Mosquito 10 April 1945

[Chris Goss]

Does anyone have any Mosquitos lost in daylight over Germany on this date?

[Laurent Rizzotti]

The Mosquito production list has DZ592 of 540 Sqn missing on this date, but it was actually lost the day before (9 April 1945) flying with the RAF Film Unit while recording the attack of U-804 off Norway. The submarine exploded and the Mosquito took the blast and crashed (source: a Separate Little War).

A quick check of the MACR list shows no P-38/F-5 lost either this day.

[Chris Goss]

Thanks Laurent

[Rottler]

Hello Chris,

in the Bomber Command Loss Card are listed no daylight losses but two Mosquito losses at night:

10 April 1945
Mosquito XVI ML963 Sqn 571 target Berlin
Pilot F/O Richard D. Oliver bailed out, safe
Navigator L. Max Young bailed out, safe


10 April 1945
Mosquito XXV KB502 Sqn 163 target Berlin
Pilot F/O William Houghton killed
Navigator Lance Anthony Stegman killed

Regards
Leo

[Alex Smart]

Hello,
One P38 lost , Germany MACR 14134, James A. Stark, another France Zaverl, Jack R. on the 10th.
Alex

[Laurent Rizzotti]

For some reason, I missed MACR 14134.

The P-38L-1 44-24660 of 429th FS, 474th FG was hit by Flak during a strafing pass on motor trucks in the town of Affeln and its left engine caught fire. Another pilot of the formation, 1st Lt James R Templeton, informed the pilot, 2nd Lt James A Stark, Jr., that he was on fire and told him to bail out. He was a about 3000 feet at the time. Stark complied and his chute opened at about 500 feet over the town. The P-38 crashed and burned.

Stark survived and was reported to have returned to military control on 15 April 1945. Either he evaded capture or was liberated by advancing Allied forces.

But I am quite sure that Chris is trying to identify the Mosquito claimed by Oblt Rolf Glogner of 2./JG 400 on this day, according to the list put by Jim P on the Net years ago (with a source listed as "Me 163" so a book but I don't know which).

The same source has Ltn Fritz Kelb of I./JG 400 claiming a B-17 near Leipzig this day, but I found this in the book by "Top secret bird: the Luftwaffe's Me-163 Komet" by Wolfgang Späte:

"The 10th of April 1945 will always be a fond memory for all of us who were in Brandis that day. Towards evening on that day, 110 British Lancasters attacked the outskirts of Leipzig. Leutnant Kelb took off with an Me-163 that was equipped with four launcher tibes on each wing - Korff's vertical weapons system. Fw Höver, from the radar operations center, observed Kelb's flight through a long-range flak telescope. He watched as Kelb approached the lead aircraft of the bomber formation and flew by underneath the bomber at very close range. At that instant, the bomber disappeared in a cloud of smoke and flames. It appeared that the Lancaster flying alongside the lead ship had also been hit. H¨ver couldn't follow the Lancaster any longer becasue he saw that the Me-163, still climbing, had been engaged by a formation of Mustangs. Kelb stood his aircraft on its nose. He dove back down to get within the flak umbrella of our base to make a safe landing. He had received a lot of hits on the top side of the airplane. Kelb had flown under the enemy aircraft with only 40-50 feet of separation and had fired all eight 50mm rockets at the same time. All of Kelb's damage had allegedly come from the shrapnel from the giant explosion which had blown his targets to bits. This was the one and only time that this weapons system was used in the air. But looming over this success, as it was over so many others: "Too late!""

So the B-17 in Jim's list was finally a Lancaster. The raid to Leipzig was flown in the afternoon, and there were two losses. By searching them on the Net, I found this thread on the RAF Command forum:
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/sho...fax-NA185-loss

It includes a lot of extracts of reports, one Lancaster was damaged by a Me 163 attacking from rear and above, the two bombers were lost to Flak and falling friendly bomb respectively.

The above description shows that the Me 163 of Kelb attacked from below, not from above, and uses a so-far unknown weapon, so the explosion of its target could have been attributed to Flak or friendly bomb.

And the Lancaster damaged might have been attacked by another Me 163 flying a classic attack with guns from above. Maybe the one flown by Oblt Rolf Glogner. After all if the type claimed for Kelb is false, the one for Glogner could also be.

I present this as a possibility, but I have nothing to support it. Maybe if Chris or someone else has more info on JG 400 activities (like number of sorties flown that day).

But the RAF command threads include a part of an Ultra intercept showing one claim for I./JG 400, a Lancaster. If Glogner had claimed a victory this day, it should have been in the report too.

[Laurent Rizzotti]

I check Osprey Aviation Elite 37: Jagdgeschwader 400 (a book above the usual OSprey series in my humble opinion). The Mosquito claimed by Glogner on 16 March is identified (it was only damaged) and there are two pages about the whole action.

And it is said that Glogner claimed three victories during the war, the one on 16 March being his 3rd (the two former with JG 52 before). So according to this book he claimed no victory on 10 April. The claim by Kelb is in the book.

[Kaczmarek]

Originally Posted by Rottler

10 April 1945
Mosquito XXV KB502 Sqn 163 target Berlin
Pilot F/O William Houghton killed
Navigator Lance Anthony Stegman killed

Correction:
This Mossie crashed in the night 11/12th April 1945.

[Rottler]

I have only quoted the BC Loss Cards. The date there is clearly 10 4 1945.
If the date 11/12 April 1945 is correct the entries in the BC Loss Cards are wrong.

Regards
Leo