March 5, 1942 victory of D. Gerhardt

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Executed on June 4, 1944 later "The great Escape" of Sagan's prison camp.

Crash location of Spitfire PR Mk IV Serial AA810 piloted by F/Lt Alastair D M GUNN

Gunns spit actually crashed about 95 km west/southwest of Trondheim, near a place called Surnadalsøra. Apx. pos. 63°01 - 08°47. - - - Thanks to Morten Moe for help - - -

Any information or photographic document to illustrate this place and the persons (having a report with KNOKE) having frequented him will be the welcomes. Thank you beforehand.

Parts from Gunns plane Spitfire PR Mk IV Serial AA810 Merlin 45
Some parts from Gunns plane were brought down to a small airstrip in the neighbooring-walley - Bøverdalen, and are still lying by a small hangar on the airstrip. All those parts probably came from the wing lost by the plane during the fight (read Heinz Knoke testimony).			Clic on picture to enlarge it...
Wings part and rondel		Wings main spar
Wings parts		Wings leading edge

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What I still look for :

Unit Code appearing on the spitfire Serial AA810 (LY if there is one of it ?)
A good quality photo of F/Lt Alastair D M GUNN
A photo of the spitfire Serial AA810
The number of the flight in what was affected the spitfire to Serial AA810 to Wick (A, B, C, D, E, F ?)

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Description of this victory by Heinz Knoke and collected information :

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	Heinz Knoke Informations	Personal comments
Source	I flew for the f... page 66
Date	March 5, 1942
Type of claimed plane	Spitfire	Spitfire Mk IV Serial AA810 Chassis #2203, Merlin 45, taken out of factory on October 17, 1941 and allocated to the 1 PRU on October 19, 1941.
Place of the interception	"Bandit in Berta-Ludwig."	Square BL. Over Trondheim fjord harbor.
Crash Location	Near Trondheim in snowfield.
Presumed mission Luftwaffe	Interception of reco. aircraft.
Schedule	Takeoff Trondheim : 12.02 Altitude 15000 feet : 12.10	Takeoff Trondheim Gardemoen ? Victory is situated probably round 12.30.
Weather report	No clouds. Clear sky.
Knoke's Unit	"Losigkeit" Jagdgruppe
Knoke's Plane		Lt. KNOKE's Bf 109 E, black 3, Autumn 1941. It show the I./JG1 "Laughing sun" on motor and "Lilo". While "Losigkeit" Jagdgruppe mission all personnal marks where over-painted.
Description of the fight	"I am now at 25000 feet, scanning the skies around and below. Ahead and to the left I discern a tiny dark speck in the sky against the unbroken white landscape below. It is the Spitfire, leaving a short vapour trail behind. The Tommy comes round in a wide sweep, heading up the Inner fjord. I maintain altitude and study my pray. Now over his objective, the Tommy flies round in two complete circles. He is taking photographs. I make use of this opportunity to take up a position above him. Apparently he is so intent on his task that he does not notice me. I am now about 3000 feet above him. Then he starts back a westerly course. I open my throttle wide and check my guns as I swoop down upon him. In a few seconds I am right on his tail. Fire ! My tracers vanish into his fuselage. And now he begins to twist and turn like a mad thing. Must not let him escape. Keep firing with everything I have. He goes into a dive, then straightens out again. He begins trailing smoke, which gradually become denser. I fire yet again. Then something suddenly splashes into my windshield. Oil. My engine ? I have no visibility ahead, and am no longer able to see the Spitfire. Blast ! My engine is still running smoothly. Appenrently the oil in front of my eyes must have come from the badly damaged Spitfire when its oil-cooler as shot to pieces. I veer a little to the right, in order to be able to observe the Tommy farther through the side window. He is gradually losing speed, but is still flying. The smoke-trail is becoming thinner. Then another Messerschmitt comes into view climbing up on my left. It is Lieutenant Dieter Gerhard, my old comrade, and I radio him to say that I am no longer able to fire. <<Then let me finish him, Heinz !>> He opens fire. The right wing of the Spitfire shears away. Like a dead autumn leaf, the plane flutters earthwards. And the pilot ? Is he still alive ? My throat tightens. I had come to like that boy. If he is not dead, why does he not bale out ? The Spitfire goes down, a flaming torch now, hurtling towards the snowfield. It will crash there and be utterly destroyed. And with it the pilot. I find myself shouting as if he could hear me : <<Bale out, lad, bale out !>> After all, he is human too ; a soldier, too, and a pilot with the same love of the sky and clouds that I feel. Does he also have a wife, a girl like Lilo, perhaps ? <<Bale out, lad, bale out !>> Then a body becomes detached from the flames and falls clear. A white parachute spreads open and drifts slowly down into the moutains. A feeling of pure joy is in my heart now. This is my first combat victory in the air. I have got my man and he is alive."	F/Lt Alastair D M GUNN
Detail 1	"Dieter and I share the bottle of brandy. We drink a toast to our own fighter pilots, and another one to our Tommy. Dieter brings him in, after landing in the mountains in a Fieseler Storch fitted with skis. He is tall, slim Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force. A stiff drink of brandy does him a lot of good. He joins in tha laughter when I explain how the entire bottle was actually dedicated to him.	What Knoke never know was F/Lt Alastair D M GUNN's destiny. Interned in the Sagan's prisonner camp he take part to the famous "Great Escape" . Captured he was executed on June 4, 1944 by Gestapo.

This victory was confirmed to Dieter Gerhardt
Dieter Gerhardt standing proudly beside the tail of his Bf 109. One can see the fresh mark of his first score : F/Lt Gunn's Spitfire. The photo was probably taken during march 1942 in Jever. Heinz Knoke intercepted and damaged this Spitfire, then he was blinded with the oil escaping from Spitfire. It is Dieter who finished the Spitfire. In numerous other air forces this victory would have been shared. Heinz Knoke, frustrated, always considered it as his first victory. Photos from Heinz Knoke personnal albums
	Detail of the serial markings : Werk Nr. 6381 F
	Detail of the victory mark : One can see the british roundel, the white mark highlighted by a (probably) red border. In the circle, probably the date and the type of the plane, Spitfire.

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