This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Njaco]

NORTH AFRICA: Allied troops of the British Eighth Army moved up to the new German defensive line at Wadi Akarit. The 10 day battle to breach the Axis defenses of the Mareth Line was over, with Montgomery a decisive victor in his first confrontation with the new German commander, General von Arnim. The movement of so many men and tanks in darkness was a move previously favoured by Rommel but not the Allies. Another tactic deployed to a greater extent than was customary for the Allies was the use of air power to support attacking land forces. Forward air-controllers were in the front line of the Tebaga attack, using radio to direct Spitfires and other aircraft to attack tanks and enemy defenses. The land forces advanced behind an aerial barrage of cannon fire and bombs from fighter-bombers flying over them in 15 minute relays.
....Some 6,000 Axis soldiers - mostly Italian - were taken prisoner. But although most of the Mareth Line defenders escaped, they had little time to prepare new defenses against the inevitable next move by Monty's desert soldiers.
....Further northwest, frustrated at the pace of the American infantry attack, General Alexander directed Patton to send an armoured column on a quick thrust to Gabes, the seaport whose possession would complete the division of Axis forces. Patton sent a task force ahead at noon, but in 3 days it made little progress and lost 13 tanks. The task force was halted, and the emphasis returned to the infantry struggling in the hills.
....After a stay of a few days, Major Heinz Bar's I./JG 77 moved from La Fauconnerie to Bou Thadi.

EASTERN FRONT: Stalin was informed that the Murmansk convoys were being suspended due to the losses sustained by the merchant ships.

[Hugh Spencer]

31st March 1943
Approximately 1056 RAF Bomber Command aircrew were lost in March, either killed or POW.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The shipyards at Rotterdam were bombed by the Us 8th AF. 78 B-17s and 24 B-24s were dispatched. The US had trouble as only 33 B-17s of the 303rd and 305th BG (Heavy) bombed the target. A formation of B-24s on the way to Rotterdam were blown off course by high winds which forced the formation to change course numerous times. The changes were so bad that 4 of the 6 bomber groups aborted the mission. The remaining B-17s were met by Fw 190s from JG 26. Fw. Peter Crump explained the action; "A new tactic of the heavy formations made its first appearance. The dircetion of attack appeared to be over Holland into the Ruhr, and so we of the opposing defenses were disposed accordingly. During their approach they turned, and left England on a southerly course, as if to attack a target in France. But the entire maneuver was then reversed; after flying south they then turned back east. In the meantime, we were being led this way and that, and would soon be unable to attack the enemy formation due to low fuel. Auxillary fueld tanks were available but we were flying this mission without them..."
.... "As our Gruppe flew north, almost to the coast and almost out of fuel, I spotted the bomber stream in the dusk at 11 o'clock, on a northwesterly course somewhat below us. My report to the formation leader Galland brought the reply, 'Where are they? I see nothing!' A second more detailed report brought the same reply. Apparently no one else saw the formation or else the Kommandeur did not want to see it, having in mind our almost empty tanks. At any rate, after a short delay he turned about to a course for home, with the comment, 'Ich habe durst!', which wa code for low fuel. However the rest of us were given a free hand to do what we wanted. A glance at my fuel gauge showed me that an attack was possible; my wingman agreed with me. In a gentle climb, I turned my rotte on a course to the northwest; as we approached the bomber stream I swung to the right, toward the last Pulk of B-17s. I glanced around, and found to my relief that the bombers were without fighter escort. I attacked the nearest B-17, which was at the left of the leading Vee, from the front and slightly above. It began to smoke immediately. Flames erupted between its 2 left engines. The bomber sheered away to the left, trailing a long stream of fire. As lond as I watched, it remained on a course in a shallow dive. I quickly turned my eyes away from it and the rest of the enemy formation, as it was high time we got away. My wingman had been hit in an aileron and had control problems. But thanks to our altitude, and with some luck, we made smooth landings at Coxyde, a nearby coastal airfield. I do not know what happened to 'my' B-17. I only know that from that day onward I was considered to have the best eyes in the Second Gruppe." Only 2 bombers were lost, one shot down by Fw. Crump and another by Oblt. Stammberger of 4./JG 26 off Ostend. Two other bombers were destroyed in a mid-air collision.
....At JG 1 Hptm Gunther Beise gave up his position as Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 1. At III./JG 1, Major Walter Spies gave up his position as Gruppenkommandeur to Major Karl-Heinz Lessmann. Oblt. Dr. Erich Mix gave up his position as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 1, performing Reichsverteidigung duties in Germany. Several Geschwaderkommodoren of the Kampfgeschwader also lost their positions. At KG 53, Oblt. Pockrandt was made Geschwaderkommodore in place of Oberst Wilke. Oblt. freiherr zu Eisenbach was given command of KG 54 in place of Oblt. Marienfeld.

