Hell over Piraeus

 In the early hours of 6 April 1941, the Wermacht launched Operaton Marita: Panzer divisions crossed the Bulgarian-Greek border and invaded Greece at 5:30, the attack timed to coincide with the declaration of war issued to the Greek Government. Hitler's intention to subjugate the mediterranean country had been known since February, and a British Expeditioanry Force was sent to the country; when the invasion began, more troops were sent to Greece, diverted from North Africa. The vast majority of men and supplies were bound to the Piraeus harbour, 12 km southwest of Athens.

On the evening of that 6 April, a formation of twenty Junkers Ju 88s of III./KG 30 took off from Catania, Sicily,  to attack the Allied convoys. According to John Weal, the bombers were armed with aerial mines, the raid aimed at blocking the harbour's entrance. 7. Staffel's machines were nevertheless loaded with two 250-kg bombs each; the Staffel was led by Haptmann Hajo Hermann, now best remembered as the inventor of the Wilde Sau tactics.

The bombers reached their target at 2100 hrs and released their mines; Hermann's Ju 88s continued their course towards the many ships packed in the harbour; among those ships was SS Clan Fraser, a 7,529 tons British cargo steamer. The recently arrived vessel was loaded with 250 tons of TNT (from the original 350 tons 100 had already been unloaded). During the attack attack, she was hit by three direct hits, as well as more near misses: the vessel exploded and was lifted out from the water, the shock wave even shaking the Ju 88s 3000 ft above her.

SS Clan Fraser

From the initial blast soon developped a fire, which spreadt o other merchant ships in the harbour including another steamer loaded with ammunitions, SS City of Roubaix. The whole harbour turned into a hell of fire since men on the ground were unable to tow the two ships away for fear that they would hit a mine and block the port entrance; after a night had passed SS Clan Fraser exploded in a giant fireball in the early hours of 7 April, followed by the City of Roubaix a few minutes later. A chain of  terrible explosions started, shattering windows in Athens 12 km away (7 miles), and heard up to 240 km (150 miles).

At the end of day, nine other merchantmen were destroyed and the entire port of Piraeus was devasted. Losse were the following:

• SS Clan Fraser
• SS City of Roubaix
• SS Cyprian Prince
• SS Patris
• SS Surf
• SS Viking
• Alcyon (Greek)
• Petalli (Greek)
• Kyrapanagia (Greek)
• Syriani (Greek)
• Elpis (Greek)
• Evoikos (Greek)

In addition, 50-60 small crafts and barges were destroyed. Even worse, damages to port installations were catastrophic; with a single attack the Mediterranean Fleet had lost the only adequatedly equipped port to be used as a base for supplies and reinforcements. Piraeus remained unavailable for ten days, during which other poor equipped ports such as Volos and Salamis were used.

Hauptmann Hajo Hermann, turned for home with the port engine of his bomber damaged by AA fire; the long flight back to Catania was quite risky so he wisely headed to the island of Rhodes. With a combiation of courage, skills and luck, Hermann and his Staffel had delivered a devastating blow to the British Expeditionary Force. Less than three weeks later Commonwealth forces were forced to evacuate Greece in an Dunkirk-like operation.

REFERENCES

John Weal, Junkers Ju 88 Kampfgeschwader in North Africa and the Mediterranen. Osprey Publishing, 2009.

Stone and Stone War Diaries website.

Ernst Wilhelm Reinert

 Ernst Wilhelm Reinert was born on 2 February 1919 in Liderthal, near Koln. At the age of 13 the young Reinert joined the Deutschluftverband the German amateur flying club, and learned to fly. After having completed his school studies he joined the RAD ( Reichsarbaitdienst - German national work programm); he wanted to study as an engineer but was eventually accepted only as a technician in mechanics. His time at RAD completed, Reinert was sent to the Wermacht as an infantry soldier, but thanks to a friendly officer whom he knew from his time at the flyng club the future Jagdflieger managed to be trasferred to the Luftwaffe.

The young pilot underwent basic training at A/B Schule and was then transferred to Jagdgeschwader 77 in 1941, as an Unteroffizier. Initially detached to EJG 77, the Geschwader's training unit, based in Wien, Reinert was subsequently posted to 4./JG 77 and took part in the invasion of Crete.

