2 Bf 109 losses on August 17th, 1944
 

There are two losses recorded on 17 August 1944 which need clarification - hopefully someone from our community can shed some light on them:

II./JG5 according to the GQM summary loss list reported the total loss of a Bf109 in aerial combat on this date - since there were only few intrusions of single reconnaissance a/c over the Reich with no known combat I wonder whether this loss did actually occur on the 16th when Obfhr. Jusa was killed in aerial combat. The summary loss list shows only one damaged a/c on that date, so it seems possible, that II./JG5 suffered two losses on the 16th, one as 100% (Jusa) and one damaged.

I./JG302 reported the total loss of a Bf109 in aerial combat near Heiligenstadt, the pilot Uffz. Walter Berlinska being killed - here again the question is whether this loss in fact occurred on the 16th. Willi Reschke on the other hand states that Berlinska crashed on a transfer flight due to an unknown cause.

If anybody has got reliable information on these two losses I would be grateful to share it.

KR

Jochen Prien

Re: 2 Bf 109 losses on August 17th, 1944
 

Hello, Jochen.

I can not find the alleged loss on August 17th in my records, it is of course totally possible that a correction with regards to the loss date have failed to have been corrected in the summary loss records.

I do however have NVMs for the losses of two aircraft of II./JG 5 on August 16th, but none of these have found their way to the Summary loss records under the II./JG 5 heading at least.

But I do believe I have solved the issue - as the original NVM contain a handwritten reference to the reporting date for the loss of Ofhr. Heinz Berthold Jusa as being reported on August 24th - the same date as the unidentified loss on August 17th was supposedly reported.

I thus attribute this to a clerical error - the real date should have been August 16th for this record in the Summary loss records.

Further - the other loss of August 16th - the loss of Uffz. Günther Kortmann seems to be correctly reported as happening on August 16th.

I suppose you have the details with regards to aircraft markings etc?

Regards,
Andreas B

Re: 2 Bf 109 losses on August 17th, 1944
 

Many thanks, I've got the rest.

Cheers

Jochen