 "Luftwaffe" records indicate that the Ju 88 maritime fighters were operating beyond their normal patrol area to intercept and shoot down the aircraft.First "Oberleutnant" Herbert Hintze, "Staffelkapitän" of 14 "Staffel", V./Kampfgeschwader 40, and based in Bordeaux, stated that his "Staffel" shot down the DC-3 because it was recognized as an enemy aircraft.Hintze further stated that his pilots were angry that the "Luftwaffe" leaders had not informed them of a scheduled flight between Lisbon and the UK, and that had they known, they could easily have escorted the DC-3 to Bordeaux and captured it and all aboard.