50 Ju-52s engaged, many lost, no details

[Broncazonk]

On 13 January, 2015, Colonel Darrell G. Welch, a five (air) victory ace, (27th FS - 1st FG) passed away at 96, in San Antonio. A nice story was written about him in the San Antonio Express-News, which contained this diary entry from Welch: “Today I’m an ace, Squadron got 16 enemy aircraft destroyed. Lost Hilgert and Field. We found over 50 Ju 52s, I got three, Newbury one Ju 52, two Ju 87s, MacKay three, Bancroft two, Shaw two, Rush one, Loder one, Anderson one. I got shot up a little by Me-109.” (Welch was awarded the Silver Star for this engagement.)

The article does not specify, but this event must have occurred sometime in April, 1943 as part of Operation Flax when the Luftwaffe was trying to make the Sicily to Tunisia run to resupply what was left of the Africa Corps who were trapped up on Cap Bon. Might anyone have the actual details? Also: Why didn't the Luftwaffe fly these sorties at night??

The article also makes mention that on March 23, 1943, Col. Welch shot down a Me-109 piloted by Lt. Wolfgang Dreifke. Anyone with details on this as well?

Bronc

[Frank Olynyk]

The Ju 52s were shot down on April 5, 1943, about 0800 hours. Probably trying to get in before the early patrols. It is also possible that the transport crews weren't trained or equipped for night flying. Details to appear in A History of the Mediterranean Air War, Volume 3. No publication date announced yet; we are still researching and writing. I would not expect an announcement until we turn the final manuscript in to Grub Street. Since I am handling the American side, I don't have the German details at hand. I do know that the claims against the transport aircraft in April were pretty close to reality.

Enjoy!

Frank.

[Skyraider3D]

Frank, am I correct to assume that vol.3 covers the summer of 1943? I am very interested in the nighttime successes of Mosquito squadrons in Southern Italy at that time, so I hope these are well-covered.

[Frank Olynyk]

Volume 3 of A History of the Mediterranean Air War covers the period November 1942 to middle May 1943, in North West Africa, and includes the period April to middle May 1943 for the Allied forces advancing into Tunisia from the east (ie, where volume 2 left off). Volume 4 will start middle May and go until at least the end of October, if not the end of the year 1943. I don't know how much of the heavy bomber effort for the period covered by volume 4 will be in that volume. Volume 5 will start covering the strategic bombing effort, and may go back to middle May 1943 (although I think only Tidal Wave in this period counts as strategic); most likely the heavy bomber effort against Sicilian and Italian ports and air fields belongs in volume 4. There should then be one more strategic volume picking up where volume 5 leaves off, and one more tactical volume picking up where volume 4 leaves off. All this of course subject to authorial and editorial whim and interests. In any case we would like to keep the volumes on the order of 500 pages (like volume 1), rather than 700 pages (like volume 2).

Enjoy!

Frank.

[Skyraider3D]

Thanks for your answer Frank! Looks like I'll need to have a bit more patience still.

[Brian Bines]

From some old notes I had from GQM these show that KGr.z.b.V.106 lost 4 Ju 52s shown as due to fighter attack with location given as Tunis, while KGr.z.b.V.800 lost 6 Ju 52s due to fighter attack with 5 of these shown as by Cap Bon,

Brian Bines