Dornier Do 217 M-1 KG 2 - archive photo scan #35

 

Scanned by this blogger from an image in an album previously owned by Ulf Balke, author of a two-volume history of KG 2, this photo shows an 'anonymous' KG 2 Do 217 M-1 (....and crew). The M-1 was a night bomber variant, equivalent to the Do 217 K, but powered by the liquid-cooled DB 603 and operated by III./KG 2 from mid-1943. Note the absence of exhaust flame dampers - perhaps a shot taken during conversion training in Coulommiers during the spring of 1943. Click to view large.... 

new for 2025, an M-1 variant from ICM in 48th scale

Hptm. Wilhelm Schmitter RK and his II./KG 40 Do 217 E & Me 410 V./KG 2 - Bundesarchiv photo report

 

Two recent posts have covered Do 217 'pirate' bombing raids and Me 410 intruder ops over England. Here is one pilot who flew both these missions. 

I was reminded (thank you Delmar!) that KG 2 was not the only Do 217 unit sending out lone 'pirate' missions against factory and industrial targets in southern England during early 1943. A closer reading of Chris Goss' Dornier Do 217 titles (Osprey Combat Aircraft No. 139 or the Crecy Classic volume) would have told me as much of course. This image - labelled by the ECPA-D only as ' KG 2 Eindhoven or Soesterberg, March 1943 '  shows the same aircraft that can be seen on p 38 of the Classic title  - ie a KG 40 machine, possibly flown by Oblt. Wilhelm Schmitter of the Stab II./KG 40, seen taxying in at Soesterberg. The pilot at the controls may be Schmitter in his 'F8+BC' with the decorated tailfin.

Below; another  view of a KG 40 Do 217 E taxying in. Note the unit code 'F8+ ??' appears in small letters at the base of the port tail fin. There are no codes on the fuselage. Note white outline Balkenkreuz (the Osprey title shows this as dark grey?)

A Bundesarchiv search turned up several more images (again, thank you Delmar!) - simply and not very helpfully labelled, " Belgien/Nordfrankreich.- Ritterkreuzträger vor Flugzeug Dornier Do 217" This is Schmitter wearing his Ritterkreuz awarded for some 170 bombing missions in front of his overall pale blue-grey 76 Do 217 E-4. Photo dates from early 1943. 

A pre-war pilot who flew as a Seeaufklärer before becoming a bomber pilot, Schmitter was awarded the Ritterkreuz in September 1942 and promoted to Hptm. in March 1943 and appointed StaKa of 5./KG 40. Later that month II./KG 40 converted onto the Me 410 and became V./KG 2. Schmitter was shot down over the UK on the night of 8 November 1943 and received a posthumous Eichenlaub and promotion to Major.

Below; Schmitter (left) in front of his Do 217 with his veteran crew, Uffz. Wagner (BO), Fw. Krohn (BM) and Fw. Heinz Gräber (BF) seen far right. Between 14 February 1942 and 16 July 1942 Schmitter flew over 45 bombing raids against England, hitting targets in Southampton, Birmingham, Norwich, Middlesborough, Sunderland and most notably Leamington Spa, when he was injured by return fire. In the period 31 May - 6 June Schmitter hit (my home town of) Canterbury on three night raids - these were part of the Luftwaffe's terror bombing campaign, the so-called 'Baedeker offensive' - short, sharp attacks on towns and cities better known for their cathedrals and other historic buildings than for any military or war industry connection. The damage inflicted and the story of these night attacks still forms part of the official Canterbury city guided tour - it is said that a Luftwaffe pilot deliberately avoided dropping his bombs on the cathedral (today a Unesco world heritage site).

Just over one year later, on the night of 10/11 August 1943  - II./KG 40 having been redesignated V./KG 2 - Schmitter, as Staffelkapitän of  15./KG 2 briefly based in Vendeville and then Epinoy, flew his first sortie over England at the controls of  a Me 410 ('U5+AJ'). This was a so-called 'Störangriff' or 'nuisance' bombing raid aimed at airfields around Cambridge. Schmitter's radioman was his Dornier BF Ofw. Heinz Gräber.( above right). Barely a fortnight later (on the night of 23-24 August) Schmitter's Me 410 was badly shot-up by RAF night fighters somewhere off the coast of East Anglia. The pilot managed to keep the machine (Me 410 A-1, 420214, 'U5+CF') in the air with both engines apparently on fire before the crew eventually had to bail out, coming down in the North Sea some eight miles off the coast of Belgium. After 90 minutes in the water both men were rescued by a Kriegsmarine vessel from Zeebrugge. Gräber had sustained serious injuries (leg amputation) but later received a Ritterkreuz. During the sortie and over the King's Lynn area (40 miles north of Cambridge) Schmitter had shot down a 97 Sqd Lancaster returning from a raid on Berlin. He was credited with his 4th victory.