After Crete' s fall, Luftwaffe units were transferred to the East in preparation for the invasion of the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa was launched on 22 June, and six weeks later, on 8 August, Reinert scored his first victory downing a Soviet I-16. A week later he shot down another enemy plane, and on 19 August  an I-16 for his third kill.

In September Reinert, flying as Rottenflieger for Hauptmann Heinrich Setz, was forced to land in a field due to engine malfunction. He actually never reached the field below him, since he hit high-tension cables and was lucky to escape unscathed.

Reinert started to score steadily, claiming three kills on 27 November and was promoted Feldwebel. On that particular mission Reinert attacked a formation of a dozen+ Soviet bombers, shooting down three but being badly shot up by return fire and flak. Chased by eneny fighters, he crash landed at 500 m from German lines., and was  was rescued by Waffen SS soldiers from the arriving Soviet infantry. His superior Oberst Roman Painczynk was less fortunate; he belly landed on enemy territory, and was never seen again.

During the harsch winter of 1941, II./JG 77 was sent back to Germany for rest and refit. On 7 February, with 24 kills to his belt, Reinert receive the Ehrepokal der Luftwaffe. During this time his unit re-equipped with the BF-109 F, and moved to Crimea in March 1942. The new theatre marked the start of a happy time for Reinert, who downed an I-153 on 17 March and other three the following day. On 1 May he was credited with three MiG-3s and awarded the German Cross in Gold on 18 May. Two days later Reinert claimed his 45th kill, and in three days reached 53.

On 1 July Reinert received the Knight's Cross. His happy time continued and on the 17th of the same month the young Jagdflieger topped the height of 79 kills. He was eventually wounded on 23 July following a clash with VVS fighters and hospitalized until September. His return to combat mission was nevertheless smooth, Reinert claiming 16 in two weeks and reaching 100 kills on 3 October, 1942. For his successes, Oberfeldwebel Reinert receive the Oak Leaves.
At the end of the year the Gruppe was transferred to Tunisia. Fighting against numerically superior USAAF and RAF units, Reinert scored 51 victories - 47 fighters, 3 Bostons and a single B-24 - more than any other pilot in the theatre. In many cases he claimed multiple kills in the same mission: five on 11 January and 1 April, six on 26 February. His last kill in Tunisia came on 6 May, a Spitfire; JG 77 then left Tunisia and relocated to Sicily.
Reinert enjoyed a brief license in Germany and came back to his unit when Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, was launched. Two P-40s were downed on 7 August and a Spitfire the following day. On the 9th, Reinert was forced to ditch his Bf 109 off Milazzo; he returned to his unit the following, having been declared missing in action. Reinert's Gruppe was moved to Central Italy in September, where the now Leutnant was nominated Staffelkapitan of 1./JG 77. At the end of the year his score had risen to 165.
Reinert contracted malaria and was then hospitalized; fully recovered for spring 1944, he was transeferred to  JG 27.  Assuming command of 1./JG 27 and shortly thereafter 14./JG 27, Reinert took part in Defence of The Reich operations. His Staffel was sent to Normandy in June, following the D-Day. Allied superiority was overwhelming and many Luftwaffe gruppen were almost entirely wiped out. Reinert nevertheless managed to claim one P-51, one P-47 and a Spitifre on 27 June, 2 and 3 July respectively. 14./JG 27 was sent back to Germany in August, having suffered terrible losses.

Reinert scored his last kills over the Reich in late 1944: two P-51 on 2 November and another on the 26th, followed by a Auster on 27 December. On 1 January Reinert was nominated Gruppenkommandeur of IV./JG 27, but operations were severly hampered by lack of fuel. At the end of the month Ernst Wilhelm Reinert was the 130th member of German Armed Forces to receive the Swords to the Knight's Cross. He was then promoted Hauptmann and transferred to JG 7, equipped with the revolutionary Me-262.
Reinert underwent conversion onto the new jet fighter, but never completed it. When the war ended in May, he still hadn't have the opportunity to fly combat mission with the Schwalbe.

