The Greatest Air Battle

[Glider]

Originally Posted by pbfoot

Still would like some more votes for Dieppe 160 aircraft lost in 7hrs is not chump change and it was mostly fighters . Of note thats where the P51 and Typhoon had their first kills

It’s interesting that the debate is always on the fighters.
The most important question in any battle, land, sea or air is who achieved their objective.

Did the German fighters effectively escort the bombers so they could attack the allied forces with some success, I don't believe so.
Did the Luftwaffe stop the landing taking place, no.
Did the Luftwaffe have any serious impact or influence on the land battle, no.
Did the Luftwaffe sink or even seriously damage any large landing craft or escorting naval vessel, before, during or after the landing, no.
Did the RAF have any impact on the landing, and cover the withdrawal yes.

Did the Luftwaffe shoot down more RAF fighters than they lost, clearly the answer is yes, but which side achieved their objective?

It isn't as straight forward an assumption as people may believe.

[Njaco]

Thats true Glider but wouldn't that be for a "Most Successful battle" thread? I just wanted to hear what battle got people's juices flowing.

And Pb, you're right and I'm so sorry that I didn't include it until after you voted. And I should have made this public. First poll. duh!!

[Glider]

Your right Njaco, my apology

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

Grea thread, I still can't decide what battle to vote for. Boddenplatte is good, but there were a lot of horrendous bomber missions as well. Black Thursday the worst for the Allies, and "Big Week" a bad one for the Germans, where B-17's, B-24's and P-51's and other fighters fought the Germans over the Third Reich, and destroyed 17 percent of their best pilots.

Losses were pretty high for the Allies, but after that week German air power was diminished and they never regained air superiority on the Western Front again.

[Njaco]

I'm gonna see if I can post some particulars about each battle andgive an idea of each.

Glider, its all good!

[Njaco]

Guess I'll start with the day I thought was pretty rough.

"The Hardest Day"

Luftwaffe plans called for Do 17s, Ju 88s and He 111s to attack the airfields at Kenley and Biggin Hill for the first attack of the day. While most of the bombers were to attack at about 12,000 feet, a staffel of Do 17s were to fly in at tree-top level and attack a few minures after the intial raid. The 2d raid of the day was Ju 87s against the airfields at Ford, Gosport and Thorney Island along with the radar site at Poling. The last attack of the day was against the airfields at Hornchurch and North Weald. All raids to be escorted with almost all the fighters from Luftflotte 2 and 3.
....The attack against Kenley was in 3 phases: 12 Ju 88s of II./KG 76 escorted by 20 Bf 109s from JG 51 were to attack followed 5 minutes later by 27 Do 17s from I./KG 76 and III./KG 76 escorted by 25 Bf 110s from ZG 26. Five minutes after these attacks, 9 D0 17s from 9./KG 76 were to run in unescorted at very low altitude and finish off the airfield. Biggin Hill was to be attacked by 60 He 111s of KG 1 at the same time as Kenley. The whole attack was to be preceeded by a free hunt by 60 Bf 109s from JG 3 and III./JG 26.
....Things went badly from the start. While the first formation of bombers took off, bad weather forced a delay. By the time the 9 Do 17s of 9./KG 76 took off, instead of being the follow up formation they became the lead formation. They crossed the coast and spread out at about 500 feet and bore into the airfield. 12 Hurricanes from RAF No. 111 Sqdrn bounced them and then pulled away when the flak defenses opened up. one Hurricane was lost. As the Dorniers crossed the airfield, a new British innovation was used, paachute and cable launchers. Shot into the sky, cables were extended from the ground and held aloft by parachutes, the hope being that an airplane would snag the cable. This new invention caught one bomber and it crashed. Once clear of the airfield, the formation was bounced again by Hurricanes from No. 111 Sqdrn who came around the airfield to attack. When over, only 3 bombers were able to make a whells down landing and one by the navigator after the pilot was killed.
....The high altitude bombers against Kenely were also having problems. Hurricanes from RAF No. 615 Sqdrn went after the bombers as RAF No. 32 Sqdrn took on the escorts followed by RAF No. 64 Sqdrn. 4 Ju 88s and 6 Do 17s were lost while Kenley suffered severe damage. The attack on Biggin Hill was intercepted by only one squadron of Spitfires who tangled with the Bf 109s of JG 54, leaving the bombers unmolested.
....After this first raid, the second was mounted. In the largest attack by Stukas, 109 Ju 87s from StG 3 and StG 77 escorted by 150 Bf 109s went after the coastal airfields and radar station. Intercepted by Spitfires and Hurricanes as they pulled out of their dives, the Stukas were hit hard. 10 were destroyed and 5 seriuosly damaged out of 28 from I./StG 77 alone. The raid hardly affected the airfields and radar.
..... For the day the Luftwaffe lost 71 aircraft while the British lost 27 fighters.