The full story of Schmitter's career and his subsequent demise (KIA 8 November 1943, shot down by an RAF Mosquito near Eastbourne) is brilliantly told on the aufhimmelzuhause web site here 

KG 2 Dornier Do 217 E 'white dove' walkaround - Bundesarchiv photo find, archive photo scan #11

 

Here's a good example of the potential difficulties of determining the origins of, or claiming ownership or 'copyright' on, Luftwaffe photos. Images of this particular subject - the Do 217 Es used for daylight raids over England - can be found in numerous albums and collections. There are no doubt many many similar photo 'themes' that feature in archives and private collections.

 Finished in an overall RLM 76 scheme, KG 2 flew a (presumably) small number of Do 217 Es on low-level daylight so-called 'pirate' raids over the UK during 1942. Photos appear in a number of locations/collections; obviously you can find a series in the Bundesarchiv, but there's a similar album at the ECPA-D. A selection of them feature in a large private photo album collected to illustrate a published two volume history of KG 2 and from where I scanned them a few weeks ago! And no doubt in other photo albums too. Some of these images have been published, others not. Needless to say, some of these  - or similar- also appear in, among others, the Classic (Bomber colours) and Do 217 volumes by Chris Goss, especially the Osprey Combat units and the recent Classic Pubs book on the type.

Im Westen.- Auf einem Flugplatz. Wartung, Betanken (?) eines Flugzeug Dornier Do 217 mit weißem / hellgrauem Tarnanstrich

As usual Bundesarchiv photos may be used on a non-commercial basis under a Wiki Commons license.  

The next four images were scanned from a private album by this blogger. The first two have not been 'enhanced' and the fact that they appear on a negative strip is evident. 

Several views of Oblt. Ernst Schneiderbauer's 3./KG 2 Do 217 E-4 (WNr. 5441) and his crew..the aircraft is coded 'U5+BL' and camouflaged for low-level daylight 'pinpoint' attacks, so -called Pirateneinsätze....

Note the inscription under the cockpit reads 'Sturmvogel'. In the first image below the 'U5' code is just visible on the rear fuselage, although the Hakenkreuz is not...

Previously with I./KG 40, Schneiderbauer was downed on March 12, 1943 during a night raid on Newcastle and taken captive along with his crew. Bailing out he landed safely and subsequently had an encounter with Lady Beatrice Scrope ('.. fur coat over her long underwear..') as related by Chris Goss in his Classic Do 217 tome (p78).

A close-up of the name 'Sturmvogel' painted under the cockpit of this specially camouflaged Do 217 E-4 used on daylight nuisance raids by - among others - the crew of Oblt. Sengschmitt. According to Balke the second name was 'die weisse Taube' ('the white dove'). Perhaps this was just a 'generic' name as such. Although in his history of KG 2 ('Luftkreig in Europa',Vol I) the caption for pics 19 and 20 states, " Two of the Do 217 E-4s deployed on 'pirate' raids against the UK..."

Above; a crew member seen alongside the tail of 'U5+BL'

The next two images are from an ECPA-D file, DAA 2559, and were taken by this blogger on my phone. They are simply photos of photos, again from an actual album. Captioned as " a Do 217 arrives at an airfield of KG 2, Eindhoven or Soesterberg.." The photographer is listed as 'unknown' and there is no date on these either..

Last bombing raids over London, 'Baby Blitz' 18-19 April 1944 (Obstlt. Karl Kessel Kommodore KG 2)

 

 ..a few comments on a recent FB group concerning the last raid over London mounted by the Kampfgeschwader of the Luftwaffe. Did Luftwaffe bombers raid London in 1944, when was the last mission flown over London ? 

Luftflotte 3 put up nearly 125 bombers for a mission over London for the last time on the night of 18-19 April, 1944. Junkers Ju 188 and Dornier Do 217 bombers from KG 2 may have reached the target area (Tower Bridge - London Docks) in small numbers ...

