Letztes Jahr hat mir ein sehr enger Portugiesischer Freund eine Geschichte erzählt die mich zu Tränen gerührt hat, es handelte sich um die 7 Crew Mitglieder die in Portugal ums Leben kamm.
Da es mir lange Zeit überhaupt nicht gut ging, habe ich die Geschichte verdrängt. Heute als ich meine alte Mails aussortieren wollte, bin ich wieder drüber gestoßen.
Im Internet habe ich auch ein wenig recherchiert, aber außer von einem Portugieser, ist nichts früber zu finden.
Hier was ich gefunden Habe mit Quellenangabe;
9 July 1943, 7 germans died, when it's plane crashed near Aljezur, Algarve. The plane flew along the portuguese coast when was intercepted by a british fighter. On the eve of 8 to 9, the allied had attacked nazi positions in sicily, while several convoys sailed into the mediterraneum. Presumly the FW was sent to attack those convoys. Was hunted down and crashed into a cliff.
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=53803
Hier was mir mein Freund damals geschrieben hatte, er blieb extra noch eine Nacht um am nähchsten Tag das keine Museum zu besuchen wo die durch Taucher über die Jahre geborgen Teile ausgestellt werden.
On the night of 9 July 1943, a formation of four Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf 200 C-4 Condors, from Kampfgeschwader 40, with registrations F8 NT, F8 IT, F8 CD, and F8 KT was patrolling off the Portuguese Southwest coast in search of Allied convoys.
(The FW 200 Condor was a long-range four-engine airplane bomber with an endurance of 14 hours. The Luftwaffe KG40 was based in Bordeaux-Merignac, occupied France. Their mission was to find and attack Allied convoys in the North Atlantic, or refer their positions to the U-Boats of the Kriegsmarine.)
At 0330 AM, when prepared to attack a small Allied convoy traveling between Sines and Cabo de S. Vicente, the Condors were intercepted by an unknown number of Royal Air Force Bristol Beaufighters (long-range fighters), and Lockheed Hudsons (light bombers), from the RAF base in Gibraltar.
As a result of the RAF attack, Condor F8 NT crashed at the Ponta da Atalaia cliff, Arrifana, with the death of all seven crewmembers. They are buried at the Aljezur cemetery. The other three Condors managed to return to base.
This incident received no publicity, to avoid embarrassing Germany. Portugal was officially neutral during WW II but, like other neutral countries, played with both sides. There is a book written about this event, The Battle of Aljezur, by José Augusto Rodrigues.
Over time, small parts of the F8 NT wreckage have been recovered from the sea by amateur divers, which are displayed at a local museum.
May they rest in peace...It's good to see they have a grave at all, who puts
the flowers/plants onto them and looks after the graves?
The graves are indeed well maintained by the keeper of the cemetery, who sees it as his duty since the airmen died away from home and, as far as he knows, no one ever came visit them.
I gave him €20, which he was very reluctant to accept.
Parts of the Condor that crashed just off the coast are in a small museum in the village of Aljezur but closes on weekends. I will have to stay in the area one more night to go see them Monday morning.