Sunderland vs. eight Ju 88's

comiso90 · 05-09-2007, 02:09 PM

There were 11 crewmen on board the Sunderland, including nine Australians and two British. The crew was on an anti-submarine patrol and also searching for remains of BOAC Flight 777, an airliner that had left Gibraltar the day before and subsequently had been shot down over the Bay of Biscay.

In the late afternoon, one of the crew spotted the eight Ju 88s. Bombs and depth charges were dumped while the pilot, Walker, "redlined" the engines. Two Ju 88s made passes at the flying boat, one from each side, scoring hits while the Sunderland went through wild "corkscrew" evasive manoeuvres. The fighters managed to knock out one engine. On the third pass of the fighters, the top-turret gunner managed to shoot one down. Another Ju 88 disabled the tail turret but the next fighter that made a pass was bracketed by the top and nose turrets and shot down as well.

Still another fighter attacked, smashing the Sunderland's radio gear, wounding most of the crew in varying degrees and mortally wounding one of the side gunners. A Ju 88 tried to attack from the rear but the tail turret gunner had managed to regain some control over the turret and shot it down. The surviving fighters pressed home their attacks despite the losses. The nose gunner damaged one of the fighters and set one of its engines on fire. Two more of the attackers were also hit and the other two finally disengaged and departed. Luftwaffe records indicate these were the only two that made it back to base.

The Sunderland was a wreck. The crew threw everything they could overboard and nursed the aircraft back to the Cornish coast where Walker managed to land and beach it. The crew waded ashore, carrying their dead comrade, while the surf broke the Sunderland up. Walker received the Distinguished Service Order and several of the other crew received medals as well. Walker went on to a ground job while the rest of the crew was given a new Sunderland. That Sunderland and its crew disappeared without a trace over the Bay of Biscay two months later after reporting by radio that they were under attack by six Ju 88s.

Short Sunderland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

rogthedodge · 05-09-2007, 10:16 PM

Nice to see the 'Flying Porcupine' get a mention - I remember as a lad seeing the launching cradles for the Sunderlands still on the slipway at Beaumaris on Anglesey (North Wales) and being amazed at the size of the thing (cradle).

I thought all traces of the factory had gone but apparently the slipways and some of the buildings remain

Wildcat · 05-10-2007, 12:38 AM

Yep, a pretty well known event, a/c was from 461sqn RAAF in believe.

Thorlifter · 05-10-2007, 06:36 AM

Cool story.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 05-10-2007, 12:11 PM

Good post, thanks.

comiso90 · 05-10-2007, 11:24 PM

I'm glad u guys liked it.

The B-17 gets the lion’s share of accolades when it comes to epic aerial engagements. It's good to read about the Sunderland... does anybody have any other examples where multi-engine aircraft fight off attackers with memorable style?

Heinz · 05-11-2007, 12:40 AM

thats a fair effort!

Njaco · 05-15-2007, 09:33 AM

Opening attack during Big Week, February 20, 1944:

A B-17 flown by Lt. Guy Reed and specially equipped for recon and weather reporting, took off to determine the weather conditions over Germany and the North Sea before the mission. While enroute, Lt. Reed picked up a ghost radio signal and decided to investigate. A ghost signal had been causing havoc among the bomber groups and misdirecting many bombers away from airfields until their fuel was exhausted and they ditched their B-17s. Dropping through cloud cover, the B-17 found the source of the signal; a He 177 recon plane. Coming up alongside the big bomber, the B-17 started firing at the Heinkel begining a battle across the North Sea as the lumbering giants battled each other. Lt. Reed brought the Fortress around the Heinkel and the crew fired at almost point-blank range. The Heinkel dove and then appeared to stall alongside the B-17. As the American bomber came alongside, the German gunners opened up on the B-17, killing the right waist gunner, knocking the cover off the top turret and jamming the rudder. A .50 cal. shell from the Fortress nearly killed the German pilot and he decided to break off the battle. As he banked away a volley of machine gun fire from the B-17 damaged one of the Heinkel's engines and the He 177 tumbled out of the sky, out of control. Nobody survived the crash. Lt. Reed was able to bring his damaged plane back to Scotland for a crash landing.

comiso90 · 05-15-2007, 10:27 AM

Cool!

Like two Man-O-Wars giving each other a broadside...

Whats the source? I didn't know the HE-177 was used in that capacity... sounds like someone coulda made that up.

comiso90 · 05-15-2007, 11:19 AM

here is one source that claims it's true:

This story is recounted in "Big Week" by Glen Infield.

Negative Creep · 05-15-2007, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogthedodge

Nice to see the 'Flying Porcupine' get a mention - I remember as a lad seeing the launching cradles for the Sunderlands still on the slipway at Beaumaris on Anglesey (North Wales) and being amazed at the size of the thing (cradle).

I thought all traces of the factory had gone but apparently the slipways and some of the buildings remain

I used to live about a mile away from their Rochester factory. Sadly all traces seem to have gone quite some time ago

Njaco · 05-15-2007, 01:21 PM

Comiso beat me to it. I've also seen it refrenced somewhere else but don't have that at this time.

comiso90 · 05-15-2007, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Njaco

Comiso beat me to it. I've also seen it refrenced somewhere else but don't have that at this time.

It's still hard to believe...

I'd like to see that on "Dogfights"

The 177 was made for diving. I'm suprised they didn't go into a dive and run away... I'd put my money on the B-17

renrich · 05-17-2007, 06:34 PM

Good post Comis. Isn't it amazing that the British gunners could do all that damage with rifle caliber machine guns. Am reading a book about the US bombing campaign in Europe during WW2 and Ira Eaker(who was to organise the campaign) was flying to England in early 1942 by way of Lisbon. Apparently, the Gestapo that was very active in Lisbon were aware that American officers were on a commercial airliner traveling from Portugal to England and a JU88 attacked the DC3 that Eaker was in. The DC3 pilot evaded the first attack with only a few hits and as the JU88 lined up for another run, suddenly one of the 88s engines caught on fire and the German pulled off and went home. The pilots and passengers on the DC3 were petrified.

comiso90 · 05-17-2007, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by renrich

Good post Comis. Isn't it amazing that the British gunners could do all that damage with rifle caliber machine guns.

Yeah I was struck by the same thing...

[/quote]The DC3 pilot evaded the first attack with only a few hits and as the JU88 lined up for another run, suddenly one of the 88s engines caught on fire and the German pulled off and went home. The pilots and passengers on the DC3 were petrified.[/quote]

Reminds me of the Saburo Sakai Story were he showed mercy to the Red Cross C-47