A chapter in Jens Bechler's book 'Aufschlagbrand' (Volume I) focuses on some of the events of April 1945 around Dresden when the 'close-support' Schlachtflieger of SG 77 sustained heavy loses as its Fw 190 F-8s - some toting Panzerblitz anti-tank rockets - and Ju 87 Gs were heavily engaged in ground-attack missions against Soviet forces while USAF P-51s were overhead almost constantly.
Fw 190 F-8 of I./SG 77 in Alteno, February 1945
Although the month of April 1945 opened with a period of poor weather that largely grounded Allied air forces, the end of the war was fast approaching. Luftwaffe pilot and aircraft losses were increasing from day to day. This was especially true of those ground-attack units flying almost constant operations against Soviet ground forces. One of these units was SG 77- in a four-day period in mid-April 1945 SG 77 lost a 'one hundred-kill' ace and three Ritterkreuz holders.
Through early February SG 77 was based at Kamenz and Cottbus. From mid-February to early March I. Gruppe of SG 77 shifted to Alteno, while II. Gruppe moved to Gahro on 18 February. Takeoffs were among the most tricky of operations for these Gruppen operating so close to the front with 'swarms' of Allied fighters overhead almost continually. There was literally nowhere to hide.
One pilot Fw Ernst Kelle recalled;
" ..according to my notes, we were in Cottbus from 10 February to 10 April. We were in constant action along the Bóbr (river flowing through the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland) and around Kustrin. I remember that on the morning of 2 April my room mate Horst Görtler (RK 30 March 1945) was feeling unwell with stomach problems (Magenbeschwerden) and asked me to stand in for him at cockpit readiness. Just the day before his machine - Kennzeichen 'E' - had taken some flak hits (Flakbeschuss) but the holes had been riveted up overnight. Almost as soon as I had strapped into the Fw red and green flares were fired off - the signal for 'Alarmstart' (scramble!). Two of us got airborne immediately - as I selected gear up and flaps in we were directed over the radio towards two La-5s south of Cottbus. I was in my third curving turn to the right when I suddenly realised that the rudder was not responding to the stick. I recall that I bailed out with the machine already on its back - which was not easy. Hanging under the chute I came under ground fire - probably Volkssturm. The next morning I discovered bruises on my neck and thigh - I had opened the chute rather too early. In addition I was in uniform and in the rush had not put on my leather flying suit (Lederkombi). Once on the ground I made my way to the crash site of my machine..."
The Fw 190 had come down in a field close to the airfield narrowly missing a house whose occupants had been sitting down to breakfast. On 6 April the Panzerjägerstaffel of SG 77 moved to Kamenz under their new RKträger Lt. Max Diepold. Diepold's Stukas now entered the fighting on the Oder.
Horst Görtler and Max Diepold were the last two RK recipients in SG 77, awarded 30 March 1945, at Cottbus by Gen. d. Flieger Seidemann. Diepold's 10.(Pz.)/SG 77 was heavily committed around Bautzen. Görtler was a Soviet POW until the spring of 1947 when he was released due to illness. He was killed in a flying accident in October 1956.
The front moved ever closer. On 11 April Russian tank spearheads reached Forst despite the efforts of SG 77. It was on this date that SG 77 lost their Austrian RK-holder Hptm. Anton Andorfer. As he is still MIA it is presumed that he was downed by Soviet anti-aircraft fire somewhere along the Autobahn between Liegnitz and Forst. Of the nine Fw 190s airborne only one returned to Alteno. Returning to Kamenz from a combat sortie on 13 April Uffz. Heinz Kroll crash-landed his machine on the airfield and sustained serious injuries. He was extricated from the wreckage before the machine exploded. With spinal injuries and a broken nose the young pilot was evacuated to a hospital in Karlsbad. His war was over.
