Attack on Eger/Cheb April 1945

[pdame141]

Tony - thanks for the prior insight from LEMB. I'm new to these forums and was able to run across fragments of prior discussions via Google searching, but didn't have the whole context.

Larry and Richard - many thanks for the detailed discussion. I'm fascinated by the whole issue of these planes at Eger, not just the markings. Particularly whether there is any evidence of the secret mission aspect my Great Uncle mentioned. I have seen a picture of an He-219 with what looked like a V-1 under its wing, so I can't totally discount that some sort of mission of that type was about to be launched on 21 April 1945. Or it could have just been a split second observation from a P-47 cockpit during a strafing pass.

[Frans A]

Tony,
In the book eutsche Nachtjagd - Personaalverluste by Michael Balss I find:
3/4.6.1944 Airbase Deelen (Holland) 4./NJG 1 He 219A-0 Wkn. 190100 G9+.M The nosewheel broke during the landing. Pilot: Heinz Filipzig WIA
3/4.6.1944 Wilhelminadorp (Holland) 3./NJG 1 He 219 A-0 Wkn. 190188 G9+BL
Engine on fire. Hptm. Heinz Eicke OK Ofw. Heinz Gall KIA Burried Ysselsteyn BA-6-136

Frans A

[Marcel Hogenhuis]

Hello

Frans A: the question was related to Cheb/Eger, not Deelen
pdame141: the Do217's on Cheb/Eger were in fact light grey coloured He219's and so far following He219's were identified (seen from behind these four He219's from left to right):

- He219V-23, fuselage code DV+DQ, serial 190121
- unknown
- '223'
- '188'

All the best, Marcel

[pdame141]

Thanks, Marcel! Are you aware of any information on whether these were Eger-built He-219s awaiting delivery to operational units or had been claimed by a Luftwaffe unit and operated from Eger-Oberschon?

Another potentially interesting twist is the presence of ROA Schlachstaffel 8 at Eger-Ost from Jan-April 1945 as noted by Larry deZeng in his work on Luftwaffe airfields in Czechoslovakia. I found references to an old TOCH discussion on this unit indicating it operated 12 Ju-88s and was switched to a Nachtschlachtstaffel in April 1945. I'm not sure how reliable this second piece of information is as it was a one-off reference with no sourcing given.

Doesn't seem likely that the Luftwaffe would cede advanced frontline machines to the ROA so probably most likely that the He-219s were awaiting delivery.

Thanks again for your reply.

Best regards,
Paul Dame

[Larry deZeng]

Paul - Here is some additional information for you:



ROA-Schlachtstaffel 8
(2. eskadril’ya bombardirovshchikov)


Formed January 1945 (formation proposed on 19 Dec 44), probably at Cheb (Eger) airfield in NW Czechoslovakia, with 12 Ju 87s; ordered reorganized on 28 Mar 45 as a Nachtschlachtstaffel with “12 Ju 88 light bombers” because Soviet air superiority along the Eastern Front precluded daylight operations. This sudden change from the Ju 87 dive bomber with a crew of two to the Ju 88 with a crew of four raises questions, but this is how it appeared in an official order issued by the Lw.-Organisationsabteilung in Berlin (Gen.St.Gen.Qu.2.Abt. Nr.4159/45 geh., 28.3.1945). If not an error, then the explanation must be that the Staffel was initially equipped with the Ju 88, but the order did not follow until two months after it was ordered formed. The Staffel was also directed to be outfitted with special servicing and workshop vehicles on 5 April to provide it with tactical mobility along the front, and instructed to be ready for deployment by mid-April. It flew its first combat sorties on 13 April in support of the 600. Infanterie-Div. (russ.), bombing Soviet troops and defensive positions in a bridgehead at Erlenhof to the south of Fürstenberg on the Oder River. There is no record of further employment. The Staffelkapitän, Antilevskiy, was a former VVS Hero of the Soviet Union.

Staffelkapitän
Hptm. B.R. Antilevskiy

[Source:
Hoffmann, Joachim. Die Geschichte der Wlassow-Armee. Einzelschriften zur militärischen Geschichte des Zweiten Weltkrieges.Band 27. Herausgegeben vom Militärgeschichtlichen Forschungsamt. 2., unveränderte Aufl. 1986. ISBN: 9783793001867 ]




© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress).
(1st Draft 2004)

[Marcel Hogenhuis]

Dear Paul,

My apologies for not mentioning the fact that the Eger/Cheb facilities were used as a repair centre for damaged He219's. Except for at least DV+DQ which was marked with 'V23' as well (aircraft reserved for a rebuilt or testing purpose), the other He219's were 'under repair' and coming from other units. It might well be that these were out of service completely because other photo's suggest that these He219 had no unit codes on the fuselages, nor a Stammkennzeichen (preliminary fuselage code, applied by the roll out of the production line).

In my He219 database I have multiple references to He219's, sent from Venlo to Cheb/Eger for repairs.

All the best, Marcel

- airfield Venlo in WW-2
- I./NJG 1 history
- He219 project

[pdame141]

Larry & Marcel:

Thanks for your replies -- both are very helpful! Still no word on any of the technical intelligence reports from the AFHRA research staff. Their recent response to my email indicated that they are working through their email requests from October. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything else.

Best regards,
Paul

[pdame141]

All:

Thanks so much for all your replies on this thread. Here's the article from what I assume to be the local paper in Kittanning, PA that describes the 397th FS mission to Eger in April 1945.

Best regards,
Paul

[strafer]

Originally Posted by pdame141

All:

I found an interesting newspaper clipping in a scrapbook on my Great Uncle's WWII service in which he gave an interview describing an attack on the airfield at Eger, Czechoslovakia during his second combat tour. He and his comrades shot up seven silver Do217s that appeared to be preparing some sort of special attack with missiles/flying bombs.

I think this field was Eger-Oberschon (Cheb) based on my Great Uncle's statement that the Do217s "were the only planes on the airdrome standing on wheels--more than a hundred burning planes of all kinds were around the field." This seems to fit given the description of prior aerial attacks on Eger-Oberschon in Henry deZeng's Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-45 Czechoslovakia (bombed by B-24s on 25 Mar 45, strafed by 8th AF fighters on 16 and 17 Apr 45) and Tim Grace's book on the 368th Fighter Group (see below).

I believe this attack happened on 21 April 1945 as my Great Uncle mentioned attacking the same field a few days prior to the mission in question and the 397th and 396th Fighter Squadrons claimed 22 a/c destroyed and 35 damaged on Czech airfields on 16 April 1945.

Given the proximity to the end of the war, are there any Luftwaffe records surviving regarding the loss of the Do217s?

Thanks as always for any help.

Paul Dame

Dear Paul,
yes, you are referring to the run on April 21, 1945. According to my files, the 368th FG attacked Ruzyne and Kbely airfields in the Prague area on April 16, 1945. On the other hand, Eger/Cheb airfield was attacked by various units for several times in April 1945.
Regards, Filip Vojtasek