Phillipe Saintes

(http://www.luftwaffe-experten.com/)

E-mail 12/9-2002

I have written a book on my uncle who was shot down 21.55 o'clock 17th January 1943 some 45 kilometers north west of Juist island in his Halifax II when returning from a bomber raid to Berlin. I don't understand french, but I see that the date 17th January is mentioned in the text about Paul Zorner, and that this was his first hit. I am very (!!) interested in getting information about him, what is your soarce. Can you PLEASE help me.

Best regards

Pål Rustad

 

Svarmail 13/9-2002

Hello Pål,

I get the information directly from Herr Paul Zorner. He get his first kill the 17 january againt an Hallifax who went down in the North Sea. It crashed some 45 km north-west of Juist, a small island just off the north coast of Germany. The time was 21.55h. So it was well the plane of your uncle.

You can find a lot of materials on Paul Zorner in the book "Hunter of The Reich - Night Fighters" by David P. Williams, Tempus Publishing.

By the way I plan to write an article on Paul Zorner in the future for a french magazine, so I would like to keep in touch with you to get some information on your uncle and his crew.

Very Best regards,

Philippe Saintes

 

Svarmail

Hello Philippe -

Thank you for your quick reply!!

Do you think it is possible to get in contact with Paul Zorner, does he have E-mail or do you have his address??

Best regards

Pål

 

Svarmail

Dear Pål,

I'll send a letter very soon to Mr. Zorner to ask him if he'll agree I give you his address. It's not that I don't trust you but I had some trouble recently with Gerhard Wagner, another Night Fighter pilot. He was very unhappy because I had forward his mail address to a gentleman who hardly wished to contact him. For that Wagner forced me to drop his biorgraphy from the website.

I hope you understand me.

Best regards,

Philippe

 

Mail 14.10.2002

Hi Pål,

I think you've received a message from Mr Zorner, haven't you ?

Be seeing you !

Philippe Saintes

 

Mail 15.10.2002

Hi Philippe!

Yes! - thank you SO much, he has been very, very kind to give me all the details that I wanted to know, I have just finished my third mail to him!

Love to hear from you if anything appears!

Best wishes

Pål Rustad

 

Mail 18.10.2002

Dear Pål ,

I'm glad to hear that Mr. Zorner gave you all the details you wanted. He is a real gentleman.

Would it be possible to get some information about your uncle and his crew ?

Do you have some pictures of the crew and the plane that they flew ?

What is the title of your book ? I wish to mention it in the article I'm writting on Paul Zorner for a french magazine.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Best regards from Belgium,

Philippe.

 

Mail 18.10.2002

Dear Philippe!

Of course - you can get all the information I have.

First of all - you can get pictures from the web-site about my uncle, but the text is in norwegian, so you probably will not understand much of it except for some correspondence in english:

http://home.no.net/prusta1

The book I have written is in Norwegian, but it is all on the web site.

Here is the short story of my uncle:

He was engaged in the war in Norway from the very start the 9th april 1940.

He was then at an airport near Trondheim. As the war went on the army had to retire to North Norway. When the war ended in Norway the 9. of June, some of the airmen left the country for England, and some to Finland as there were plans to start training for the RNAF (Royal Norwegian Air Force) there. When it was clear that Finland had sympathies for Germany, the plans were cancelled and the men left, some for Sweden to get an opportunity to go to England/Canada and some went home - as my uncle.

The 5th February 1941 he left Norway again to get to the RNAF training school in Toronto, Canada. He went all the world around by train and plane and arrived at Calcutta in June. Some Norwegian airmen met there and reached San Fransisco by a Norwegian ship.

In Toronto he was immediately engaged as a teacher and stayed there for 6 months. He was then engaged in the Norwegian group in Transport Command (Ferry Command at that time) in Montreal. He made 4 trips across the Atlantic delivering planes in Scotland, two returns by ship and one by plane.

He was then engaged in 76 Sqdr., 4 Group at Linton-On-Ouse, RAF. He and four other norwegians was the first from our country in Bomber Command, and was followed by many others in this Sqdr. He was shot down on his 10th ops to Germany, this time to Berlin, by Oberleunant Zorner the 17th January 1943 at 21.54 hours 45 km North West of Juist island. The losses in this raid was 11.9% and the raids was stopped to Berlin until new navigation equipment (H2S) was taken into use. My uncle and his navigator Bjarne Indseth was the first Norwegians lost in Bomber command, but there were more to come; of the 14 norwegian pilots in Bomber Command, only 5 survived the war.

The crew on the last ops was:

Halifax B.11 DT 647 MP: P

 

Captain B. Naess RNAF, Pilot

Sergeant L. Lamb (1094107), Bomb Aimer

Lieutenant B. Indseth RNAF, Navigator

Sergeant A. V. D. Stinton (1307399), Wireless operator

Sergeant A. R. Saunders (1307696), Mid-upper gunner

Sergeant M. C. Moody (920127), Flight Engineer

Sergeant P. H. B. P. Green (1379175), Rear Gunner

I am sorry that I don't have any pictures of the crew or the plane.

Best wishes

Pål Rustad

 

Mail 20.10.2002

Dear Pål,

Thank you so much for all these information. I'll go and visit your website and talk to you later.

Best regards,

Philippe.