This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Njaco]

GERMANY: US Eighth AF Mission #46: 76 B-17s and 26 B-24s were dispatched against the U-Boat yards at Wilhelmshaven. 69 B-17s and 15 B-24s dropped 224 tons of bombs on target. They lost one B-17 and 2 B-24s. The fighters of I./JG 1 intercepted the formations including Lt. Knoke who tried his aerial bombing tactic for the first time. Flying a Bbf 109G loaded with a 500lb bomb, Lt. Knoke was able to drop the bomb in the middle of a formation of Fortresses. The bomb broke the wing off a B-17 from the 91st BG and it crashed 18 miles off Heligoland, killing the entire crew. Not exactly the way it was supposed to work but the effect was the same. Numerous bombers returned to England badly damaged including one that had 368 holes in the aircraft.

WESTERN FRONT: Lt. Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of Stab II./NJG 1 claimed the destruction of a Lancaster during the RAF raid on St. Nazaire. But another pilot, Hptm. Wilhelm Herget of Stab I./NJG 4 also made a claim of destroying the same RAF bomber. Unable to decide who should get credit for the kill, General Kammhuber ordered the 2 experten to draw lots. The Lancaster kill was awarded to Hptm. Herget.

NORTH AFRICA: As the British attempted to expand their bridgehead over Wadi Zigzaou, German reserves from the 15.Panzerdivision (with a mere 30 tanks in all) counterattacked. The panzers attacked just as a heavy rain fell on the area. The British Valentine tanks were no match for the more powerfully gunned panzers and by dusk the bridghead had all but disappeared. The British lost two thirds of the Valentine tanks and went on the defensive in this sector.
....Meanwhile elements of 21.Panzerdivision and 164th Light Division arrived at Tebaga Gap to stop the 2nd New Zealand Division's advance. But it was here that Montgomery decided to change tactics and throw all his weight behind his 'Left Hook'. He sent General Horrocks and the British 1st Armoured Division over the long desert route to join the New Zealanders in their thrust through the Tebaga Gap.
,,,, RAF Hurricanes smashed a panzer counter-attack near the Mareth Line. At 12:50 hours a total of 24 Spitfires of RAF No. 145 Sqdrn and RAF No. 601 Sqdrn took off in two formations. 12 of these Spitfires, from 145 Sqdrn, met 7 Bf 109s from JG 51 in the Mareth area. The other formation of 12 Spitfires also reported an engagment with 7 Bf 109s in the same area. Shortly after 13:00 hours 36 Kittyhawks from RAF Nos. 112 and 250 Sqdrns took off and were attacked by 6 Bf 109s. One Kittyhawk of 250 Sqdrn was shot down by Major Muncheberg of Stab./JG 77. Six more Spitfires dived into the combat, whereby S/L Wade claimed one Bf 109 shot down. This may have been Oblt. Heinrich Osswald of 4./JG 77 who was killed. A little while later 13 Hurricanes of RAF No. 6 Sqdrn took off and was engaged by Bf 109s which shot down one Hurricane. Lt. Franz Hradlicka of 5./JG 77 claimed a Hurricane during the combats as did Lt. Liedtke of 4./JG 77.
....23 P-38s of the US 82nd FG escorted B-26s and they were engaged by 2 Bf 109s. Later during the mission, the same formation of bombers and P-38s were attacked by 6 Bf 109s. The US 52nd FG was very successful near Mazzouna against Bf 109s, Fw 190s and Ju 88s. the group downed 5 Bf 109s, 2 Fw 190s and 2 Ju 88s, losing only one Spitfire to a crash landing from flak damage. The US 31st FG also lost one to a crash-landing.

ENGLAND: There was slight German activity over Newcastle. Sunderland and County Durham bore the brunt of the Luftwaffe's sorties. AA projectiles caused damage and casualties. HE and IBs fell on fields north of Rake House, Rake Lane, on the beach at Cullercoats and on the rocks beside the South Pier. Considerable damage was done to sidings and railway stock, chiefly wagons and vans. German records examined after the war show that a Do 217 failed to return from a sortie to Hartlepool.