After the war, Reinert joined studied at the university and got a degree in medicine. He eventually opened a ginecology clinic and married an opera singer. Ernst Wilhelm Reinert died at the age of 88 on 5 September 2007.

715 mission flown

174 victories
16 enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground
10 armoured vehicles destroyed

 

 

P-38 combat clips

P-38 Lightnings' early operations in the Solomons

In June/July 1942, the 39th FS of the 35th FG was pulled out from New Guinea, after having spent several difficult months fighting against Japanese forces. The squadron flew througout that months P-39s, and scored ten victories for the loss of ten Airacobras. Considering the Airacobra's inferiority against Japanese Zeros and Oscars, it was a good result, but it was also clear the a new fighter was necessary, a fighter able to cope with the enemy and garantee its pilots a machine to attack the enemy, rather than to defend themselves.

39th FS' members were therefore relieved when they knew to have been chosen for conversion onto the P-38 Lightning: their new mount promised to have all those qualities they were looking for: long range, speed, climbing ability and firepower. Japanese fighter units used to operate at altitude below 20,000 feet, a gact which enabled USAAF pilots to fully use their favoured tactics of diving with high speed onto the enemy, rather than give the Japanese the chance of a dogfight, where Zeros and Oscars had superior manoeuvrability.

1st Lt Robert Faurot

From 1942 to the end of the war, the P-38 enjoyed great success, despite the European theatre of operations was given priority in deliveries, and the number of squadrons equipped with the Lightning was never more than 15 squadrons at any one time. Over 1800 Japanese fighters were claimed, and more than 100 pilots became aces with the twin-engined fighter.

The first ever P-38 victory was achieved in a rather weird way: in late November 1942 39th FS' Lightnings flew an offensive sortie against Lae, New Guinea. Lt Robert Faurot was leading a flight of four P-38 armed with 500-lb bombs. Once over Lae, pilots noticed a Zero taking off from the ground just above them. Lt Faurot immediately dove onto the enemy, but in his excitement forgot that with two bombs under his wings he was unable to dogfight; he released his 500-lb bombs and pulled away to avoid the explosion and prepared to engage the enemy from another angle. Unxpectedly, the bombs hit the water and exploded just as the Zero was passing over them. The fountains from the explosion took the Japanese fighter, which crashed winged-over into the ocean.

On the last day of 1942, 39th FS celebrated its first ace, and first for the P-38. Lt Hoyt Eason shoot down three Zeros, to add to the pair he had claimed on the 27th over Dobodura.

On 1st March, 1943, Lightnings of the 39th FS took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea: the fight developped from the Japanese intention to reinforce the Lae garrison with a convoy carrying 7,000 Army soldiers. The force consisted of seven troop ships, one cargo and eight destroyers, escorted by 30 Zeros. The force was attacked by a large number of American bombers, almost 200 according to some sources, covered by P-38 of the 39th FS. All eight transports were sunk, together with four destroyers, and the Lightnings shot down 15-20 Zeros. However, the unit did not escape unscathed; together with 2nd Lt Frederick Schifflett, two other pilots were lost: 1st Lt Robert Faurot, the man who scored the first P-38 victory in the Pacific, and 1st Lt Hoyt Eason, the first P-38 ace.
 

Count, cartograph and fighter ace: Gunther Freiherr von Maltzahn

Gunther von Maltzhan was born on 20 October 1910 in Wodarg, Pomerania. The von Maltzhans were members of the German aristocracy, and Gunther could boast the title of Freiherr (Count).  During World War 1, his father was lost in Battle of Verdun. The young Gunther was raised and educated in an atmosphere of patrotism, sense of honour and loyalty to the Kaiser.

After having studied Arts at the University of Rostock, Gunther von Maltzhan was trained as a pilot during the period of Germany's secret flying activites in the Soviet Union, wich began well before Hitler had come to power. Following the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had been forbidden from having an air force, therefore its pilots were officially formed as commercial flyers. Von Maltzhan joined a company doing business in cartography, and carried out flights aimed at charting Patagonia, African Coast and Pacific islands.