EASTERN FRONT: Attacks against the German 17.Armee in the Kuban peninsula resulted in the fall of Anastasyevsk, north of Novorossiisk, to the advancing Soviet forces. Oberst Kurt Kuhlmey, Gruppenkommandeur of II./SG 3 was made Geschwaderkommodore of Stukageschwader 3, seeing action on the Eastern Front and in the Crimea.
....Major Hubertus von Bonin's III./JG 52 moved from Kertsch IV to Taman.

NORTH AFRICA: Cap Serrat was occupied by the British. Hptm. Adolf Dickfeld, Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 2 gave up his command in North Africa to transfer to a new unit forming in Germany.

MEDITERRANEAN: A large US AF bombing force attacked the Axis air base and transit port of Cagliari, Sardinia.

GERMANY: Major-General Peltz of the Luftwaffe, was appointed Angriffsfuhrer England, in charge of bombing raids against the British Isles.

[Hugh Spencer]

1st April 1943
12 Mosquitoes bombed a power station and railways yards at Trier. Both targets were hit. A local report says that 21 people were killed in the attack but gives no other detail. No planes were lost.
A lone Lancaster of 103 Squadron, again piloted by Squadron Leader C. O'Donoghue, set out to bomb the town of Emmerich just over the German border but the Lancaster was shot down over Holland and all the crew were killed.

[syscom3]

U.S.S.R.: Soviet troops occupy Anastasyevsk, north of Novorossiisk. The Soviet Navy records 1 submarine loss during the month that is not listed by day: S-54 Northern Fleet off coast of Norway (mined off Norwegian
coast)

POLAND: Auschwitz-Birkenau: With the opening of the second of four spanking-new crematoria here today, the camp's capacity to process human beings into ashes has taken another step forward. The
extermination of Jews and Gypsies on such a scale brings a new problem: how to dispose of their belongings?
In order to maintain the illusion that they are to be resettled, deportees are allowed to take a bundle of clothes or a small suitcase of belongings each. When they arrive, and undergo the selection that sends most of them straight to the gas chamber, they must drop everything.
A special corner of the camp, called Canada, is full of privileged prisoners whose task is to sort the goods into piles. In the middle of the yard are two enormous mountains, one of blankets, and one of
suitcases and knapsacks. Prisoners sort clothing into piles; the yellow stars will be taken off, the bloodstains cleaned up and the old clothes shipped to the Reich for distribution to the German needy. To the right, hundreds of prams; to the left, thousands of pots and pans. All around are huts filled to the rafters with shaving brushes, spectacles, dentures, corsets, wigs, false limbs, shoes, handkerchiefs; the pitiful residue of lives cruelly terminated in a cloud of poison gas. The children's toys, bottles, dummies and tiny clothes bear mute testimony to the slaughter of the innocents.
Money and valuables - mainly watches, jewellery, and currency - are set aside and sent to the Reichsbank. This includes the few diamonds squeezed out of toothpaste tubes where hopeful deportees hid them, and gold teeth and fillings wrenched from the mouths of corpses before cremation.
Rastenburg: Hitler meets Bulgaria's King Boris III for consultations.

