'Red 12' back in England for the Duxford/Shuttleworth airshows

'Red 12' spent the night at Headcorn before departing this morning in humungous temperatures for the weekend's flying displays. Photos courtesy Dale and Jonty... 

Storming the bombers - Egon Mayer's first 'frontal' attack, 23 November 1942

 

The air war in the West and over the Reich determined the fate of the Luftwaffe - with a higher percentage of casualties to participants than in the East, it was by far the most costly theatre for the Luftwaffe. And the Allies for that matter. The USAAF lost over 79,000 airmen between 1942-1945 and the RAF lost over 8,000 aircraft in the period 1939-1945 resulting in similar numbers of air crew killed. Over 60% of these losses were attributed to enemy fighters, both day and night respectively. The USAF lost over 8,000 bombers from November 1942 to May 1945 with German fighter pilots shooting down over 6,000 American and 7,000 RAF bombers, at a cost of 150,000 Allied airmen combined. The Germans themselves lost almost 20,000 fighter and 'destroyer' crews men and pilots, more than half killed fighting against the heavy bombers and their fighter escorts on the Western Front. Attacking a bomber formation was dangerous. Initial encounters with US bombers flying by day during mid-late 1942 were inconclusive, but the Germans quickly grew to realise that the American four-engine bombers with their heavy defensive armament - well able to absorb punishment especially when flying in their mutually protective ‘combat boxes’ - were tough opponents.  

Egon Mayer scored his first heavy bomber kills as Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 2 on 23 November  1942 - this may well have been his first such encounter with the '4-mot. Kampfflugzeuge' or “Viermots.” Having been appointed Gkr. at the start of that month, Mayer - known as a conscientious, studious and pragmatic fighter pilot and leader - had studied tactics and angles of attack to develop procedures against the 'Viermots' - most notably the B-17.  Other pilots in his unit had been doing likewise - Jules Meimberg recalled in his memoir;

“ we sought out as much information on these machines as we could find..first flight in 1935, steadily upgraded and improved..three revolving turrets, eight heavy machine guns for defence..and only one point of weakness – the cockpit. Whereas Mayer wanted to launch attacks from all directions simultaneously to disperse the defensive fire, I argued that head-on – hitting the B-17s where their defensive fire was at its weakest - was the only certain way to bring a Fortress down..”  

US bombers were increasingly penetrating the airspace of western and northern France. Mayer's Gruppe was specifically tasked with defending the U-boat bases in Brittany.  While JG 2 was not scrambled on the 9 October 1942 attack on the 'Lille industrial area', this was the first raid for which the US VIII BC managed to assemble over 100 bombers. However events elsewhere (North Africa) meant that it would be another six months before such a large force could be put together again over Western Europe. 

On 7 November, some 34 B-17s and B-24s raided Brest. Oblt. Bruno Stolle claimed one B-24, the first of this type shot down by the Richthofen Geschwader. St. Nazaire was the target of 36 bombers on 23 November 1942. Mayer led off 7. and 9./ JG 2 from Vannes at around 12:00 mid-day. 

As the Fw 190s sighted the bomber formation, Mayer made a rapid assessment of the situation and elected to attack the bomber formation 'head-on'. Climbing almost a mile above and three miles ahead of the formation, he turned and started  a shallow diving attack from the front. Receiving light defensive fire he held his approach for several seconds, focusing his aim on the port engines.  Perhaps less than thirty feet above the bomber 'box' he veered away as the target headed to earth. He repeated this pass on a second B-17. Fifty calibre rounds pounded his armor plate around his cockpit and according to one account, damaged two cylinders in his engine. Pulling up and gaining altitude, he then closed on a box of B-24s, an attack timed at  14:00.  By this stage he was probably almost out of ammunition and running low on fuel. Mayer decided to return to base. While he claimed two B-17s and a B-24 on 23 November 1942 (his victories 52-55) and brought back a relatively unscathed aircraft, no B-24s were lost. Four B-17s in total did fail to return - two credited to Mayer, one for Uffz. Friedrich May of 8./JG 2 and the fourth was credited to Oblt. Siegfried Schnell, StaKa of 9./JG 2, his 72nd victory. Mayer's 7. Staffel wingman Uffz. Theo Angele was the only loss suffered by III./JG 2- Angele's Fw 190 A-4 was hit by the bombers' defensive fire and went down into the sea. Angele's body was later washed up on the coast.

