Ar 240 over England
 

The Schiffer profile on the Ar 240 says that T9+GL flying from Paris-Orly flew a high altitude mission over England on 1st. Feb. 1944. Is anymore known about this, I could not find a mention of a recon. mission that day from British sources.
The only thing I could find was that on the morning of the 24th. Feb. 1944 it was recorded that London had its first daylight alert for seven months, when two high altitude recon. aircraft approached the capital. These were unsuccessfully engaged by AA guns.

Re: Ar 240 over England
 

According to the pilot, Hr. Goertz, he followed a formation of B-17s so as not to be detected. I don't know how far he penetrated, but he may not have been noticed by UK defences at all. The mission was part of a series of flights carried out with this aircraft, including missions over Corsica (and Sardinia?)

I know that he had some correspondence with Dr. Alfred Price, from whom I obtained that snippet. Possibly he knows more.

The aircraft was said to be an Ar240C-4, but this is just the designation given (at some stage) to a planned reconnaissance version of the DB603 variant. It most likely was the Ar240A-04 (aka Ar440A-04), as close-up photos show some signs of it being a hybrid airframe.

Re: Ar 240 over England
 

Graham, Thanks very much for your help, looking at the Mighty Eighth War Diary I could not see a mission for 1st-Feb-1944. Perhaps Goertz tagged onto a Group on a practice flight, is there anything to say if he still flew with Erich Sommer on this mission. The Schiffer profile in the text said A-04 was heavily damaged with 2(F)/122 in Italy and returned to Arado ( late 1943) and was finally lost in a crashlanding in Poland in autumn 1944. Would the repairs at Arado account for what you describe as a hybrid airframe,

Thanks again,

Brian Bines

Re: Ar 240 over England
 

A-04 seems to be the 0014 , built around end of 1942 was DI+CZ, it was at the Arado Werke on oct.43 on Jan. 44 nd on march 44, on 20 mai 44 in the role of the Sonderkdo. OBDL
Any more detail of his total loss ??

Remi

Re: Ar 240 over England
 

I would suspect the date rather than the account. If you mean that the flight was accompanied by another Arado with Sommer, then I doubt it very much. I have only seen references to Goetz flying the one aircraft on this series of missions. It would be difficult to identify another such airframe available at this time. A-03 and V9 were destroyed, and V-10 was still at Arado (as far as I know.....). It seems that either V7 or V8, possibly both, survived to this period, but with DB605s these would have been of lower performance.

By hybrid I mean that it was somewhere between an A series airframe and a C series airframe. It was initially built (begun?) as an A-0 airframe but was modified to take DB603 engines and the outer wing panels of the Ar240C. It retained the shorter wing centresection of the DB601 airframe - the Ar240C/Ar440 drawings show a wider centre-section for bigger propellors. If you look at the photos of it in the Profile you will see an extra wing section outboard of the nacelle carrying a small flap not present on any 240/440 drawings.

References seem to differ on whether A-03 and/or A0-04 initially flew before the big wings were fitted, or not. Given the timescales, I think it safe to assume not.

The crashed aircraft is seen in the back pages of Manfred Griel's Luftwaffe Bombers book. I do not know the precise date - if it is not in Griehl then it is in Dr. Horst Mankow's published works on the aircraft. I have seen the pilot's name: the crash is credited to his inexperience with the somewhat unorthdox handling of the aircraft on approach and landing.

Re: Ar 240 over England
 

Graham, thanks again for the answer, I understood Goetze and Sommer were crewed together in 1942 on Ju 86 flights over the UK and wondered if this partnership continued. As you say it looks like the date of 1-2-44 might well be suspect.

Re: Ar 240 over England
 

The Ju86 was a two-pilot aircraft, but the Ar240 was not.

Sommer and Goetz continued their professional contact in the same unit, each having individual named Kommandos with Ar234s slightly later.

Re: Ar 240 over England
 

Hi guys...

According to "On Special Missions, The Luftwaffe's Research & Experimental Squadrons 1923-45" by J.R.Smith, E.J.Creek & P.Petrick [Classic, 2003] Gotz made his first flight in T9+GL on Jan 5th 1944. From his home base at Orly, he flew a two-seater Ar240, partially pressurised and fitted with GM-1. Attempts were made to fly over England but they always had to turn back because of strong fighter defences, apparently tipped off by French Resistance.

After test and familiarisation flights, Gotz transferred the Ar240 to its operational base on 30th Jan. His first operational sortie was flown on 10th Feb with Gerd Albrecht as observer when they attempted to photograph Brighton. Other sorties followed to Plymouth, Chatham (from Brussels), Ramsgate and London. Most of his sorties were made with Albrecht as navigator. but on the 29th & 30th May, Erich Sommer sat in test flights from Orienburg and Alt Lonnewitz. Gotz last flew the Ar240 on 27th June with Josef Bisping in the second seat.

I'd imagine that if you are able to approach any of the authors, they would confirm from where these details were obtained especially as source notes are sadly missing...

Cheers
Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

Re: Ar 240 over England
 

Peter, thanks very much for that info, thanks also to Graham and Remi. Another researcher mailed me a scan of a page from the Heinz Mankau/ Peter Petrick Bf110/Me210/Me410 book which indicates the loss of A-O4 as due to a crashlanding in June 1944.

Re: Ar 240 over England
 

Further to Peters answer I can find 17 mentions of daylight recon. to the UK between Feb.10th and 30th May 1944. Four of these involve aircraft from NAG13, I(F)/120 over Scotland and 5(F)/123. of the remainder a high altitude recon, to the IOW was shown on 19th April and another to Poole on 21st. April. On the 28th April a recon to Plymouth was shown, it would be interesting to know who flew this one as it is likely the crews report led to the E-Boot attack on operation Tiger off Slapton Sands that night.