325th FG vs Ju-52

[hanshauprich]

Hello,
Prüfmeister are Technical Specialists ,not Soldiers!!(a kind of US T-4), in the Luftwaffe this is like an Oberfeldwebel.
There duties handle all kind of Aircraft-Ammunition like Bombs, MG & Cannon-Ammo etc. His rang shows a green collarpatch with one silver sixpoint star and
silver Oaksleave. The rangboard look like that for German senior Police NCO but in different colours.
h.

[Freddy]

Hi Tanzebau, I'm sorry to reply late to your post but I had to collect and sort out some data regarding losses and claims of all the parties involved in the battle of January 30, 1944 in the Udine area.
These are data I have collected from various American, German and Italian documents over the last 25 years and which have allowed me to rebuild, as clearly and completely as possible, the events of that Sunday of January 1944.
Unfortunately, it is not a complete and exhaustive picture and still today new information are emerging, as in this case regarding the Ju 88 shot down at Terzo d’Aquileia.
A fairly up-to-date summary could be found in my article "The "Flying Fortress"of Campolongo and the events of January 30, 1944" which I wrote, in Italian, for a magazine of historical studies, but was then also translated into English for the 449th BG Association.
Later I wrote a book, this one only in Italian, entitled "Sinner's Dream" which also talks about the same aerial battle but with more details.
Both publications mainly talk about the story of two single B-24s of the 449th BG, but are also examined the facts and causes that led to the shooting down of those aircraft.
Clearly, given the size of the PDF files and the restrictions of the forum, it is impossible for me to attach them but, upon request, I could make them available for download from my Google Drive.

From the data I have collected, the (partial) situation of the losses and claims of January 30, 1944 could be the following:

Luftwaffe losses. Note: It should be remembered that the Luftwaffe recorded with aircraft and pilot data only cases in which those pilots were killed or injured in air combat. Little or nothing can easily be found regarding aircraft shot down but whose pilot survived or those destroyed on the ground. For each individual unit are available the rteports "Flugzeugbestand und Bewegungsmeldungen" (Aircraft inventory and movement report) that show in columns: availability and acquisition or transfer of aircraft.
Then there are other columns that show the total losses and the causes, e.g. accidents, war causes (in air battle or destroyed on the ground) or even transfers to other units.
Unfortunately, however, the totals are provided per month and not per a single date.
This does not allow, therefore, to understand how many of those aircraft had been lost on a particular date but we must try to extrapolate the data through cross-checks on various other documents.

The 77 Jagdgeschwader, in January 1944, had lost, due to war causes, 14 Bf 109s, 7 of which by the I Group, based in Lavariano, Udine, and 7 in other parts of central and southern Italy.
Of the 7 lost in the Udine area, only 2 are documented with the name of MIA or KIA pilots.
We know that 2 other Bf 109s had been shot down but the pilots bailed out safely. 3 other planes had been destroyed on the ground by bombs during landing.
Total losses 7.
The 53 JG, in January, had lost 65 Bf 109s due to war causes, of which 43 lost from the I and II groups, based respectively in Maniago (Udine area) and in Wien-Seyring (Austria).
Both Groups had participated in the battle on January 30th. The remaining 22 were part of the III Gruppe which operated in central Italy.
Of the 43 lost in January 1944, 5 Bf 109s of the I group and 3 of the II group are documented because of the loss or injury of the pilots (plus one that had made an emergency landing but was only damaged).
Total losses 43.
The 1st Fighter Group of the Italian A.N.R. was based in Udine Campoformido. On 30 January this unit had lost 2 Macchi MC 205 in aerial combat plus 1 due to pilot error during a dogfight.
On the ground it had had 2 aircraft destroyed and 24 damaged. Total losses 5.
The I./Kampfgeschwader 76, based in Villaorba, Udine, had lost 4 Ju 88A-4 on the ground in January 1944.
Total losses 4.
The Lehrgeschwader 1 was based in Aviano (Udine) with the Stab, the I and III groups.
On January 30, the Stab suffered no losses, the I group had lost 2 Ju 88A-4 of which at least 1 in air combat and 1 on the ground and, finally, the III group had lost 5 Ju 88A-4 on the ground during the bombing.
Total losses 5.
The 5./TG 2, in January 1944, he had lost 5 Ju 52 in total, as we saw in the post by Matti Salonen.
I have not found other data available regarding other transport units that could have been present in the Udine area on the date of the battle.
Total losses not available.

