2 October 1944

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Two questions about this day:

1) on this day Uffz Erich Ahrens of 7./JG 26 was wounded when he struck his head on his gunsight during a forced landing necessitated by engine failure. My source is the JG 26 War diary by Caldwell that sadly didn't list the damage percentage of crashes, so I wonder if someone has it for this AC (or knows if the AC was destroyed or repaired later).

2) I found on a website (http://members.home.nl/almeloliberat...andelingen.htm) a list of bombardments of Dutch cities. Most of them seem to be confirmed by other sources but the list is included a bombardment of Nijmegen on 2nd October, with 90 killed. I have never heard of it (while the bombing of Eindhoven during Market Garden by the Luftwaffe is well known). If this number is for one raid only (and not for all artillery fire and bombing that took place around this date) I guess several KG groups hit the town. Can anybody confirm this ?

Thanks in advance

Laurent

[Laurent Rizzotti]

I found confirmation on several Dutch websites that Nijmegen was hit by a German air bombardment on 2 October 1944 and between 90 and 100 people were killed (96 being the number most used).

Now I wondered what were the German units involved ? 219 Sqn claimed 3 Ju87 and a Fw190 shot down in the evening of the 2 (higher than usual claims against German attack planes) and they may be linked with this attack. The Ju 87s may be from NSGr 2, the Fw 190 from III./KG 51. But such a high number of fatalities is unusual with attacks at night by such light aircraft.

[Jaap Woortman]

2/3 October 1944.
Three attacks at Nijmegen.
1) 21 Fw 190 of III./KG 51

2) 16 Ju 87 of NSGr. 2

3) 20 Fw 190 of III./KG 51.
Source: "En nooit was het stil.." Part II. G.J.Zwanenburg. Page 381.

It could be that also Mistels were involved.
I have not checked it but I think the targets were the bridges over Waal.

Jaap

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Thanks Jaap

I didn't know this book but it seems very interesting (even for a non-Dutch reader as me).

I found a website that said that this book is covering "all aircraft movements over Holland". Just curious to know the detail level of this book, and if it is presented in tables (so in part understandable by non-Dutch readers) or in text. I guess from what I have read on the Net that activity of both sides is described.

If you have a scanner and can scan me a page, I will be very interested. Send it at october1944 (at) gmail.com, please.

[Jaap Woortman]

Any preference for a day?

Jaap

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Thanks Jaap, well my own interest is mainly on October 1944 but I am more interested to have a pick on the book so I can choose to buy or not. I would prefer a page with more text, I'm not interested in pictures for the moment.

I leave in some hours for a holiday week so use this post to thank you in advance as I won't be able to do it latter.