GERMANY: Major-General Peltz of the Luftwaffe is appointed Angriffsfhrer England, in charge of bombing raids against England. With the whole country now geared up for "total war", the armaments industry accounts for a massive 70% of Germany's national product. Since 1939, production of arms and equipment has quadrupled. Overall industrial production has risen by only 12%.
The National Socialist government says that recovery from the appalling losses of the Wehrmacht in the USSR will be made on a rising tide of new weaponry, although male armaments workers are being sent to replace their dead countrymen at the front. All businesses that are not essential to the war effort have been closed.
Agricultural production has fallen severely as farmhands are siphoned off to the war industries and fertilizers are increasingly hard to come by. Even production of the much-praised potato has dropped, and it is now illegal to feed potatoes to livestock.
But the economy would be in a far worse state if it were not for the National Socialists' systematic exploitation of the occupied countries' resources and labour. Nearly one-fifth of the food consumed in Germany comes from abroad.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: Jagdfliegerfuhrer 4 was formed in northern France for Luftflotte 3. Among its members were Major Gerhard Schopfel, Operations Officer and Obstlt. Dr. Erich Mix, formerly of JG 1. Obstlt. Joachim-Friedrich Huth was appointed Jagdfliegerfuhrer. The HQ of Jafu 4 was initially located in a monastery in Rennes.
....The growing might of the Allies had forced the Luftwaffe to increase its fighter units and a new Geschwader, JG 11, was formed at Jever from a poaching of Bf 109s from I./JG 1 and Fw 190s from III./JG 1, becoming II./JG 11 and I./JG 11 respectively. To this organization was added a new Bf 109 equipped II./JG 11 and a Geschwaderstab under Geschwaderkommodore Major Anton Mader from II./JG 77. Having formed this new unit, JG 11 was based in an arc stretching on the north German plain between the Dutch and Danish borders. I./JG 11 was divided between Aalborg-West (Denmark) and Lister (Norway). II./JG 11 was initially divided between Borkum (4./JG 11), Jever (Stab.II and 5./JG 11) and Wangerooge (6./JG 11), but all were united at Jever during April. The Gruppenkommandeurs were Major Walter Spies for I./JG 11, Hptm. Gunther Beise of II./JG 11 and Hptm. Ernst-Gunther Heinze for III./JG 11. In place of Major Mader, Major Siefried Freytag was posted as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 77.
.....Hptm. Hans Philipp of I./JG 54 was transferred to Reichsvertiedigung duties as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 1 in place of the recently departed Obstlt. Dr. Erich Mix. But Hptm. Philipp was in command of a depleted air unit. The remaining units of JG 1 were reformed at Deelen. IV./JG 1 became I./JG 1 led by Major Fritz Losigkeit and III./JG 1 led by the newly appointed Major Karl-Heinz Leesmann.
....Back in August 1942, the General der Nachtjagd, Josef Kammhuber, had urged the aircraft manufacturer Ernst Heinkel to produce enough of the new He 219 'Uhu' nightfighters to equip an operational Gruppe by 1 April 1943. By this date Heinkel had only 5 prototypes available. A small batch of preproduction He 219A-Os were nevertheless delivered to I./NJG 1 at Venlo.
....In early April, the Fliegerfuhrer Atlantik Generalluetnant Ulrich Kessler, requested that patrols be flown by auxillary tank equipped Fw 190s to the area southwest of Cornwall, England, where Coastal Command aircraft could be expected to fly.
....British coastal fighters and torpedo planes engaged the Italian blockade runner 'Pietro Orseolo' off the coast of Spain. Escorting German destroyers destroyed 5 of the attacking aircraft but the US submarine 'Shad' hit the Italian ship with a torpedo causing substantial damage.

GERMANY: The prototype Blohm and Voss Bv 222V-7 made its maiden flight. This aircraft was different from its predecessors in having 6 980hp Jumo 207C diesels in place of BMW engines. It had an increased armament and provision for rocket-assisted take-off.
....Early in the morning, an RAF Lancaster tried to repeat the British success of 20 March 1943 by raiding into Germany alone. The lone Lancaster of RAF No. 103 Sqdrn was again piloted by S/L C. O'Donoghue and set out to bomb the town of Emmerich just over the German border. But this time the bomber was met by Obfw. Fritz Timm of 3./JG 1 who shot down the bomber for one of the few Lancaster kills achieved by the Geschwader. The Lancaster went down over Holland and the entire crew was killed.

NORTH AFRICA: During the night RAf Wellingtons of the NAAF bombed the Bizerte docks and Karouba Bay seaplane base. During the day, A-20s bombed La Fauconnerie and El Djem airfields. Fighters carrying out recon missions over wide areas of Tunisia, attacked motor transports, tanks and guns in the Sidi Mansour-Djebel Tebaga areas. British medium and light bombers along with fighters hit gunpositions north of Oued el Akarit and hit the Sfax-El Maou airfield, hitting parked planes and AA batteries.
....Major Thyng of the US 309th FS / 31st FG destroyed a Bf 109. Lt. Kelly also claimed a Bf 109 however Lts. Juhnke and Strole were both killed.
....JG 77 gained an emblem when the unit was given a Geschwader badge and the name 'Herz-As' or Ace of Hearts.

