Ju88 recovered on Welsh Mountainside

PublishedFebruary 6, 2026

Junkers Ju88A-6
Werknummern (serial): 3459
12 Staffel./Kampfgeschwader 3
Pilot: Oberleutnant Guenter Brixius (Killed)
Navigator: Oberfeldwebel Fritz Kreienbrock POW)
Radio/Op: Obergefreiter Paul Kochon (POW)
Gunner: Feldwebel Adolf Leibig (Killed)
Date: 25th April 1942
Place: Gwaunceste Hill, near Builth Wells

**Photographed by Peter Foote in 1962, the crash site of Ju88A-6 Wn.3459 on Gwaunceste Hill, near Builth Wells**

On the eightieth anniversary of the loss of this Ju 88, 25th April 1942, a small piece of the archaeology of Aviation Archaeology is remembered. As the only high-ground Luftwaffe crash site in South Wales, it has always attracted interest.

Although not a formal system, the Ministry of Defence wanted to be informed of recovery operations

The Ju 88A-6 was supporting a raid on Bath, attempting to attack nearby airfields. Confused by Mekon, an early electronic countermeasures system, the aircraft strayed near Cardiff’s anti-aircraft guns and was damaged. Heading north, it was soon intercepted and shot down by a Beaufighter.

Two crew members escaped by parachute, while two were killed in the crash.

A cockpit control lever and linkages were picked up from the surface in 1962

**A 1979 recovered camouflage demarcation line. The sky blue was given a temporary overpaint for night operations**

The site was first visited in 1962 by pioneer researcher Peter Foote, when it appeared as a scar on the mountainside, with a forest being planted around it. By 1979, the crash site lay hidden in a firebreak among thick conifers.

Philippa Hodgkiss made several visits to the location, interviewing eyewitnesses and assisting groups with excavations. During two visits in 1979, without the use of a metal detector, she recovered two gold rings—remarkable finds at a site so often searched.

The rings were returned to the German authorities and, within a year, were passed on to the pilot’s brother and the gunner’s sister-in-law.

**Two rings, which Philippa found only months apart in 1979. These were returned to the next of kin by the German authorities**

Mrs Bufton, from the nearby Llanhailo Farm, holding an iron cross, found after the crash

**A label found in 1982, confirming the aircraft’s Werk number, 3459, and showing the Junkers aircraft had been built by Henschel**

Pilot Oberleutnant Günter Brixius (born 02.07.1916) and gunner Feldwebel Adolf Leibig (born 05.08.1916) were killed in the crash, while navigator Oberfeldwebel Fritz Kreienbrock (born 24.11.1914) and radio operator Obergefreiter Paul Kochon (born 30.08.1922) survived and were taken prisoner.