In mid 1930s, with expansion programmes now openly set and carried out, von Maltzahn was integrated in the Luftwaffe as flying instructor. In 1937 von Maltzahn was posted to 6./JG 334 as Staffelkapitan, the unit later renominated 6./ JG 53. The Geschwader, known as the "Pik As" was an elite unit led by Werner Molders, Luftwaffe's leading tactician.

Bf-109F of Gunther Freiherr von Maltzahn, 46 kills depicted on the rudder.

In 1939, von Maltzahn was nominated Gruppenkommandeur of II./ JG 53. He led his Gruppe through the Polish campaign, Blitzkrieg in France and the Low Countries and the Battle of Britain.  On 9 October  1940 he was promoted Geschwaderkommodore of JG 53, and on 30 December ,w as awarded the Knight's Cross, not just for his 12 victories, but also for his tireless work in organizing and running the unit.

In 1941 JG 53 participated in the Ivasion of the Soviet Union, achieving astonishg successes against the unprepared Red Air Force. Von Matlzahn, now Major, reached 43 kills and on 24 July 1941 received the Oak Leaves, the 29th member of German Armed Forces awarded with such honour.

In September 1941, JG 53 was pulled out from frontline duties and relocated to Holland for rest and refit. The Geschwader was sent to Sicily in December an participated in the battles over Malta and the Mediterranea. Von Maltzahn reached 68 victories, before contracting and then leaving JG 53 in October 1943, assuming a staff position at the Luftwaffenbefehlshabers Mitte (Luftwaffe Command of the Mediterranean), and later Jagdfliegerführer Italien, (Chief of Operations in Italy). In February 1945 he was detached to 9 Fliegerdivision, where he remained until the end of the war.

After a brief captivity, Von Maltzahn settled in Dusseldorf and dedicated himself to cartography again. He died in 1953, at the age of 43. Some sources claim he died in car crash, while others state he died due to complications from malaria, contracted ten years before.

Oberst Gunther Freiherr von Maltzahn flew 497 missions and claimed 68 victories. He fought on the Western Front, Eastern Front and the Mediterranean.

• 7 October 1939 - Iron Cross 2nd Class
• 10 May 1940 - Iron Cross 1st Class
• 30 December 1940 - Knight's Cross
• 24 July 1941 - Oak Leaves
• 23 March 1942 - Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe
• 23 December 1942 - German Cross in Gold

Macchi C.202's first kills

During the summer of 1941, Italian fighter units started to receive the first examples of the new Macchi C. 202 fighter. Built around the DB 601 engine and designed with particular attention for aerodynamics - thank sto the company's experience in the Schneider Trophy -, the Folgore promised to give Italian pilots a new mount, able to fight on equal terms and even outclass RAF fighters, thanks to its top speed of 600 km/h (372 mph) and service ceiling of 11,500 m (73, 730 ft).

The first fighter squadron to receive the aircraft was 97° Squadriglia. On 30 September, at around 14.00, Comiso airfield was attacked by five Hurricanes from No.185 Squadron. Three C.202s flown by Sottotenente Jacopo Frigerio, Tenente Luigi Tessari and Sergente Maggiore Massimo Salvatore scrambled to intercept the intruders: in the ensuing dogfight, Tenente Frigerio shoot down Hurricane Z5265 flown by Pilot Officer Linter, who bailed out 15 km south of Gozo. Sadly, Lintern was never seen again.

Tenente Jacopo Grigerio

After the battle, a Cant-Z.506 rescue seaplane started a searching mission escorted by the three C.202s. Off the Sicilian coast the flight ran into five Hurricanes of No. 185 Squadron escorting a Fulmar, both formations looking for Pilot Officer Lintern. A second dogfight started, and the Fulmar was shoot down by Tenente Tessari. The fulmar's crew, Lieutenant Eyres and Sub Lieutenant Furlong bailed out and were picked up by a Swordfish seaplane. Tessari's plane was also damaged by fire from the Hurricanes.