[Hugh Spencer]

2nd April 1943
Today was the first sortie of the newly formed 1409 (Meteorological) Flight, based at Oakington. One Mosquito, crewed by Flight Lieutenant P. Cunliffe-Lister and Sergeant J. Boyle, made a weather reconnaissance flight to Brittany in preparation for the Bomber Command raids to be carried out in the coming night. The Mosquito returned safely. 1409 Flight operated until the end of the war, flying 1364 sorties on 632 days. Only 3 Mosquitoes were lost during this period. Although all these sorties were under Bomber Command control, it was not practicable to list every sortie in the Bomber Command War Diaries.
55 mixed aircraft went to St Nazaire and 47 to Lorient in the last raids on these French ports. Bomber Command was released from the obligation to bomb these targets 3 days later. 1 Lancaster was lost from the St Nazaire raid. The only report available from France said that the local fire brigade headquarters at St Nazaire was hit and 1 person was wounded. Both towns were now largely deserted by their former civilian populations.
33 aircraft laid mines off the southern part of the Biscay coast. 1 Lancaster was lost.

[Njaco]

GERMANY: The commander of Luftwaffenkommando Ost, Generaloberst Robert Ritter von Greim, was awarded the Eichenlaub.

MEDITERRANEAN: During the night, RAF Liberators of the 9th AF bombed the ferry terminal at Messina and the airfield at Crotone. During the day two 9th AF B-24s on a special mission, bombed the ferry terminals at Messina and Villa San Giovanni. 27 B-24s sent against Naples found the target totally obscured by clouds. 9 machines bombed the area through overcast and 3 bombed Augusta and Crotone. 24 9th AF B-24s sent to attack Palermo aborted because of heavy clouds over the target.
....1(F)./122 recieved 6 Bf 109G-4/R3s with orders to base them at Elmas, since this was the only airfield on Sardinia that had a runway long enough for Bf 109 photo recon variants outfitted with auxillary fuel tanks.

EASTERN FRONT: Moscow claimed that 850,000 Germans died in the winter campaign.

NORTH AFRICA: US 9th AF P-40s flew 9 armed recon and 6 fighter-bomber and escort missions. NAAF B-25s and A-20s bombed the airfield at La Fauconnerie.
....6./JG 77 lost a Bf 109 in an air combat with a P-40, north of Gabes, 4./JG 77 lost one Bf 109 in combat with Bostons and Spitfires over La Fauconnerie and 3./JG 77 lost one Bf 109 after combat with a P-40 near gabes in the evening.

WESTERN FRONT: 'U-124' on passage to the Freetown area encountered the UK/West Africa convoy 'OS45' to the west of Portugal. Two merchant ships were sunk, but she was attacked by the sloop 'Black Swan' and the corvette 'Stonecrop' of the 37th EG and sunk in turn.

[Hugh Spencer]

3rd April 1943
FW190 fighter bombers raided Eastbourne and strafed streets crowded with shoppers.
12 Venturas bombed shipping at Brest and 8 Mosquitoes attacked railway targets in Belgium and France. 1 Mosquito was lost.
225 Lancasters, 113 Halifaxes and 10 Mosquitoes attacked Essen. 12 Halifaxes and 9 Lancasters were lost, a further 2 Halifaxes crashed in England.
This was the first raid in which more than 200 Lancasters had taken part.
The weather forecast was not entirely favourable for this raid and the Pathfinders prepared a plan both for sky-marking and ground-marking the target. In the event, there was no cloud over Essen and the Main Force crews were somewhat confused to find two kinds of marking taking place. The resultant bombing, however, was accurate and a higher proportion of aircraft produced good bombing photographs than on any of the earlier successful raids on Essen. Local reports showed that there was widespread damage in the centre and in the western half of Essen. 635 buildings were destroyed and 526 seriously damaged.118 people - 88 civilians, 10 flak gunners, 2 railwaymen, 2 policemen and 16 French workers - were killed and 458 people were injured.
16 Wellingtons went minelaying off Brittany ports. 1 aircraft was lost.

