This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN: For the fourth strait day, the island of Pantelleria is bombarded from sea and air. Following a night raid by Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) Wellingtons on Pantelleria Island in the Mediterranean, heavy, medium and light bombers, and fighters of the NASAF and Northwest Tactical Air Force (NATAF) pounded the island throughout the afternoon, dropping 600 tons of bombs.

GERMANY: Professor Clauberg informed Himmler that experiments of using X-ray exposure for mass sterilization was nearly ready for common use, stating “…one doctor, with perhaps, ten assistants, can probably effect several hundred, if not one thousand sterilizations on a single day.”

ENGLAND: HQ US 353d Fighter Group arrived at Goxhill, England from the US.

WESTERN FRONT: The Axis discovered the "Comet Line," an underground network of safe houses established in 1940 to rescue Allies trapped behind enemy lines. The houses stretched from Belgium through France, Spain, and Gibraltar.

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN: The bombardment of the island of Pantelleria continued into its fifth consecutive day. Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) Wellingtons pounded the town and docks during the night. The air offensive against the island increased during the following day as fighters, light, medium and heavy bombers of the NASAF, Northwest Tactical Air Force (NATAF) and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force continued to bomb throughout the day. The B-17s, along with medium, light, and fighter bombers, dropped almost 700 tons of bombs. B-25s of 2 groups directed their major effort at gun emplacements. A naval task force consisting of motor torpedo boats, cruisers, and destroyers carried out a full-scale bombardment of coastal batteries and the harbor's docks. Surrender requests, dropped by airplane, bring no response.
....Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers bombed the Messina, Italy ferry terminal. In Sardinia, P-38s attacked barracks north of Segariu and the airfield at Villacidro.

ENGLAND: The first flight of the de Havilland Mosquito Mk XVIII (HJ 732) was made today. It was equipped with a 57mm Molins gun (equivalent to a 6-pounder field gun).
....Several pilots of RAF No.350 (Belgian) squadron are transferred to the reactivated 349 (Belgian) Squadron that will be led by S/Ldr Y. Du Monceau de Bergendael: C. Brahy, J. Groensteen, G. Seydel, J. Van Leerberghe, and L. Verbeeck.

[Hugh Spencer]

9th June 1943
8 OTU Wellingtons went on leaflet flights to France. 1 aircraft crashed in England.

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The heavy shelling of Pantelleria Island continued for the sixth straight day, dropping more than 822 tons and the Allies say that it will go on until the island surrenders. Medium and heavy bombers, and fighters of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) continued pounding the Island in predawn hours and during the afternoon.
....The Axis “Operation Black” against the Yugoslavian partisans succeeded in trapping Tito and a battalion of his troops. A breakout was made which left 100 partisans dead, Tito was wounded during a German air attack and his forces scattered. However, they regrouped and fought on.
....In Sicily, B-24s bombed the landing ground at Gerbini and the airfield at Catania.

EASTERN FRONT: German and Russian forces on the eastern front launched a series of probes against each other. Soviet thrusts along the Mius River gained some ground while a German attack near Lisichansk did not.

ENGLAND: RAF No. 350 (Belgian) squadron moves to Ouston Airfield.

[Hugh Spencer]

10th June 1943
5 Whitleys and 1 Wellington went on leaflet raids to France. 1 Whitley was lost.
The operations since the end of May were a good example of the way in which Bomber Command curtailed its operations during the moon period.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) issued a directive through the Chief of Air Staff (C/AS), Royal Air Force (RAF), marking the official beginning of the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) of the USAAF and RAF against sources of German war power. The 'Pointblank Directive' outlined the priorities and aims of the bomber offensive leading up to the cross channel invasion of France. The RAF was to bomb strategic city areas at night and the USAAF was to hit precise targets by daylight. However, the primary focus when weather permits was to attack targets identified at the Casablanca conference. German fighter force and related industry are a high priority because of the American intention to begin daylight bombing. The CCS sanctions the Combined Operational Planning Committee as the agency for coordinating the efforts of the CBO forces. However, the plan was not specific enough and this allowed both the US Air Force and British Bomber Command to conduct their independent operations as they saw fit.

ENGLAND: HQ US 386th Bombardment Group (Medium) and it's 552d, 553d, 554th and 555th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) with B-26s transferred from Snetterton Heath, England to Boxted, England. The group will fly it's first combat mission on 30 Jul 43.
....The detachments of the US 416th Night Fighter Squadron, VIII Fighter Command at Cranfield, Usworth, and Bath, England returned to their base at Honiley, England. The squadron was attached to the RAF for training on Beaufighters.

