_{INVITATION TO DIG} 

The resumption by the Luftwaffe of their ‘mini-blitz’ in the spring of 1944 was code named ‘Steinbock’. This saw larger numbers of bombers over the British Isles than had been seen for many months. The night of 21/22 March saw around 95 aircraft sent out to attack London. Four of the raiders were brought down on land. 4D+AT fell to the guns of Sqn/Ldr. Bunting and his radar operator Flt/Lt Reed in a Mosquito of 488 Sqn flying out of Bradwell Bay. They found the Germans with the help of searchlights, and despite evasive manoeuvres and the release of ‘Duppel’ foil strips to hamper the Mosquito’s radar, the 9/KG30 Junkers was hit by two bursts of 20mm cannon fire. The bomber went down in an inverted dive and exploded on impact in a field at Blacklands Hall, just to the north of Cavendish at 00:45. RAF intelligence travelled to Suffolk to inspect the crash site and reported that the Ju88A-4, Werke No 301522,  had impacted at a very steep angle, the fuel tanks exploding and the engines and fuselage being buried in a crater 14ft deep. The pilot Obfw. Mayer and the radio operator Obfw. Szyska were killed in the crash, Fw. Maser the observer and Fw Elmhorst both baled out safely and became prisoners of war. This was to be the third German to fall to S/L Buntings guns, the fourth would be a Ju188, 25 minutes later, over southern Essex. Karl-Heinz Elmhorst recalled that he baled out at a reasonable height, giving him enough time to take his pistol from its holster and strip it, throwing the pieces to all points of the compass, so that it would not fall into enemy hands.

The crew in front of their aircraft.

The site was originally dug by a team from Colchester. Following an article in the local newspaper concerning the naming of Maitland Road, a telephone call was received from a farmer at Cavendish. He had just bought some land and was told that there had been a German bomber crash on it during the war. In short we were invited to come over and dig it up. This was done in 1990 when a Jumo 211 engine, mainwheel tyre & smaller items, including a shaving kit and the lens from a small 'Kodak' camera were recovered.

Above left is a parachute harness release box, right is the shaving kit.