EASTERN FRONT: German troops of Heeresgruppe Mitte recaptured Byelgorod.
....Once again the weather had taken a decisive hand in the war in Russia. The thaw came early and both armies were bogged down in the morass of mud churned up by fighting vehicles of both sides. Where, only a few days ago, tanks could roar at full speed across the hard-frozen steppe, they were now in danger of drowning in a sea of mud and the runways of airstrips had turned into quagmires which refused to release aircraft. While the thaw brought difficulties to both sides, it hurt the Germans most by bringing von Manstein's successful counter-offensive to a halt.
....After recapturing Kharkov, he had planned to cut quickly across the Donets behind the Russian armies which were still pressing west. If he had been able to do so, he might well have caught the Red Army in a trap and produced a disaster comparable to Stalingrad. But he lost too many men and too many machines to achieve the quick result, and now General Thaw had taken command.

MEDITERRANEAN: 24 B-17s bombed port facilities at Palermo. This was the first Allied bomber mission against Sicily by aircraft based in Northwest Africa.

[Hugh Spencer]

23rd March 1943
15 Mosquitoes attacked railway engine works at Nantes. Direct hits were scored and no aircraft were lost.
45 aircraft laid mines in the Frisian Islands and south of Texel and 21 aircraft dropped leaflets over French towns. 2 Wellingtons were lost, one each from the minelaying and leaflet dropping sorties.

[Njaco]

NORTH AFRICA: Patton's drive on El Guettar was stopped by determined German and Italian resistance with the 10.Panzerdivision taking serious losses. The Germans were amazed at how quickly the Americans were learning.
....50 tanks of Broich's 10.Panzerdivision had swept down from the hills during the night and hit the US 1st Infantry Division marching in the valley below, followed by mobile guns and troop carriers full of infantry. Messerschmitts swarmed out of the sky and strafed foxholes and gun emplacements. The Germans swept through, driving all before them until they were slowed by a hastily laid minefield and artillery. the panzers paused to reorganize then set off again, fully confident of victory against the 'green' Americans.
....But the Americans stood their ground. Artillery shells rained down on the panzers and in fighting that often came down to "him-or-me" hand-to-hand combat, US 1st Division troops pushed the Germans out of their fighting positions and off hilltops. Fortunately, Allen's men could call on strong air and artillery support. Massed artillery and tank destroyers knocked out nearly 30 tanks while mines stopped 8 more. American casualties were heavy but the 10.Panzerdivision had to withdraw.
....In the afternoon the Axis forces returned, this time in long columns of infantry led by panzers. But the American forces had used the hours in between to set up their artillery guns and showered the advancing Germans with shells. The panzers turned and retreated. The US 1st Division avenged its defeat at the Kasserine Pass by beating off the 10.Panzerdivision which retreated from the El Guettar valley and dug in to reinforce the Italian 'Centauro' Division in the mountains. For the first time an American infantry divsion had taken on German tanks and won.
....The Luftwaffe suffered a terrible loss. During a freie jagd, Major Joachim Muncheberg, Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77, came across a formation of US Spitfires. Diving on the Allied flight, Muncheberg claimed his 135th kill. But unable to break from his attack, Muncheberg's Bf 109 collided with his victim and both planes crashed to the ground, killing the commander. His position at JG 77 was taken by Oblt. Johannes Steinhoff from II./JG 51.
....II./JG 51 recorded the first loss of one of their new Bf 109G-6s in the desert.
....In the morning, 3 He 111s of I./KG 26 attacked the convoy 'KMF 11' to the north of Tenes Head, sinking the troop transport 'Windsor Castle' and damaging the Norwegian oil tanker 'Garonne'.

GERMANY: In an effort to prove his point about the effectiveness of his night-fighter program with the new He 219 'Uhu', General der Nachtjagd Kammhuber convened a demostration flight with his He 219 going up against the RLM's favorite for night-fighter duties, a Ju 88 flown by Oberst Wiktor von Lossberg and a D0 217N. The Dornier soon withdrew and after trying his best, von Lossberg soon conceded defeat to the 'Uhu', flown by the Gruppenkommandeur of I./NJG 1, Major Werner Streib.

