How effective was Schrage Musik?

[Marcel Hogenhuis]

Hello guys,

Some remarks:
1./NJG 1 was indeed a squadron as part of the I./NJG 1 (in German: a Gruppe, more or less comparable to a wing). It was the Gruppe I./NJG 1 which converted to the He219 since March 1944. As 'Denniss' said: would love to see any documentary evidence for the statement about the removed MK108's. There were He219's of the I./NJG 1 with no SM installation, I don't contradict this but it was not a common practice to remove SM installations as a habit.

However, Denniss is wrong about the statement that He219's were not fast enough to catch Mosquito's: comparing the max.speeds of both the Mosquito and He219 may prove him right, but the fact is that the I./NJG 1 is the best scoring nightfighter Gruppe against Mosquito's. I have 9 acknowledged victories recorded. Not an overwhelming number that shifts the fortunes of war, but exceptionally because the Ju88 en Bf110 equipped units could not match this number. Until the Me262 arrived, the He219 was the sole type that had a chance to catch a Mosquito.
The diaries and recollections of pilots/Bordfunker, the Kriegstagebuch of the I./NJG 1 and Heinkel documents show that catching a Mosquito was very difficult, even for the He219's with skilled crews.

Marcel

All the best, Marcel