General der Jagdflieger Galland was quick to praise Mayer's initiative against the Viermots on 23 November 1942. In a message sent to all units  (below, dated 14 December and received at I./JG 54 on 13 January 1943) he urged all formation leaders to adopt this frontal attack method where possible in order to increase the 'lethality' of the German fighters and overwhelm the bomber formations. 

RL 10/291 contains a combat report 'Erfahrungsbericht' (a  'retour d'experience' written for the JG 54 pilots shifting  to the Western Front) which indicates that Mayer almost certainly employed the new frontal attack method for the first time during this raid. The traditional attack from the rear had proved risky, with attacking fighters likely sustaining many hits from the defensive fire of a typical staggered trail formation. 

 There were of course several 'negatives' to the frontal pass - attacking from head-on gave the German fighter pilot only a few seconds to line up, aim, fire and either pull up or dive away after a closing speed of 500 mph or more. Few German pilots could do this, which was considered an acquired skill and required steely nerves. Those who did master this method risked collision and damage or destruction once they pulled up, or in most cases rolled into a 'split-S' manoeuvre and dove away following the attack. On the other hand, only the top turret twin fifties on the B-17 F models could engage the incoming aircraft, reducing exposure to the numbers of guns in a formation until the fighter passed underneath or overhead. But by then the German was too fast for the ball turret to track and engage. Waist gunners had to be cautious in firing for fear of hitting the bomber on their flank. But the frontal pass directly concentrated fire on the most vulnerable part of the bomber - the cockpit. In response to this new method of German attack, the Americans introduced new models - the B-17 G and B-24 H both incorporated the forward firing “chin” mounted twin fifty calibre machine guns to defend against the head-on attack. This soon led to the exclusive use of the more heavily armed Fw 190s to attack the bombers, leaving the Messerschmitts to engage the American escort fighters.

Below; Oblt. Egon Mayer (fifth left) with his 7. Staffel seen in Poix during October 1942. Uffz. Theo Angele KIA on the 23 November raid is fourth right.

These developments deterred all but the most dedicated and efficient bomber 'killers'. Those aces who 'specialised' in the frontal attack simply changed their angle of attack, above the chin turret guns’ elevation, rolling over exposing the undersides of their Fw-190s, where the armor plating absorbed the impact of the enemy rounds. Most of the German fighter pilots who amassed many bomber kills paid a heavy price and fought a long war. For example, Georg-Peter Eder was shot down on multiple occasions and wounded numerous times. He had three kills confirmed after colliding with his targets, surviving the crash and being thrown from the wreckage, the last being in a Me-262 jet, breaking both legs in January 1945, ending his war. Anton Hackl was shot down eight times and also wounded on four occasions, including a collision. Eder was not that an unusual case. Most of Germany’s pilots were shot down and often wounded several times. Returning to combat was expected unless the loss of sight, a limb or other crippling injury was the result. The fortunate few became instructors until they healed, passing on their knowledge to the next group of future fighter pilots. This protection was far less available in the front of a formation, and an attack described by Heinz Knoke shows how on the job training often developed a better result, but was a much more difficult and dangerous proposition: 

