Allied fighter-bombers over Baltic Sea 3/4.Feb.1945?

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Have come across two w/t messages from German antisubmarine vessel UJ1115 4.Feb.45 regarding 5 attacks of fighter-bombers in Marine-Qu. AO8457 (western Baltic east of Bornholm). One direct hit but the bomb bounced off.

Time of the attacks isn't clear. According the first message (time of origin 04:00 4.Feb.) time of the 1st attack was omitted but 2nd attack was at 04:10, i.e. 10 minutes later than the time of origin of the message (?). Maybe typo.
Anyway the attacks were at night 3/4.Feb.

It wasn't Soviet naval aviation for certain and wasn't Soviet army aviation with 95-% probability.

Whether were the allied fighter-bomber (or Mosquito?) antishipping missions in the Baltic sea as early as beginning of Feb.1945?

Best regards,
Andrey

[andy bird]

Hi Andrey,

The Mosquitos (at Banff) didn't get their long-range 1000 gallon external drop tanks properly fitted until March 1945. Could have been Beaufighter's from North Coates, don't have the ORB to hand. From memory the Wing were doing harassment patrols against E-Boats at night with Naval MTBs in those waters around that time.

Boat was part of 11. Unterseebootsjagdflottille Formed in Flensburg in Schleswig-Holstein in September 1939 and until the summer of 1941 was employed in the Baltic, then The Kattegatt, Skagerrak, North Sea, then back in the Baltic. Additionally it was employed in Norwegian Waters, Kristiansand & the Norwegian Polar and West Coasts.

Regards

Andy Bird

[udf_00]

https://www.awm.gov.au/images/collec...070714--1-.pdf
As a corollary to its mainly defensive policy of escort and patrol in areas where shipping was threatened Coastal Command determined during February 1945 to attack U-boats working-up in their Baltic training areas. From Leuchars on 3rd-4th February seven Liberators of No. 206 and eight of No. 547 set off in atrocious weather to patrol around the island of Bornholm. Two Liberators were forced to abandon the operation, seven including that piloted by Flight Lieutenant Fisher of No. 206 covered the patrol without finding a target, while the remainder made depth-charge attacks against four U-boats and two surface vessels. Flying Officer Atwill, the navigator of E/547, gained radar contact at a range of 15 miles and homed on to a fully-surfaced U-boat which did not dive even after the Liberator made one abortive run and which was then straddled by depth-charges aft of the conning tower.
F/Lt E. V. Fisher, DFC, 421798 ; 206 Sqn RAF . Bank clerk; of Griffith, NSW ; b. Arncliffe, NSW , 9 Nov 1918.
F/O J. A. Atwill, 423036 ; 547 Sqn RAF. Bank clerk; of Strathfield, NSW; b. Grafton, NSW , 18 Nov 1922.


http://www.coastalcommand206.com/page3.htm
search for XIX

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Thank you, Andy and Udf_00 especially!

So it was attack of Liberators, not fighter-bombers.
Interesting.

Best regards,
Andrey