Below; Obstlt Karl Kessel, Stab/KG 2, Soesterberg (Holland) - preparing for a mission over the UK during the so-called 'Baby Blitz'.  Official photos probably taken to mark the award of the RK to the Geschwaderkommodore KG 2 in early 1944..

Based on the various ORBs, RAF night fighters had a successful night and some 18 bombers were downed. In No. 25 Sq. " a Ju 188 was shot down by F/Lt Carr. P/O Travers chased a Do 217 to the Dutch coast. The enemy aircraft, with an engine on fire, was losing altitude and is claimed as a 'probable'. P/O Panter unsuccessfully pursued a very agile Ju 188 which eluded him but in return shot down a Me 410 encountered off the Dutch coast.." In No. 85 Sq.  " W/C Miller flying with Norwegian Captain Lovestad headed for an aircraft caught in the searchlights, saw the crosses and shot it down. A gunner fired but the rounds passed under the Mosquito. The bomber came down at Dymchurch on the Kent coast. Two prisoners were taken. Sq/Ldr Burbridge, on his return, spotted a Ju 188 before firing a three second burst. One engine caught fire and the bomber hit the sea..." Elsewhere two 125 Sq. aircraft "were dispatched towards Greater London but no contact was made...." 

( in "Opération ‘Steinbock’ La dernière grande offensive de la Luftwaffe sur l’Angleterre - Janvier-juin 1944" by Bernard Roland in 'Batailles Aériennes')

 

Above;  targeting London - a Do 217 crew prepares for a mission over England during 1944, Stab-KG.2, Soesterberg (images via DB @ "Luftwaffe Fliegerhorste" on FB). 

Below; Kessel and his crew in front of their Do 217 K

Dornier Do 217 N/M - ebay photo find #345

 

Do 217 K/M Flugzeug der Luftwaffe auf Kompensierscheibe 

 Do 217 N Nachtjäger Flugzeug auf Kompensierscheibe FuG 202

also on this blog;

-modelling the Do 217 M-1 night recce unit Aufklärungsgruppe Nacht (Italeri Do 217) here

-translated extract from Roderich Cescotti's 'Langstreckenflug' ( KG 100, Dornier Do 217 M-11, Henschel Hs 293)  here

Do 217 M-04, GB+CV, WNr.56004, at E-Stelle Rechlin on the compass-swing platform as seen from the rear.

BV 138, Arado 96, Dornier Do 217 Nachtjäger --- ebay photo find #254

Bv 138 here 

Fotos stammen aus dem Fotonachlass eines Angehörigen einer Nachtjäger / Nachtjagd-Staffel der in Bad Aibling , Klagenfurt Prenzlau und in Chateauroux in Frankreich stationiert und eingesetzt war.
Photos taken from the album of night fighter Staffel member stationed and deployed in Bad Aibling, Klagenfurt Prenzlau and Chateauroux in France.

on offer here

here

Dornier Do 217 Nachtjäger Jagdgeschwader Wappen Hirschgeweih - ebay photo find #251

Dornier Do 217 Nachtjäger

Leading Nachtjagd ace Paul Zorner in his memoir " Nights in the Bomber Stream " (296 Verlag) has some choice words for the Dornier Do 217 he flew in NJG 3 - "ein Klotz" being one of the more polite terms he employs ( a 'brick' ). As he points out his loaded and tanked up Do 217 'fighter' weighed a "large truck heavier" than a fully loaded Junkers Ju 88 and climbed at all of 6 metres/second (IIRC) - at least half the rate of the Ju 88. A "tired old cow" that took for ever to climb to altitude and was, as Zorner puts it, "exactly ten times heavier than a He 51 fighter". Zorner never liked the Do 217 - the idea that it could be used as a night fighter he found preposterous.

On offer here

notgelandete Do 217 Nachtjäger, Henschel Hs 123 - daily ebay photo find #240

Lichtenstein-equipped Do 217 Nachtjäger crash-landed in Luxemburg, 1943  (inscription on reverse), probably an NJG 4 machine. Note this particular machine is probably an N-1 (DB 603 engines and dorsal turret) and would have been hard-pushed to catch British bombers. The N-2 variant lost the turret and could manage 310 mph..

via Heiko Fuchs here

on offer here
location given as Steg am See (northern Germany) for this Ju 52 W floatplane seen in July 1944

Ju 88 Motorenwechsel (engine change), Flugplatz Eleusi Athens here

Dornier Do 217 J Nachtjäger Paul Zorner - "Nächte im Bomberstrom" (296 Verlag)

Leading Nachtjagd ace Paul Zorner in his memoir " Nights in the Bomber Stream " (296 Verlag)  has some choice words for the Dornier Do 217 he flew in NJG 3 -  "ein Klotz" being one of the more polite terms he employs ( a 'brick' ). As he points out his loaded and tanked up Do 217 'fighter' weighed a "large truck heavier" than a fully loaded Junkers Ju 88 and climbed at all of 6 metres/second (IIRC) - at least half the rate of the Ju 88. 