The following day seven Macchis from 73° Squadriglia took off from Comiso; led by Maggiore Pluda, the fighters' task was to cover two reconaissance Macchi C.200. One fighter had to abort the mission, the others went on and midway between Sicily and Malta ecountered eight Hurricanes, again from No. 185 Squadron. The Macchis were at 8,000 m, in a fovourable position above the Hurricanes and dove on them. After the fist pass the RAF fighters scattered and broke off the engagements, returning to Malta; one aircraft was lost and one damagesd; the downed by pilots was Squadron Leader Peter "Boy" Mould. His victor was Tenente Bonfatti, who saw his opponent took on his parachute. Flying Officer Murch came back damaged. Capitano Ivaldi was also damaged and belly landed on the Sicilian beach of Pozzallo.

A search and rescue operations was carried out by Swordfish, but Mould was sadly never found.

Sqn Ldr Mould

The Last Blitz

German newsreel's footage about the 1944 Operation Steinbock, also called "Baby Blitz", a series of nocturnal raids over England in retaliation for 1943's RAF raid on Hamburg.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQeFHoQKt0M

DIETRICH PELTZ, THE YOUNG GENERAL

Dietrich Peltz was born on 9 June, 1914 in Gera, Turingen. He achieved a private pilot licence at the age of 18, and joined the newly-born Luftwaffe in 1935, graduating as a Leutnant and being subsequently posted to StG 162 "Immelman." In this unit he flew Henschel hs 123 before to convert to Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers. Renominated StG 2 in 1939, the unit participated in the invasion of Poland. Peltz flew 45 missions and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class. Following the end of the campaign the pilot was chosen for conversion onto the Ju 88 "Wunderbomber", and moved to II./KG 77 in the summer of 1940.

Now an Oberleutnant, Peltz flew both daily and night mission during the Battle of Britain. To escape RAF fighter's attacks, he created his own tactic consisting of flying into the clouds and then turn sharply to the opposite direction to trick the pursuing fighters - he was able to do it thanks to his high skills in blind flying.

After 70 missions over Britain -130 since the beginning of the war-Peltz was awarded the Knight's Cross on 14 October 1940.

Promoted Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of II./KH 77, Peltz relocated to eastern front for the incoming operation Barbarossa in the spring of 1941. The Gruppe was assigned to the Northern Sector, flying missions against the Leningrad-Moscow railway lined, and participating in the siege of Leningrad. At the end of the year he was awarded the Oak Leaves, only the 46th member of Germany's Armed Forces to receive the decoration. 

In late 1941/early 1942, Peltz was given command of the Bomber Unit Commanders School in Foggia, Italy, training bomber commanders of all Luftwaffe Kampfgeschwader in the lates operational techniques, some of which he created himself. At the age of 28, he was considered the leading expert in bombing operations.

Luftwaffe units soon became overstrechted in various theatre of operations, as a result Peltz training units was converted into a new Gruppe, I./KG 66. The new formation was tasked of implementing the new tactics created and tested in its training duties, attacking Allied convoys with guided bombs such as the Fritz X and the Henschel Hs 293.

Promoted Oberstleutnat, Pelzt and his unit attacked Allied shipping in the Artic along the Murmansk route and in the Mediterranean following landings in North Africa and Sicily.

Peltz was then promoted Inspektor der Kampfflieger and given command of IX Fliegerkorps. The air corps consisted of KG 2, KG 6, II./KG 40, I. and II./SKG 210 plus a reconnaissance gruppe. On 23 July 1943 he received the Swords to the Knight's Cross.

In January 1944, at the age of 29, Dietrich Peltz was raised to the rank of General Major, and nominated Angriffuhrer fur England. Assuming command of bomber forces in Operation Steinbock, he carefully husbanded the small resources given to him and carried out the retaliatory attacks over England ordered by Hitler. The attacks were suspended in May after heavy losses and poor results. The Baby Blitz, as it was nicknamed, came almost four years after the 1940's Blitz; in 1944 RAF night defences were at their peak while Luftwaffe resources in the Western Front were overstretched - in some mission flying schools crews had to be use to reach operational numbers required.

In the Autumn of 1944 IX Fliegerkorps was disbanded, its pilots selected for conversion as fighter pilots while gunners sent to infantry units. Peltz became the commander of II. Jagdkorps which fought in the Ardennes.

At war's end,, Peltz was briefly held by the British. After being released in became a businessman in Germany and Spain, continuing to fly in his freetime. Dietrich Peltz died at the age of 87 in Munich on 10 August, 2001.