WESTERN FRONT: A Ju 88A-4 belonging to 13./KG 30 crashed in Store Vildmosen moor near the road, killing the crew of four. The aircraft burst into flames on impact and set fire to the moor.

[Hugh Spencer]

24th March 1943
3 Mosquitoes shot up trains in areas east of the Ruhr without loss.
There was a fighter-bomber raid on Ashford, Kent. 8 night raiders were shot down over north east England and southern Scotland.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Lt. erich Hartmann of 7./JG 52, during one of two missions that he flew for the day, tangled with Russian aircraft near Kerch in the Crimea. Shortly after noon, he downed a Russian U-2 to bring his score to 5 kills and earning him the Iron Cross-Second Class.

MEDITERRANEAN: Lt. Ferdinand Jahn of 9./JG 77 was killed in action against the Allies. He had destroyed a total of 8 enemy aircraft during his war career.

ENGLAND: A force of German raiders was scattered widely over seperated parts of Northern England. At North Shields considerable damage was done to property. The only casualty was one person seriously injured at High Heaton by AA fire.
....A total of 8 German aircraft - 3 Do 217Es and 5 Ju 88As - crashed this night, mostly flying into high ground. A Do 217E struck a hill at Twice Brewed Inn at Haltwhistle at 00:20 hours. The crew all perished. A Ju 88A, flying low, hit a hill at a shallow angle at Linhope Rigg near Powburn, Northumberland at 00:45 hours and again the crew all perished. Another D0 217E was shot down by AA fire and crashed at Madam Law Farm, Kirknewton. It appeared that the aircaft had come from a northerly direction, crashed into the side of Madam Law, near the top, riccocheted over the hill and came to rest in pieces on the southern side. Three of the four crew were thrown out of the plane and killed, the fourth was found dead inside the burnt wreckage.

NORTH AFRICA: Montgomery continued his attacks in Tunisia, sending the 4th Indian Division on a flank attack toward Ksar el Hallouf and Ben Zelten. It failed to dislodge the Axis forces.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Lt. Walter Nowotny of JG 54 scored his 79th victory with the destruction of a Soviet Spitfire from 26 GVIAP of the Leningrad Air Defense.
....Herbert Kirnbauer of JG 52 was killed in action aganist the Soviets. He had destroyed only 8 enemy aircraft during his combat career.
....A Ju 88D-1 from 4(F)./122 failed to return from a sortie to the P'ot'i-Bat'umi area of Georgia. Four crewmen went missing.

ENGLAND: The Luftwaffe flew a bombing mission over North Britain and Scotland and lost 10 aircraft. KG 2 lost 4 Do 217s, 3 crashing in the UK and one on the Continent, whilst KG 6 lost 6 Ju 88s including 2 missing over the North Sea. One Junkers Ju 88 of 1./KG 6 based at Deelen, Holland was chased by a Beaufighter from RAF No. 219 Sqdrn and hit Linhope Rig near Powburn in the early hours. Ofw. F. Lang and his 3 crew were all buried in Chevington Cemetary.

NORTH AFRICA: Pressure from the British 1st Armoured Division at Tebaga Gap and the US II Corps at Maknassy forced General von Arnim to withdraw from the Mareth Line.
....Hptm. Fritz Schroter's III./SKG 10 moved its Fw 190As from Gabes-West to San Pietro at night and Bizerte and Djedeida during the day.

MEDITERRANEAN: Greek partisans succeeded in taking over Samos Island from the Itailian garrison.

[Hugh Spencer]

26th March 1943
173 Wellingtons, 157 Lancasters, 114 Halifaxes, 9 Mosquitoes and 2 Stirlings attacked Duisburg. 6 aircraft were lost.
The Mosquito lost was the first Oboe Mosquito casualty. A message was received from the pilot, F/Lt L.J. Ackland, that he was having to ditch in the North Sea. His body was never found but his navigator, W/officer F.S. Sprouts, is believed to have survived. This raid was one of the few failures of this series of attacks on Ruhr targets. It was a cloudy night and, for once, accurate Oboe sky-marking was lacking because 5 Oboe Mosquitoes were forced to return early with technical difficulties and a sixth was lost. The result was a widely scattered raid. The only details reported from Duisburg were 15 houses destroyed and 70 damaged with 11 people killed and 36 injured.