MEDITERRANEAN: Pantelleria was bombed for the seventh strait day and reached a crescendo. Following attacks during the night by fighter-bombers, Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) and Northwest Tactical Air Force (NATAF) aircraft (fighters, and light, medium and heavy bombers)maintained all-day attacks on Pantelleria Island. Over 1,000 sorties were flown. B-25s, escorted by fighters, bombed the Island. The escorting fighters dive-bombed targets on the island. Sicily-based enemy aircraft appeared but failed to impede the Allied air offensive.
....1,571 tons of bombs were released. It was one of the heaviest air attacks of the war up to that time. The Army Air Forces official history described how "wave after wave of bombers swept over former Tunisian battlefields and out across the Mediterranean." It went on to note that observers were "struck by the power of the aerial weapon which the Allies had forged."
....More than 100,000 leaflets were dropped on the island demanding its unconditional surrender. "The demand was made to save the garrison from unnecessary suffering", said Allied headquarters. "Pantelleria will continue to be subjected to bombing and blockade." With the failure of the second surrender call to meet with a response, the British 1st Infantry Division embarked on the night of June 10-11 to assault and capture Pantelleria.
....Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers attacked Reggio di Calabria Airfield, Italy.
....The partisan leader Josip Broz, better known by his nom de guerre, Tito, narrowly escaped capture when his temporary headquarters in a Bosnian farmhouse were surrounded by Axis soldiers, it was revealed today. Tito heard a warning shout, leapt through a window and spent the next few hours hiding in a ditch listening to the Italian troops in the house. Several of Tito's staff were captured and executed later. The informer can expect little mercy from Tito's men. With a price of 100,000 Reichsmarks (£8,300) on his head, Tito is the most wanted man in Europe and has had several similar escapes.

GERMANY: The possibility of an Allied invasion of Sicily was discounted in the projections of German High Command (OKW).

EASTERN FRONT: 700 Russian night bombers attacked German positions at Yaroslavl and airfields west of Kursk; 19 were lost.

[pbfoot]

Just finished reading about Point Blank and there were 2 priorities almost equal the which was the destruction of 1 the oil industry and 2 the Luftwaffe. The point blank document of June 3 reads and was directed at both the USAAF and Bomber Command "to seek the destruction of enemy fighters in the air and on the ground" there was not one mention of general area attack upon German morale.... Harris didn't play the game because the RAF was not able to

[Njaco]

I just added a small part in there as you were posting. Thanks! What book was it?

[pbfoot]

Originally Posted by Njaco

I just added a small part in there as you were posting. Thanks! What book was it?

Its a very interesting read called To the Right of the Line by John Tremaine about the RAF in the ETO it certainly has changed some of my views as noted in another thread when I changed from the lanc to the 24 for best bomber.

[Njaco]

Thanx. The author sounds familiar.

[Hugh Spencer]

11th June 1943
326 Lancasters, 202 Halifaxes, 143 Wellingtons, 99 Stirlings and 13 Mosquitoes attacked Dusseldorf. 38 aircraft were lost.
This was the first night that more than 200 Halifaxes took part in a raid.
The Pathfinder marking plan proceeded excellently until an Oboe Mosquito inadvertently released a load of target indicators 14 miles north-east of Dusseldorf. This caused part of the Main Force to waste its bombs on open country. But the main bombing caused extensive damage in the centre of Dusseldorf where 130 acres were claimed as destroyed and this proved to be the most damaging raid of the war for this city. Dusseldorf reported that the fire area measured 8 km by 5 km covering the city centre - both the old and the new parts, the Derendorf district and the south of the city. No less than 8,882 separate fire incidents were recorded of which 1,444 were classified as large. 1,292 people were killed and 140,000 people were bombed out of their homes. The list of destroyed and seriously damaged industrial and public buildings covered 4 typed pages in the Dusseldorf report. 42 industries connected with the war effort suffered complete stoppages of production and 35 more suffered a partial reduction. 20 military establishments were hit. 8 ships were sunk or damaged. The Gau (province) local government headquarters was destroyed.
29 Lanasters, 22 Halifaxes and 21 Stirlings were despatched on an interesting raid on Munster. All the aircraft were provided by 8 Group and it was really a mass H2S trial. 33 of the aircraft carried markers or flares, the remaining aircraft acting as the bombing force although the marker aircraft also bombed. The marking and bombing were very accurate and the whole raid lasted less than 10 minutes. Photographic reconnaissance showed that much damage was done to railway installations in Munster as well as to housing areas. Munster's report was very brief stating only that 132 buildings were destroyed, 317 were seriously damaged and 52 people were killed. Unfortunately the raid was expensive for the small force involved. 5 aircraft were lost.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: SS chief Heinrich Himmler orders the resettlement of all remaining Jews in occupied Poland from urban ghettos to death camps.