To these should be added: 1 Fieseler Fi 156 Storch and 1 Henschel Hs 126, used as liaison aircraft. Finally there would be a Dornier Do 217 claimed by Capt. Herschel Green which remains a kind of mystery. None of these aircraft, in fact, would appear to have been present in the Udine area. Regarding the identification, it is somewhat strange that Green got confused also because the Dornier 217 has a double vertical tail and few other German planes of the same size had it. However, having examined the various types of German and Italian twin-engine and two-tailed airplanes possibly present in the Udine area, excluding the Do 17 and Do 217 which, as we have seen, operated in very distant areas of Italy, could be considered the Siebel Si 204 which was shorter than the Do 217 but had almost the same wingspan. The Si 204 was used not only as a light transport and training aircraft but also as a liaison aircraft in the same way as the Fieseler 156 and the HS 126. For example, it was used by the Füg 1 (Flugzeugüberführungsgeschwader) (delivery wing of the Luftwaffe) Gruppe Süd based in Erding, as a shuttle plane for transporting crews. Its presence in the Udine area may therefore have been accidental following a transport of personnel.
Total losses 2, maybe 3.

USAAF losses:
The 449th BG, 318th BS had lost 3 B-24s (Serials 41-28605; 42-07730 and 41-29217) with 19 KIA, 7 MIA and 6 POW.
2nd BG, 49th BS had lost 1 B-17 s/n 41-24395 with 5 KIA and 5 POW.
The 301st BG, 353rd BS had lost 1 B-17 s/n 42-31424 with 2 KIA, 7 POW and 1 EVD.
Total bombers losses: 5

The 325th FG, 318th FS had lost 2 P-47s (Serials 42-75967 and 42-75982) with 1 MIA and 1 POW respectively.
The 82nd FG, 97th FS, had lost 1 P-38 s / n 42-13173, Maj Charles L. Spencer MIA.
Total fighter losses: 3

Claims. Note: The declared numbers, surely, are exaggerated for all units of the Luftwaffe, of the A.N.R and also of the USAAF.

Luftwaffe claims:
The 77 JG claimed 4 B-24s, 4 B-17s and 1 P-47.
The 53 JG claimed 5 B-24s, 1 B-17s and 2 P-38s.
The 1st Fighter Group of the A.N.R. (It) claimed 1 B-24 and 4 P-47s.

USAAF claims: Note: among the claims there are some concerning some Focke Wulf Fw 190 but these are wrong identifications of Bf 109s. No aircraft of this type had, in fact, participated in the battle of 30 January 1944. Regarding the Italian fighters, they are all identified as MC 202 but, in reality, they were all Macchi MC 205s which had a very similar appearance. Furthermore, among the 82nd FG claims there is a ME 210 (probable) but even in this case no Me 210 was in sky that day. The same could be said for the Do 217 claimed by H. Green of 325th FG.

The 14th FG, 48th FS (P-38s) claimed 1 Fw 190 (?).
The 82nd FG, 95th and 97th FSs (P-38s) claimed 5 Bf 109s shot down plus 4 probable, 1 Fw 190 (?) shot down plus 1 probable and 1 Me 210 (?) Probable.
For a total of 6 planes shot down plus 6 probable.
The 325th FG, HQ, 317th, 318th and 319th FSs (P-47s) claimed 1 Fw 190 (?), 13 Bf 109s plus 2 probable, 8 MC 202s (Mc 205) plus 3 probable, 9 Ju-52s, 2 Ju 88s, 1 Do 217 (?), 1 Hs 126 and 1 Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. For a total of 25 planes shot down plus 5 probable.
The 449th Bg gunners claimed 6 Bf 109s shot down, plus 1 probable and 2 damaged.
The 450th BG gunners claimed 1 Bf 109 and 1 unidentified a/c (prob. a MC 202).
The 2nd BG gunners claimed 5 Bf 109s plus 1 probable and 1 Fw 190 (?) plus 1 probable.
For the 301st, 97th and 99th BGs I did not find the claims of the gunners.
For a total (incomplete) of 8 planes shot down by bombers plus 3 probable and 2 damaged.


Sorry for my rough english