Circuses over France - on the eve of Barbarossa; 21 June 1941 in the West

 On the eve of Barbarossa, 21 June 1941 -  and indicating perhaps that the British, via Ultra, were aware of the imminent German invasion of the Soviet Union - the RAF mounted two successive Circuses over northern France for the first time. Circuses were essentially large-scale fighter sweeps, taking the war to the Luftwaffe. The RAF's tactic was to lure the German fighters - principally of JG 2 and JG 26 - into the air to write them down using a handful of bombers as 'bait' escorted by sometimes as many as nine squadrons of fighters. This is what Jean-Louis Roba in his new publication for Lela Presse, 'Non-Stop Offensive' (cover image left, go here to purchase), refers to as " the Battle of Britain in reverse" - and which in many instances imposed similar constraints on the RAF fighter squadrons as the Jagdwaffe had endured during the previous summer. Circus N° 16 targeted the airfield at Longuenesse (St-Omer) during the early afternoon – six Blenheims of 21 Sqd and an ‘escort’ of no fewer than fifteen squadrons of fighters. JG 26 alone intercepted, the German pilots claiming four victories. After scrambling from Audembert with his wingman Ofw. Bruno Hegenauer in tow, Kommodore Galland was soon up-sun and at altitude, launching a diving attack that pierced the RAF fighter screen to set one of the Blenheims alight. He claimed a second Blenheim shot down although this ‘victory’ was not confirmed and his 'victim' returned home. Galland’s machine, an early series Bf 109 F-2, WNr. 5776, was hit by future ace Boleslaw ‘Ghandi’ Drobinski of 303 Sqn - damage later assessed at 40% - but the Kommodore JG 26 was able to carry out a belly landing close to the airfield at Calais-Marck before being picked up by a Bf 108 and ferried back to Audembert. Fw. Bruno Hagenauer bailed out near St. Omer while Gefr. Christian Knees of 9./ JG 26 was shot down on his first sortie. II./JG 26 who chased after the RAF raiders also lost several machines to the Biggin Hill fighters, two pilots being shot down over the UK resulting in a largely positive outcome for the RAF from Circus N° 16 – at least five JG 26 Bf 109s for one Blenheim and three fighters damaged.

Circus N° 17, mounted later that afternoon against the aerodrome at Desvres, resulted in II. Gruppe of the Richthofen being scrambled in support of the Schlageter over the coastal sector between Boulogne and Le Touquet to counter no fewer than seventeen fighter squadrons escorting six 110 Sqd Blenheims. For the second time that day the fighting was largely favourable to the raiding RAF force. Kommodore Galland was airborne again, this time in his replacement Friedrich, minus a wingman. This was Bf 109 F-2 WNr. 6713 (DG+MU) displaying a chevron and two bars. (Isby in his excellent account in 'The Decisive Duel' states that Galland's second machine of the day was an Emil).

Once again the aggressively flown Spitfires brought him down, although not before he claimed his 70th (probably the Spitfire of P/O Edward of 616 Sqd which came down near Boulogne). The moments after being shot up Galland described as the most terrifying seconds of his life. Wounded in the head and the right arm, it was only with great difficulty that he managed to extricate himself from his doomed machine. WNr. 6713 crashed at Bellebrune, 12 km east of Boulogne-sur-Mer. On landing Galland was taken to a farm by some "unpleasant looking Frenchmen" before being taken back to Audembert and on to the Kriegsmarine Lazarett at Hardinghem. Theo Osterkamp later drove over to inform Galland that his tally of victories ( revised down to 69 as subsequently seen on the rudder scoreboard of his F-2 WNr. 6750) had now earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern). In addition to the Kommodore, JG 26 suffered three more losses.

Während des Geburtstagsempfangs im April 1941 bei Generalleutnant Theodor Osterkamp (r.) schildert der Jagdflieger der deutschen Luftwaffe, Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland (2.v.l.) einen Luftkampf; 2.v.r. Oberstleutnant Werner Mölders. (Dreesen) 10443-41 - Galland at Osterkamp's 49th birthday describing a combat, April 1941 (Bundesarchiv photo via wiki commmons)

II./JG 2 claimed no less than eleven victories ( ten Spitfires and a single Hurricane), with the notable aces adding to their scores; Ofw. Kurt Bühligen (4./JG 2, three Spitfires), Lt. Siegfried Schnell (4./JG 2, two Spitfires west of Le Touquet), Oblt. Hans-Jürgen Hepe (4./JG 2, two Spitfires) and the Kommandeur Greisert (a single Spitfire). These Spitfire claims were in addition to eight Spitfires claimed by JG 26. In total the RAF lost no more than four Spitfires for nineteen German claims !

