Lt Heinz Grimm

The last flight of ED702 being to Mannheim on the night of 23/24th Sept 1943, on the homeward leg of the sortie they were ‘Lost without trace’.

Route believed – Clacton – 50 58N 0254E – 49 55N 0705E – Mannheim.

The report from the Brunt crew states: ‘Amazing number of fighters flares over target’ while the Bull crew observed: ‘’Quite a number of fighters seen in target area by light of enemy flares.’

Working with Colin at 49 Association, the AHB (Air Historical Branch) and Dr Theo Boiten, we were able to conclude that ED702 was attacked by a night fighter possibly flown by Oblt Lenz Finster in a BF110 G-4 of 2./NJG1. And crashed near Landau. The crew were buried at the local church by the local residents and The Catholic Priest Revd Jakob Storck.

Oblt Finster himself was later killed on the 23/24th December of 1943 at Unteresbash 15 Km SE of Cologne, the Radar Op Fw Siegfried Beugel bailed out.

I joined a several forums in the hope of finding some more information on Oblt Lenz Finster, I was informed by a member of one of these that if I look in the book "Against multiple supremacy" (Gegen vielfache Ubermacht) by Gerhard Bracke, There are several pages with some photographs of Lenz Finster. All this and then just to throw a spanner into the works I am given the email of Gerhard Bracke the author of "Against multiple supremacy" Who very kindly went through all my research and told me that his relative Lenz Finster could not be the man I was looking for as the radar op Siegfried Beugel had told him that in 1976 had met up with the survivors of the Lancaster he had shot down that night a Lancaster from 103 Sqd.

Gerhard contacted Hans Ring for me and he was able to work our from his information that a Lt Heinz Grimm was our likely man, I passed this information onto Theo Boiten and from the research papers he has he was then able to confirm with very little doubt that Lt Heinz Grimm, member of the staff of the IV./ NJG (Nachtjagdgeschwader) G9+CE I, who was awarded the Knight's Cross after his death. Was the man I was looking for.

I was later able to meet with a member of Heinz's family, we spent the afternoon together talking about Heinz and his love of flying from a very early age, I was also then informed more detail about his death. The family shared many photographs of Heinz with me, these were a facinating insite into Heinz

After being shot down by an 88 flak battery, Heinz was seriously injured, taken to hospital he refused to allow the doctors to inform his mother of his condition, after some time the doctors over-ruled this and informed Heinz's mother of his injury's.

Heinz's mother then proceeded to the hospital to see her son, sadly arriving 30 minutes after he had passed away.

Heinz Grimms original headstone at Eisleben was damaged after the war and the family replaced it with the one there today.