During a recent visit to Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of Palestine, my wife came across a war memorial to killed and missing German airmen. Eleven rather crudely carved names, with rank and squadron, are listed, with dates ranging from 13 October 1917 to 1 October 1918. The text on the memorial itself is in German, while the plaque identifying the memorial is in Arabic, German and English. The dates seem to cover the Battle of Gaza, the fall of Jerusalem to Allenby and the Battle of Megiddo. But how did the Luftsreitkrafte come to be operating in Palestine? Were the planes transported from Germany by rail? There was a rail link all the way via Constantinople, Aleppo and the Hedjaz railway. Or were the planes part of the Turkish air force, flown by German pilots? Unfortunately, the photographs my wife took are too big to attach to this post, but if anyone is especially interested, I could email them.

jeremym
(Jeremy Mitchell)

Jeremy, you can read the answer in my old thread titled "Royal Bavarian Airfield Oberschleissheim" in post #10and ff

In the link provided by Egbert above, please also see my post No.20
There you will find ref to Benjamin Z. Kedar's book 'The Changing Land Between the Jordan and the Sea' published 1999 [ISBN: 965-05-0975-5]
There are five refs to Jenin in the book, including reproductions of two water-colours of the German airfield there
See if your local library can get hold the book for you

regards
Michael

Egbert

Thank you very much for pointing me to this old thread of yours, with its fascinating material. Do you know the war memorial in Jenin and the names of the German aviators who were killed or missing in the last year of the war? Unfortunately, the three photographs that my wife took take up too much space to attach to this post. I don't know if there is any way for me send them to you as email attachments. Otherwise, I could list the inscriptions on the monument in a post to you. Of course, you may have this information already. Incidentally, T E Lawrence, in Seven Pillars of Wisdom. mentions an airfield at Deraa, with '...old Albatross machines in the sheds'.

jeremym
(Jeremy Mitchell)



Michael

Thank you very much for this. I shall try to get hold of the book.

jeremym
(Jeremy Mitchell)

If I may I would like to contribute to this discussion...

As one of the first units of the new Army Group "F" four new fighterplane squadrons were deployed to Palestine by Germany - the Prussian fighter squadrons 301, 303 and 303 as well as the Bavarian squadron 304b under the command of Major von Heermskerck. The Bavarian squadron 304b had 24 officers and civilians, nine of them pilots and seven observers. In addition 215 soldiers as mechanics, metereoligics, drivers, medics etc. The squadron was put together in Schleissheim at Munich. The planes were at the beginning C. IV (AEG) and Albatros-D. II or D. V. The first Tranport left Schleissheim on the 25 August 1917 and arrived 1 September 1917 Istanbul. On the 1 October they arrived Aleppo and continued the travel via Rayak, Der'a and Afula up to the train staion of Wâdi Sarâr.
Find attached a picture of the train on its way through the Taurus mountains.

and here a picture of the airfield in Jenin...

An interesting picture from the Bavarian squadron might be the following, which shows some POWs, which were handed over to the F.A. 304b on the 25 March 1918. The pilots could be the Australian Captain Everet and captain Austin - the officer with the officers cap 1st Lt Matthew Lee. The prisoners were sent from Merchavia by the Turks to a POW camp in Smyrna (today: Izmir)
Information and pictures from Dr. Norbert Schwake, Israel. He recently published a book about German war graves in Palestine.

Regards
Klaus

El Shahin

Thank you for the marvellous photographs. I don't know why I seem unable to upload my wife's photographs of the names of the German fliers on the war memorial in Jenin, but I am happy to make out a list if anyone would be interested. The war memorial is situated in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank, so it is not easy for outsiders to get to.

jeremym
(Jeremy Mitchell)

With any luck this link will take you to the Great War Archive, University of Oxford, where Jeremy's photographs of the memorial can be seen
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/gwa/document/9279
click on the three items mentioned under Document contents

Many thanks to the pix provided by Jeremy and Janet for sharing their photographs. And thanks to Michael for pointing to the link. Much appreciated.

Also thanks to Klaus for making available his pix.

This area has been of keen interest to me and so have put online a chapter from the self published work by Ole Nikolajsen called Ottoman Aviation 1911 - 1919. The commentary in this thread is derived specifically from Chapter 8 of that work called: Pasha and Yildirim, the Palestine Front, 1915 to 1918.

