Hello, friends!
Has looked at some documents in TsAMO in connection with Maissler’s case on 28 May 1943. First of all – operative reports of the whole command chain (4.Air.Army --> 3.IAK --> 265.IAD --> 812.IAP)
4.Air Army: 773 sorties (incl. 568 fighters) … in 45 dogfights shot down 54 a/c (incl. 20 Bf109) [yes, heavy overclaiming. According to GQM, we can counted 7 100% losses and 5 damaged 25%-45% due to ALL reasons. But it seems list is incomplete. For example, according to KTB StG2, 1 her Ju87 was lost and 2 Ju87 forced landed but in GQM one of forced landed Ju87 is absent] … Own losses: in dogfights – 3, Flak – 2, FTR – 20 (probably lost in dogfights mostly); damaged in dogfights and crashed on landing – 2; forced landing due to combat damages – 7 (German claims – 43 by fighter, 1 by Ju87 and 2 by Flak).
… Units involved: … 3.IAK: …
1 Bf109 was “taken into the ring” by the group of Yak-1 fighters and forced to land off Maysky, south of Slavyanskaya.
3.IAK: the case is omitted at all (probably due to error)
265.IAD: … 812.IAP not participated as a regiment, but 3 pilots (Tarasov, Kalugin, Tumanov) worked with 291.IAP. 291.IAP (3 own pilots and 3 pilots from 812.IAP) on 07:25-07:35 (06:30-06:35 German Summer Time) were in fight with 40 Ju87 and 6 Bf109 in the area of Kievskaya, H=1000 m. Claims: Churikov (291.IAP) – 1 Ju87; Tarasov – 1 Ju87 and 1 Bf109; Kalugin – 1 Ju87 and 1 Bf109; Tumanov – 1 Bf109.
During returning flight Tarasov met 1 Bf109, made an attack and shot him. Bf109 made a belly landing [yes, not on wheel] off Troitskaya [this is a same area as mentioned above].
Pilot (”Miller”) was taken into captivity and delivered to the Stab of 265.IAD [An addition written by pencil: “[to] 4.Air Army”]
278.IAD (2nd Division of 3.IAK): nothing about the case in question.
812.IAP: I took it’s war diary, but there no entries between 10 May and 1 September for unknown reason. I have found out it too late to take other 812.IAP’s document. Hope to check it in future.
I took two large folders with 4.Air Army engineer’s papers but found nothing about examination of Meissler’s Bf109. Many engineer’s folders remains unstudied and it seems too much time needed to find the examination report. I’m not ready to spend more time for so “local” question but I hope the document will be found casually during researches.
So Meissler’s case looks like:
He took off from Taman airfield on 06:30 (according his words; it isn’t clear whether the Time converted to Moscow Time or not) with other 11 III./JG52 pilots with the task to escort the large group of Ju87 (60-70, according to his words). According to KTB of StG2, it’s Stukas (maybe with attached units) made 423 sorties between 05:45 and 18:10 and met “Sehr starke Jagd- und Flakabwehr” (very strong fighter’s defense and AA defense). It seems German forces divided on two groups for two targets (because Yaks were in fights with 40 Ju87 and 6 Bf109, according to their estimate). [At last moment in TsAMO I found minute-by-minute Lufwaffe aircrafts moving list according to AA department of 4.Air Army for the end of May, incl. 28.5 (radar and observers data). During the next visit I’ll examine it. It maybe useful for the reconstruction]
Then Meissler’s Bf109 engine failed temporary (due to shell or debris or bullet hit, or simply due to the technical reason – in dependence of when he said a truth), for unknown reason he has flown deeper into the enemy’s territory (the Ju87 targets were very close to frontline) and then his Bf109 was damaged (again or for the first time) by Tarasov and made a belly landing. The sole thing seems impossible: that Maissler “did not even see an enemy aircraft before his belly-landing”, as he said in 70ties.
By the way, GQM list claimed Meissler as lost in dogfight
Are any German pilot’s memories mention the day of 28 May 1943?
Best regards,
Andrey