ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Can anyone provide further information about ME-110s claimed destroyed, probable or damaged on this
date by members of the 354FG?

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We know that Wallace Emmer (353FS) claimed a damaged 110 approx. 1200h in vicinity of Nordlingen.

Albert Ricci (353) is confirmed to have destroyed a 110, but no details are given as to time or location.

Hunt & Arnold (353) may have shared in the destruction of a 110, but it may also have been another
pilot who shared with Arnold. Again, no time or location avail.

Finally, early in the engagement, Glenn Eagleston (353) fired at a 110 which dove for the deck; he did
not observe any strikes, nor did he make any claims on this a/c.
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Any addtl. info. re the above encounters on 16 Mar 44 would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for any
assistance with this puzzle.......
Tripp

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Hello Tripp,

There are some losses at the ZG 101:

- an old Bf110B-1 (Wnr. 925), I./ZG 101 near Biberach, aerial combat, 3 KIA, 80% damage
- a Bf110C-7 (Wnr. 3616), 2./ZG 101 near Laupheim, aerial combat, 2 KIA, 80% damage
- a Bf110E-2 (Wnr. 3756), 2./ZG 101 near Ulm, aerial combat, 2 KIA

Which claim belongs to which loss, will be your next challenge, I can't help here very much.

All the best, Marcel Hogenhuis / Venlo

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

this date I had ZG 101 2 Bf 110 100% and 1 Bf 110 80%

ZG 76 had 18 Bf 110 100% 1 bf 110 85% and 6 damaged.

khorat

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Dear Marcel & Khorat,

Thank you very kindly for your quick & interesting data responses on ME-110 losses on the date 16 Mar 44. Please forgive my lack of familiarity with Luftwaffe designations, but I need some assistance in understanding your info:

ZG 101 = Zerstorergeschwader 101 (ME 110 Sqdn 101) ?
Bf110C-7 = ME110, model C, block 7 ?
Wnr. 925 )
Wnr. 3616 ) are these a/c Ser. numbers?
Wnr. 3756 )
aerial combat = type of loss (aerial combat, ground fire, mechanical prob)
2 KIA = # crew aboard a/c killed in action
80% damage = % damage to a/c (able to return to base?)
100% damage = complete loss (a/c crashed?)
6 damaged = 6 damaged but able to return to base ?
With normal crew of 2 (3 for night missions), would loss of 2-3 KIA always
mean total loss of the a/c?

Thanks again for your help with the above details.
Tripp

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

ZG = Zerstörergeschwader
ZG 101 was a training unit - but also (mostly the instructors) in combat use
ZG 76 was a regular combat unit
Bf 110 C-7 Bf = Bayrische Flugzeugwerke - this was the offical name
Me was the short for Messerschmitt (Me 109 - official Bf 109)
Wnr. 1234 - the serial number
aerial combat - shot down by enemy plane or damaged due to enemy action
60% - 100% damage was mostly a total loss - crashed, crashlanded, etc.
d - means plane returned with battle damage if below 60% will be repaired
daytime regular only 2 crewmembers (except maybe nightfighters in transfer flight)

regards
khorat
Michael Balss

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Michael------

To sum up my appreciation for your detailed explanations, I must say.....
Danke!

To understand the damaged % and KIA explanations, I must ask: how would
they describe an a/c & crew which was shot down and did not return? (my guess is 100% loss and 2-3 KIA?)

Regards,
Tripp

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

100% damage was a total loss: either a missing aircraft, an aircraft shot down in enemy territory or an aircraft desintegrated or totally burnt in the crash.

60-99% means a beyond repair aircraft, but where some parts could be recovered (more on a 60% aircraft than on a 99% one).

1-60% means a repairable aircraft: depending of the percentage it could be repaired on the unit level (<10%), or in workshops or factories. A 50% damage will take often months to be repaired.

Note that 60% is the limit between repairable and beyond repair aircraft: n most cases 60% damage aircraft were not repaired, but they could be sometimes.

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Excellent, thank you Alter, for further explanations.

