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24 April The only damage arising from a British raid on Stavanger that morning was one aircraft set on fire but pilots of II./JG 77 claimed two Lockheed Husdons and a “Hampden-Hereford”, 150 km SW of the target area.
Subsequently, Struckmann [“Struckmeier” in the decrypt] was awarded the Iron Cross for shooting down four hostile aircraft and “distinguished conduct during English raid of 20 April on Stavanger etc.” Petermann was recommended for the decoration for his victory over the Handley-Page. At 1343 GMT a Kette of Ju 88 from 6./LG 1 (L1+CP, GP and HP) had left Stavanger and been missing ever since. In Trondheim, a Ju 88 of the Geschwader’s 8. Staffel (L1+US) was reported missing; this was probably Uffz. Ernst Röber’s machine, which had fallen to anti-aircraft fire the previous day. A Ju 88 said to be marked GI+FS had not arrived in Oslo as expected. It was reported from Narvik that there was a damaged KG 30 Ju 88 there. The crew was to be sent to Headquarters in transport aircraft which would normally return empty. 25 April A Leutnant of 2.(H)/10 »Tannenberg«, found dead by his aircraft, had been buried in Aalborg. This was almost certainly Ltn. Werner Kleidt, from one of the two Hs 126 which collided near Aalborg on 20 April. An He 111 of Stab LG 1 (L1+DA) was expected in Stavanger from Luftgau 1 but had not arrived by evening. Also overdue were two Fw 200 of 1./KG 40 (one of them was F8+CH) which should have arrived in Oslo from Aalborg. Bombing of Trondheim resulted in the destruction of both signals Ju 52 there. The crew of VQ+AL were though to have survived but Uffz. Werner Kosik of NQ+AU (a Ju 52) had been killed. It was however hoped to salvage a 200-Watt and a Type III wireless set from the latter.
F6+GH of 1.(F)/122 (apparently an He 111 operating from Stavanger) failed to return from its patrol. This may have been the German aircraft reported the following afternoon as having come down in the sea 55 km SW of Stavanger-Sola. 26 April Stavanger made urgent enquiries about a missing aircraft of 9./LG 1, L1+KT. This was the He 111 of Uffz. Theodor Mertens which had been shot down by Fleet Air Arm Skuas over Moldefjørd. In a British raid near Trondheim (apparently on Jonsvatnet) a repair shed was wrecked and five Ju 87, an Fi 156 and two Ju 52 were destroyed along with 117 petrol containers and 49 x SC 250 bombs. One man was killed and six wounded. Another report stated that a Junkers signals aircraft had been destroyed with one man killed and two injured. 27 April The III./LG 1 was recalled from Stavanger to Schleswig; L1+JT and FD were to be left behind, the one with engine trouble, the other owing to shortage of petrol. [L1+JT had been reported as landing in Stavanger on the 26th]. Aircraft of I./KG 26 raiding Aandalsnes were attacked by what they took to be five Blackburn Rocs [Skuas in fact] and two of the German machines had a crew member severely wounded. Another report, apparently on the same incident stated that five He 111 H-3 and five H-4 attacked at 1330 GMT, causing fires in the town, harbour and station. They were attacked by “Rocs” and Gladiators, and one machine force-landed south of Stavanger while a flight mechanic was killed. 28 April It was learned that two He 111 H of 2./KGr. 100, 6N+EK and LK, were missing. [Jean-Louis Roba records that both had fallen to anti-aircraft fire the day before, with their crews taken prisoner]. An He 111 made a forced landing on Frøya Island during the morning. 29 April Fifteen Ju 52 and seven “Messerschmidts” landed at Trondheim during the morning, three of the latter being slightly damaged owing to the soft ground. Apparently these were Bf 109s for 46 were reported serviceable there the following day. Between 1630 and 1830 GMT, II./JG 77 sent up two Rotten from Kristiansand-South to protect German shipping. They did not contact the enemy but one Rotte ran short of fuel and made a forced-landing at Esbjerg. 30 April Bf 109s of 4./JG 77 were in action against British aircraft during the afternoon. Oberleutnant Helmut Henz claimed a Blenheim at 1635 and nine minutes later Ltn. Heinz Demes accounted for another. An unnamed NCO (in fact Ofw. Erwin Sawallisch) brought down a Wellington at 1755 but five minutes after that Demes was himself shot down by a Wellington. He fell into the sea west of Stavanger, the aerodrome authorities that day asking for an additional sea-rescue aircraft because there had been three accidents within three hours.
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