[Njaco]

NORTH AFRICA: Montgomery took a leaf from the German book and staged what he called a "blitz attack" on the afternoon of 26 March, with the sun behind the British and shining in the eyes of the Axis troops and a dust storm blowing in their faces. As Freyberg's infantry and Horrock's armour moved toward the entrance of the Tebaga Gap, waves of 30 Allied bombers, paced 15 minutes apart, zeroed in on the Axis defenses in the valley passageway to El Hamma. The RAF plastered the German units holding the exits and smashed guns and equipement and paralyzed the 21.Panzerdivision. The bombing and strafing lasted 3 hours and when at dusk silence again settled in the valley, Freyberg's New Zealanders, bayonets at the ready, poked into the gap.
....After the infantry led the way through the rim of the Axis defenses, it parted and let Hoorock's armour slide through and push on toward El Hamma in the moonlight. As the 1,200 vehicles left the infantry behind and advanced on a single track, they passsed almost unchallenged through the encampment where part of the 21.Panzerdivision rested for the night.
....Even though the resistance was feeble, the progress of the gigantic column was agonizingly slow, impeded by frequent wadis. By dawn the Germans had been able to scrape up enough 88mm guns to establish an anti-tank screen at the exit of the valley, 3 miles from El Hamma. They opened up on the British 1st Armoured Division and stopped its advance, keeping Horrocks at bay for two days.
....But Monty's "Left Hook" had done its job. Fearing that Horrocks might break through at any moment and attack thier rear in force, the Axis troops of the Mareth Line were compelled to retreat. They pulled ou undercover of a sandstorm and withdrew northward along the coast, settling finally for another fight at Wadi Akarit, 15 miles north of the port of Gabes.
....During the morning, a formation of 12 torpedo bombers constisting of 9 He 111s of I./KG 26 and 3 Ju 88s of III./KG 26 attacked convoy 'KMF 12' to the west of Alger, sinking the Dutch motor-ship 'Prinz Willem III'.

[Hugh Spencer]

27th March 1943
191 Lancasters, 124 Halifaxes and 81 Stirlings attacked BERLIN. 9 aircraft were lost.
This raid was basically a failure. The bombing force approached the target from the south-west and the Pathfinders established two separate marking areas but both well short of the city. No bombing photographs were plotted within 5 miles of the aiming point in the centre of BERLIN and most of the bombing fell from 7 to 17 miles short of the aiming point. The BERLIN report confirms that damage in the city was not heavy although the bombing was slightly more widespread than the bombing photographs indicated. Only 16 houses were classed as completely destroyed but many further buildings including public utilities and factories suffered light damage. These were typical results in a scattered raid; the local fire services were able to contain fires quickly but 102 people were killed and 260 injured. The majority of these casualties occurred when two bombs at the Anhalter Station hit a military train bringing men on leave from the Russian Front. 80 soldiers were killed and 63 injured. Our researcher in BERLIN, Arno Abendroth, states that the damage in BERLIN would have been heavier if approximately one quarter of the bombs dropped had not turned out to be 'duds'. "The English factories must have been under some stress," he writes. Further out from the city centre stray bombs hit several Luftwaffe establishments. 3 planes were destroyed and a flak position was hit at Templehof airfield. The flying school at Staaken airfield was damaged and a further 70 service personnel were killed or wounded. These casualties are in addition to those in BERLIN. The most interesting story concerns a secret Luftwaffe stores depot in the woods at Teltow, 11 miles south-west of the centre of BERLIN. By chance this was in the middle of the main concentration of bombs and a large quantity of valuable radio, radar and other technical stores was destroyed. The Luftwaffe decided that this depot was the true target for the RAF raid on this night and were full of admiration for the special unit which had found and bombed it so accurately. The Gestapo investigated houses nearby because someone reported that light signals had been flashed to the bombers. This theory was still current when our research into this raid was carried out in 1983.
24 aircraft went minelaying in the Frisians and off Texel with no losses.
5 Mosquitoes reached and bombed and engineering factory at Hengelo but 7 other Mosquitoes did not reach their targets. No losses.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Near Byelgorod JG 52's Lt. Georg Schwientek shot down 2 LaGG-5s and 2 Il-2s and claimed another LaGG-5 but was denied the last kill giving him 4 kills for the day. Lt. Erich Hartmann of 7./JG 52 downed a Russian I-16 Rata near Anapa for his 6th kill.

