Command Atlantic, December 1943.

[sergey]

In the 143 Squadron log for December 24, I saw an entry stating that five Beaufighters engaged two He-177s at 1:50 PM over the Bay of Biscay. They lost one of their own, but claimed to have shot down one German aircraft. Is there any confirmation of the loss from the German side?

[Chris Goss]

All is covered in my book on KG 40. The two losses are correct and I can cut and paste from my book if you wish.

[Nick Beale]

If you have an interest in Luftwaffe operations over the Atlantic then I suggest these books:

‘Bloody Biscay’ and ‘KG 40, an Operational History’ by Chris Goss
‘Shadow Over the Atlantic’ by Robert Forsyth (about FAGr. 5 and the Ju 290)
‘La Wekusta 2 au Combat’ by Pierre Babin
‘La Kampfgeschwader 100, l’Escadre au Drakkar’ by Jean-Louis Roba

[Chris Goss]

The next few weeks were quiet for obvious reasons and the next incident did not occur until 24 December 1943. At 0630hrs in the morning, six He 177s took off in pairs on an armed reconnaissance of the Bay of Biscay which, due to the poor weather, was uneventful until 1330hrs when four Bristol Beaufighters were spotted.
At 0950hrs, four Beaufighters from 143 Sqn had taken off from Portreath in Cornwall on an interceptor patrol. Leading the patrol was Australian Sqn Ldr Bill Moore, a Battle of Britain veteran and who was waiting on his promotion to Wg Cdr. At 1250hrs, two He 177s were spotted and Bill Moore lead the attack, closing in to 200yds and opening fire. However, he had got too close to the defensive armament of the He 177 A-3 flown by Lt Richard Kranz of 4./KG 40 and to the horror of the other three RAF crews, there was a 'vivid flash in front which caused aircraft 'N' to disintegrate'; Bill Moore and his navigator Plt Off Phil Froment were killed instantly. The remaining Beaufighters flown by Flt Sgt David Howley, Flt Sgt Bob Gillchrist and American 1st/Lt Ray Dymek then attacked with the latter carrying out three attacks which set the starboard engine on fire after which the bomber glided down, hit the sea, disintegrated and burst into flames. There were no survivors.

[sergey]

Originally Posted by Chris Goss

All is covered in my book on KG 40. The two losses are correct and I can cut and paste from my book if you wish.

Yes, please. Two more vehicles from II/KG 40 were lost on December 25 and 28?

[sergey]

Originally Posted by Nick Beale

If you have an interest in Luftwaffe operations over the Atlantic then I suggest these books:

‘Bloody Biscay’ and ‘KG 40, an Operational History’ by Chris Goss
‘Shadow Over the Atlantic’ by Robert Forsyth (about FAGr. 5 and the Ju 290)
‘La Wekusta 2 au Combat’ by Pierre Babin
‘La Kampfgeschwader 100, l’Escadre au Drakkar’ by Jean-Louis Roba

Thank you. I'm currently interested in the actions of German (and Allied) aircraft during Operation Stonewall.

[Chris Goss]

25 Dec 43 was returning to Bordeaux from Lorient having diverted there the day before. Shot down by 183 Sqn. 28 Dec 43 was shot down by 157 Sqn. 28 Dec also saw a Condor ditching on ops due to engine fire. Again, all of this is in my KG 40 book

[Pawel Burchard]

For December 1943 RL 2-II/4324 at invenio might also be of interest, as well as RM 7/1421

regards,
Pawel

[sergey]

Originally Posted by Chris Goss

28 Dec 43 was shot down by 157 Sqn. 28 Dec also saw a Condor ditching on ops due to engine fire.

As far as I know, this plane made an emergency landing on the water, that is, it was lost, and its crew was picked up by an English ship. By the way, He 177 A-3 NN+QY (No. 535559) crashed while landing at the airfield also on December 28.

[Chris Goss]

As to 535559, pilot error on landing at Bordeaux. Fw 200 0189 engine fire and then on 29 Dec 0246 went missing