Airfield Strafing Victims

[Don Caldwell]

Hi Larry --

Thanks. This keeps getting better and better.

-- Don

[RodM]

Hi Larry & Don,

slightly away from Don's original question, but the Luftlagemeldung for 24 March 1945 records:

"Hopsten: O. U., zahlr. Sprb. Startbahn zerstört. Rollbahn und Befeuerung unbrauchbar. Notstart nicht möglich. Herrichtung einer Notstartfläche 4 - 5 Tage."

"Hopsten und Rheine: Keine Flugzeugschäden."

Cheers

Rod

[Larry deZeng]

Thanks, Rod! That fills in the blanks for the 24th.

Larry

[drgondog]

Don - you have a conundrum here. The designation of victory credits on the ground toward ace status was entirely in the hands of the 8th AF Victory Credits Board. The sole source for those credits are from that domain.

While it would be interesting to have All the Luftwaffe records for all the locations and all the days available for comparison - assigning a German aircraft actually destroyed to a specific pilot as an 'adjusted credit' - there is no possibility of that.

If the author is developing a book on strafing aces he has to rely on 8th AF VCB as his sole source. Accuracy is not as important as the actual Credit given by the VCB.

I know you know this and were just fishing for some reliable sources wherever they may be...

Regards,

Bill

[Don Caldwell]

Hi Bill --

Thanks for the reply. The author has access to all of the 8AF documents, but is looking specifically for the identity (units) of the aircraft destroyed on the dates and airfields mentioned. I knew at the start that we were unlikely to come up with anything for ground losses, altho I have helped him with some air-to-air combats. This board has educated me to the fact that the airfield reports did not show units (it wasn't their business), and the unit reports would have, but as we all know these were nearly all destroyed.

-- Don

[Nick Beale]

Anyone prepared to read a very great deal of Ultra might make a certain amount of headway in identifying units or (occasionally) individual aircraft involved but the results would be very patchy for the time spent, I think.

[Don Caldwell]

Hi NIck --

Thanks. I'll pass this on, but I don't think the author is prepared to invest a trip to the ex-PRO for this tiny fraction of the data he's looking for, and I know I can't.

-- Don

[David Pausey]

Hello Don

Quick reply I have some reports from THE hw5 FILES AT kew LONDON DATES
5-10-44, 6-10-44(55th FG),30-9-44, 5-10-44, 9-10-44, 11-10-44, 18-3-45, 24-2-45, 17-3-45, 10-4-45, 13-4-45(355TH fg ?), 18-4-45, 21-4-45.
Some could be 9th A.F.

regards

David

[Andreas Brekken]

Hi, Don

Beginning to look through my data.

Not that many apparent strafing victims, but as suggested for the attack at Hopsten, such a massive attack would not necessarily make it possible to discern the reason for the damage after the attacks.

Giebelstadt:

I believe that at least some of the aircraft listed as claimed on January 6th 1945 was from I./KG(J) 54, they report to have lost one Ar 96 and one Me 262 to bombing on this date.

I believe that the Me 262 claimed at Giebelstadt on January 13th 1945 was from I./KG(J) 54. They have noted that they lost 2 Me 262 on the ground to strafing attack on this date.

More to come.

Regards,
Andreas B

[Don Caldwell]

David --

Thanks for the info. Your dates don't match the ones that interest me unless the reports cover the day's previous activity, in which case 10 Apr 45 and 18 Apr 45 could be valuable. Could you take a look? Also, I haven't researched ULTRA files since a trip to the PRO was required. Are the HW5 files available on line, by any chance?

Andreas --

Thanks for the good start. I knew you would come through.

-- Don