The extent of the over-claiming on the German side may be a reflection of the RAF’s numerical superiority or it may possibly reflect the intensity of the fighting - the British had lost in fact (inclusive of the losses sustained during the early afternoon )… just three Hurricanes and probably a similar number of Spitfires. The RAF though had claimed some thirty victories- including a number of the new Friedrichs. While just as optimistic, the British claims were at least partially founded since JG 26 had lost around ten aircraft plus a further four aircraft seriously damaged. Of the JG 2 pilots, Uffz. Lorenz Dessoy of 5. Staffel had to bale out following combat with a Spitfire off Tréport. He was rescued by the Seenot and was able to rejoin his unit. Dessoy would eventually perish in 1945 shortly before the end of the war. It was notable too that no British bomber was lost during the course of the fighting, no doubt as a result of the excellent protection afforded by the imposing fighter escort. While generally described as Galland's worst day of the war - shot down twice - the Schlageter and the Richthofener were about to enjoy their most successful period of the conflict! Although Galland himself would be shot down again in another Friedrich on his next sortie on 2 July - the leading fighter ace of the Luftwaffe downed three times in three consecutive sorties!


Also on this blog;

Kanalgeschwader JG 2- Bf 109 Friedrich into service
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/kanalgeschwader-jg2-1941.html

Bf 109s Jabos of JG 2 in 1941
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/bf-109-jabos-of-jg-2-1941-oblt-frank.html

Operation Sunrise, 24 July 1941 - I./JG 2 versus RAF bombers over France
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/operation-sunrise-24-july-1941.html

Der Reichsmarschall bei Oberst Galland JG 26 - Der Adler 01/42
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/galland-bf-109-f-2-special.html

Operation Sunrise 24 July 1941 - I./JG 2 vs. RAF bombers over France (Britain at War magazine, April 2012 issue)

...Operation Sunrise was a large daylight raid mounted on 24 July 1941 against the German battle cruisers Prinz Eugen, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau holed up in the port of Brest. 'Sunrise I and II" - 'II' being the diversion - was flown by more than one hundred RAF medium and heavy bombers -  including Stirlings, Halifaxes..and three B-17 Flying Fortresses. Chris Goss has just published an excellent article detailing the events leading up to and including the 24 July 1941 raid entitled 'Neutralise the threat' which appears in the current issue of 'Britain at War' magazine.

Given the focus of 'Britain at War' Chris does not include any accounts from JG 2 pilots who countered the raid, although he does publish some interesting photos. 24 July 1941 was a significant day in the career of the Staffelführer 3./JG 2 Lt. Julius Meimberg - by his own account three bombers shot down and a crash landing that resulted in serious injuries that would keep him out of combat for the rest of the year.

While Goss states in one of his photo captions that Meimberg was shot down - presumably by the bombers' defensive fire - Meimberg's own account merely refers to running out of fuel. He had been performing an air test when he had simply run into the RAF raid ...

" ...In the early afternoon the chief engineer (Oberwerksmeister) reported that my Bf 109 E-7 'yellow 1' was serviceable and suggested that I take it up for an air test. So I took off alone. The visibility was perfect. With the sun beating down on my canopy, temperatures rose rapidly in the cockpit and I climbed for altitude in search of cooler conditions.."

 Banking in the direction of Brest, Meimberg could clearly see the silhouette of the Prinz Eugen in the port. The Gneisenau, on the other hand, was lying in a huge dry dock. They looked extremely vulnerable. Meimberg then flew a wide curving turn to the north-west and caught sight of a series of black dots moving to the south at between 4,000 and 5,000 metres altitude.

" Bomber ! They looked like swarms of insects, there was no doubt, however, they were bombers and there were several dozen of them ! I struggled to remain calm. I quartered the sky looking for the escort. However I see no sign of condensation trails that might betray any fighters - not a single Spitfire. As the bombers were flying into the sun, it was likely that I had not yet been seen. I called up our Gefechtsstand and told them the number, the altitude and the heading of the intruders. The first enemy aircraft passed below me at that moment...."