[Njaco]

NORTH AFRICA: Patton's thrust by US II Corps around El Guettar was stopped by determined Axis defenses. NAAF fighters strafed tanks and trucks at Kebira and Jabal Nasir Allah. 13 Stukas near El Guettar were attacked by Spitfires of the US 52d FG. The Spitfies shot down 12 of the Stukas and lost one Spifire. As remembered by Col. Collinsworth; "One squadron relieved another squadron on station. We were patrolling all daylight hours - you talk about a waste of time and flying hours, this was it! But Vinson, his squadron was to replace another squadron and at the appointed time, the squadron that was to leave the patrol didn't see the replacements, which was Vinson and his squadron. So because of fuel, they left at the appointed time, but Vinson wasn't there. Well, what Vinson had done was delay his takeoff 5 minutes intentionally, and maintained low-level flight across there to El Guettar and lo, and behold, he caught 13 Stukas doing their business! They shot down, to the best of my knowledge, 12 of those Stukas and lost one Spitfire. Now, unfortunately, that one lone Spitfire was Arnold Vinson." Capt. Vinson did become an ace, along with Capt. Norman McDonald who shot down 3 that day, to become the first Spifire aces in the Med.
....9th AF B-24s bombed El Maou Airdrome in the Sfax area during the night. P-40s flew fighter-bomber missions north of Gabes. B-25s bombed the airfield at Saint Marie du Zit. Western Desert AF light bombers hit motor transport and gun positions north of Oued el Akarit.

GERMANY: Almost the whole of NJG 1 were involved in the RAF raid on Essen and several pilots recorded multiple kills. Triple victories were awarded to Major Werner Streib of Stab I./NJG 1 and Hptm. Hans-Dieter Frank of 2./NJG 1 while Hptm. Herbert Lutje from 8./NJG 1 and Oblt. Eckart-Wilhelm von Bonin of 6./NJG 1 were credited with 2 bombers apiece. Single scores were claimed by Lt. August Geiger of 7./NJG 1, Major Helmut Lent of Stab IV./NJG 1 and Oblt. Martin Bauer from 3./NJG 1.

[Hugh Spencer]

4th April 1943
203 Lancasters, 168 Wellingtons, 116 Halifaxes and 90 Stirlings made the largest raid so far on Kiel. This was the largest 'non-1000' bombing force of the war so far. 12 aircraft were lost. The Pathfinders encountered thick cloud and strong winds over the target so that accurate marking became very difficult. It was reported that decoy fire sites may also have drawn off some of the bombing. Kiel reported that only a few bombs in the town with 11 buildings destroyed, 46 damaged and 26 people being killed. No commercial premises were hit. The only building hit apart from houses was a Catholic church.
60 Venturas attacked an airfield near Caen(24 aircraft), a shipyard at Rotterdam(24 aircraft) and a railway target at St Brieue (12 aircraft). All targets were successfully bombed but 2 aircraft from the Rotterdam raid were lost.

[syscom3]

[quote=Hugh Spencer;340315]4th April 1943
........12 aircraft were lost. The Pathfinders encountered thick cloud and strong winds over the target so that accurate marking became very difficult. It was reported that decoy fire sites may also have drawn off some of the bombing. Kiel reported that only a few bombs in the town with 11 buildings destroyed, 46 damaged and 26 people being killed. No commercial premises were hit. The only building hit apart from houses was a Catholic church........QUOTE]

A very costly raid. 12 aircaft and crews for not even hitting the target.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth AF targeted the Renault plant in Paris for bombing by 97 B-17s of the US 1st BW. Three diversions by the bombers drew the defending German fighters away and allowed 18 B-17s of the US 305th BG to successfully bomb the target. On the return flight, the bombers were bounced over Rouen by 75 fighters from JG 26, I./JG 2 and the single Staffel of JG 105 led by the Geschwaderkommodore of JG 2, Major Walter Oesau. Heavy damage was caused by the German defenders before the escorting RAF Spitfires appeared and a massive dogfight ensued, extending over the Channel. Five Spitfires were shot down and 2 B-17s were credited to II./JG 26's Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. 'Wutz' Galland. Oblt. Karl Borris of 8./JG 26 claimed 1 B-17 while Major Oesau was credited with a 4th bomber. JG 26 lost 2 pilots killed from MG fire from the bombers and one pilot injured. Victory claims being what they were, one B-17 crew was given credit for destroying 10 Luftwaffe fighters.
....Of the RAF Venturas that were lost attacking Caen and Rotterdam, credit for the kills was given to Uffz. Schonrock of 4./JG 1 and Fw. Roden from 4./JG 1 who also claimed a P-38. Six Spitfires were also claimed by pilots of 5. and 4./JG 1.
....A Ju 88A-4 from IV./KG 30 crashed into the sea at Kattegat 3 miles east of Hals before noon for unknown reasons. Two ships from Hafenschutsflotille Hals set course for the area of the crash to search for survivours but returned to Hals without having found any of the crew.
....A Bf 110F-4 from 7./NJG 3 crashed into the Storebaelt, south of the island of Sjaelland. Uffz. Brodel and Uffz. Abele were found washed ashore on the island of Bogo on 7 April and interred in Kobenhavn Vestre cemetary.

