Bf 110C-1/U1 with JG400

[Chris Goss]

I have covered this in an article: On the evening of April 14 1945, Sqn Ldr John Shepherd, CO of 41 Sqn, got airborne from Twente in Holland leading another three Spitfires on an armed reconnaissance in the Bremen area. One Spitfire turned back but as they approached Nordholz airfield, two unidentified aircraft were seen as John Shepherds' Combat Report describes:
"...Two aircraft were seen taking off. Diving on them I recognised them as an Me 163 being towed by an Me 110. I was closing very rapidly but managed to get in a short burst in on the Me 110 obtaining strikes on port engine and cockpit. The Me 110 went into a left-hand diving turn, turning over onto its back, and crashed into a field bursting into flames. The 163 appeared to break away from the 110 and make a wide left-hand turn, finally diving straight in about three fields away from the Me 110..."
Messerschmitt Bf 110s were used by JG 400 as tugs for Me 163 training flights and this one was flown by Oberfeldwebel (Warrant Officer) Werner Nelte. 26 year old Nelte was an experienced fighter pilot whose first kill came on July 7 1941 whilst he was flying with 1./JG 54 on the Eastern Front, his seventh and last being on February 7 1942. He had previously flown with the Me 163 development unit, Erprobungskommando 16, which was the forerunner of I./JG 400 and formed at Brandis in June 1944. He had first flown the Me 163 in May 1944 and in June 1944 had to ditch in Lake Zwischenahn when the tug aircraft developed engine problems. He had then flown with I./JG 400 and it would appear that he was now with II./JG 400 which was in the process of moving from Nordholz to Husum. He was apparently in the process of towing an Me 163 to the new airfield when John Shepherd attacked and Nelte was killed in the crash. The pilot of the Me 163 is not known but he survived the enforced-landing.