 " Nächte im Bomberstrom " from 296 Verlag - 'Nights in the Bomber Stream'- is an excellent read.  Zorner writes engagingly and very frankly. One of his best 'reports' is his account of his third victory as a night fighter achieved on 19 February 1943 at the controls of a Do 217 - a "tired old cow" that took for ever to climb to altitude and was, as Zorner puts it, "exactly ten times heavier than a He 51 fighter". Zorner never liked the Do 217 - the idea that it could be used as a night fighter he found preposterous. Climbing out over the North Sea that night he was vectored towards a Wellington some twelve km north of the island of Norderney. Approaching the Wellington head on, the two aircraft banked into a 'turning fight' that lasted some twenty minutes as Zorner vainly sought to draw a bead on the British twin, hauling back with all his might on the stick in the turn, even getting the navigator to help him maintain his effort on the control column. In an attempt to achieve an outcome Zorner had to resort to desperate measures - giving the order to dump some 800 kg of fuel in order to lighten the Dornier. Putting in a superhuman effort on the stick he managed to loose off a brief burst which sent the Wellington down. There were no witnesses in the air - the downing was later confirmed by a flak battery. Zorner and crew then had to nurse their 'fighter' home on just one engine some 100m above the waves - a single round the size of a €1 coin had punctured an oil line.

  "...When we landed I went and saw the Kommandeur Lippe-Weissenfeld and told him exactly what I thought of the Do 217..."

Zorner never flew the aircraft again at night.

The penultimate chapter of Zorner's memoir covers the period from October 44 to May 45 as Kommandeur II./NJG 100, one of his last log entries being the flight into Novy Dvor on 15 October 44 at the controls of Ju 88 G-6 C9+HD. His Gruppe was in Hungary from October 44 before falling back to Wiener Neustadt in mid-March 1945.. Zorner states that

 '..what was left of the Gruppe II./NJG 100 had fallen back as far as they could go and most of our equipment and aircraft had been left behind..'

He describes his final successful sortie flown on the night of 5/6 March with four Ju 88s. With the Americans just kilometres from the field on 4 May 1945, orders came through for the Gruppe to fly to Prag-Gbell. Because of thick fog shrouding the field Zorner describes briefing his pilots on various plans of action - none of the twelve remaining pilots would be forced to make a Blindstart . In the end eleven aircraft managed to get airborne - including Zorner's W7+AC - reaching Prague on their last drops of fuel. Prague of course fell to the Russians. Zorner describes how on news of the capitulation on 9 May he and his men drove westwards to meet the Americans. As commanding officer the Americans would allow Zorner safe passage further westwards but not his men ..he therefore chose to stay with them, herded with thousands of German servicemen into an improvised field camp with no rations for a number of days. However at this point the US forces moved back allowing the Russians to take over the camp - the Russians then marched the officers back into eastern Germany and captivity...

All posts covering Luftwaffe memoirs on this blog -  which include in some instances rare translated accounts  - can be found at this link

https://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Luftwaffe%20memoirs

The leading publisher of Luftwaffe memoirs is 296 Verlag established by former Microsoft Germany honcho Kurt Braatz. See all my 296 Verlag blog posts at the following link

http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/296%20Verlag

Dornier Do 217 E and K of KG 2 - ebay photo find #218

The primary Kampfgeschwader in the West during 1943-4 operating the 'D' 'K' and even 'M' variants of the Dornier Do 217 bomber- for a short period simultaneously -was KG 2. Here courtesy of seller Oliver Rogge - who identifies these as KG 40 machines - 'D' and 'K' variants of the Do 217 seen together in 'Nachtbomber' finish preparing for a sortie probably from their base in northern France. Another image showing '10.Staffel' painted on a prop blade is another indicator that these machines are on the strength of KG 2. Kommandeur of IV. Gruppe during early 1943 was Hptm Helmut Powolny, possibly seen in the bottom image walking across the tarmac at Melun-Villaroche north of Paris..