Help with some Fi 156 losses for MAW 4.
 

Hello everyone

The Mediterranean Air War team are finalizing Vol 4 which we are intending to hand over to the publisher next week.

Help is requested as to the following losses on which we have no details, they are almost all Fi 156.

20 May 43 Fi 156 Sardinia
15 July 43 Hs 129 Agrigento We have no 2 eng German or Italian a/c being lost this date
16 July 43 Fi 156 Italy, shot down by an A-36. Am aware of one lost on the ground, but none in the air.
4 Sept 43 Fi 156 at Cancello by a P-38
9 Sept Fi 156 E Valantino by an A-36
10 Sept Fi 156 Auletta by a Spitfire
13 Sept Fi 156 Potenza area by a A-36
24 Oct s/e biplane – with a rear gunner Lake Bracciano, or Lake Bolsenna by an A-36
31 Oct Fi 156 Albanian coast by a P-38
19 Nov 43 A Fi 156 Storch with two German NCO’s aboard deserted and landed at Ras el Hillal where the occupants were captured.
2 Dec 43 Two Fi 156 near Sulmona by Spitfires
4 Jan 44 He 111 and Go 242 SE Kivolak by a P-38
29 Jan 44 a/c identified as a Storch, but known loss was a Saiman 202 of 6/JG 77 for which no other claims are relevant.
6 Feb 44 Fi 156 E of Vignanello by an A-36 early morning. Later in the afternoon 1 Fi 156, 1 HS 126 and 2 HS 123 claimed at Malignano a/f by 52nd FG.
7 Feb 4 Hs 126, the losses by LLG 1.
15th Feb 44 Italian biplane Viterbo a/f by a Spitfire
22 May 44 Fi 156 Bo Krupa by a Spitfire.

Thanks in anticipation

Russell

Re: Help with some Fi 156 losses for MAW 4.
 

Hi Russell

Are we to understand the situation as such that the "losses" listed are in fact Allied claims?

Since you and the Team must be very much aware of the overclaiming that went on here as well as everywhere else, there must be quite a high percentage chance the claims were not any real victories at all.

One hopefully good way would be to enlist Nick Beale to check his ULTRA sources, to see if any verification at all can be found within their pages.

Also check your PM box

Cheers
Stig

Re: Help with some Fi 156 losses for MAW 4.
 

The Hs 129 'claim' is almost certainly a misidentification as there weren't any anywhere near here at this point. Me 210/410 ?

Re: Help with some Fi 156 losses for MAW 4.
 

If I had any ULTRA from 1943, asking me might be a good idea! Unfortunately I have hardly any Luftwaffe material from before December that year. I can possibly help with a couple of the incidents in February 1944 however:

06.02.44 (VL 5731) 16.15: Siena-South attacked by 9 Mustangs without warning. One Hs 126 on fire, one Avia and DFS 230 of III./LLG 1 shot down. Comment: VL 251 gave elements of the Geschwader at Siena on 20 November.

07.02.44 (VL 5754) Luftwaffe station Siena reported at 17.00/7: Siena-South attacked by 11 Mustangs at 15.30. One Fi 156, one CANT 1007Z destroyed. Aircraft damaged included two Hs 126. Comment: information incomplete here. Date of attack not specified. For attack on 6th see VL 5680.

See also the attached images of the equivalent reports from the HW 5 series files.