[kool kitty89]

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but I think September 7, 1940 of the BoB is pretty significant, and intense as well with the massive numbers involved.

September 15 may have effectively marked the British air victory for the battle, but the 7th was the beginning of the Battle over London. (the date was also important iirc because the British had expected the begining of a German invasion) The shock in the change of tactics and the belated realization of the tru target made it pretty Chaotic for the RAF to accomplish anything.

I'm not sure I'd choose it though, given some of the others, but as for a single day in the BoB I think it could be the most confusing. (though it could be argued that the whole period of fighting of the 7th to the 15th could be the duration of that battle -being distinct from the parts of the BoB-)


Then again, maybe the 7th really didn't allow for much action for the RAF so the intensity wouldn't be the same as with the other 2 selected days. (or at least I haven't read much about specific actions of the RAF on the 7th other than "there was very little they could do")

[Njaco]

I was split between the 7th and 15th. The 7th was rough.

[pbfoot]

Dieppe
At 04.30 the first two wings of the air umbrella, those of Kenley and Northolt, took off. Fifteen minutes later, eight other squadrons were airborne. At 04.50 Sqn.-Ldr. du Vivier led his twelve 43 Squadron Hurricanes in a line abreast low-level cannon strike on the beach defences -- opening the main Dieppe assault. The gunners of the 13th Flak Division, however, caused severe damage to, or loss ot, seven of 43's aircraft. At 05.12 the four bombarding destroyers opened fire on the buildings lining the promenade. While 226 Squadron's Bostons laid smoke-screens, four squadrons of Hurricane 11Cs and 11Bs hedgehopped over the beach, spraying cannon fire and dropping 250-lb. bombs on the German defensive positions with a precision that aroused the admiration of the enemy commander. However, though the cannon fire did keep the defenders' heads down, the few bombs dropped had hardly any effect at all -- and when they were gone the Germans merely re-commenced fire. Heavy and accurate AA fire was encountered, but despite a flak explosion which shattered his jaw, Flt.-Lt. J. F. Scott led his Blenheims on to lay smoke on the East Headland. By 05.15 the air attack was in full swing with Spitfires and 88 Squadron Bostons attacking Batteries 7/302 (behind the West Headland), B/302, and those inland. Then the beach supporting fire and bombing ceased just before the first landing craft touched land at 05.23. The German defences, virtually intact, immediately chopped the main assault force to pieces. On the beaches all control of the situation was lost and with but a few exceptions, the assault was pinned down. However, with the beaches covered in smoke screens and due to a monumental communications break-down, the Force Commanders were to be quite unaware of the real situation for the next three hours, and were to act accordingly till then.

Mist over Jagdgeschwader 26's airfields had precluded immediate action, but JG 2 was clear and the first Luftwaffe sortie, a reconnaisanee to the North West of Dieppe, was off at 05.30. At first only a few German fighters were up, though 71 Squadron shot one of them down as one of the first kills of the day. Between 05.45 and 05.55, the Hornchurch and Biggin Hill Wings became airborne, while elements of their chief adversary, JG 26, joined the fray shortly after 06.00. Before the Hornchurch Wing could intervene, Fw 190s shot down three 174 Squadron Hurricanes (including the CO) which were covering Bostons. The Biggin Wing had a brush with Focke-Wulfs and Lt. Junkin of the 307th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, scored the first USAAF kill in the European theatre of operations. At 06.10 the North Weald (Norwegian) Wing began to taxi out. Over Dieppe, Capt. Bjorn Raeder became separated and fought a single-handed action against eight Fw 190s until he disengaged over the Channel and crash-landed in England. Meamvhile, Bostons were bombing the inland Batteries, A/302 and 256. Just behind the latter attack, at Arques-la-Bataille, six Hurricanes went in to attack the 110th Divisional HQ supposedly there. It was not, and four Hurricanes were lost, crashing into the town, killing their pilots and eight civilians. Further main beach landings at 07.05 were only covered by a Hurricane cannon strike on the East Headland, while the smoke-laying aircraft were back at base -- the landing was non-scheduled and the air plan too rigid to allow for adequate immediate cover.