MEDITERRANEAN: The US Ninth AF dispatched 99 B-24s to attack Naples, concentrating on the dock area. In Sicily, RAF Liberators bombed Palermo. Meanwhile NAAF B-25s bombed shipping at Carloforte on San Petro Isalnd and 64 B-17s hit Capodichino airfield and the marschaling yards at Naples.

NORTH AFRICA: NAAF P-38s dive-bombed a beached freighter off Cape Zebib. Other P-38s escorted bombing raids. NATAF A-20s hit La Fauconnerie airfield while B-25s hit El Djem and Sainte Maries du Zit airfields. Fighters accompanied light and medium bombers on attacks and carried out support missions over the battle areas of Tunisia. Ofw. Johann Picler of 7./JG 77 claimed one B-25 for his 32d victory.

ENGLAND: German aircraft began dropping mines in the Thames Estuary near London.

[Hugh Spencer]

5th April 1943
12 Venturas attacked a tanker at Brest. The ship was not hit but nearby dock installations were. 3 Venturas were lost.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US sent 104 B-17s and B-24s of the US 1st BW to raid the ERLA aircraft repair facility at Antwerp, escorted by 9 squadrons of RAf Spitfires. The bombing of the factory turned out to be one of the major tragedies of WW II. The Germans had taken over the Minerva motorworks when they occupied Belgium in 1940 and 3,000 people were employed there, repairing damaged German planes and therefore on the priority list for attention by the US Eighth AF. When the escort Spitfires withdrew at the limit of their endurance, the Germans struck, breaking up the US formation causing the bombing run to be poor.
....Oblt. Otto Stammberger described the attack by JG 26; "At about 1430 hours a report was recieved at Vitry that many bombers were assembling over southeastern England. Neither the direction of the attack not its target could yet be determined. Our Gruppe was called to cockpit readiness; at this command 30 pilots climbed into their aircraft and made ready for takeoff. We recieved running reports over the loudspeakers of the movement of the aircraft, which were now identified as heavy bombers - about 100 of them. They were still circling while assembling. At 1445 hours we were sent off into the air; first to wait over Amiens and then over Bethune. The bomber stream took a southeastern course toward Dunkirk and we were sent to Dunkirk. The heavies had now reached the coast near Ostend and flew in the direction Ghent-Brussels. We turned and rushed toward Brussels. Past Ghent, the stream suddenly turned east toward Antwerp. We had already been in the air more than half an hour and had used up over half our fuel as we had been flying at high speed trying to catch up to the bombers.
.... After about 45 minutes we saw the bombers far ahead on an easterly course; we were to their north. Now we took out after them at full throttle, climbing at a slight angle in order to be able to storm through the formation from the front. Suddenly we saw the bomb carpet of the first formation strike on the southern edge of Antwerp with large explosions and clouds of smoke. We had just reached a good attack position and broke to the right, diving on the first pulk, which made a left turn away from us. But the pulk following it was in just the right position for our attack. Just as this formation dropped its bombs, I found a Boeing squarely in my sights. Everything now took place in fractions of a second. The salvo from my 4 cannon and 2 machine guns hit squarely in the bomber's cockpit; I had to pull up quickly as the bomber suddenly tipped forward - the pilot had probably been hit. The aircraft entered a spin to the left. Most of the crew bailed out. The B-17 kept flying, pilotless, for some distance; it finally crashed at about 1535 hours. After my victory, I still had enough fuel for 10 or 15 minutes of flight, and returned to my base with as many of my companions as were still with me." Four B-17s were shot down by JG 26 including one each for Geschwaderkommodore Priller - his 84th kill - Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. 'Wutz' Galland's 38th victory, Obfw. Addi Glunz' 32d victory and Oblt. Stammberger's 5th victory. But this success had a cost. The Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 26, Hptm. Fritz Geisshardt was hit by return fire from the bombers and landed at Ghent, badly wounded. The doctors could not save him and he died the next morning.
....In a mission summary, Brigadier General Frank Armstrong of the US Eighth AF's 1st BW stated; "This was the strongest and most aggressive force of fighters that 1st Bombardment Wing has ever faced. The enemy, with his tactics of attacking in formation, picking out the low aircraft, boring in to make the attack and then breaking away downward as the next wave came in, was successful in destroying 4 aircraft and acting as a definate deterrent on the bombing run."
....Two bombs hit the aircraft factory, killing many workers but the rest of the bombs were released too late and fell on the residential part of Mortsel, a suburb of Antwerp, over a mile away from the target. A total of 936 civilians were killed including 209 schoolchildren. Only 18 children survived the bombing of St. Lutgardis school at No. 30 Mechelsesteenweg. In all, 342 people were injured and 220 houses destroyed.

