Kampfgruppe 100 Do217 loss France 26.7.44

[Theo Boiten]

Dear all,

For a German research friend, I'm looking for info about the loss of a Do217 of Kampfgruppe 100 (pilot Otto Sommer) on 26 Juli 1944 in France, any details much apreciated!

Cheers, Theo

[Chris Goss]

Theo
By then it would have been KG 100 not KGr 100. I can see no losses on 26 Jul 44 or anyone named Sommer in 1944 apart from Ofw Robert Sommer, ground crew, killed in an air raid on Chateaudun 28 Apr 44

[Theo Boiten]

Cheers & thanks for that Chris, I'll pass the info to my German friend.

Theo

[Nick Beale]

I don't have anything conclusive but ULTRA gives III./KG 100 strengths as follows:

0630 23/7: 26 (9) crews, 23 (12) aircraft
1330 23/7: 26 (9) crews, 23 (12) aircraft
0645 24/7: 26 (9) crews, 23 (17) aircraft
1430 24/7: 26 (9) crews, 23 (15) aircraft

The two attachments show 14 aircraft taking off for an operation on the 24th and 12 landing but that doesn't mean the other two were lost, they may have landed away from base. The attack was against Escort Group 14 in the Bay of Biscay.

Ulf Balke's KG 100 book doesn't list any Do 217 lost on this date but perhaps Jean-Lous Roba's forthcoming book will have more.

[Theo Boiten]

Thanks for that Nick, most useful! Cheers, Theo

[Theo Boiten]

Dear all,

Just got a bit more info re. the crash, from a short interview that my German contact did with the pilot Otto Sommer (who's currently in hospital and in bad health):

The Do217 was belly-landed at night, on 26 July 1944, place was in the vicinity of Deauville. The a/c belonged to 3. Staffel Kampfgruppe 100 z.b.V., take off was from Lorient. Otto Sommer stated that the unit had recently been established, the Do217s had previously seen service on the Ostfont and were not equipped with bomb sights. The Second Gruppe of KG100 was stationed at Lorient, the Third Gruppe in Vannes. The name of Sommer's Staffelkapitän was a Leutnant von Spöstrupp (?). During the operation on the night of 26 July 44, Sommer and his crew had attacked pontoons and other Allied sea craft immediately behind the Isle of Wight. His Bordschütze (name not known anymore, but coming from Cochem) was hit by Ack Ack shrapnel and one of his arms was badly burnt.

Sommer has no wartime documents, photos etc anymore, all he has left are his memories.

Perhaps this new info will help in finding out more about the incident, Sommer would especially like to know the names of his crew and what has become of them ..

Cheers, Theo

[Theo Boiten]

Thanks a lot chaps for these new details; I have passed them on to my German contact who will interview Sommer again shortly in hospital, hopefully this will will freshen up his memory ..

Cheers, Theo

[martin75]

Hello Nick,

you write "There were a couple of torpedo ops sent toward the Solent area after the Normandy landings". Can you please be more explicit ? In particular : at what dates ?
Thanks in advance

Claude

[mjbollinger]

Here is what I have of III./KG 100 activities at that time...

Of the three Staffeln in III./KG 100, 7./KG 100 and 9./KG 100 were operating out of Toulouse-Francazal and 8./KG 100 (formerly 6./KG 100 -- the units were switched in June 1944) was at Toulouse-Blagnac. All were operating Do 217 variants. For context, the three Staffeln of II./KG 100 were all transitioning to He 177 at Aalborg, including the unit that used to be 8./KG 100.

The only attack by III./KG 100 the night of 26/27 July was by 4 (estimated) glide-bomb equipped aircraft, most likely Do 217 M-11, against naval targets at Brest. Similar missions were launched by III./KG 100 the nights of 25/26 and 28/29 against targets at Brest but without loss.

Balke does mention a belly-landing by a He 177 (6N+MP / 550258) that same night but this almost certainly unrelated to the Brest mission. That Vbkz puts the He 177 in 6./KG 100 (in other words, in II./KG 100) operating from Aalborg at the time. However, until mid-June this aircraft would have been in 8./KG100 (i.e., in III./KG100) operating from Fassberg, prior to the switch of 6./KG 100 (still with Do 217) and 8./KG 100 (transitioning to He 177). Maybe this is a source of confusion? While technically part of II./KG 100 that night, 6N+MP would have been in III./KG 100 for a long time before that switch.

The Plymouth raid by III./KG 100 on 30 April 1944, which was the unit's first attack mission since Salerno in September 1943, involved 12 Do 217 K-3 aircraft, two of which were lost: 6N+IT (#4716) and 6N+AD (#4701) both of 9./KG 100.

The other missions by III./KG 100 around that time include attacks at Normandy off the Seine (7/8 June), off Barfleur (9/10 June), off Portland (12/13 June), off Cherbourg (14/15 June), off the Orne (24/25 June), off the Seine (4/5 July), off Normandy (6/7 July), and a series of attacks off Brest in July (20/21, 30/31 in addition to ones mentioned above.) There were also a series of attacks in August at Avranches and in the Bay of Biscay.

Hopefully this helps.

Marty Bollinger

[Theo Boiten]

Splendid, thanks a lot for that Marty!

Cheers, Theo