Cannock Chase Cemetery

[Stormfighter]

I recently acquired the documents of Feldwebel Friedrich "Fritz" Möller, a pilot of the 11. Jagdgeschwader 51, who was shot down on 10 April 1941 over the Thames Estuary (note that the German War Graves Commission website incorrectly gives Möller's date of death as 16 November 1940). Möller is buried in the Cannock Chase Military Cemetery in Section 1, Row 9, Grave 317.

I'm wondering if there is a kind Englishman who lives near Cannock Chase who could possible photograph Möller's grave for me and send it to me by e-mail. I will offer $50 to the person who can complete this "mission" for me. Hoping to hear from someone across the great pond.

Barry Smith
Millville, New Jersey, USA

[SiPo]

Barry,

Cannock Chase is about an hour and a half drive away from me.

If I get a chance next weekend I will endeavour to accommodate you...... free of charge.

[Stormfighter]

Graham, thanks, I would really appreciate it. I insist on paying you - gas isn't free

[Daniele C]

Thats why we call it Petrol and not Gas in this side of the globe

Only messin my friend, nice gesture Graham!

[Stormfighter]

Daniele, Obama wants us to go green, so maybe I can convince Graham to ride his bicycle . I'd be willing to pay for Graham's food along the way, but I think that bill would be much more than the gas/petrol. The reality is that oil is the cheapest and most efficient form of fuel in the world at this point in history. Future research may lead to more efficient methods, but it won't be in our lifetime - guaranteed.

Research and development takes a lot of time - one of the big myths of the Second World War is that if Germany had six-months more months to continue the war, they could have changed the course of the war through the deployment of Me 262s as fighters. The facts are, Me 262s needed much more time to perfect, perhaps years; the Luftwaffe lacked a cadre of proficient pilots to fly them (the Me 262 was not easy to fly and most of Germany's proficient pilots had already been killed); and finally, Germany didn't have enough fuel to keep them in the air. Had the war lasted for another six months, trust me, one or more atomic bombs would have fell on Germany - I believe that Berlin would have been one of the targets - which we should all be glad never occurred.

By the way, I can't wait to see the date that is noted on Möller's tombstone. The German Red Cross gave his date of death as 10 April 1941, which I think may not be the date of his death, but the date of his Auffindung (date that his body was found), this according to the German Red Cross. Möller was shot down over the mouth of the Thames River, so he may have been shot down a few days (weeks?) before and only when he washed ashore was he declared as dead (he very well have been listed as missing before).

[gary42-43]

google maps say only 38 minutes away. There's a very good chance i'll do this today. The weather's a bit overcast for photos but I'll do my best. I've been before & it's a nice cemetery. I've looked through my previous photos but no image of Möller's grave.

[hucks216]

Barry, have you access to The Blitz Then & Now Vol 2? If not this is the entry for LW losses on 10th April 1941 (all spelling unchanged)...

A fighter sweep over Kent during the day resulted in the loss of a Messerschmitt Bf 109.
II/JG-51 - Messerschmitt Bf109E (5670). Shot down during a raid on Canterbury by Pilot Officer P. Chesters in a Spitfire of 74 Sqdn. Crashed at Frost Farm, St. Nicholas-at-Wade, Kent 5.00pm. Fw F. Mäoller killed. Aircraft Black 8+ destroyed.
Following the combat PO Chesters performed a victory roll over RAF Manston but spun into the Barrack Square and was killed in Spitfire P7864.
Parts of Daimler-Benz DB601 engine recovered by the Brenzett Aeronautical Museum in June 1973.

The Gruppe doesn't match but the JG does and while the pilot's name is different it is only slightly so and could well be an error in either admin or the publication research as it is a bit of a coincidence that the JG, rank and Christian name all match. It is the only loss for JG-51 entered for that day.

[gary42-43]

I visited the cemetery this morning & took some photos. If you pm me your email address Barry, i'll send them to you. I'm itchin' to post them now but i know image hosting is frowned upon. Maybe you can post them when you recieve them?
The date on Friedrich Möller's grave stone is 16-11-40
It was a pleasure btw. no charge

[hucks216]

With regards to the 16th Nov 1940 date, there are no JG-51 losses listed in The Blitz Then & Now Vol 2 for that date. Fighter losses for 15/16th Nov 1940 belonged to 4./JG-2, 3./JG-26 (two a/c) & 4./JG-54. There are no fighter losses listed for 16/17th Nov 1940 and only two such losses for 17/18th Nov 1940, one belonging to 2./JG-3 and one to 3./JG-27.
There is one JG-51 loss listed for 14/15th Nov 1940 and was for an aircraft from I/JG-51 and the pilot (Fhr E. Vortbach) burnt to death in the wreckage, shot in head and believed to be buried at Cannock Chase as an unknown airman.

[Stormfighter]

Graham,

Gary42-43 saved you from making a trip to the Cannock Chase Military Cemetery and photographed the grave of Feldwebel Friedrich Möller. As I suspected, the wrong date of death is noted on the gravestone, that is, 16 November 1940, not 10 April 1941.

Kevin, it's easy to see how the confusion came about regarding Möller's unit. Someone misinterpreted his Staffel (11) as the II. Gruppe of J.G. 51. Möller actually last served with the 11./J.G. 51 (this unit was formed from the former 2./J.G. 77), which was part of the IV./J.G. 51. Through Möller's Wehrpass, his unit can be documented.

Besides posting photos of Möller's grave - thanks again Gary! - I am posting several pages from his Wehrpass. Before Möller was shot down, he shot down two Spitfires, one on 4 September 1940 while serving with the 2./J.G. 77 and one on 5 March 1941 while flying with the 11./J.G. 51. The hoot is that he flew 208 missions during the Battle of Britain. This suggests that he flew as someone's wingman, perhaps even as the wingman of Oberleutnant Franz "Gockl" Hahn, the Staffelkapitän of the 11./J.G. 51. The ironic part about Möller's loss was that Pilot Officer Peter Chesters lost his life while celebrating his victory over Möller, which is a damn shame. I found an excellent history regarding Chesters here:

http://www.bbm.org.uk/as-chesters.htm

I think it is interesting to note that Möller was awarded the E.K. II before he claimed any victories, which shows that awards were not only given out for shooting down the enemy. In his case, it would appear that the E.K. II was awarded for flying multiple missions or skillfully protecting the pilot to whom he was assigned as a wingman.

I am also posting a letter from the German Red Cross that confirms that Möller was killed on 10 April 1941.

Now I am wondering if anyone has ever visited Möller's crash site at Frost Farm, St. Nicholas-at-Wade, Kent. I sure would like to have a small piece of that plane!

Gary or Graham, perhaps during your next visit to the Cannock Chase Military Cemetery, you could bring photos of the German Red Cross letter regarding Möller's loss and pages from the Wehrpass. Perhaps they will make an effort to change the date on his gravestone, which I really think should be done.

Barry

[Stormfighter]

__

[Stormfighter]

___

[Stormfighter]

____

[Stormfighter]

_____

[Stormfighter]

______