"Luisenhof Ferme" - Crash site of Major Lanoe Hawer

[Olham]

Thank you, Dezh, for posting the new additions to the McMaster war map archives!
With these maps I was now able to find the grounds of former "Luisenhof Ferme", the crash site of Major Lanoe Hawker.

From Peter Kilduff: THE RED BARON - BEYOND THE LEGEND
"The two aeroplanes went lower and lower as Richthofen fought 'the most difficult battle ... that I
experienced thus far...' Then one of Richthofen's guns cleared and he fired right into the back
of his opponent. The DH.2 dropped into the mud about 250 m east of Luisenhof Ferme, a devastated farm
along the road to Flers, just south of Bapaume. A nearby German Grenadier unit pulled Hawker's body
from the wreckage and determined he had been killed by one shot in the back of the head.
Hawker was buried on the spot, with the broken DH.2 serving as a final monument."

On 23 November 1916 the farm was already devastated, and it seems it was never rebuilt, but torn down.
Still though, roads and field paths are recognisable, when you compare the field map with Google Earth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2014 by Olham

[Hauksbee]

Do you think the house sits on the crash site, or simply somewhere on the property?

[Olham]

The house is the farm (ferme) - it must have been there in the war already.

The crash site was 250 meters east of the farm.

[Hauksbee]

OK. That makes sense.

[Olham]

The first post was edited and completely changed, because Dej/Dezh had posted a link to new trench maps

at the McMaster University Archive. And with two of the new maps I was now able to find Luisenhof Ferme.

My original guess had been too far north; closer to Bapaume. But now we have the proof - a trench map

with the farm in it.