guys : does anyone have WR Chorley's bomber Command Losses, volume # 5 covering 1944 ? It is indicated that a force of Lancaster bombers were coming to the aid of English ground forces over Arnhem. Luftwaffe claimed 12 Lancs, two P-47's and a P-38.... Were the Lancs escorted by US or RAF fighters or both ? Trying to find out who the P-38 belonged to. 1 loss is recorded to the 8th AF 479th fighter group but also photo recon birds were in the air as well..... any help ? thanks gents E
I should re-phrase my question. were there any RAF a/c involved at all ? Just reading where two JG 4 pilots claimed 2 Stirlings..... hmmmmm, then another reference say's 4-engine bombers.....that's it......oh great, more research. thanks E
Hmmm - bit of a mystery, this one, Erich. I've got Chorley's book right here.... On 21 September, 1944, Bomber Command lost two aircraft. A Stirling IV of 161 Sqn on 'special duties' swung on takeoff at Tempsford and crashed. And Mosquito FBVI of 169 Sqn caught fire while parked at Great Massingham and burned out. That's it for Bomber Command. There were no other ops that day, as confirmed by Middlebrook/Everitt in the 'Bomber Command War Diaries'. However, the 8th AF were on ops with 288 B17s and 144 B24s going to Ludwigshafen, Mainz and Koblenz with 2 x B24s MIA and a P38 and P51 MIA on escort. Also 3 x P47s were MIA on 'Holland patrols'. The P38 was from the 479 FG 'Riddle's Raiders' flying from Wattisham. Does any of this help The 8th AF info comes from Roger Freeman's 'Mighty Eighth war Diary'. [ 14 October 2002, 04:03 PM: Message edited by: Martin Bull ]
Just to be absolutely detailed - 2 RAF Fortresses and 2 Wellingtons were 'up' on radio countermeasures, plus 12 Stirlings and a Hudson going to various Resistance groups in Belgium and Holland. None of these aircraft were lost, except for the Stirling at Tempsford... Finally, Calais and Boulogne were attacked by 2 Group TAF on September 21st apparently without loss. Middlebrook/Everitt and Bowyer ( '2 Group RAF' ) state that poor weather and visibility prevented any 'Arnhem support' operations on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd.
Thank you Martin for the fullsome reply. It may well have been a couple of B-24's, and I think 3 of them were damged CAT E wright offs, so these last 3 may have been climed by JG 300 Bf 109's as destroyed with cannon hits making their mark but the a/c not seen goin down; made it back to base. Since there were plenty of Allied escorts out and about I could naturally see the German pilots making a pass and getting the H*** out of the air space and back to base. JG 26 was pounced on by the 56th fighter groups P-47's climing 15 Fw 190's ! Why though the Luftwaffe claimed lancasters is a pure mystery to me. Yes I see the report of the 479th P-38 loss in Freeman's work. I checked the P-38 assn. and they replied that it was either a 479th or maybe a 9th AF 370th or one of the recon birds. Well I'll still continue this strange search. Much appreciated. E
