Thanks, Chris. You have a lot of information, but it needs to be combined with what I have.
It is not entirely clear how many
Condors took off on the morning of December 28. You write:
1. One source: 2 Fw 200s up 0545hrs, landing 12 hours later; 11 Fw 200s up 0445-0500hrs, landing 12 hours. = 13
2. Luftflotte 3: 8 Fw 200s up 0500-0749 hrs. One returns with engine problems.
4 Fw 200s up 0636-0800hrs. = 11
Which information is more accurate?
And one more thing. You wrote:
Of interest, Condors did very little apart from shadow
Here is information from the reports of the British cruisers against which all these aircraft operated.
28 Dec 1943
Action between HMS Glasgow and HMS Enterprise and German destroyers and torpedo boats.
Extract from the action report of HMS Glasgow.
At 1355A/28, the port 4" guns engaged a FW 200 aircraft and according to some reports this aircraft dropped a rocket bomb, clearly seen from the port director to fall into the sea between HMS Glasgow and HMS Enterprise.
Extract from the action report of HMS Enterprise.
At 1430A/28, HMS Enterprise was attacked by a glider bomb which exploded 400 yards on the port quarter. The aircraft which had released this bomb was identified as a FW 200 aircraft. AA fire from both cruisers disconcerted the plane but HMS Enterprise's close range AA fire directed at the bomb was not observed to hit.
https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1229.html
If the
Condors merely observed, then which aircraft attacked the cruisers twice with guided bombs? The He 177 attacks began much later.