By 07.00 there were only about thirty German fighters in the air and Leigh-Mallory was disappointed. Oblt. Sepp Wurmheller of JG 2, despite a broken leg in plaster, was in action, though he was soon forced to crash on a beach. Later that day, he shot down seven Spitfires and a Blenheim. While Hurricanes searched with MGBs for F-boats in the Channel, 10 (Jabo) JG 26's Fw 190A-4/U8s attacked isolated British ships, though with less success than they claimed. Elements of (F)122 and/or (F)123 also scouted the Channel, looking for another possible British attack force, while the Tactical Reconnaissance Mustangs flew deep into France looking for German reinforcements. Approximately every twenty minutes sections of Hurricanes arrived for ground support patrols over Dieppe, with Bostons at longer intervals. Around 08.30 the first German bomber made its appearance - there now being some fifty Luftwaffe aircraft up.

About 09.00 the Force Commanders became aware of the true situation on the beaches and the withdrawal order, Vanquish, was given for 10.30. However, Air Commodore Cole was forced to point out that the RAF's time table only allowed for a maximum effort to cover Vanquish at 11.00. His point made and accepted, Cole informed Uxbridge at 10.04 that smoke screens would be required over the main beaches for the evacuation from 11.00 for half an hour at least. At 10.10 the final softening up of the indestructible headlands began, and was kept up for 30 minutes by twenty-four Bostons and twenty-two Hurri-bombers: an assault that was too soon and too short.

By 10.00 the German bombers had arrived in force and the Luftwaffe had committed over a hundred aircraft to battle over Dieppe at any one time -- meeting Fighter Command's challenge. With the job of air cover foremost, the RAF was soon paying a high price for maintaining its superlative and near-impregnable air umbrella over the main assault force. It was losing aircraft because its Spitfire VBs (not to mention tactics) were outclassed by the Fw l9OAs and Bf l09Fs, but they were stopping the German bombers from getting at the ships and the beaches. Thus for all its victories, the Luftwaffe was losing the air battle of Dieppe.

At 10.30 twenty-two out of a force of twenty-four B-17E Boeings of the 97th Bomb Group, 8th USAAF, carried out accurate though indecisive bombing of Abbeville-Drucat airfield as a diversion. Ever since 10.00, Luftwaffe fighter reserves between Flushing and Beaumont le Roger had been put on the alert, while bomber forces from Holland to Beauvais were steadily being committed to battle. The Typhoon Wing flew a diversionary feint to Ostend, then over Le Treport they bounced some Fw l90s, damaging three. But two Typhoons failed to pull out of their dives when their tails snapped off. In the end, some nine Spitfire squadrons were sent into the area to stop the bombers reaching Dieppe. The North Weald Wing on their second sortie shot down eight of nine unescorted Do 217Es. Returning over the Channel, a frantic "Look out 190 approaching 3 o'clock!" caused Lt. Kristensen, Yellow One, to whip round and fire a short, effective burst. The 190 burst into flames and dived inverted into the Channel -- it was only then that they realised that it was a Typhoon ... R7815 of 266 Squadron, the pilot being killed.

Back at Dieppe, "Vanquish" was going badly. As 226 Squadron's Bostons laid dense smoke screens on the headlands and along the waterfront at 11.00 to cover the withdrawal, Luftwaffe bomber reinforcements arrived in strength and pressed home their bombardment of the beaches and together with the German gunners turned the evacuation into a worse massacre than Dunkirk. At 11.15 43 Squadron's Hurricanes attacked the East Headland, but five minutes later a call came from the beach for more smoke and air support. Again at 11.35 and 11.38, calls came in to the effect that the beaches were under tremendous fire and evacuation was impossible under such conditions. Uxbridge was inundated with calls for more bombing. Hurri-bombers were on the way, but would only arrive at noon.

At Pourville the remnants of the attack on the West Headland were being evacuated under increasing attack from both shore and air. Fw 1 90s strafed while Ju 88s were subsequently reported as "flame thrower aircraft" (early napalm?). The RAF, however, were fully engaged over Dieppe, and could not give cover here.

