Rodeo 416 21 Feb 1945

[Peter S]

Hi all
Could you please help me to find out any informations about JG54 losses. Does anyone have any details of Oblt. Dortenman's pilots, planes flown on 21st of Febr.1945?

[Jan Gazda]

Hi,
Bob Wartburg´s JG 54 site lists following losses for that day:

Ofw. Bienecke Paul, 6./JG54, Luftkampf with Jak 3, KIA,
FW 190A-8 W.Nr.736294, yellow 9+,100%, 5km nord east of Durben

Ofw. Műller Siegfried (40 vics., DKiG), 11./JG54, Luftkampf with P 47, KIA,
FW 190 D-9 W.Nr.210088, yellow 10+,100%, near Fl. Pl. Babenhausen

Lt. Prager Hans (32 vics.), 11/JG 54, Luftkampf with P 47, KIA,
FW 190 D-9 W.Nr.?, ? %, near Varrelbusch

Fw.Kroll Gerhard, 9./JG54, Luftkampf with P 51, KIA,
FW 190 D-9 W.Nr.?, ? %, Fl. Pl. Hesepe

Also Ogefr.Műnster Siegfried from IV./JG54 is listed as KIA with no other details

Jan

[Peter S]

Many thanks, Jan

Regards

[Peter S]

During the same fight Do 217 was shot down around 8 km away from Salzwedel. Who knows about which unit this plane was from?

[leonventer]

Originally Posted by Jan Gazda

...
Fw.Kroll Gerhard, 9./JG54, Luftkampf with P 51, KIA,
FW 190 D-9 W.Nr.?, ? %, Fl. Pl. Hesepe
...

Just a correction: Gerhard Kroll was not KIA -- I spoke to him at a fighter pilot symposium in the late 1990's and he passed away in March 2002.

On Feb 21 1945, his aircraft's tail surfaces were damaged in combat with P-51s, and he landed at Hesepe. The next day, his aircraft was damaged again, this time in combat with Tempests and P-51s (source: loss list in Axel Urbanke's "Green Hearts.")

Leon Venter

[Franek Grabowski]

Well, either III/JG54 losses are incomplete or there was another unit involved, but where there any other Doras around?

[NickM]

Originally Posted by leonventer

Just a correction: Gerhard Kroll was not KIA -- I spoke to him at a fighter pilot symposium in the late 1990's and he passed away in March 2002.

On Feb 21 1945, his aircraft's tail surfaces were damaged in combat with P-51s, and he landed at Hesepe. The next day, his aircraft was damaged again, this time in combat with Tempests and P-51s (source: loss list in Axel Urbanke's "Green Hearts.")

Leon Venter

Guys: IF I'm not mistaken (AND I might well be...) Hans Prager also survived the war, no? I don't recall him being a casualty in either the Urbanke book or in Caldwell's War Diary;

nickm