MEDITERRANEAN: The Allies launched “Operation Corkscrew”, a landing on the bomb range formally known as Pantelleria Island. As the British 1st Infantry Division landing craft headed toward the island, B-17s delivered a final pounding to the Pantelleria harbor area. During the next 12 minutes, the Fortresses dropped tons of bombs, resulting in "simultaneous flashes and a great roar," stated the AAF official history. "Suddenly the whole harbor area appeared to rise and hang in midair, while smoke and dust billowed high, dwarfing Montagna Grande, Pantelleria's tallest peak."
....At about 11 a.m., Allied airplanes spotted a white cross on the airfield. Shortly thereafter, the first British assault wave hit the beach. The commander of the landing force contacted Pantelleria's military governor, Vice Adm. Gino Pavesi, who surrendered the island and the garrison of 78 Germans and 11,121 Italians.
....A small number of captured German technicians maintained that German soldiers and anti-aircraft gunners would have made a much better showing than the island's garrison. On the other hand, the sheer intensity of bombing and its increasing weight, according to the testimony of prisoners of war, made it doubtful that the outcome would have been different.
....Although more than 5000 tons of bombs were dropped on the island, there was less damage than expected. The harbor facilities at Pantelleria had been badly damaged; the town itself had been practically destroyed; communications were a shambles; roads had been obliterated; electric power had been destroyed; and water mains were broken.
....At Marghana airdrome, the airfield was cratered. Although the underground hangar had withstood a number of direct hits, except for two aircraft, all of the 80-plus enemy airplanes had been either destroyed or damaged.
....The 1943 Pantellerian experience pointed the way toward the Allies' future strategy: Intensive air bombardment, increasing in tempo, and naval bombardment would precede landing operations. As the AAF official history noted: "The pattern set here was probably one that would be followed in other island operations and perhaps in the invasion of the continent itself." The Allies now intensified preparations for the assault on Sicily in July 1943. Allied airplanes operating from Pantelleria would play a critical role in that assault operation.
....Oblt. Karl von Lieres und Wilkau of I./JG 27 was killed in combat. He had destroyed a total of 32 enemy aircraft, including 24 in the Desert Campaign.

GERMANY: The USAAF's VIII Bomber Command in England flew Mission Number 62: 252 B-17s were dispatched against the U-boat yard at Wilhelmshaven, Germany and the port area at Cuxhaven, Germany. 218 hit the targets and claimed 85 Luftwaffe aircraft. Eight B-17s were lost. The raid on Wilhelmshaven demonstrated the difficulty of operating beyond range of fighters escort as enemy fighter attacks prevented accurate bombing of the target.
....Major Hermann Graf arrived at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim airfield to begin forming a new high-altitude fighter Geschwader for Reichmarschall Goering's anti-Mosquito group. Major Graf, who was directly responsible to Goering, had very little problem arranging the transfer of a number pilots to his group. The fighter unit started with 8 specially modified Bf 109Gs though the arrival of the planes and pilots was delayed. The Bf 109Gs were equipped with a special tank for a Nitro-Oxide mixture contained under pressure in liquid form and injected directly into the supercharger intake to cool the engine temperature and increase performance. The unit was named Jagdgruppe Sud.

ENGLAND: HQ US 388th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and it's 560th, 561st, 562d and 563d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) arrived at Knettishall, England from the US with B-17s. The group will fly it's first combat mission on 17 Jul 43.
....HQ US 389th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and it's 564th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) arrived at Hethel, England from the US with B-24s. The group will fly it's first mission on 9 Jul.

WESTERN FRONT: A Ju 88A-6 belonging to 12./KG 30 crashed at Fliegerhorst Aalborg West due to pilot error and was 80% damaged. Obergefreiter Adriano Puzzilli and Gefreiter Duino Vanzini died and were brought to Frederikshavn from Lazarett Aalborg and were laid to rest in Frederikshavn cemetery on 16 June 1943.

[Hugh Spencer]

12th June 1943
323 Lancasters, 167 Halifaxes and 11 Mosquitoes attacked Bochum, 24 aircraft lost.
This raid took place over a completely cloud-covered target but accurate Oboe sky-marking enabled the all Lancaster/Halifax Main Force to cause severe damage to the centre of Bochum. After daylight photographs had been taken, 130 acres of destruction were claimed. The only report from Germany said that 449 buildings were destroyed and 916 severely damaged and that 312 people were killed.
34 Wellingtons went to the Frisians , Lorient and St Nazaire minelaying without loss.

