new from caraktere.com " Ardennes 44 " - the air battles of 17, 18, 23 and 24 December 1944
"...In the collective imagination, the Battle of the Bulge was a gigantic land battle in which bad weather grounded German and Allied aircraft for most of the time, until a break in the weather allowed the Luftwaffe to launch its disastrous ‘Bodenplatte’ operation on 1 January 1945. This was only partly true. The 17th, 18th, 23rd and 24th December 1944 were in fact the most violent days of aerial combat of the entire war in the West, between the Normandy landings and the surrender of the Reich. While the German fighters sacrificed a large proportion of their manpower and aircraft resources in an attempt to challenge the Allies' control of the skies over the Ardennes battlefield, their American and British adversaries had to work harder than ever to retain it. A fascinating dive into the heart of this titanic air battle!.."
Piotr Forkasiewicz cover artwork depicts 391st BG B-26 Marauders en route for the viaduct at Ahrweiler being attacked by the Bf 109s of Maj. Karl-Heinz Langer's III./JG 3 on the morning of 23 December west of Liège. After the guns of his K-4 jammed, Fhr. Adolf Tham of 10. Staffel voluntarily rammed the 574th BS B-26 coded 4L-P (s/n 42-107597 flown by 1st Lt Ralph Lesmeister). Tham's wing sawed into the tail of the B-26 instantly killing the tail gunner. The rest of the American crew bailed out and were taken captive. Despite having his port wing torn off in the collision Tham himself managed to take to his chute and thus also survived the attack..he re-appeared at Lippspringe several days later with it under his arm..