At last the Hurricane 11Bs arrived over Dieppe at 12.00, and their attacks kept some German gunners' heads down while Spitfires kept at bay the dogged attempts of Ju 88s, Do 217s and a few He 111s to intervene. At 12.43 three Bostons laid a last smoke screen in the face of heavy AA fire from the Royal Navy. Just after 13.00, however, the survivors on the beaches were forced to surrender -- though, as late as 13.45, RAF attacks were belatedly still going in on the Headlands and beaches, killing several Canadians who were now POWs.

Heading for England now were some 200 vessels in close convoy with the inevitable stragglers behind. With a renewed effort, the Luftwaffe tried to inflict more casualties. For the RAF fighter pilots flying their third, fourth or even fifth sorties of the day, this was the last challenge. Tn addition to the general air cover provided, eighty-six additional patrols were put up to intercept specific attacks. Only one incident was to mar what was otherwise a near-perfect essay into fighter cover. At the tail end of the convoy a free-for-all was developing over the last ships getting into station. At 13.08 a section of three Do 217s, though harried unmercifully by Spitfires, pressed home their attack. Just after 13.14, one bomb exploded under the destroyer HMS Berkeley, breaking her back. Her crew were evacuated and she was sunk by a fellow destroyer. By 15.45, the Luftwaffe, realising the futility of further mass attacks, sent single bombers to harass the convoy, using the gathering overcast for protection. But by 20.00 the convoy was nearly home and the RAF had the sky to itself. During the day the Luftwaffe had made scattered raids on South East England. They came again that night: a Do 217 falling to Wing-Cdr. Pleasance's Beaufighter of 25 Squadron. For several nights afterwards, Ju 88s intensified their shipping reconnaisance over the Channel, some falling foul of 29 Squadron.

[claidemore]

Great essay pb!

[KrazyKraut]

Yeah the LW was clearly losing that one Revisionism at its best.

[pbfoot]

Originally Posted by claidemore

Great essay pb!

I can't write that well I scooped it from this site and its only the meat of the essay included is the OOB
AIR UMBRELLA - DIEPPE - South African Military History Society - Journal

[Glider]

I was wrong, the Germans did get one escort destroyer, but a good write up, many thanks. You have to feel for the Hurricanes, at least a Spit V had a fighting chance.

[Njaco]

Great stuff, PB!!!!