 AWARDS

Iron Cross 2nd class, 15 September 1939.

Iron Cross 1st class, 22 May 1940.

Knight's Cross, 14 October 1940.

Oak Leaves, 31 December 1941.

Swords, 23 July 1943.

Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe

Combine Pilot-Observation badge in gold with  diamonds.

KANONENVOGEL'S DEBUT

 In late 1942, a new experimental unit was activated at Rechin test center. Named Versuchskommando fur Panzerbekampfung, the unit’s task was to evaluate the best aircraft/heavy weapons combinations to find a viable solutions for the Germans’ major threat on the Eastern Front: Soviet tanks and armours.

When Operation Barbarossa was launched, in June 1941, OKW planners were confident to subjugate the Red Army within the following winter; little priority was placed on development of anti-tank weapons. Ground troops soon find out for themselves that their anti-tank guns were almost ineffective against the sloped armour mounted by the T-34s. Their bullets simply couldn’t penetrate the T-34’s protection. This problem became even more evident during the Soviet winter counteroffensive of 1942, when Soviet tank brigades smashed through German Lines and penetrated deep inside their territory.

Versuchskommando fur Panzerbekampfung started its activity in Rechlin and then moved to the Bryansk troop training ground in Russia in the spring of 1943 for field trials. Months of trials had showed that the best way of knocking out tanks and armoured vehicles were heavy guns. MK 101 and MK 103 30mm guns were chosen as the main weapon for the Henschel Hs-129. The BordKanone BK 3.7 cm was chosen for the Ju-87. The weapon was a short barreled version of the obsolete 37mm Flak 18 anti-aircraft gun, with a twelve round magazine. Combat-proven Ju-87D were modified to  carry a gun under each wing. The version was given the reference letter G, and soon was nicknamed Kanonvogel (cannon-armed bird).

The first taste of Ju-87G future capabilities was showed not against tanks, but over water: in the early months of 1943, Army Group A was disengaging from the Caucasus attempting to reach the bulk of Wermacht’s forces in Ukraine. The only viable route was the Kuban peninsula. Trying to take advantage of the enemy’s precarious situation, the Soviets made all efforts to prevent the German from establishing a bridgehead and escape to Crimea. Army Group A’s division fought back and kept the route open, so the Soviets tried to infiltrate two divisions behind German lines by amphibious landings. The chosen area was the Gulf of Temryuk; soldiers were carried aboard small crafts and boats, each carrying 5-20 men.

These unusual targets proved to be the final test for the Kanonevogel’s potentialities, as the experimental anti-tank Kommando  - now with the great Hans-Ulrich Rudel within its ranks - prevented the Soviet divisions from landing and threatening Army Group A’s evacuation.

In John Weal’s book, Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader of the Russian Front, Rudel’s description of the event is reported:

“We are in the air every day from dawn until dusk, skimming above the water and the reeds in search of boats. In tackling them we do not need our special tungsten-cored anti-tank ammunition – any high-explosive rounds will suffice to smash the flimsy craft. Normal contact-fused Flak ammunition proves to be the most suitable. Anything we catch trying yo cross the open stretches of water is as good as lost. I alone destroy 70 of these vessels in the space of a few days.”

References

John Weal, Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader of the Russian Front. Osprey publishing, 2008.
 

HEINZ JUNCLAUSSEN: KNIGHT'S CROSS HOLDER

Heinz Junclaussen was born in Klein-Eschenbruch, East Prussia, on 7 March 1919. In July 1940 he completed his flight training and was posted to III./ StG 2 "Immelman",  equipped with Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers, spending the following months training with the unit's Erganzungstaffel.

Jungclaussen flew his forst combat missions on the eastern front in late 1941/early 1942as a Leutnant. In the following summer he was promoted Staffelkapitan of 6./StG 2, participating in Fall Blau, the great summer offensive in the sothern sector aimed at conquering Stalingrad and the Caucasus' oil fields. Soon involved in the Stalingrad Battle, Junclaussen led a special units operating inside the beleaguered city. For his efforts, in early February 1943 was promoted Oberleutnant and awarded the German Cross in Gold. Wounded in action in 14 February, Jungclaussen was hospitalized, returning to active duty in mid-1943. After completing 700 combat missions, he was awareded the Iron Cross on 9 October, 1943.