On 16 April the Red Army launched the final battle of WWII on German soil - the assault on Berlin from the Oder and Neisse rivers. A dull rumbling disturbed the peace and quiet on SG 77's airfields. The Tagesmeldung from Heeresgruppe Mitte on 16 April reported the massive Soviet artillery bombardment targeting German defensive positions, particularly on the Seelow Heights, the last major defensive line east of Berlin. Thousands of guns, rockets, and Katyusha launchers fired simultaneously, creating one of the most intense barrages of the war.
(Map by Lonio17 / Orionist under Creative Commons. Note Dresden/Kamenz/Bautzen at bottom centre with Cottbus/Forst/Gubin further north)
On 17 April, at Kamenz, Gruppenkommandeur III./SG 77 Studemann gave his orders to the individual Staffelkapitäne - all Staffeln were to get airborne. Pilots were already strapped in at cockpit readiness - for many it would be their last flight..A formation of 55th Fighter Group P-51s spotted the Fw 190s of 7. and 8. Staffeln getting airborne from the grass field - and the killing began. The Americans claimed ten Fw 190s downed and a further five damaged.At the controls of his Fw 190 F-8 'Black 9 +' Staffelkapitän 8./SG 77 August Lambert jettisoned his ordnance but in a running dogfight failed to evade his attackers. He was shot down near Hoyerswerda (north of Bautzen). He had achieved his 100th (aerial) victory earlier in the month. Lost with him was another leading SG 77 RK-bearer and Schlachtflieger - Lt. Gerd Bauer. He along with several others were killed in the dogfight 1 km north-west of Kukau near Kamenz. The crash site of Fw. Wolfram Szymanski (7. Staffel) was excavated near Kamenz-Thonberg in 2007 - the force of the 'Aufschlagbrand' was such that wreckage was found scattered over a 300-metre wide area. 9. Staffel pilot Ortwin Pech recalled;
" .. I flew three sorties on 17 April. The 'circus' started in the early hours. I was assigned to the Alarmschwarm and was scrambled when the first American fighter formation was reported on approach - 18 Thunderbolts. Wild dog-fighting was soon underway. I chased a P-47 to the east of Dresden before my effective fire forced the pilot to bail out. I returned to Kamenz bathed in sweat. But there was little respite. We were in the air again just before mid-day to strafe Russian tanks near Tschiwitz. then P-51s attacked the field. We looked on helplessly as the 'Scheiben Schiessen' (lit.'turkey shoot') ran its course. Among the comrades brought down were the two RK-holders Lambert and Bauer. We were ordered up again that evening to attack Russian road columns near Trebendorf. By the time I later fell into my 'cot' I was exhausted.. Not a day that I would easily forget.."
Franz Kugler, Gruppenadjutant in I./SG 77 later wrote to Lambert's widow;
" ..shortly before the last Russian offensive the Geschwader moved to Kamenz north-east of Dresden. We were under threat from our enemies both in the East and the West. 17 April was a 'black day'. The Americans were overhead from the early hours. Your husband - having already shot down over one hundred enemy aircraft - was leading the 'Alarmschwarm' and was again keenly awaiting the signal to takeoff. Heavy fighting was soon underway both over and around the airfield and your husband met a 'heroes death' ('Heldentod') - he had suffered a fatal head injury, which we assume occurred during these combats. We had lost an adored comrade and brave Staffelkapitän..."
On the following day, 18 April, SG 77 lost another Ritterkreuzträger. Hptm. Hans-Joachim Brand was Kommandeur I./SG 77. His Fw 190 was hit by Soviet flak in a dive and crashed at low altitude between Cottbus and Guben, in the Niederlausitz. Brand was a Battle of Britain Stuka veteran and had flown over 950 sorties including about 150 in the Fw 190.
According to one eye-witness account Brand was shot and killed while hanging under his chute. Uffz. Ewald Bauer remembered;
".. In the period we were at Alteno on 18 April the Kommandeur was shot down. I remember it well as we were all horrified and furious when those pilots that landed back reported that they had seen Brand jump clear of his machine only to then come under Russian ground fire as he hung under his chute.."