9 February 1945 - Black Friday

Black Friday

Coastal Command's Strike wings performed many memorable shipping strikes during the last war, many of which are classic examples of this kind of warfare. These attacks on the vital supply lines of the German forces was deeply felt within the German Surpreme headquaters, especially after the invation of continental Europe had begun. But as can be expected, the scarce German naval resources was heavily defended, both by anti-aircraft guns and the aggresive fighters of the Luftwaffe. These effective defences took a heavy toll of the attackers, and the bravery of the young men in their heavily armed flying machines can easily be understood. This is the story of one of the blackest day in the Strike wings' history, the appropriately named "Black Friday", 9. February 1945.
....The last two years of the war saw the Strike Wings flying almost daily against targets on Norway's long western coast. The German army in Norway numbered almost 300 000, and these men and their war machninery had to be supplied. Vessels carrying supplies and soldiers were thus frequently encountered, targest were plentiful. And not only freighters and transports used this route, the Kriegsmarine's few remaining major warships were also encountered on this weatherbeaten coastline, providing escort for the convois or just seeking refuge from the ever-increasing allied raids on German naval bases in Germany. These vessels were considered prime targets.
.....Two Beaufighters from 489 Sqdn. piloted by F/Sgt. Priest and W/O Brightwell had been on an Recce-mission since 08.50. At 10.30 they reached the Norwegian coastline south of Utvær Lighthouse and quickly sighted their first vessel of the day; "similar to R/boat" to quote the original report. More was to come. At the entrance to Vevringefjord they sighted a Narvik destroyer with heavy escort; this was the Z-33. After encountering heavy Flak from the destroyer, the two Beaufighters continued their patrol in and out of the numerous fjords. No less than 5 transports were seen in Nord-Gulen , the largest between 4000-5000 tons. After almost an hour of recce they set course for base at 11.20 and reached their home base at Dallachy on 13.24.
....During the subsequent interrogation the pilots reported that the destroyer in Fordefjord and the transports could not be attacked by more than 2-3 aircraft at the same time. The nearby Strike Wing base at Banff was alerted as was Peterhead, home of 65. Sqdn flying Mustang Mk IIIs . They would act as escort. A large strike Force was assembled and consisted of the following forces;
(RAF) Squadron 9 Beaufighters TFX Cannon and MGs only 404.
(RCAF) Squadron 11 Beaufighjters TFX Cannon/MGs and rockets 455.
(RAAF) Squadron 11 Beaufighters TFX Cannon/MGs and rockets 65.
(RAF) Squadron 12 Mustang MK IIIs MGs 279.
(RAF) Squadron 2 Warwick MK Is
....At this time in the war, Coastal Command had a great deal of experience with shipping strikes, having perfected them during three intence years of operations. And enemy fighters were still to be reckoned with. On 10. January 1945 the Luftwaffe had only about 45 single-engined fighters in Norway south of Trondheim, barely more than the total number of planes in the strike force! But they were flying high-performance Focke-Wulfs or Messerschmitts and most of the pilots were battle-hardened veterans from the nothern front, having fought the Russians for over three years. More specifically, 9.and 12. Staffel of the famous "Eismeergeschwader" JG 5, was stationed at Herdla just outside Bergen. As the only Staffels in Norway at this time, they flew both late and early variants of the Fw 190. And at Gossen near Molde 10. and 11. Staffel had their Bf 109G-6s and G-14s ready. Planes from both bases could reach Fordefjord and effect an interception if alerted in time. There was no way a heavily loaded Beaufighter could stand a chance against those small and nimble German fighters.
....Shortly after take-off one of the Mustangs had to return to Peterhead because of engine-trouble. Another joined in as an escort, just in case of a forced bail-out. Now they had only 10 escort fighters, but hopefully that would suffice. At 15.40 the formation reached the Norwegian coastline west of Sognefjord. At this time the outriders started their search north and south looking for other vessels or even the destroyer. It might just be that the destroyer was heading in one of these directions and if so the outriders would report back to the main force. A German fighter was sighted to the north, but it quickly disappeared. A small convoy was seen to the south, but no trace of the destroyer. It must still be at Fordefjord. The outriders turned back and headed for base after completion of their missions.