GERMANY: Negotiations had begun between the RLM and Heinkel for some 300 He 280B-1 fighters, although the actual production was to be subcontracted to Siebel Flugzeugwerke as Heinkel had little surplus capacity. But revised estimates of the availablity of the Jumo 004 dictated that both the He 280 and the Me 262 could not both be built. Development of the He 280 seemed to be going well, but further evaluation of the Me 262 demostrated the superiority of the Messerschmitt aircraft and the RLM ordered all further development of the He 280 as an operational type to be abandoned. As the redesign work to adapt the He 280 to the Jumo engine had only just begun, the Me 262 was chosen as it was ready for production, merely waiting on its engines. The V-1, V-7 and V-8 prototypes were put to use as flying testbeds for a variety of engine and aerodynamic design projects. The V-1 was fitted with 4 Argus 014 pulse-jet engines (as fitted on the V-1 missile) but failed to complete a flight as the pilot was forced to eject when the tow line failed to seperate (the pulse-jets didn't develope enough thrust for an unassisted take-off). The V-7 was completed as a glider and made a large number of flights investigating problems encountered in high-speed flight. The V-8 was fitted with a pair of Jumo 004B engines and a V-tail for 10 flights, after which the engines were removed and it was flown as a glider to continue the investigation into the aerodynamic qualities of the V-tail.

NORTH AFRICA: Soldiers of the 2nd New Zealand Division broke through the Axis lines after an overnight attack which outflanked the German defenses now retreating from the Mareth Line 30 miles further east. The New Zealanders - 27,000 men and 200 tanks - attacked a gap in the hills at Tebaga. The 8th Armoured Brigade and the New Zealand infantry made up the advance wave, followed by the British 1st Armoured Divsion. Their movements were given some cover not only by the encroaching dusk but also by a sandstorm which obscured the vision of the anti-tank guns ranged to defend Tebaga. By daybreak the Allies had blasted through the gap, ensuring the ultimate breach of the Mareth Line.
....Montgomery had pushed back the Axis forces from two sides: the inland column established through Tebaga (the "Left Hook") and a direct coastal assault via Gabes (the "Right Hook"). Von Arnim planned to deploy tanks of the 15.Panzerdivision to hold off the Allies in order to allow his infantry time to retreat from the doomed Mareth Line to new defensive positions at Wadi Akarit. As Patton began anew attack near Foudouk, the British armour was stopped in front of El hamma as German infantry held the road open for retreating Axis forces. US 12th AF fighters attacked the German installations.
....Another attack against convoy 'KMF 12' in the afternoon was made by 12 Italian S. 79 torpedo bombers of 89 and 105 Group and 8 He 111s of I./KG 26, guided by 2 Ju 88 bombers of III./KG 76. The British motor-ship 'Empire Rowan' was sunk in the Gulf of Philippeville by 3 aircraft of the Italian 105 Group along with 2 crews of 89 Group. An Italian aircraft failed to return to base from the mission being shot down by a Spitfire of RAf No. 43 Sqdrn. The Germans lost 3 aircraft, a He 111 of I./KG 26 and the 2 Ju 88s of II./KG 76 to Hurricanes and Spitfires of RAF No. 43 Sqdrn and RAF No. 249 Sqdrn.
....Hptm. Heinz Bar's I./JG 77 moved from Fatnassa/Oudref to La Fauconnerie.