[Njaco]

GERMANY: A British Coastal Command Mosquito plane flew a reconnaissance flight over Peenemünde, Germany. Photos showed a large rocket lying on a trailer. The rocket was a V-2, the type first used in September 1944.
....The RAF launched a heavy raid on Bochum in the Ruhr. On the first operational mission of a He 219A 'Uhu' night-fighter, flown by Major Streib of I./NJG 1 and Uffz. Fischer as his radioman, the 'Uhu' shot down 5 RAF heavy bombers on the raid to Bochum. On returning to base, Major Dtreib misjudged the ruunway because of dim lights and crashed. The Heinkel hit the ground so hard that ir broke up but both men walked away without a scratch. Upon hearing about Major Streib's success with the He 219, Generalluftzugmeister Milch replied, "....perhaps Streib would have shot down just as many had he been flying another type of aircraft." In the next 10 days, the He 219 would redeem itself by claiming 20 RAF bombers and 6 previously untouchable Mosquitoes.

MEDITERRANEAN: Fighters, light, medium and heavy bombers of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force, the Northwest African Tactical Air Force and the USAAF Ninth Air Force hit Lampedusa Island in the Strait of Sicily. Twenty four B-25s (12 of the 445th) took off at 13:39 to bomb the town and adjacent area of Lampedusa. The escort were 12 P-38s from the 82nd fighter group. A string of bombs fell through the town, harbor installations, radio building and small boats on shore. A couple gun emplacements were hit.
....The island surrendered to the Allies after RAF Sergeant Cohen of the Coldstream Guards "captured" the island after making a false landing.
....The unescorted 'Palima' was hit by one torpedo from 'U-97' and sank rapidly. 24 crewmembers and two British gunners were lost. 37 crewmembers and two British gunners rescued themselves on a few rafts that had floated free. During the day they were spotted by an aircraft, picked up by a large whaleboat and a Greek destroyer and landed at Beirut the same day.
....In Sicily, B-17s and B-26s bombed Castelvetrano, Boccadifalco, and Milo Airfields.
....2(F)./122 was selected to operationally evaluate the Arado Ar 234, one of which arrived at Frosinone from Germany around mid-June. On 12 July the Arado jet was flown to Villacidro on Sardinia from where it was to be used to fly recon over Bizerta in North Africa. Immediately after this flight it was destroyed in a landing accident at Frosinone.

NORTH AFRICA: King George VI of Great Britain arrived in North Africa to visits the troops. He will go to Malta on the 20th.

WESTERN FRONT: 'U-118' (Type XB) was sunk in the mid-Atlantic west of the Canary Islands by depth charges from eight Avenger aircraft of the US escort carrier USS 'Bogue'.
....At approximately 09:30 hours a Ju 88A-4 belonging to 11./KG 30 hit the ground near Mørke and burst into flames and was a 100% loss. All four flyers were laid to rest in Frederikshavn cemetery on 16 June 1943. Another Ju 88A-4 belonging to 12./KG 30 crashed at Fliegerhorst Aalborg West due to pilot error and was 60% damaged. The crew were unharmed.
....A Ju 88C-6 belonging to 11./NJG 3 was on a calibration flight for radar. Lt. Nicolas Volkmar tried to reach base when the left engine lost power. Ammunition and machine guns were dumped overboard to lighten the aircraft but Lt. Volkmar could not keep it flying and touched down on a hill where there was a potato field. From the hill, the Ju 88C-6 skidded into a meadow where there were stumps that had not been removed. These ripped the bottom of the Ju 88 and it came to a halt a few metres from two bulls that were hitched in the meadow. The aircraft was 75% damaged.
....A truck arrived with a team of guards that guarded the aircraft, and took the crew back to Grove. In the morning a new team of guards arrived to release those who had been on duty during the night. The team was billeted at the farm for about five days while a team of 6-8 men took the Ju 88 apart and transported it back to Fliegerhorst Grove. The local police constable spent the next three days collecting the guns and ammunition dumped from the aircraft. It was found on a three kilometres long trail west of the landing ground. Afterwards the farmer received 600 kroner as compensation for the damage to his field. Probably due to a mistake he received yet another check of 600 kroner about a year later. This check was cashed in a hurry.
....3(F)./122 sent out a Ju 88 from Schiphol, tasked with a recon of a convoy off the east coast of England. The Ju 88 was attacked by a Beaufighter and crash-landed off the Dutch coast. Two crewmen were wounded and taken to hospital. The Beaufighter was crewed by F/O J. N. Howard-Williams and F/O J. A. Quinton of RAF No. 604 Sqdrn. As the Ju 88 did not make it back to base, it was not suitable for the 2000th Feindflug of the German unit, the offical 2000th taking place 3 days later.

ENGLAND: The Luftwaffe carried out a night attack against Plymouth.

[Hugh Spencer]

13th June 1943
6 Mosquitoes went to Berlin, 4 to Dusseldorf and 3 to Cologne, no losses.
All targets were cloud covered and only estimated positions were bombed.
18 Wellingtons and 12 Stirlings went minelaying off the Biscay ports. 1 Wellington was lost.