Kampfgruppe 100 Do217 loss France 26.7.44

[Brian Bines]

To add to Nick's post there was also 4 nights raids on Portsmouth from 25/26th April and the raid on Plymouth by Do217 K-3s of III/KG100 on 29/30th April. I wonder if Sommer was involved in the Plymouth raid ? If he was 3/100 any of the April raids on Portsmouth might apply but he would be in a He177, if he was III/100 the 29/30th raid on Plymouth would be the only one likely in 1944 for that unit . I have checked the K reports I have for KG100 for 1944 but Sommer is not mentioned where captured crews name other crewmen of their unit.

[Theo Boiten]

Thanks a lot chaps for these new details; I have passed them on to my German contact who will interview Sommer again shortly in hospital, hopefully this will will freshen up his memory ..

Cheers, Theo

[martin75]

Hello Nick,

you write "There were a couple of torpedo ops sent toward the Solent area after the Normandy landings". Can you please be more explicit ? In particular : at what dates ?
Thanks in advance

Claude

[mjbollinger]

Here is what I have of III./KG 100 activities at that time...

Of the three Staffeln in III./KG 100, 7./KG 100 and 9./KG 100 were operating out of Toulouse-Francazal and 8./KG 100 (formerly 6./KG 100 -- the units were switched in June 1944) was at Toulouse-Blagnac. All were operating Do 217 variants. For context, the three Staffeln of II./KG 100 were all transitioning to He 177 at Aalborg, including the unit that used to be 8./KG 100.

The only attack by III./KG 100 the night of 26/27 July was by 4 (estimated) glide-bomb equipped aircraft, most likely Do 217 M-11, against naval targets at Brest. Similar missions were launched by III./KG 100 the nights of 25/26 and 28/29 against targets at Brest but without loss.

Balke does mention a belly-landing by a He 177 (6N+MP / 550258) that same night but this almost certainly unrelated to the Brest mission. That Vbkz puts the He 177 in 6./KG 100 (in other words, in II./KG 100) operating from Aalborg at the time. However, until mid-June this aircraft would have been in 8./KG100 (i.e., in III./KG100) operating from Fassberg, prior to the switch of 6./KG 100 (still with Do 217) and 8./KG 100 (transitioning to He 177). Maybe this is a source of confusion? While technically part of II./KG 100 that night, 6N+MP would have been in III./KG 100 for a long time before that switch.

The Plymouth raid by III./KG 100 on 30 April 1944, which was the unit's first attack mission since Salerno in September 1943, involved 12 Do 217 K-3 aircraft, two of which were lost: 6N+IT (#4716) and 6N+AD (#4701) both of 9./KG 100.

The other missions by III./KG 100 around that time include attacks at Normandy off the Seine (7/8 June), off Barfleur (9/10 June), off Portland (12/13 June), off Cherbourg (14/15 June), off the Orne (24/25 June), off the Seine (4/5 July), off Normandy (6/7 July), and a series of attacks off Brest in July (20/21, 30/31 in addition to ones mentioned above.) There were also a series of attacks in August at Avranches and in the Bay of Biscay.

Hopefully this helps.

Marty Bollinger

[Theo Boiten]

Splendid, thanks a lot for that Marty!

Cheers, Theo

[Paul Thompson]

Hello Marty and Theo,

I have sent private messages to you, on different topics.

Regards,

Paul