“We draw closer to the bomber formation…I can distinguish the individual enemy aircraft now. Most of them are Liberators….They look as if their fat bellies are pregnant with bombs. I pick one of them as my target…I shall make a frontal attack. The Yank is focused in my sights. He grows rapidly larger. I reach the firing buttons on the stick. Tracers come whizzing past my head. They have opened up on me! Fire! I press both buttons, but my aim is poor. I can see only a few hits register in the right wing. I almost scrape the fat belly as I dive past. Then I am caught in the slipstream, buffeted so violently that for a moment I wonder if my tail plane has been shot away. I climb up steeply and break away to the left. Tracers pursue me, unpleasantly close. “Damn all this metal in the air! Three hundred heavy bombers carry a total of 4,800 super heavy machine guns. Even is only one in ten has a chance to fire that still means we run into quite a barrage. I come in for a second frontal attack, this time from a little below. As I swing round I turn my head. Flames are spreading along the bottom of the fuselage of my Liberator. It sheers away from the formation in a wide sweep to the right. “Twice more I come in to attack, this time diving from above the tail. I am met by heavy defensive fire. My plane shudders under the recoil from the cannon and two 13 mm guns. I watch my cannon shell bursts rake along the top of the fuselage and right wing, and then I hang on to the stick with both hands. Fire spreads along the right wing. The inside engine stops. Suddenly the wing breaks off altogether. The body of the stricken monster plunges vertically, spinning into the depths. A long black trail of smoke marks its descent. “One of the crew attempts to bail out. But his parachute is in flames. Poor devil! The body somersaults and falls to the ground like a stone. At an altitude of 3,000 feet there is a tremendous explosion, which causes the spinning fuselage to disintegrate. Fragments of blazing wreckage land on a farm 200 or 300 yards from the Zwischenahn Airfield, and the exploding fuel tank sets the farm buildings on fire.”

Also on this blog;

rare images of Georg-Peter Eder JG 2

Storming the bombers ! IL2 movie based on Heinz Knoke's memoir - in two parts

Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey Stuka in colour

 

A Ju 87 D-5 of the Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey seen about to depart on a sortie from Immola during July 1944. Earlier D-series aircraft generally retained the 7.92 mm MG 17 wing machine guns, but the D-5 replaced them with a pair of MG 151/20 cannon to improve the Stuka's ground-attack capability. This may be an SA-Kuva image (see p71 of Falconer's "Haynes Manual") and may be (period) colorised.

On the Ju 87 D-5, the underwing racks were not simply generic ETC racks. The D-5 could carry a variety of underwing stores on specialized wing-mounted bomb carriers or Schlosslafetten (bomb-carriage mountings) as here. The D-5's ground-attack role made extensive use of these wing stations for SC 50s, SC 70s, fragmentation bomb containers and other stores. The underwing ETC 50/VIIIdTp bomb racks allowed bombs and containers weighing up to 300 kg to be suspended... The fuselage racks: 1000/500/IXb — centreline rack for the heaviest bombs. 500/IXc — centreline rack for lighter bombs. Detachment Kuhlmey (Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey) took 33 Ju 87 D-5 Stukas to Finland as the dive-bomber component of I./SG 3. The complete force that arrived at Immola in June 1944 consisted of approximately 70 combat aircraft, including: 33 Ju 87 D-5 dive bombers (I./SG 3) 29–62 Fw 190 A-6 fighters (II./JG 54) 16 Fw 190 F fighter-bombers (I./SG 5) 1–8 Bf 109 G-8 reconnaissance aircraft (I./NAGr 5)

more KG 100 He 177s - archive photo scan #53

 

Loading a KG 100 He 177 for a raid on England on a French airfield, perhaps Châteaudun just south of Paris - this is most likely an He 177 A-5 which featured the broader wing and heavy under-wing bomb carrying capability. The bomb being manhandled under the wing is likely either an SC 1000 'Hermann' or possibily an SC 1800 'Satan'. The SC 2500 'Max' was the heaviest air-dropped bomb used by the Luftwaffe and could be carried by the He 177. It was also too large for the internal bomb bay of the He 177 which was divided into two longitudinal 'sections'. Given that the ground crew are still able to manipulate the bomb on a wheeled trolley the ordnance being loaded is probably not the 'Max'.. The SC 1000 had a length of 2.5 m and a width of 0.65 m.

Kurfürst K-4 cockpit revisions

 

The cockpit of the Bf 109 K-4 was not simply a late-war Gustav cockpit with a few new instruments. One of the most noticeable internal changes was on the starboard sidewall, where Messerschmitt redesigned the layout as part of the K-series standardization program.