....The formation headed towards Fordefjord from the south. The German fortress at Furuneset fired a few rounds at the Allied aircraft without inflicting any damage. Milson led his planes over Bygstad just south of the fjord. If the boats were still situated at Heilevang they could attack out of the fjord and head for the relative safety of the North Sea. The time was just past 16.00. The formation turned north expecting to see the enemy at the entrance of Fordefjord. Then; a nasty surprise. Butler relates; "But as we turned north with the intention of turning west into the fjord when we reached it, and making our attack "out to sea", we suddenly found ourselves under fire from the ships which were almost underneath us".
....The German sailors were quite familiar with the dangers of the Norwegian Coast. Wisely, the German commander had decided to take up residence elsewhere. Further into the fjord, near a place called Bjorkedal, the mountains rise almost vertically from the fjord and this was a near-perfect place to situate some of the ships. Two vessels sought the protective cover of these mountains, the others, including the Z-33, placed themselves at the other side of the fjord, near Frammarsvik. Yet three others were in the middel of the fjord, possibly to give their Flak guns a wider arch of fire. These vessels included several converted trawlers used for anti-aircraft duties. This was indeed an unwelcome surprise. Having been outmanouvred like this, Milson had no other choice but to initiate another attack run. Abandoning the attack was simply not an option. Because of the placement of the enemy vessels, Milson probably decided that it was impossible to launch an attack in the normal way out to sea. They had to get further east to make the attack run out the fjord. As the 40-plane formation turned east, the German sailors prepared for the forthcoming attack; some continued firing their guns, the officers shouted their quick orders; one vessel ran aground near Frammarsvik and the crew hurridly evacuated as did some from Z-33 itself. After having turned east, Wilson led his strike force south toward Forde and then west just south of the fjord. Wilson now realized that an attack out the fjord was virtually impossible if they were to have any chance of success. They would have to continue on a westerly direction and then make a 180 degree turn northeast again to attack into the fjord; just the opposite of the usual practise. Wilson ordered the Beaufighters into echelon port just before the Wing turned into the final attack run. Finally they were ready.
....The alarm had sounded at Herdla shortly before 15.50. On this fateful day 9. Staffel had 9 Focke-Wulfs on readiness, 12. Staffel had three. The grey and blue painted fighters had white and blue identification numbers painted on their fuselage sides, white signifying 9. Staffel, blue 12. Staffel. The nose rings were also painted in the appropriate Staffelcolour. Fw. Rudolf Artner, a very experienced pilot from the Eismeerfront was leading the 9. Staffel in his Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8, "White 10". Having been the favourite wingman of famous Eismeer aces such as Heinrich Erhler and Walter Shuck, he was credited with 17 victories up to this date. Lt. Rudolf Linz used his faithful "Blue 4", an A-8 with close to 70 black victory bars on its white rudder, most of them from his time on the northeren front.
....Milson made the first attack, behind him others were queing up to make theirs. There was simply no room in the fjord for more than two or three Beaus to attack at the same time. Projectiles of all calibres were streaming towards the planes. The Flak was very heavy this day as the ships had been placed with the intention of giving such effective cover. The German gun crews were also highly skilled in their profession after more than 5 years of war. But it was not a one-sided battle. The Beaufighters singled out their targets and according to one of the eyewitnesses "it seemed to us as if it was the boats in the middle of the fjord which got the worst of it". Some planes attacked from south-west, others from a more western direction, the latter used cannon and rockets against the Z-33. If not hit, there were certainly near-misses as the boat "rocked and shaked in the sea".

