He219 lost 24/25 September 1944

[keith A]

Were any He219s or other German nightfighters lost during this period? I am seeking to identify the claim of FLt RJ Foster of 604 Squadron.

K

[Chris Goss]

His combat report says 24-25 December 1944 not September - 1920hrs 55 miles east of Nijmegen. No losses that match

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Just for curiosity....could a Do 217 (with twin rudders) have been shot down erroneously for a He 219 that same night?
Any Do 217 shot down that night, that "could be" the assumed He 219? Or Bf 110 G?

Anything is "OPEN"....one just need to sort out the DATA and try to solve the puzzle...

Keep going Keith.

[Chris Goss]

Do 217 night fighters had all but disappeared by this date

[Adriano Baumgartner]

If memory does not fail me, Nachtaufklärungsstaffel machines were still flying...and I did not say or wrote a Do 217 night-fighter, I wrote "Any Do 217" (I meant all models).
RAF crew surely misidentified the twin-rudder of a LW machine for that of a He 219....Now we could help Keith finding what was that machine claimed and shot down.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Adriano Baumgartner

If memory does not fail me, Nachtaufklärungsstaffel machines were still flying

But only on the Eastern Front.

P.S. The last gasp of the Do 217 bombers in the West was the attack on Eindhoven on 19 September.

[keith A]

Thanks chaps, I couldn't find a casualty in the Kracker listings so I wondered if the pilot/crew appeared elsewhere. It could indeed have been any twin-tailed German aircraft bomber or nightfighter. The Do217 seems a good guess but facts get in the way of it. I confess an enthusiasm for the confirmation of a rare He219 loss was leading me

[Marcel Hogenhuis]

Hello Keith, Chris, Adriano and Nick,

Yes, the 2./NJG 1 nearly lost a He219 near Coesfeld (crew Hemm/Keune) but... whereas Keune ejected succesfully, Hemm was just be able to land the damaged nightfighter on Dortmund airfield. This happened in the same night that Hptm.Heinz Strüning, former pilot in NJG 2 and I./NJG 1, now Staffelkapitän 9./NJG 1 was also shot down by a Mosquito near Bergisch-Gladbach.

Best regards, Marcel

[Chris Goss]

Thanks Marcel so Maj Alfred Hemm? Last year you seemed to indicate that it was technical not combat that resulted in the ejection and force-landing?

[keith A]

Many thanks, Marcel