Seeking Me109 Jabo crash info that happened in Italy.

[harrison987]

I have recently read a letter from a US veteran dated March 4, 1944. It describes an attack on US tanks by an Me109 4 days previous to the letter date. This took place "South of Carrocet, Italy"

After one final attack on one of the US tanks, the plane started to smoke...lost power...and belly-landed.

The veteran ran to the plane, and took the pilot as a POW...

Is there any way to narrow-down loss records to the specific Me109, based on the area and date in question?

TIA

Mike

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Mike,

I do have ALL volumes of JG 53 "Pik As" books (wonderful work by the way!) written by Jochen PRIEN (who is also a member of this Forum). Those books are however stored on another house, some 400+ km away from where I live now.
I can have a look for you around Christmas. However another member who may have those books at hand may check for you before.
Probably a JG 53 machine or JG 4 (Fw 190)/JG 77 (Bf 109)....
Other member of this Forum is Nick BEALE who wrote an excellent book about NGS 9 and "Air War Italy" with an Italian Historian as well.
Both Historians (with a huge H) do know quite a lot about this Theater of Operations and certainly will help you figuring out who is the man/plane you are looking for.
Yours, must sincerely,
Adriano S. Baumgartner

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Mike,
Just to "pay homage" to Nick Beale's magnific work, I humbly quote from his site:
http://www.ghostbombers.com/JG2/20-29feb.html
http://www.ghostbombers.com/JG77/jg77_07.html

So...probably a JG 53 machine...since "NO" JG 2 or JG 77 loss is "apparently" recorded...

Yours,
Adriano S. Baumgartner

[Nick Beale]

"Carrocet" should probably be the Via Carroceto which runs east from Aprilia. I don't have any Bf 109 losses on 29 February (which I guess is the date the veteran meant, if his memory was precise) indeed nothing from then until 3 March. The only losses I have are the two Fw 190s from 3./JG 2 referred to on my website which Adriano linked to.

Attacks on tanks in the Anzio beach head were the job of SG 4's Fw 190s, with Bf 109s providing the escort. For Bf 109 units over Anzio at this point you're looking probably at I./JG 4, 4./JG 2 and III./JG 53 but I don't have a corresponding loss from any of them. I don't have any Bf 109 (or Fw 190) pilots taken prisoner around that time either.

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Hello Mike,
Returned to my family's house for Christmas and had a look at JG 53 History, volume 3, by Jochen Prien, as I promised you earlier.

Firstly, NICK BEALE correctly pointed out that the veteran meant CARROCETO, east of APRILIA.

We do have indeed a "probable" match for your POW pilot, however on the 19th February 1944, according to pg.811 of the magnific work of PRIEN:
"Lt. Fritz Lahmann from 8./JG 53 suffered a mid-air collision with Fw Fritz Göhmann over Aprilia on that date. They were flying respectively Bf 109 G-6 werknummer 162024 codes (black) 15+I and werk 162087 code (yellow) 12+I. Both parachuted with Lahmann was captured as a POW."

On page 772 we do have an account of that early mission...the crash occurrerd around 10:00 AM.

There was a second mission by III/JG 53 on the afternoon. They took off at 12:50hs and met Spitfires (three were shot down NW of Lake Bolsena between 01:38 and 01:48hs), however Oberleutnant Rolf Klippgen was hit and tried to belly land his machine SW of Onano, killing himself."

That's all we do have around the AREA you mentioned and earlier (DATE) mentioned as well by the veteran you contacted.

Hope this will be of help...May you and yours have a nice 2014 in health and peace.
Yours most sincerely,

Adriano Silva Baumgartner

[Adriano Baumgartner]

MIKE,
I was just wandering...it probably could be (although some Italian friends may help as well as Nick Beale) an ITALIAN machine!!!
Do not remember by heart or memory, when they received their Bf 109 G-6....probably another clue to your puzzle....
Yours,
Adriano S. Baumgartner

[harrison987]

HI Nick and Adriano!

For sure the aircraft belly-landed and the pilot survived...the AC may have been mis-ID'd...will get you some more information and post that next week...

Mike

[harrison987]

Hey guys...

Looks like I could have the date wrong, as he mentions "4 days ago"...but it appears that could be referring to that one tank busting incident against the "invasion tanks" and not when he was downed. Seems this incident happened on March 4, 1944. The vet was Tec. 5 W. Abro, who was a typist for the Headquarters Battery of the 9th Field Artillery battalion.

...here is a scan of the original letter.



Any further thoughts?

I think the "5" in "Me109-5" is referring to the aircraft number on the side of the fuselage...as he speaks about the cross in detail as well.

TIA

Mike

[Nick Beale]

I may regret saying this but there were no Bf 109s dropping bombs at Anzio (or at least I've not found evidence of any), only Fw 190s.

I have I./JG 4 Bf 109 pilots taken prisoner at Anzio on 6 February (two) and 9 March.

From III./JG 53 pilots were taken prisoner on 10 and 19 February, then no more until 22 March.

An Fw 190 pilot of 6./SG 4 was taken prisoner on 7 February and the next PoW I know of from that unit was on 29 March.

Unless anyone knows better, there were no prisoners taken from I./JG 2 or NAG 11 (Bf 109 tactical reconnaissance) and there don't seem to have been any from II./JG 77 during its deployment to the beach head.

[harrison987]

Thanks Nick!

Could be a mis-ID of the aircraft...?

Maybe he meant 4-weeks ago, as opposed to 4 days ago (could correspond with the I./JG54 Pilots as well as the 6/SG4 Fw190)...

Maybe they shot him anyway...

Crap...was hoping the dates would correspond with something in writing...

Mike