Date: 16th August 1940
Time: 17.50 hours.
Unit: Stab III/Zerstörergeschwader 76
Type: Messerschmitt Bf 110C-4
Werke/Nr. 3267
Code: 2N + CC (1st C in green)
Location: In woodland, Droke, E of East Dean, NE of Chichester, West Sussex. MR. OS Sheet No.197/921128.
Base: Laval, France.
Pilot: Leutnant Richard Marchfelder II Stab ZG1. Nr.124 POW
Radio/Op: Obergefreiter Herbert Jentzsch Ln.Kp.Lth. Ben. Nr.71 POW
REASON FOR LOSS:
III./ZG 76 were on the return leg of their escort sortie for the Heinkel He 111s of KG 55, when Kaldrack detached Marchfelder from the Stabschwarm and ordered him to hang behind, at safe altitude, to keep an eye out for crippled bombers. 'Rima' Marchfelder was to radio the Gruppe for help in the event of any trouble.
As Marchfelder recalls, "Far to the East, about ten miles ahead there appeared four Heinkel's on their way home. Like scared rabbits they hedgehopped from one batch of clouds to the next, desperately looking for cover. Just then a single aircraft appeared at eleven o'clock ! It popped out from the clouds into the sky like a cork from a champagne bottle. As it ignored the Heinkel's it was obviously a Me 109 like us guarding the bombers.
Marchfelder then states our "friend" suddenly changed direction and turning away from the Heinkel's, he was now facing us. As he banked into position, he exposed for a moment its elliptical shaped wings. It later transpired to be the Spitfire of Squadron Leader Sandy Johnstone of 602 sqn. based at Westhampnett. Now on a course for a show-down between them, both aircraft opened-fire before evading an inevitable collision. Marchfelder suffering the worst, reports crabbing hard to the right and fighting to keep her under control. "With great effort I managed to move my right leg over to the left rudder to help reduce the pressure (and) keep Ursula on her course. Although we were unable to see anything, our position must have been north of Portsmouth.
"Then, unexpectedly, the starboard engine burst into flames, its propeller paddling in a ball of fire. Closing the fuel line didn't seem to have any effect - nor did the fire extinguisher show any results. In the distance, the Channel appeared. But to get there and cross it seemed hopelessly remote! Ignoring my silent prayers, flames were creeping through the wall, eating into the cockpit."
Reluctantly accepting the inevitable, Marchfelder gave the order to bale out "Aussteigen Herbert" but he couldn't get out ! The cover of the 'greenhouse' was jammed ! He pushed against it with all the strength he could muster, but it did not budge! Fumes of burning rubber mixed with oxygen were filling my lungs making me cough violently. Fighting for breath, I was getting dizzy. Struggling to maintain control, Marchfelder tried to turn the aircraft onto its back but the smoke and fumes were affecting his sense of orientation. "I was getting engulfed in flames. Only then it occurred to me that I was turning over the burning engine. Fighting desperately to move away from the heat, I jerked Ursula to the left ! As a result Herbert fell out, into the fresh atmosphere, together with his (cockpit) cover!
Marchfelder then tried to lift himself out of the cockpit, but his parachute pack got caught under the rear cockpit frame. Struggling to release himself, and desperate to avoid the agony of being roasted alive, he finally managed to pull his parachute clear of the framework and fell clear. "I was free! But not before passing through a ball of fire. What a relief it was to be greeted by the soothing cold air at seven thousand metres."
Jentzsch and Marchfelder both survived, landing safely near Amberley, but 'Rima' wrenched his knee badly on landing. Their aircraft crashed 6 miles away at Droke, near Upwaltham, north of Chichester
(Thanks to Clive Ellis for photo and Marchfelder personal account via Peter Cornwell)
Rare colour photo showing Lt Marchfelder at the controls of his Me 110 taken by his radio operator Herbert Jentzsch (Ellis via Jentzsch)
The crash site of Lt Marchfelder's Me 110 pictured October 2008. 
Small parts from Marchelder's Bf 110 in the Clive Ellis collection
Please support our work and visit our Archive section 
