Biscay Action 28th December 1943

[Mark McShane]

Can anybody tell me what air units flew sorties against the crusiers Glasgow and Enterprise on 27/28 Dec 1943.

Was glider bombs used against the ships?

Thanks in advance,

Mark

[rldunn]

I'm not sure of all the efforts and units involved on 27 and 28 Dec 43 but this was the first occasion when the Fw 200 was sent into action with the HS 293. In one flight of four Fw 200s of III/KG 40 only one aircraft of the flight carried the missile and it ditched due to mechanical failure of the bomber. Accounts suggest there were other missile attacks. By this time both He 177s and Do 217s carried the missile but I lack details of which unit might have been involved in attacking the ships in question. We can hope others will fill in the deyails.

RLD

[mjbollinger]

There were two units in action that time.

On 28 December four Fw 200 of III./KG 40 -- all those equipped to carry the Hs 293 -- launched an attack on Allied forces attempting to intercede and block the return of blockade runner Alsterufer. Poor weather caused three of the four aircraft to miss the ships entirely and only one attacked HMS Glasgow, with two missiles missing due to their being launched in conditions of low ceiling. It is possible that one of these four aircraft (Hptm Wilhelm Dette of 9./KG 40?) ditched on the way back, but I'm not sure of this.

Later that same day 16 He 177 A-3 of II./KG 40 flew another attack mission in support of Alsterufer. Weather conditions were very poor. Aircraft F8+IN (#535557) was probably lost before the attack and six others never engaged the target due to poor weather. Only nine attacked the Allied ships attempting to block the return of Alsterufer, all without result. Aircraft NN+QY (#535559) appears to have crash-landed on the way back and was lost.

You'll find references to this attack in Waters' book The Royal New Zealand Navy and in Schull's Far Distant Ships. It is also described in Neitzel's book on the Atlantic and North Sea operations.

The ship, Alsterufer, was later sunk by Allied aircraft.

I hope this helps. For what it is worth, I've been researching the deployment and defeat of German glide bombs and have written a 360-page manuscript on that topic, which I hope to publish later this year.

MB

[George Hopp]

Good stuff, MB. And keep us informed about the publication of your manuscript.

[Chris Goss]

I can add a little more on the attacks:

28 Dec: 4 Condors of III/KG 40 took off between 0636 & 0800 hrs. Hptm Dette's (9/KG 40) aircraft ditched following engine fire at 1100 hrs, another ac turned back with engine problems. 1305 hrs a cruiser and a "destroyer" spotted PlQ 24W/2737. Having avoided a Halifax and a Catalina, at 1315 hrs two attacks carried out.

1514-1545 hrs, 16 He 177s of II//KG 40 took off and between 1820-1850 hrs, 9 ac (6 couldn't find target in bad weather) attacked. Hptm Bernhard Eidhoff of 5/KG 40 had been intercepted by Sqn Ldr Taps Tappin of 157 Sqn & shot down whilst another (one of the 6 that couldn't find the targets) suffered engine failure and force-landed (still with its Hs 293) and Merignac (40% damage),

Quite a busy day with all sorts of aircraft operating over the Bay. The following day, 4 Condors took off between 0507-0523 hrs and spotted alll sorts of things including Hptm Dette's crew in a dinghy. Hptm Schabert of 7/KG 40 just went missing, no cause given

[Mark McShane]

Thanks all for the tremendous response, a great deal of information supplied by all. I was not aware that HE 177 were involved in this action, very interesting.

Chris,

The 4 Condors that were airborne on the 29th, have you any further information on these. It was probably one of these aircraft that signaled the Irish merchant ship Kerlogue to go rescue the Kreigsmarine survivors from the action againt the two RN cruisers.

Regards,

Mark

[Chris Goss]

No ideas of the crew but at 0930 hrs in 24W/1721, an Irish freighter was spotted but not attacked. At 1205 hrs, in 24W/3768, a dinghy was spotrted and they managed to get the Irish freighter to go to them. At 1230, they picked them up. There was quite a conversation between the Condor and the ship!

[Fairlop]

The ship, Alsterufer, was later sunk by Allied aircraft.

The blockade-runner Alsterufer was sunk by 311 Czechoslovak Squadron Liberator "H" BZ796. The captain P/O Oldrich Dolezal (155129) and navigator F/O Zdenek Hanus (127086) were both awarded immediate DFC´s.

Regards,
Michal

[Tony Kearns]

Originally Posted by Fairlop

The blockade-runner Alsterufer was sunk by 311 Czechoslovak Squadron Liberator "H" BZ796. The captain P/O Oldrich Dolezal (155129) and navigator F/O Zdenek Hanus (127086) were both awarded immediate DFC´s.

Regards,
Michal

Don't forget also 201 Squadron's involvement in the Alsterufer incident. Sunderland EJ137 "T" was the first to located it and immediately sent out sighting reports. It attacked it without results and was joined by Sunderland EK579 "U" which kept station on the blockade runner. In order to maximise endurance it jettisioned it ordnance and continually transmitted homing signals until ordered to return to base being advised to land at Foynes(Neutral Ireland) if necessary, hopefully not forgetting to claim that they were on a search and rescue mission. However, with just enough fuel, they landed at Lough Erne after eighteen and a half hours in the air.
Tony K

[Brian Bines]

Were Hpt. Dette's crew, less the 1st. Bf who was swept away in the ditching, transferred from the Irish Freighter to a British Trawler? The reason I ask is ADIK report 10/1944 dated 5th-Jan-1944 states'' Four days later the survivors were picked up by a British trawler and brought to this country ''