Uffz. Robert Mewis later wrote to Brand's widow;
".. we had been ordered to wipe out a Soviet motorised column with our bombs. A heavy curtain of fire attempted to keep us at some distance from our target. Your husband was leading our formation and launched into a long diving attack heading from East to West. I was some 200m behind him in the Rotte. As we pulled out of our dives we were in the zone covered by the light flak and your husband's Fw 190 received several hits at around 400m altitude and a heavy plume of smoke soon developed. He jettisoned his canopy. At that moment his machine started to break up, the fuselage splitting apart behind the cockpit. The Fw 190 instantly rolled onto its back and went into a spin before plummeting earthwards in flames. Your husband managed to fall away at about 300 metres. Because of the heavy ground fire I was unable to pinpoint where he came down. But I did see the chute open correctly - and it was undamaged. It was heading for some woods about 4 km from our target.."
Author and crash-archaeologist Bechler spend twelve months searching for a possible crash site without result. Brand is still listed as missing on German soil.
Uffz. Ortwin Pech almost met a similar fate. Attacking Soviet armour around Horlitza his Fw 190 took hits from anti-aircraft fire. His engine stopped with Kamenz in sight, forcing to take to his chute. He landed safely while the Fw 190 went down on the edge of the airfield. Not so fortunate were Lt. Reinhard Berbig and Uffz. Richard Linders whose machines collided and crashed, killing both pilots. Despite their high losses SG 77 claimed some 20 Soviet tanks destroyed on 18 April and other vehicles damaged. Just a day or so later tank spearheads had reached the outskirts of Kamenz. Bernhard Ellwanger recalled;
" during the night of 19-20 April the Russians had almost reached the airfield. Some time between 02:00 and 03:00 their first shells came down amongst our barrack buildings. We cleared out in a hurry and ran to our dispersals. Enemy fire continued. Three small reconnaissance patrols were sent out to scout the enemy's position and strength. Only two of them returned. Our ground crews slipped away under cover of darkness, while the pilots remained close to their machines. However heavy ground mist put paid to any early takeoffs. Only a small strip of marshland separated us from the enemy and we could clearly hear the engine noise of their vehicles. At around 06:00 our first machines managed to get airborne and immediately ran into the enemy. Other Fw 190s followed suit. Our maintenance hangars were already ablaze and we started to fear for our aircraft. When at around 09:00 our Stabsschwarm was finally ordered to get airborne the airfield was undergoing almost constant shelling. We set off straight across the field, so to speak, right through exploding shells, yet all four machines made it out unscathed. We could even see Russian tanks maneuvering around the burning hangars. At nearby Grossenhain we landed to refuel but as this base was under almost constant American Jabo attack we did not hang around and were soon airborne again. We flew past the destroyed city of Dresden into the Czech lands, where we landed in Pardubice.."
" during the night of 19-20 April the Russians had almost reached the airfield. Some time between 02:00 and 03:00 their first shells came down amongst our barrack buildings. We cleared out in a hurry and ran to our dispersals. Enemy fire continued. Three small reconnaissance patrols were sent out to scout the enemy's position and strength. Only two of them returned. Our ground crews slipped away under cover of darkness, while the pilots remained close to their machines. However heavy ground mist put paid to any early takeoffs. Only a small strip of marshland separated us from the enemy and we could clearly hear the engine noise of their vehicles. At around 06:00 our first machines managed to get airborne and immediately ran into the enemy. Other Fw 190s followed suit. Our maintenance hangars were already ablaze and we started to fear for our aircraft. When at around 09:00 our Stabsschwarm was finally ordered to get airborne the airfield was undergoing almost constant shelling. We set off straight across the field, so to speak, right through exploding shells, yet all four machines made it out unscathed. We could even see Russian tanks maneuvering around the burning hangars. At nearby Grossenhain we landed to refuel but as this base was under almost constant American Jabo attack we did not hang around and were soon airborne again. We flew past the destroyed city of Dresden into the Czech lands, where we landed in Pardubice.."