KG(J) 51 Me 262 bomber action over Grave airfield, 1st October 1944

[George Hopp]

Thank you, Jaap. Excellent material!

From "Fighter squadrons of the RAF and their aircraft" by John Rawlings comes the following comment on 421 Squadron RCAF: "A succession of moves in the autumn brought the squadron to Grave on 1st October, only 3 miles from the front line which was too close, the squadron being bombed the following day; before the end of the month it had moved back to Brussels (Melsbroek [B.58])."

Apparently, by the end of October, the RAF Wing that had occupied Grave had retreated as mentioned above. The reasons given were bad airfield conditions and bombings by Me 262s. I can't remember the exact reference for that, but found it interesting that, contrary to popular thought, the Me 262 bombing did have some effect.