NORTH AFRICA: Montgomery was finally ready to attack the Germans and Italians on the Wadi Akarit Line. The Axis forces had used the time wisely and had improved the defenses so that the 15.Panzerdivision and 90th Light Division were in good shape but most of the armour had been sent north to engage US forces around El Guettar. Four hours before the battle began, the 4th Indian Division staged an attack on the Italian positions on the 900ft high Djebel Fatnassa that commanded the wadi from the rear. In the lead were Gurkhas,warriors from Nepal who began scaling Fatnassa to secure the pathway along the ridgeline above the wadi. For Italian Alpine troops high in the hills overlooking Wadi Akarit, the nightmare came on a starless night. Sentries knew nothing of the assault by the 4th Indian until they felt the cold steel of Gurkha kukris against their throats. In a few hours, more than 4,000 Italians had surrendered. The Indian encirclement - over a wide mountainous area - was an overwhelming success. By dawn, the Gurkhas had secured the high ground, eliminating a key position of the Axis defense.
....Operation FLAX began which was designed to destroy - in the air and on the ground - enemy air transports and escrts employed in ferrying personnel and supplies to Tunis. NAAF B-17s and A-20s bombed airfields at Sidi Ahmed and Tunis. Fighetrs attacked E-Boats off Pont-du-Fahs and vehicles south of Bou Hamran. Western Desert AF and NAAF aircraft hit motor transport west of Cekhirs and struck shipping. During the day NAAF aircraft claimed the destruction of nearly 50 aircraft in aerial combat. As the daylight bombers returned to their bases, RAF Wellingtons hammered targets behind the battle lines, destroying a railway station, barracks and factories near Sfax.
....Vital Axis supply routes took a terribel punishment. In an effort to re-supply the Afrika Korps trapped in Tunis, the Luftwaffe tried to fly in supplies from Sicily and southerm Italy. 65 JU 52s were sent across the Med in one of the first large scale re-supply missions. The Junkers were escorted by only 2 Bf 109s from II./JG 27 and 3 Bf 110s from III./ZG 26. These were attacked near Cap Bon by 46 P-38s from the US 1st and 82d FG, divided into 2 formations. The Germans scrambled whatever they could to aid the hard pressed formation of transports but the whole reinforcement amounted to nothing more than 8 Bf 109s from II./JG 53. The German fighter pilots shot down 6 P-38s, but of course were so outnumbered that they were unable to cover the Ju 52s against the masses of Lightnings. No less than 14 Ju 52s were shot down. Elsewhere, P-38s accounted for another 15 German fighters. Combined efforts of NAAF fighters and bombers destroyed up to 200 Luftwaffe aircraft on 5 April, with many destroyed on the ground.

MEDITERRANEAN: As Allied troops perpared for the final push on Tunis and Bizerte, British and American aircraft launched their greatest assault on Axis targets. More than a thousand sorties were flown, a record in the North African campaign. Allied Fortresses and Mitchells saturated 3 airfields - Borizza, Boca de Felso and Milo - on the Italian mainland. More than 250 grounded aircraft were destroyed. P-38s flew several fighter sweeps over the Straits of Sicily.

EASTERN FRONT: Over Murmansk, Uffz. Kurt Dobner of 14(Jabo)./JG 5 and an original member of the unit, was killed by flak over the seaport.