Meimberg feverishly switched on his sight and armed his MGs and dove down to come in behind a Handley-Page Hampden bomber.

" ..A long burst of fire ripped into his engines. He started to go down. I climbed back to altitude. After about ten minutes, I spotted another group of Hampdens and came down behind one of them. It wasn't long before he was joining my first victim. I again got back up sun in an 'ambush' position and, after a similar period, spotted my target: a Vickers Wellington. I came in from astern at full speed and opened fire, exhausting my last ammunition. It went straight down and crashed not giving any of its occupants a chance to escape. My third victory of the day! At that moment, the red low fuel warning light started flashing on the instrument panel. I'd been airborne for more than an hour and it was high time to land. Suddenly, while still a long way from Guipavas, my engine coughed and sputtered and then stopped abruptly..".

With his prop turned to fine pitch and still windmilling in the slipstream, the Staffelführer 3./JG 2 desperately sought out a landing strip before lining up on an open field in the vicinity of  Brélès. In the ensuing forced landing Meimberg's Bf 109 E -7 " yellow 1 ", displaying 10 victory bars, was brought to a stand after careening into a hedge and low wall. Severely damaged, the aircraft would be a write-off. In the photos taken immediately after the crash  Meimberg is prostrate on the ground, swathed in bandages, while German personnel and local civilians can be seen  attempting to protect the injured pilot from the heat of the sun’s rays with an umbrella. Meimberg would not rejoin his unit until spring 1942.

RAF losses during 'Sunrise' were considerable and the German ships relatively unscathed -  although the large bomber force was escorted by equally large numbers of fighters, the bombers could only be escorted part of the way due to the distances involved. I./JG 2 claimed some 25 RAF bombers shot down. Also successful were pilots of the Bf 109s of the Erg.Jagd training Staffel. Ofw. Franz Gawlik of this unit claimed a Halifax. The diversionary Circus mounted over northern France had failed to draw the Luftwaffe fighters north.


Further reading;

Eric Mombeek 'Dans le ciel de France'  (Vol II JG 2 history)
Jules Meimberg; chapter entitled "Gegen die Royal Air Force" in "Feindberuehrung" (296 Verlag)
Chris Goss " Neutralise the threat", article in Britain at War, April 2012 issue (general page view below)

Kanalgeschwader JG2 1941 - Bf109 F into service - Circuses over France, Channel Front aces (1)

..II. and III./JG 2 started conversion onto the latest 'F' variant of the celebrated Messerschmitt fighter during March 1941. The 'Friedrich' presented a number of enhancements over the successive improvements introduced to the venerable "Emil" with which the Jagdwaffe had gone to war over Poland. The basic airframe had undergone a redesign with the aim of improving aerodynamic efficiency - especially in the area of the wing and tailplane. Both spinner and wingtips were rounded and more streamlined and the Emil's horizontal stabilizer brace supports had been eliminated. In addition the tailwheel was now fully retractable. However the Friedrich did not feature wing armament and weight of fire was thus reduced in comparison to the older sub-type. There were also some structural issues with early examples, a number of pilots being lost after tearing the wings off in high 'G' manoeuvres. The most notable loss was JG 2 Kommodore Wilhelm Balthasar on 3 July 1941. Despite this, the first Bf 109 F-2s in service on the Channel Front gave the RAF a pretty hard time. On 23 July 1941, two Circuses were mounted for actual losses of 15 Spitfires and a single Hurricane shot down - the "Richthofen" claimed no less than fourteen Spitfires during Circus No. 59 (from 13:14 to 13:30) and fourteen more (plus a Hurricane ) during Circus N ° 60 (from 20:55 to 20:20)! JG 26 filed nine claims. 20 September 1941 was another bad day for the RAF with three Circuses over France - JG 2 claimed 15 Spitfires (7 actual losses) while their training Staffel 4./JFS 5 claimed 11..! On 27 September, two groups of eleven Blenheims were sent to Amiens and Mazingarbe (Circus 103). The RAF lost twelve Spitfires ( from Nos. 72, 129, 308, 403, 603, 609, 611, 615 and 616 Squadrons). With the F-2 in service the RAF over France sustained an almost constant round of blood-letting..