II./JG 53 on 30 June 1944

[Jochen Prien]

Gentlemen,

while re-checking and proof reading the manuscript of JFV 13/III one more time I have stumbled across a mysterious loss list in the War Diary of 5th Jagddivision. There in Taglagemeldung Nr. 1 for 30 June 1944 - i.e. Daily Situation Report No. 1 - five losses are given for II./JG 53 on this day, namely Russ, Schobert, Ostermeyer, Trettau and Jütting.

From the GQM Summary Loss Returns it is clear however, that in fact only two Bf109s were lost on 30 June which matches the WASt. reports which have only two casualties on this date, Schobert and Jütting. According to the Summary Reports II./JG 53 lost another four Bf109s on 2 July with Otto Russ missing Ostermeyer wounded ( WASt.) and Trettau and Worm temporarily missing but returning later.

We know that the WASt and the Summary Reports closely correlate, but how can the 5 JD War Diary loss entries be brought in line with this ? Did all the a/m losses actually take place on 30 June with some of the losses filed under an incorrect date ? Can anybody probably shed some light on this mystery ?

Any help appreciated as always.

KR


Jochen Prien