Hi Rob,
The following is from
The Focke-Wulf FW 190 in North Africa book, written by by Morten Jessen and myself:
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9 February 1943
At 13:45 six II./JG 2 pilots scrambled to intercept incoming enemy aircraft. A formation of four P-39s of the 81st FG was flying a reconnaissance mission north of Ousseltia and east of Kairouan, escorted by nine P-40Fs of GC II/5. 16 minutes after take-off, the Fw 190s attacked the P-40s, and in the engagement Sgt. Chef Denaix was hit and force-landed 24 km east of Kasserine. During this fight,
Oblt. Bühligen claimed two P-40s destroyed, as did
Ofw. Goltzsch, and these four victories occurred between 13:51 and 13:55, three south of Djebel bou Dabouss and one south of
Djebel Rihane.
[1] GC II/5 lost at least three P-40Fs in this combat, and
Adjudant Chef Verrier,
Sgt. Chef Denaix and
Sgt. Chef Borg did not return from the mission, although no one was killed. The French pilots Hebrard, Moret and Denaix claimed a Fw 190 each, but II./JG 2 had no losses in the aerial engagement.
[2]
[1] The latter location is not certain.
[2] GC II/5 War Diary, pp.38-39; Film C. 2027/I; Shores, Ring & Hess,
Fighters Over Tunisia, pp.199-200
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I posted the following in an earlier thread about II./J.G. 2 overclaiming in Tunisia:
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II./J.G. 2 and Overclaiming/Falsification
Most of the suspect II./J.G. 2 claims in Tunisia occurred while they were based at Kairouan airfield in central Tunisia in January and the first half of February 1943. II./J.G. 2 pilots based at Kairouan during the period of overclaiming included: Bühligen, Rudorffer, Werner, Karch, Schülze, Goltzsche, Engelbrecht, von Farnholz, Übelbacher, Sonntag, Gäbler, Weißgruber, Jacobs, and Marx.
II./J.G. 2 was usually the only
Luftwaffe unit based at Kairouan, and it was certainly the only fighter unit based there (except for the
Stab J.G. 53 during the Kasserine operation). They were 150 to 200 km from the main German headquarters in northern and southern Tunisia, and reported to the
Fliegerführer Tunis once a day, in the evening. The II./J.G. 2 detachment was usually at the most fifteen pilots (for example, on 5 February 1943 there were 13 pilots in the Kairouan detachment, and ten FW 190s).
Thus it was the perfect environment if the II./J.G. 2 pilots wanted to falsify claims. Rudorffer was the highest ranked officer, and he was surrounded by pilots who had been together in the
Gruppe for a while.
Please note I am not saying that falsification of victories by II./J.G. 2 did occur, I’m just suggesting that rarely would a German fighter unit be in such a good position to submit false victory claims. The chances of discovery were very slim, so long as you had the trust of your fellow pilots.
Gaps in the American Records
This is a convenient excuse for the II./J.G. 2 pilots, but it’s simply not true. The 1st Fighter Group has complete records of its operations in the period of II./J.G. 2 over claiming. I have the 14th FG microfilms, and although their records aren’t as detailed as those of the 1st FG, there is enough information to be able to match up claims and losses. Unfortunately I’ve not seen the 82nd FG records, so I generally rely on Shores, Ring & Hess for their Tunisian operations (which is one reason why Morten and I weren’t too definite about II./J.G. 2 overclaiming in our book).
Martin Gleeson mentions the 3rd PRG with P-38s in Tunisia. This is a valid point, but generally II./J.G. 2 was claiming multiple P-38 kills, and the PRG units flew singly, eliminating it as a possibility in most cases.
Rudorffer on the Eastern Front
As for Rudorffer on the Eastern Front, I’m no expert, but I know that in at least one combat he and his wingman were very optimistic with their claims. I should note that I don’t wish to accuse him of anything (I believe he is still alive). Morten and I wrote to him in 2001 asking if he wanted to provide information for our book, but he declined. We wish we could have got his side of the story.
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I would like to take this opportunity to defend the reputation of II./J.G. 2 in Tunisia. In the early months of 1943 II./J.G. 2 enjoyed great success against the Americans in central Tunisia on many occasions. There were only a few days when overclaiming of an unacceptable level occurred.
The days of serious overclaiming were 9 February, 14 February, 15 February, and 12 March 1943. On these days II./J.G. 2 claimed 44 victories, for which there are only six known Allied losses.
The
Gruppe made around 130 victory claims in Tunisia, so this means that around 85 of the claims made were genuine.
Aside from the four days mentioned above, all other claims submitted by II./J.G. 2 in Tunisia were relatively accurate. For example, on 2, 3 and 4 February 1943 II./J.G. 2 claimed 21 victories for 13 known Allied losses, which I consider very acceptable.
I hope the above is of interest.
Cheers,
Andrew A.