[Hugh Spencer]

28th March 1943
24 Venturas, escorted by fighters, bombed Rotterdam docks and hit at least 6 ships and started a fire in a dockside warehouse. No planes were lost.
6 Mosquitoes were despatched to attack a railway yard near Liege but 2 aircraft were shot down and the remaining 4 bombed an alternative target.
179 Wellingtons, 52 Halifaxes, 50 Lancasters, 35 Stirlings and 7 Mosquitoes attacked St Nazaire. 2 aircraft were lost. This Oboe marked attack fell mainly in the port area.
7 aircraft laid mines off St Nazaire with no losses.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: Shortly after noon, 103 B-17s and 24 B-24s were sent to bomb the Rouen marschalling yards. Bad weather caused the Liberators to return to base, leaving the Fortresses to carry on alone. After the escorting RAF Spitfires failed to rendezvous with the bombers, the B-17s began flying a triangular pattern over the Channel, allowing the fighters of II./JG 26 and 12./JG 2 to intercept the formation. When the Spitfires finally arrived, they were too low on fuel and had to return to their airbases leaving the B-17s alone to the Luftwaffe. The German fighters tore into the bomber formation. 9 B-17s were badly damaged and one was shot down by Lt. Georg-Peter Eder of 12./JG 2. But Lt. Eder was injured by return fire from the American bombers and crash-landed his Bf 109 at Beaumont-Le Roger airfield.

NORTH AFRICA: British 8th Army forces completed the capture of the Mareth Line as Free French forces operating in southern Tunisia cleared several towns. 9th AF P-40s supported ground forces in eastern Tunisia while 12th AF aircraft supported ground forces in western Tunisia.
....Anxious to move beyond El Guettar, Patton planned a two division attack to the sea that would divide enemy forces. The now experienced US 1st Infantry Division would advance on the north. On the south Major General Manton S. Eddy's 9th Infantry Division would make its first attack as a unit. The 9th would also be making its first attack at night, a difficult tactic in the easiest terrain and in the rocky hills east of El Guettar probably impossible for a unit with only 5 months experience. When the attack began before dawn, 3 battalions of the 9th soon became lost, and 2 remained out of touch for 36 hours. On the left the 1st Infantry Division made faster progress but was unable to push too far ahead of Eddy's men without inviting envelopment. Soon both divisions were exhausting themselves against enemy units dug into rock-face positions with interlocking fields of fire.
....Hptm. Heinz Bar, Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 77, was promoted to Major.

[Hugh Spencer]

29th March 1943
61 Venturas flew 2 raids to Rotterdam docks and 1 to a railway target at Abbeville but the weather was unfavourable and only the bombing on the second raid to Rotterdam was accurate. No losses.
162 Lancasters, 103 Halifaxes and 64 Stirlings attacked BERLIN. 21 aircraft were lost. Weather conditions were difficult with icing and inaccurately forecast winds. The marking for the raid appeared to be concentrated but in a position which was too far south and the Main Force arrived late. Most of the bombs fell in open country 6 miles southeast of BERLIN. German records say that 148 people were killed in BERLIN and 148 buildings were totally destroyed but there is some doubt about the accuracy of these figures.
8 Oboe Mosquitoes and a Main Force of 149 Wellingtons attacked Bochum. 12 aircraft were lost. This raid was another failure. The night was moonless and cloudy. The Mosquitoes were not able to adhere to their timetable and there were long gaps in the sky-marking. Local records say that only 4 buildings in Bochum were destroyed and 35 were damaged with 28 people being killed.
1 Mosquito went to Dortmund and 7 Stirlings laid mines in the Frisians without loss.

[Njaco]

NORTH AFRICA: The last Axis troops reached Wadi Akarit. With the Wadi Akarit line fully manned, the New Zealanders entered Gabes. The new Axis defense was a strong natural barrier but preparations for the line were poor and the forces to defend it depleted. El Hamma was finally occupied by British forces. 9th AF B-25s and P-40s attacked an airfield and supported British ground troops.

MEDITERRANEAN: 9./JG 53 moved to Monserrato / Sardinia.

[Hugh Spencer]

30th March 1943
10 Mosquitoes bombed the Philips works at Eindhoven but could only hit the corner of the factory. No losses.