[Andrew Arthy]

Hello Rasmussen,

Many thanks for your comments on the sample page from Appendix I of our ‘Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in the Battle for Sicily’ book.

RL 8/20 is a very interesting file, but we found a number of typos and errors in it. As a result, we felt that it was best used in conjunction with other primary sources, and if more reliable primary sources had different information, we would generally use that information rather than what was found in RL 8/20.

Please find our comments on your posting below:

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> 01.06.1943, W.Nr.0900:
> the call sign mentioned there was ‘TJ + GL’

We have two good primary sources that confirm the markings of this aircraft. An Allied captured aircraft report (in NA AIR 40/2159) has the following entry: “Fw 190 A-5/U8 W.Nr 900 <A + I, original markings ?? GL”. On page 203 of our book a photograph clearly shows this aircraft marked with ‘<A + I’. On the starboard side, the ‘GL’ and half of the ‘J’ had been overpainted by the ‘<A’ and III. Gruppe bar.

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> 07.06.1943, W.Nr.0881:
> instead "?" there was mentioned "TD + DS"
> regarding the file RL 8/20 the place was San Pietro (09.50 am) and not
> Castelvetrano because it was an flight from Castelvetrano to San Pietro, reason: not
> extended main gear

Regarding the aircraft code, I think that there might be a typo in your posting, because RL 8/20 actually says ‘TD + SS’ (which is confirmed by other sources as the correct Stammkennzeichen). ‘TD + SS’ may be the correct marking for W.Nr 0150 881, but unfortunately we could find no other source to confirm this, so instead we included a question mark in the loss list entry.

RL 8/20 says that it was indeed a transfer flight from Castelvetrano to San Pietro. Morten and I made an error in saying that the transfer flight was from San Pietro to Castelvetrano.

However, we are quite certain that the loss location was Castelvetrano, not San Pietro. In BA-MA RL 8/20, the place (ort) for the loss is given as Castelvetrano. Two other sources confirm the location. Genst.Gen.Qu.6.Abt. says the incident occurred at Castelvetrano. A strength return in NA HW 5/262, CX/MSS/2698/T19, says that at 14:00 on 7 June 1943 there were two III./SKG 10 aircraft crashed at Castelvetrano, but none crashed at San Pietro. We are not sure why the pilot crashed at the same airfield from which he took off.

Also, Landeklappe means landing flaps, so he crashed because the landing flaps did not work.

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> 13.06.1943, W.Nr. 0135:
> footnote 4 said that in RL 8/20 was mentioned W.Nr.0136 but I had notice for me the
> W.Nr. 0135 like in the other documents too”

There was a typo in our notes from RL 8/20. The original page from the RL 8/20 document does indeed say W.Nr 135, so you are correct. Thus all sources agree that the Werk Nummer for this loss was 135. However, we believe that RL 8/20 has a typo when it says that W.Nr 135 was marked ‘Black N + ’, and we follow what is said by the Genst.Gen.Qu.6.Abt. loss entry, ‘Black M + ’.

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> 14.06.1943, W.Nr. 0899:
> in the appendix is mentioned the pilot Gerhard Krüger but I have found the pilot
> Oblt. Ernst Schneider

Morten and I have page 40 of RL 8/20, which includes the following: “13.6. 1600 UHR: FW 190 A 5 / U 8, W M R 899, TAKT. ZEICHEN : WEISZ A.-
AUFTRAG: ANGRIFF AUF SCHIFFE VOR PANTELLERIA.-”

Unfortunately, for some reason we do not have page 41, on which other details (such as the pilot’s name) appear. Perhaps you would be kind enough to share this page with us?

We used other sources to fill in the gaps. The Genst.Gen.Qu.6.Abt. loss list stated that a III./SKG 10 aircraft with the W.Nr 0899 suffered 30 per cent damage in a crash-landing at San Pietro after an operation on 13 June 1943. The III./SKG 10 war diary (RL 10/361) reports only one such incident in mid-June, with the entry for a mission between 10:05 and 11:15 on 14 June 1943 reading: “Lt. Krüger nach Erledigung des Auftrages Bruchlandung in S. Pietro, unverletzt.” We felt that the Krüger incident was the same as the one in the entries for W.Nr 899 in the Genst.Gen.Qu.6.Abt. records and RL 8/20.

Oblt. Schneider flew missions with III./SKG 10 in April 1943, on 6 and 26 June, and then again in late-August 1943. However, there is no record that he flew any missions on 13 or 14 June 1943, when the incident involving W.Nr 899 happened.


I hope that the above answers your queries. If you like, I can email you copies of the sources that I have mentioned as evidence for these incidents.

All the best,
Andrew & Morten