355 FG engagements w/experten

[drgondog]

Leo - many, many thanks. It has been hard to find location and time data for many experten encounters and your information is very useful.

I need to do some research on exact location for Wuren, Rain am Lech and Metttingen

If Rain am Lech is close to Munich Swaiger almost certainly went down in big 355/B-17/JG3 battle between 1330 and 1410. The 355th engaged with both JG3 (for sure) and probably JG27

Wessling on the 19th matches up with a victim of Capt Robert Woody, who would later score 4.5-2-1 on the 24th. Woody's 109 score on 19 April was west of Mulhausen, ssw of Nordhausen which would put the fight just ENE of Eshwege ~1015. The 355th lost a pilot (MacConkey) to Fw Florian of JG3 just south of Gottingen in same general fight. Two other claims were SW of Brunswick, one an Fw 190 and the other a 109.

Thank you again Leo.

Regards,

Bill

[Leo Etgen]

Hello Bill

Many thanks for your kind reply. I am glad to have been able to help a little. Here are some alternative locations that perhaps can help you narrow your search.

Schwaiger: Rain am Lech/Donau-Ries/Bayern
Kientsch: Würrich/Hunsrück/Rheinland
Wessling: Eschwege/Hessen
Schramm: Eupen in Belgium

I will next try to find the III./JG 54 pilots mentioned.

Horrido!

Leo

[Leo Etgen]

Hello Bill

Here is what I found based on Rosipal's JG 54 loss list. I must admit that I was unable to find anything on a Lt. Carl Resch but on 14 January 1945 there was an aircraft lost with 12./JG 54. Might that be his? Any comments or corrections are welcomed.

Raimann: on 20 February 1944 in Bf 109 G-6 "White 3" (W.Nr. 411 426) at Duingen southwest of Hannover by P-47 fighters
Grath: on 18 March 1944 in Bf 109 G-6 (W.Nr. 411 753) south of Ssypkino (Russia)
Haase: on 29 January 1944 with I./JG 54 in Russia (no other information)
Resch: on 14 January 1945 in Fw 190 D-9 "Yellow 8" (W.Nr. 600 348 )?

Horrido!

Leo

[Erich]

Leo :

For Carl Resch of 15./JG 54 a D-9 ? or an A-8. seems the IV./JG 54 were mixing it up with the US 356th fg near Osnabrück, area around Dummer Lake according to 5-6 356th fg mission reports. Think IV/JG 54 lost some 10 Fw 190A's but maybe one of our IV./JG 54 experts can add to this ?

E ~

[Leo Etgen]

Hello Erich

Many thanks for your post! Thanks to you I was able to rapidly find Resch. Knowing where to look makes all the difference. He indeed was with 15./JG 54, in fact Staffelkapitän of 15./JG 54. The information would be as follows:

Resch: on 14 January 1945 in Fw 190 A-9 "Yellow 1" (W.Nr. 205 118 ) near Broxten in Westfalen (Siedlung Vennemoor).

Many thanks Erich!

Horrido!

Leo

[Erich]

sure Leo, also another Staffelkapitän, Helmut Radke was also killed near Hesepe of 14./JG 54, do you have the a/c numeral and type of his ? Hesepe was later attacked on the ground level by 2 P-51's of the 356th fg one of them being hit by Flak, the pilot bailing out: Lt. Freeman Hooker

I think Bill is looking for the flight/unit of "long noses" encountered by the 355th just to the west of Dummer later in the day on 14 January 45. May just be the JG 26 contingent that also engaged Spitfires.

Bill ?

Erich

[Leo Etgen]

Hello Erich

Radke: on 14 January 1945 in Fw 190 A-8 "Black 4" (W.Nr. 739 178 ) at Hesepe in Oldenburg.

The only III./JG 54 machine that I find listed on 14 January 1945 is the Fw 190 D-9 "Yellow 8" (W.Nr. 600 348 ) of 12./JG 54 listed as Bodenzerstörung (destroyed on the ground) doubtless during the attack of the two P-51 fighters of the 356th Fighter Group, USAAF mentioned by Erich. Thanks for clearing this up Erich!

Horrido!

Leo

[drgondog]

You gentlemen innundated me just then. I need to digest but it seems so far that:

Based on the locations, Schwaiger was shot down by either LtC Dix 355Gp Ops (or Butler/McNeff- 357FS) at very beginning of the engagement from 1320-1340. They chased JG3 fighters NE from pfaffenhofen area to Regensburg area..

High probability that Fw Georg Schanz JG27 went down over/near Munich in the 1340-1400 timeframe to 354FS.

On the flip side I believe the 3 air losses of the 355 were probably due to Bartels 11/JG27 and Dahl StabIII/JG3 - matching closely with time and location of the 357FS fight. I never have been able until now to figure out what happened to Hillman and Norman - but there were no other P-51 losses that matched up to those times for any other group on 4/24.. believe mystery solved.

Richard is correct about Weinzierl (too far South on 7/28) and Roisch (1943). Believe Hirschfeld went down to McElroy S. Merseburg around 1000.

All of the 355th FG encounters on 1/14/45 were between Meppen/Dummer Lake through Munster and N.Koln from 1410-1450 if that helps with ID

Will digest and get back to you all -

Many thanks

Bill

[Richard Goyat]

About 28 July 1944 :

a) Gfr. Walter Weinzierl, I./JG 302: killed in aerial combat against escort fighters near Neustadt an der Donau. This loss thus can't be linked with the 355th FG. (Source: Jagdgeschwader 301/302, by Willi Reschke, Motorbuch Verlag, p. 115)

b) Lt. Kurt Roisch, Stab I./JG 3: wounded in aerial combat near Lexmond but died of his wounds on 30 July... 1943 (not 1944!). (Source: Messerschmitt 109 im Einsatz bei Stab und I./JG 3, by Jochen Prien and Gerhard Stemmer, p. 296 and 528 )

c) Oblt. Ernst-Erich Hirschfeld, II./JG 300: parachute jump from Fw 190 A-8 “Yellow 1” following air combat; killed when parachute failed to open, Geheren/Erfurt. (Source: Jagdgeschwader 300 Wilde Sau, by Jean-Yves Lorant and Richard Goyat, p. 260 and 358 )

Regards
Richard