JU 52 casualties Tunis area 15th January 1943.

[Russell]

Hello to all.

Does anyone know of Ju 52 losses between Sicily and Cap Bon on the afternoon of the 15 January 1943?. The 14th Fighter Group claimed 5 and a B-25 claimed another. The 14th also claimed a Me 323, but we know who that was. We, that is the team working on Med Air War Vol 3, are not aware of any Ju 52 losses. What makes me think there were losses is an Ultra intercept where Kesselring wants tighter formations and larger escorts "after the success against Ju 52 on the fifteenth".

Thanks in anticipation

Russell

[Larry deZeng]

Hi R.G. -

I wrote down all of the Luftwaffe transport losses due to enemy action while going through the Gen.Qu.(6.Abt.)/Genst.d.Lw. loss microfilms 25 years ago, and I do not have any for that area for 15-16 January 1943. Others here have more complete loss records due to that being the principal focus of their interests, so hopefully they will check their records and data bases too.

L.

[Larry deZeng]

R.G. - further to the above:

15 Jan 43: “While escorting … bombers, 14th Fighter Group P-38 pilots down three Ju 52s near Marettimo Island and two Ju 52s and a six-engine transport at an undisclosed location.” [Hammel, Eric. Air War Europa Chronology 1942-1945. Pacifica (CA): Pacifica Press, 1994. p.93.]

15 Jan 43: “Escorting ftrs strafe trucks and claim 10 aircraft shot down.” [Carter, Kit and Robert Mueller. Combat Chronology 1941-1945. WashDC: Center for Air Force History, 1991. p.82.]

17 Jan 43 (No fighter engagements with Lw. transport aircraft reported for 15 or 16 January.): “Six U.S. Mitchells (B.25), escorted by 16 U.S. Lightnings (P.38) which were dispatched to attack shipping between Tunisia and Sicily sighted no suitable targets. Two Ju 52 and one Ju 88 were intercepted and destroyed. One U.S. Lightning (P.38) is missing.” [British Air Ministry: Duty Group Captain’s Resume of Air Operations, No. 1129, 19 January 1943, p.2, paragraph 8; Hammel, op cit, p.94.]

Comment: as far as I can tell from the German records, all of the Ju 52 losses for 15 and 17 January were in the Stalingrad area. I find no evidence of any for the Mediterranean Theater on those dates.

L.

[Martin Gleeson]

What about Italian tri-motors ? If I recall correctly their transport fleet suffered heavy losses during the Tunisian campaign.

Regards,

Martin Gleeson.

[Russell]

Thanks Larry and Martin.

We do not have any Italian transport a/c losses for this day either. Note the Ultra intercept specifically refers to Ju 52's and them being lost on the 15th. Other than that I would have supposed there were no losses outside of the Me 323. We have a Ju 52 loss and the Ju 88 for the 17th, but no claims for the 82nd FG loss. The Flieger Fuhrer Tunisia daily reports for the 15th state that following an enemy attack on a Ju 52 formation, an alarm schwarm of 3 Bf 109 was scrambled and 40km N Cap Bon shot down 4 P-38's at 1435. The daily summary report makes it clear that the Bf 109s were from II/JG 53 but refers to them as the escort.

Regards.

Russell

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Nothing to add regarding German losses, but I propose another possibility: could the Kesselring message be about a success by the German fighters (who claimed 4 P-38s shot down, and as no Ju 52 loss is found seems to have managed to protect the Ju 52) and so ordering a change of tactic, with larger and tighter Ju 52 formations under escort ?

[Martin Gleeson]

Russell,

I have a disc obtained from the 82nd FG Association some years ago with various documents, including the Mission Reports for 1943. Unfortunately these begin on 23 January 1943 and many pages are not easily readable. I have another document for January 1943 giving brief details of all the 82nd FG missions, but not including any information on the enemy formations met apart from claims for enemy aircraft.
For 17 January 1943 and the loss of Lt. Lund. Unfortunately there is no MACR for his loss, as these generally did not begin until Spring 1943. Might there be a POW debriefing report for him from 1945 ?
Reading the various books by Steve Blake covering this action, it appears to me the 97th FS encountered no escort on that mission and that Lund was either shot down by defensive fire from the Ju 52s (not unknown) or that he hit the water while manoeuvring at low altitude (not unknown either for the 82nd FG).
Sorry I cannot provide more precise information, especially as the Tunisian campaign is the volume I am most looking forward to.

Regards,

Martin.

[Larry deZeng]

In Post #5 regarding the 15 January action, Russell G. wrote in part:

The daily summary report makes it clear that the Bf 109s were from II/JG 53 but refers to them as the escort.

Teil 2 of the below reference makes no definitive mention of the 15th, but a letter written by Oblt. Franz Schiess, an Adjutant in the Geschwaderstab, and dated 14 January makes a cryptic remark about an engagement that actually may be the one for the 15th:

“Heute hatten wir Luftkampf mit zwölf Bombern und 14 amerikanischen Jägern. Ich sass wunderbar hinter einem, da verpatzte mir leider ein anderer Amerikaner den ganzen Angriff. Sonst geht hier alles klar, wenn ich die restlichen sieben abgeschossen habe, komme ich auf Urlaub.”

On this date, II./JG 53 was based at Tunis – El Aouina. JG 53 had no losses and no claims for 15 January, while the Geschwaderstab claimed 1 Hurricane in the afternoon of 16 January and 1 P-38 in the afternoon of 17 January. Nothing for the rest of the Geschwader on 16 and 17 January. Clearly, no two sources seem to agree over what occurred during 15 to 17 January. I was sure Prien’s 3 volumes on JG 53 would straighten out some of the confusion but this does not appear to be the case.

Source:
Prien, Jochen. Pik-As: Geschichte des Jagdgeschwaders 53. 3 Teile (volumes). Eutin: Struve-Druck, c. 1989-90. Teil 1(Aufstellung des Geschwaders-Vorkriegszeit-Sitzkrieg-Frankreichfeldzug-Einsatz gegen England-Russlandfeldzug-Holland-Einsatz gegen Malta: März 1937 – Mai 1942). Teil 2 (Mai 1942 bis Januar 1944, ISBN: 3-923457-14-6). Teil 3 (1943-1945, ISBN: 3-923457-16-2). Hb (oversize). Dj. 1,721p. Heavily illus. Maps. Dwgs. Tables. Numerous appendices incl. loss and victory lists. Name index. Pages 700, 703 and 1678.

[AndreasB]

Originally Posted by Laurent Rizzotti

Nothing to add regarding German losses, but I propose another possibility: could the Kesselring message be about a success by the German fighters (who claimed 4 P-38s shot down, and as no Ju 52 loss is found seems to have managed to protect the Ju 52) and so ordering a change of tactic, with larger and tighter Ju 52 formations under escort ?

It does say 'success against the Ju52' though.

A presto!

Andreas

[Russell]

A bit more information has come to light. On 26th January Ultra forwarded an intercept that reported that on 15th January 1943 15 a/c had flown from Reggio to Tunis, carrying elements of Field Ersatz Battalions Africa No. 29 and No.26, Grenadier Regiment 47, Mountain Rifle Regiment 756, 1st Ambulance Company 334.

On another matter, on 21 January Ultra noted that a Do 217 equipped with RDF was present on Sicily. Could not operate at night, as the pilot was not qualified to fly at night. Then on the 27th Fliegerkorps intentions for the 28th included searching for a missing Do 217.

Is there any information on a loss of a Do 217, say from 24th to 27th January????

Regards

Russell