June 13th, 1943 is a Sunday morning – Whit Sunday. Two days ago, the 8th USAAF had flown a mission against the city and port of Wilhelmshaven in nothern Germany. This morning, the targets of the men in their B-17s are the U-Boat Yards in Bremen and Kiel. And they are met by the pilots of the Luftwaffe…
As the story is too long for a blog post of any kind, please download the Mission Overview in PDF (10 MB).
Note: this document is “final” as of now but I am already aware of additional information to come in so there will be updates in the near future…
Allied Units in Action
The Allied Units in action include the 1st and 4th Bombardment Wing with their associated groups: the 91st, 92nd, 303rd, 305th, 306th, 351st and 379th Bombardment Group of the 4th Wing are put to action against Bremen – the 94th, 95th and 96th Bombardment Group are going towards Kiel. All in all, the 8th USAAF is sending a total of 151 B-17s to Bremen and 76 to Kiel – at the end of the day, 26 will not return…
German Units in Action
The Luftwaffe is scrambling their Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke Wulf 190 – the JG 1, JG 11, JG 26, JG 54 and Jasta Helgoland are seeing action – supported by aircraft of the NJG 3 and EKdo 25. They will loose seven aircraft in the battle, two pilots will not return.
USAAF Aircraft & Crew Members
The following B-17F aircraft of the 8th USAAF are discussed in this Mission Overview:
- From the 94th BG: 42-3063 “Ole Tobe”, 42-3187 “Buckshot”, 42-29708 “Shackeroo!”, 42-29715 “Klo Kay”, 42-29822 “Visiting Fireman”, 42-29940, 42-29949 “Sick Call”, 42-29957 “Helno Gallen II”, and 42-30113 “Wolfpack”
- From the 95th BG: 42-3206, 42-3286, 42-29675, 42-29680, 42-29702 “Rat Killer”, 42-29737 “Louise”, 42-29763, 42-29827, 42-30118, and 42-30164
- From the 96th BG: 42-29748 “Paradise Lost”, 42-29756 “Big Chief II”, and 42-3107 “Miss Cariage”
- From the 305th BG: 42-5125 “Boomtown Jr.”
- From the 306th BG: 42-5218 “Skywolf”
- From the 351st BG: 42-5814 and 42-5815 “Stardust”
Luftwaffe Aircraft and Pilots
The following Luftwaffe Pilots are discussed in this Mission Overview:
- Jasta Helogland: Ewald Herhold
- JG 26: Alfred Niese, Melchior Kestel, Walter Holl, Günther Steinberg, Hans Erbskorn
- JG 54: Siegfried Schnell, Horst Sack, Albert Elte, Rudi Wohlfahrt, Hans Herrmann, Walter Brock
- JG 11: Willibald Kilian, Franz Ritschel, Wolfgang Gloerfeld, Günther Range, Walter Heisel, Gerhard Sommer, Herrmann Hintzen
- JG 1: Willi Herzog, Rudolf Hübel, Bernhard Kunze, Rolf Strohal
- EKdo 25: Eduard Tratt
- NJG 3: Wilhelm Schmale, Willi Elstermann
