Air , vol III , page 150 . The reference is more to the date than to your man . It says : A Zeebrugge based seaplane made a daytime raid over Braintree , Coggeshall and Colchester in Essex ( wonder if Essex girls were the same in 1915 ??? ) on 21 Febuary 1915 . Five days later three seaplanes set out for Britain , two attacked the SS Cordoba without success , the other failed to return to Zeebrugge. The following day a British tug docked at Lowestoft with two German Naval aviators aboard . KptnLtn z see Stephan Prandzynski and Fahnrich zur see ( Midshipman ) Heyen . Their aircraft had gone into the sea on the way over and they had survived a night of rough water and snowstorms only by clinging to the wreckage of the aircraft . Name is spelt different and given as 5 days after your date , nothing sofar on the guy in question , but i'll keep looking . Phil. Interesting. According to the UK National Inventory of War Memorials, a Zeppelin (not a seaplane) dropped a bomb on Coggeshall "in February 1915". However, the Coggeshall Museum website shows a postcard of the crater caused by a bomb dropped by a "German aeroplane on Feb 21 1915". As far as I know, only one bomb was dropped on Coggeshall in February 1915 and, regardless of what type of aircraft actually dropped it, the site of the crater is the location of the Coggeshall War Memorial. That reminds me that I should transcribe the names and upload details here just in case somebody is interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grendav2001 Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 northern daily mail west hartlepool monday 20 september 1915 german officers arrested at west hartlepool --------------- escaped from internment at dorchester two young germans, giving the names of edwin bergmann (20) and hans heym (21) were at the west hartlepool police court today charged with being in a prohibited area, contrary to the provisions of the aliens restrictions order. superintendent mcdonald said the men were charged under regulation 18 of the order. this section provided that no alien enemy should reside in certain specified areas. the facts were that these men were seen acting suspiciously at the docks this morning, and information was passed from a certain crane-man to alderman macfarlane, who sent word to the police. with the assistance of alderman macfarlane the men were detained, and subsequently taken to the police station. he placed before each of the prisoners a piece of paper, asking them to write down their names and addresses. they completed them, and when he (superintendant macdonald) said he would have to have the names and addresses verified, the men voluntarily confessed that what they had written was false. the real facts were that bergmann was arrested as a prisoner of war after the battle of ypres. he was brought to england and put in hospital. from there he was removed to an internment camp at dorchester, fromwhich place he had escaped. heym was a pilot of a german sea-plane. whilst over england on 21 february last the machinery of the sea-plane broke down, and he, with another officer, had to alight upon the water. they were picked up by a fishing smack and handed over to the british naval authorities in lowestoft. from there they were conveyed to dorchester, and heym had escaped from there with another prisoner. he asked that the prisoners should be remanded for further inquiries. superintendent robinson said that from information supplied to him, he proceeded to the dock this morning. he there saw the prisoners, and, not being satisfied with their answers to questions, he took them to the police station. the bench granted a remand for 8 days. the men were in civilian attire, and had somewhat the appearance of tourists. they spoke english fairly well, though with an accent, and we learn that they represented themselves, when first questioned, as being british born. they said they had lived in sweden for a long time, and they were looking for a certain swedish ship, whose captain, they said, was a friend of the father of one of them. they were observed to go on board several swedish vessels that were in the docks. ------------ grendav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnock Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 Hello, it should be Thomas HEYM, Fâhnrich zur See, born 6/10/1894. Regards, Cnock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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