The German Ottoman Air Force in the Sinai and Palestine

http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse...oman-air-force/

This page is a listing of the various sections of this chapter with links to those specific sections. Each section is a discrete history requiring its own page to maintain its integrity.

The questions asked by Jeremy are readily answered through the provided text.

I hope this detail adds to the general understanding of this era in aviation and also part of the action in Sinai and Palestine.

Cheers

Bill

Rare, excellent pictures and thanx for the link

Very many thanks Bill
A great read and useful resource

Michael

Quote: An interesting picture from the Bavarian squadron might be the following, which shows some POWs, which were handed over to the F.A. 304b on the 25 March 1918. The pilots could be the Australian Captain Everet and captain Austin - the officer with the officers cap 1st Lt Matthew Lee. The prisoners were sent from Merchavia by the Turks to a POW camp in Smyrna (today: Izmir)
Information and pictures from Dr. Norbert Schwake, Israel. He recently published a book about German war graves in Palestine

Klaus,

regarding your post No.7 above and Dr. Norbert Schwake's photograph of the three PoWs
The architecture of the buildings in the background matches an example that I have seen of Merhavya
['The Changing Land Between the Jordan and the Sea' by Benjamin Z. Kedar,
the photograph, bottom left, page 178, which is credited to the Bayerisches Haupstaatsarchiv, Munich, Abt.IV: Kriegsarchiv]
However, I feel that in all probability, the officer named as Everet, is in fact Evans:
see the Australian history's account of the capture of these three officers [here http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/histories/9/chapters/09.pdf]

quote:
A raid of four Martinsydes (three of them from No. I
Squadron) visited El Kutrani on March 19th. Heavy clouds
obscured the town, and the main event of the raid, the dropping
by Haig of a 230-lb. bomb on the station, could not be clearly
observed. The formation met with bad luck on the way
home. Major A J. Evans, in the Martinsyde from No. 142
Squadron, had to land with engine-trouble near Kerak. Austin
and Lee in an escorting Bristol Fighter, went down to pick
him up, but in landing broke a wheel. The three officers had
no alternative but to burn their machines and give themselves
up to Arabs, who quickly came up and subsequently handed
them over to the Turks. ... ...… …

Note.-Turkish documents captured in September disclosed the
following scale of rewards offered by the enemy:-
For every Arab or Indian prisoner, 40 piastres.
British private, T£I (coin).
Colonial or Indian officer, T£2.
British officer, T£5.
Documents containing strengths or movement orders, T£I.
Official orders of units, 20 piastres.
Letter or map, 5 piastres.
(Captured order of 158th Regiment, dated 15/12/17.)
Rewards for bringing down a British aeroplane were:-
To an airman, T£40.
To a company of infantry, T£30.
To an anti-aircraft gun crew (including T£15 for the gunner)
T£30.
(Captured order, dated 1/3/18.)
The Bedouins were not slow to perceive the possibilities of this
trade. Even friendly tribes required money payment for returning to
British Headquarters, on one occasion, two captured Australian airmen
Lieutenants Torikin and Vyner. The price was £50 each. ... ...

Also note …
The story of the capture of these three airmen will be found in The Escaping
Club, by A. J. Evans. (Major A. J. Evans, MC.; Nos. 3 and 142 Sqns.. R.F.C.
Company director; of Kent, Eng.; b. Newtown, Hants., Eng., 1st May 1889.)

best regards
Michael


ps: I have re-sized your/Dr. Norbert Schwake's photograph using 'photobucket' but alas have lost some quality in the process

There is something here http://content-www.cricinfo.com/england/co...ayer/12523.html
on Evans' first class cricket career, plus a photograph, which alas is undated
To be frank, I am not sure whether or not this latter helps
(I'm not actually sure that I can pick him out in the photograph of the three flyers supplied by Klaus)
It is worth mentioning however that while the Australian history referred to earlier has Evans, no Everet appears in the index

regards
Michael

Some more of Dr. Norbert Schwake's photograph collection relating to the German air force on the Palestine front can be seen here http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7...3579828,00.html

PS:
Note picture 'C' shown in the left margin and photograph No. 4
These are given as being the funeral of pilot Rüdiger von Kinsberg (and driver Otto Grabiat) on June 9, 1918
Looking at the photograph of the Jenin memorial [link in post No. 9] this pilot's name is second from the bottom


PPS:
Does anyone recognise the wounded Australian flyer in photograph No.5?