[Njaco]

continued....
....By 16.10 another factor was about to be brought into the battle. Beaufighter PL-Y of 144. Sqdn. piloted by P/O Smith and P/O "Spike" Holly acting as navigator, was one of the first into the attack. As they dived into the fjord, Smith noticed about 8 small planes coming from the south-west. Having succesfully attacked and evaded the enemy ships, they headed up the valley of Naustdal barely 50m over the landscape. Holly saw a fighter a couple of hundred yards behind them. He also wondered if this was a Mustang, but his hopes were shattered as he noticed the characteristic broad cowling of a radial-engine. It was a Focke-Wulf! The German fighter attacked and he and Holly fired almost simultanously. A cannon shell exploded near Holly, and splinters wounded him in the belly, knocking him unconsiouss. The cockpit and port Hercules was also hit, destroying the intercom and any hopes of regaining base. At low level they cut off some treetops and headed west, just north of Fordefjord. Smith had trouble controling the Beau' and a crashlanding was the only option. PL-Y continued to fly westwards, and Smith managed a crash-landing on the sea in Hoydalsfjord. They were rescued by civilians, but Smith and Holly were captured later that evening, and eventually transported to Bergen. But they had survived.
....Others were not so fortunate. 9./JG 5 had attacked directly into the Beaufighters waiting to attack the ships. Artner wrote after the battle: "About 50 km north of Sogne-Fjord, we saw the enemy formation which consisted of approximately 30 Beaufighters and 10 Mustang escort fighters. During a combined attack with my Staffel, I managed to gain hits on a Beaufighter which I attacked from behind and above. The beaufighter crashed burning in a flat angle. The crash was noted at 16.10 about 10 km north-west of Forde (Quadrat 06 East LM 1.5) The crew did not leave the plane."
....At about this time, FD/L Foster, leader of the 10 Mustang MK III of 65. Sqdn. discovered the German fighters too. He could see how they attacked the Beaufighters over Vevring, diving out of the sky from about 4000 feet. Then he saw three more fighters, heading directly for him. He fired a short burst at one of them, obtaining hits in the engine. Pursuing the Focke-Wulf, he observed how the fighter was trailing black smoke; this was at least a "probable". The German fighter crashed into the sea near Heilevang. The pilot, Lt. Karl-Heinz "Charly" Koch took to his parachute and he ended up in the cold fjord. He was eventually rescued by Norwegians. These events indicate that the three Focke-Wulfs of 12./JG 5 flying top cover attacked some of the Mustangs, whilst the 9./JG 5 dealt with the Beaufighters, at least initially.
....Another Mustang managed to pick off Fj.Ofw. Otto Leibfried's "White 22", actually an F-8 fighter-bomber, near Gjesneset just opposite to where Z-33 lay. Leibfried managed to bail out despite being wounded, but he landed in very difficult terrain. In the nights following the battle, people could see his flares calling for assisance. There was however, little the Norwegian and German patrols could do.
....The battle soon spread over a large area in all directions. The Beaufighters suffered heavily at the hands of the Focke-Wulfs. Near Gaular civilians witnessed how a Beaufighter was pursued by a Focke-Wulf and was hit several times. The Beaufighter tried to land on an elevation, but the terrain made this impossibe. The plane broke in half during the crash and the cockpit-section slid down the hillside for more than 500 meters. Sadly, the crew perished in the crash. This was EE-C of the ill-fated 404 Sqdn. The crew, F/O Knight and F/O Lynch was on their first strike.
....A single Mustang tried to help out, and attacked the German fighter. A long aerial duel developed. The Mustang finally caught fire, and made a wide turn out the fjord. But the British pilot turned back. According to eyewitnesses the pilot must have been badly wounded, for instead of bailing out he continued the fight. But to no avail. The Mustang crashed in the green pine forrest being the only Mustang loss of this battle. W/O Cecil Claude Caesar was dead.
....The German fighter was in trouble also. The engine had been damaged and this forced the pilot to bail out. But he was too close to the ground for the chute to open. Fortunately, the snowy hillside enabled the pilot to survive, a small avalanche carried him to the bottom of the valley. During the journey down, the flare gun accidentally went off, causing severe burns on one leg. He could walk, and he found his way into a small barn. After a little while some Norwegians contacted him and took him to hospital. This pilot was Heinz Orlowski. He spent the rest of the war in hospital and reconvalence at Herdla, and did not see further combat. In 1994 he and his newly-restored "Weisse 1" was actually reunited in Texas, survivors of a fierce battle some 49 years before.
....Further north, in Naustdal, three fighters followed closely in the tracks of Smith and Holly's damaged Beaufighter. The leading plane had an in-line engine, a British Mustang. The other two were clearly Germans as the Mustang suddenly dived into the valley to emerge below one of the Focke-Wulfs and then fired a short burst of fire at it. It was a certain "kill" as the Focke-Wulf quickly flicked over and spiraled down with black smoke trailing behind to crash in a ball of flames near Solheimsstolen. The occupant, Lt. Rudi Linz was probably killed before impact as he made no attempt to evacuate the plane. 28 years of age, he was the most successful German pilot in Norway at this time, having been credited with 70 victories, most of them against Russians.
....Artner got his second victory of the day not far from where Linz fell. Coming barely three minutes after the first, Artner wrote the following report detailing his 19th victory of the war: "As the battle developed I managed to hit another Beaufighter twice during a low-level tailchase. The plane finally turned and crashed straight into the ground after yet another salvo. The crash was noted at 16.13 about 5 km nort-northwest of Naustdal (Quadrat 06 East KM 8,5)."
....Beaufighters were shot down over a wide area. The Beaufighter of F/O Savard and P/O Middleton bellied in on the ice, but turned over and trapped to crew. Norwegians tried to help them but turned around as German soldiers fired at them. Middleton was severly wounded and died when he was being transported to land, but Savard survived to spend the rest of the war as a POW. Another Beaufighter fell at the entrance to Fordefjord. F/L McColl and W/O MacDonald from 455 (RAAF) Sqdn. survived the crashlanding only to be taken in arrest by German soldiers in a nearby civilian house. Much to the german's intence irritation, Norwegians supplied McColl and MacDonald with food rarely seen at this stage of the war.
....The last Beaufighter to attack the vessels was PL-O with F/S Stan Butler at the controls. He had just attacked a small vessel with cannon fire and was trying to escape the inferno when a small caliber projectile pierced the cockpit and destroyed a manifold in the hydraulic system at the base of his control column. As Butler was maneuvering wildly to put the Flak gunners off their aim, the liquid splashed all over him and his canopy, making it very difficult to see out. At that moment the navigator F/S Nicholl discovered " the unmistakable front silhouette of an Fw 190 with little lights sparkling along its wings". Butler used a special trick he had learned during his training by a Canadian instructor in Calgary, Alberta. By careful control of the rudder and banking port and starboard, he was giving the impression that he was weaving from side to side. This would make it difficult for any attacker to get a good shot at his target, especially since Butler was constantly changing his altitude. Before the German pilot could figure out what to do about this elusive Englishman, Nicholl had fired a red Verey cartridge which thankfully alerted a Mustang to their problems. The Mustang successfully chased the offending Focke-Wulf away.
....The battle lasted only about 15 minutes. Thus at about 16.30 the last combatants withdrew from the battle and set course for home. The remaining Beaufighters and Mustan