So.....a listing for 3 KIA, 80% damage would indicate an a/c which returned,
was heavily damaged in battle and/or upon crash landing and all 3 crew members died (either in battle or from
wounds upon landing--of course the pilot would have to land/crash land the plane before succumbing to wounds)?

Have I got that right now?

Many thanks to all who are helping.
Tripp

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Tripp - as you try to sort and match 354th FG scores - recall that the 4th FG was credited with twelve Me 110's from SW Munich to Kaufburen and the 357th was credited with six+ 110's SW&SE Stuttgart, SW Munich, Lake Constance, Ludwigshafen, Augsburg and Ulm in addition to Do217 and Me 410.

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Thanks drgondog,

That is very helpful info. for sorting out the info. provided by various Forum
members.....that will certainly reduce the possible encounters.

Thanks all....now it's time to get out the map and sort out all of the possibilites, thus far.

Cheers,
Tripp

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Hi Tripp,
will send you a listing next 2 days, where you will find the places off the german losses.
I did the same for several other days - and I learn that the american pilots mostly not realy known where they are - the places they reported are sometimes 70 - 80 km away from the place where the combat took place - no wonder if fly over a strange country and you´r more in buisiness to be aware of enemy planes and AAA...
khorat
Michael Balss

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Thanks, Michael. Looking forward to the navig. assist.
Cheers,
Tripp

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

To Members of this Forum:

My questions to you and your prompt and detailed expert responses were all generated by contact via email to me from someone in Germany claiming to be Rudolf Hermanns, son of an aerial gunner Hermanns of a ME-110 piloted by Lt. Reich, Luftwaffe, which was in the area of ops for the 353FS on 16 Mar 1944.

He allegedly claimed that his father's a/c was downed by Capt. Wallace N. Emmer, USAAF. This cannot be proven without reasonable records/details/etc which I have tried to collect from him, albeit unsuccessfully.

Due to the lack of a reasonable response and reply to normal questions it now is clear that this was a complete hoax. Please be advised to regard contact from this Rudolf Hermanns as being suspicious.

Thanks fellow Forum members for your support and desire to help out....I'm sorry that you wasted your time on this false claim.
Regards to all,
Tripp

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

All

Would it be possible to have the ZG 76 losses listed for this day please?
Michael listed 19 lost and 6 damaged which must have been a true disaster at the time.

Best Regards
Stig

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

At one point in my research I believe that I had a complete & detailed list for the losses of several ZGs in that region on that day. I will try to find them and provide you with an answer.

Tripp

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Hi Tripp,

I was looking for something completely different when I stumbled across a mention in Jägerblatt (the magazine of the German Fighter Pilots' Association) of an Adolf Hermanns from Düren joining the Association. This man was a wartime member of Z.G. 76. Adolf Hermanns is still listed in the German telephone book at the same address, so perhaps he is still alive. If you have any contacts in Germany, perhaps they could give him a call.

Anyhow, just thought I'd share this bit of informaiton, which indicates that Rudolf Hermanns was perhaps not a complete hoax.

Cheers,
Andrew A.
Air War Publications - www.facebook.com/airwarpublications

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Thanks, Andrew. The father Hermanns was the rear gunner of the ME-110. Would he have been a member of the Fighter Pilots Assn. even though he was not a pilot? Perhaps this Adolf Hermanns is a different man?

Tripp

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

Hi Tripp,

Yes, gunners joined the Fighter Pilots' Association. I think it is very likely that this is the same man - Hermanns is not a particularly common name (2,000 people with that surname in Germany today), so the chances of there being two men named Hermanns who both served with Z.G. 76 and were both alive 70 years after the war are pretty slim. Definitely worth sending him a letter or having a German speaker give him a call, I would think, just in case it is your man.

Cheers,
Andrew A.
Air War Publications - www.airwarpublications.com

Re: ME-110 Claims on 16 Mar 44 by 354FG ETO
 

I've never gotten an ID on the Zg of the gunner in question. I was awaiting even the simplest info to piece together his name, pilot name, Zg, date, action and result. Unfortunately the basic info never surfaced even though the claimant promised to do so.........