Luftwaffe Ace Major Walter Barte

[Donald A. Babcock]

es tut mir leid - ich lese English - nicht Deutsch!

My Uncle 2LT Howard J. Bohle) was a B-17G Pilot from the 303rd Bomb Group. He and his crew were shot down after being hit by flak on a April 29, 1944 bombing mission to Berlin.

His aircraft B-17G #42-31241 "the Spirit of Wanette" droped out of formation and was ultimately shot down by flak and a BF 110 Night Fighter from Stab III./NJG 3 piloted by Luftwaffe Ace Major Walter Barte. They bailed out and the aircraft crashed on the island of Lolland, Denmark. Five of his crew members died, his copilot escaped and evaded back to England, he and three of his other crew members were captured and spent the remainder of the war in a German Luft Stalag.

QUESTIONS 1 - Does anyone have any information or photos on Major Walter Barte, Stab III./NJG 3 or the base he flew from during the time my Uncle's B-17 was shot down (April 29, 1944)?

2 - Are there any records left from the German Luftwaffe or the Wehrmacht pertaining to my Uncle's B-17 being shot down, the crash in Denmark , the capture of him and several members of his crew and his being held as a POW at Luft Stalag III?

3 - Are there any German accounts or photos of the April 29, 1944 8th Air Force mission to bomb the Friederichstrasse Railroad Station in Berlin?

4 - Is there anything else available that might be of assistance to me in helping to research that mission?

Thanks for considering my request for assitance and thanks for the great talk forum you have which is preserving the memory of the brave pilots both German and Allied of WWII

Sincerely,
Donald A. Babcock

[rob van den nieuwendijk]

Hello Donald,

Have you seen link http://www.flensted.eu.com/1944061.shtml

Barthe was Gruppenkommandeur of III.-NJG 3 from 15.10.43 till 08.05.45

Regards,
Rob

[Donald A. Babcock]

Rob,

Thank you for replying to my post - I had seen the "Airwar Over Denmark" site they did a great job of detailing the crash of my Uncle's B-17 in Denmark. Thanks for drawing my attention to it though.

QUESTION - Do you know where I might be able to find more research about Luftwaffe BF 110 Night Fighter Ace Major Walter Barte or his Luftwaffe Squadron Stab III/NJG 3

Thanks again, Iook forward to your reply

[rob van den nieuwendijk]

Hello Donald,

Try Theo Boiten - he can be found at German Night Fighter Forum: http://disc.server.com/Indices/169401.html

Best wishes,
Rob

[Donald A. Babcock]

Thanks Rob for your help!
Don

[Delmenhorst]

Hi Donald
To answer your questions:
1. yes
2. yes
3. yes
4. yes
but you state quite clearly, that you do not read German, only English. Well, I guess that German files from the archives will not be of any use to you (and sorry, the Germans wrote in German during the war).

There are several people, that can help you with question 1. Barthe was a well known night fighter pilot with 23 victories and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold. He was the commanding officer of III./NJG 3 (similar to a modern day wing) consisting of 7.-9. Staffel plus a small Stabsschwarm. In April 1944 his unit was hard pressed and had only about 25 Bf 110G-4.

There are many pictures of Barthe and the airfield where he was stationed. He was stationed at Stade outside Hamburg. Here is an excellent small book about Stade called 'Nachtjäger vor den Toren Hamburgs'.

By the way, have you tried to write to Soeren Flensted and ask about more information on your uncle ?? Otherwise you could try Finn Buch or Jörn Junker. They both have a great amount of knowledge.

[Donald A. Babcock]

Thanks for responding to my post. Over the weekend I secured an individual who is from Germany, she is willing to do translation for me - how do I access the German Werhmacht and Luftwaffe records form WWII concearning my Uncle's B-17 being shot down, his being captured and held as a POW in Luft Stalag III.

Thanks again for your assistance

Don Babcock