On the Bf 109 G-series, including the G-6, a prominent fuel line associated with the external drop tank system ran along the upper part of the starboard cockpit sidewall. It featured a 'clear' window cut-out to enable the pilot to detect the first air bubbles indicating that the tank was approaching empty. All Friedrichs and Gustavs had the fuel line for the drop tank running on the upper right hand side of the cockpit. On the K-4 the fuel system routing was revised. The conspicuous starboard-side fuel feed pipe was eliminated from the cockpit sidewall, reducing exposed 'plumbing' within the cockpit. As a result;

- the K-4's right sidewall appeared cleaner and less cluttered than that of a G-6.

- the large exposed fuel feed pipe characteristic of the Gustav cockpit was absent

- equipment and controls on the right side were rearranged around the new sidewall structure.

- the Kurfürst starboard cockpit wall features a circuit breaker box. (below) Note the FuG 16 and FuG 25 to the bottom right. 

K-4 instrument panel showing the Revi 16 sight which could be folded aside when not in use. In this view the Revi has been re-positioned out of the pilot's line of sight to improve visibility (eg, when taxiing). Below this the classic six instruments of the blind flying panel. Note too just under the coaming three ammo indicators for the K-4; one for the 30 mm MK 108 cannon firing through the propeller hub and two for the engine cowl 13 mm MG 131 machine guns. (thank you Charlie!) 

Wurmheller receives the DKiG - Bundesarchiv photo find#14

 

This brief report by PK Brütting consists of just three images entitled 'Frankreich.- Feldflugplatz. Auszeichnung eines Piloten'. (A field strip in France - a pilot is presented with an award). These show Oesau pinning a DKiG to the tunic of JG 2 ace Wurmheller who received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (German Cross in Gold) on 21 August 1942. He was awarded this 'honour'  - the 'Spiegelei' or 'fried egg'- just days after the actions over Dieppe where he supposedly shot down 7 opponents with a broken leg!  At the time he was an Oberfeldwebel. He would soon be promoted to Leutnant and be nominated for the Eichenlaub. He is seen here in front of 'yellow 3' of III./JG 2.

Also on this blog

Wurmheller at Vannes, August 1943

Wurmheller at Dieppe, August 1942

Maj. Helmut Leicht - St.G 77 - archive photo scan #53

Helmut Leicht enrolled at Luftkriegschule 4 (Air Warfare School No. 4) in Berlin-Gatow on 6 April 1936 and, on 1 July 1937, joined I. Gruppe of Stuka Wing 165 as a Leutnant; this unit became I. /Stukageschwader 77 in May 1939. With 1. Staffel he took part in the campaigns in Poland and the West, flying sorties over both France and England during the summer of 1940. On 6 February 1941, was appointed Staffelkapitän  of the Ergänzungsstaffel des Stuka-Geschwaders 77. On 28 June 1941, he returned to 1. Staffel and was seriously wounded during his first mission over Russia. Following his recovery, he served as Staffelkapitän of 2./ StG 77 from 3 January 1942 to 10 January 1943 and also as acting Kommandeur of I. Gruppe. After around 400 combat sorties, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross with the rank of Hptm. on 3 September 1942. From 11 January to 22 April 1943, he served on the staff of IV Fliegerkorps and took command of II./Stukageschwader 77 in April 1943. Promoted to Major on 1 October 1943, he was seriously wounded on 9 November 1943. After his recovery, on 5 May 1944 he resumed command of II. / Stuka-Geschwader 77, which became III. / Schlachtgeschwader 10 in May 1944. On 26 June 1944 Leicht failed to return from his 600th combat mission. Sellhorn who flew with him in 1./St.G 77 indicated that he was lost on 22/06/44 in his own caption to this image, while 'Kracker' states this occurred on his 900th sortie! Flying Fw 190 F-8 WNr. 930483 "Green 1" he was reportedly last seen attacking enemy columns in the area south-east of Vitebsk. Probably the first Ju 87 Stuka 'ace' to be shot down and killed in a Fw 190, Leicht was awarded a posthumous Eichenlaub. In this rare image Leicht is seen at the controls of a Storch, probably during 1942. Click to view full screen,

Lt. Frommlowitz of the Gruppenstab I./St.G 77 in front of a Ju 87 D, 1943