Beetween the end of 1943 and the early months on 1944 Heinz Jungclaussen topped the height of 1000 combat mission serving as Staffelkapitan of 1./StG 2. He was then pulled out from frontline duties to act as an instructor in Stuka and Schlacht flying schools, converting onto the Fw 190. He returned to combat as Staffelkapitan of 3./SG 4 on the Western Front, fighting against British and American armies. On 26 December 1944 he was shot down and killed by RAF fighters over Salzig, in the Rhine region.

During his career, Hauptmann Heinz Jungclaussen flew more than 1000 combat missions with the Ju-87  dive bomber and the Fw-190 Schlacht versions. Of this thousand missions, 800 hundred were flown with his rear gunner Hans Krohn, a Knight's Cross holder too.

THE FIRST SPITFIRE SHOT DOWN

3 April 1940: up to this date the Spitfire had downed several Luftwaffe intruders without losses, but this situation was about to finish. . . 

On Wednesday the 3^rd, a call came to RAF Catterick: a German Heinkel He 111 bomber was attacking fishing boats off Whytby. No. 41 Squadron was ordered to scramble one fighter to intercept the intruder. The task was given to Flight Lieutenant Edgar Norman Ryder. Ryder took off in Spitfire MK.I N3114 at 12.20. He gained altitude at headed to the coast, quickly reaching the damaged trawler Alaska;  when the pilot sighted the Heinkel, it was clear that the fishermen had mounted a spirited defense.

The bomber,  an He 111H-3 of KG 26 was flying 200 feet over the North Sea with one engine disabled; Ryder dove on the enemy and fired a four-second burst, noticing a couple of bangs on his fighter from the Heinkel’s gunners. Pulling away, he saw smoke and flames erupting form the bomber. He then turned and prepared for a second attack, but the Henkel rapidly lost height and ditched, the five-man crew quickly escaping the floating aircraft.

Ryder circled above the survivors and headed home. Only at this point he noticed that the cockpit’s temperature was rather “hot”. A quick glance at the instrument panel told him that the oil temperature was rising. The enemy’s return fire had obviously been more accurate than he had thought. The cockpit soon became full of smoke and the temperature intolerably hot; the pilot called his base reporting being on fire and was told to reach the coast, but the young Lieutenant knew to have little choice but to ditch. He choose to do it near the trawler he had rescued, and as soon as he opened up his canopy, the engine seized up and stopped. The Spitfire hit the water at sixty-five miles per hour, with waves  six-seven feet high. The fighter dug its nose hitting the water and came to a vertical position with its tail up, rapidly sinking.

The Spitfire had been show down in combat for the first time. 

Ryder tried to escape from the wreck but the front panel of the open cockpit hood caught on his parachute pack. The pilot was trapped with the aircraft slipping below the waves. He had no choice but to struggle to extricate himself, pulling desperately until finally succeeding in its aim. By the time he reached the surface his lugs were almost empty and he was physically exhausted. Ryder’s problems were not finished: the high waves rolled over him and everytime he tried to breath he could barely grasp before the water submerged him. He then tried to release his parachute pack to enhance his movements, but the move had an opposite effect.:Iits thick clothes, satured with water, were keeping him afloat and without it he could not keep his head above the water. Ryder started to sink, and just as he was slipping out of his consciousness, the trawler approached and grabbed him with a boathook, saving him at the very last moment.

After recovering the pilot, SkipperWatkinson and his two sons – one of them the man who damaged the Henikel with the boat's Lewis gun – turned to the German crewmen, picking them up from the water. The Alaska then headed to Hartlepool, reaching its destination after a six-hour journey.

Flight Lieutenant Ryder was awarded the Distinguished Flyinf Cross for his victory. 

The Germans, Oberstlt Hefele, Lt. Behnisch, Lt. Kempe, Uffz Weber and Uffz Bachle, became POW.

Refences:

John Grehan. Britain at War. Issue 36, April 2010. p. 60.

Winston Ramsey. The Blitz Then and Now, Volume 1. Battle of Britain prints International, London, 1987.

osprey