29th of December 1944 was a black day for all the III/JG54. Besides hauptmann Robert Weiss losses were:
5 pilots from 8th squadron,
6 pilots from 9th squadron,
6 pilots, partially from Stab. squadron, partially from 11th and 12th squadrons.

So how it happened.

Read more »

Walter Nowotny was a person to prove Me-262 is much better and usefull as a fighter not a bomber. He was commander of III/JG6 or “Kommando Nowotny”.

Flying Me-262 Nowotny claimed on 3 air victories, 2 of them on the 8th of November, when during the flight against bombers he crashed. Exact details of his death are still unknown. He reported about two shot down planes (probably B-24 and P-51), afterwards it was unreadable, something like “he is burning” or “I’m burning”. Ground control confirmed they see Me-262A-1 has dived out of the clouds vertically down with its engines burning. Later it was found that Nowotny tried to jump out on about 300-400 meters altitude, but his parachute was hooked by the plane tail.

Read more »

7th of October 1944 9/JG54 (commander Wilhelm Heilmann) and 12/JG54 (commander Hans Dortenmann) flying FW-190D-9 “Dora-9″ were moved to Hesepe and Achmer airfields accordingly. They were covering Kommando Nowotny operations there.

It was done beacuse of extreme Me-262 vulnerability during take-off and landing processes. On the 7th of October USAF’s P-51s has shot down two Me-262 immediately after take-off from Achmer airfield and one Me-262 was destroyed during its take-off rolling.

Source: Willi Heilmann “Alert In the West: A Luftwaffe Pilot on the Western Front”

26th of Spetember 1944 was formed up III/JG6 with Me-262 on duty. It was combat unit using Me-262 as a fighter and to work up its combat usage and to prove Me-262 will be much usefull for the Luftwaffe as a fighter, not as a bomber. The unit was based on two airfields northwest of Osnabruck: Achmer and Hesepe.

Commander of III/JG6 was Walter Nowotny, by the 26th of September he had 255 confirmed air victories. 10th of October III/JG6 was renamed into “Kommando Nowotny”.

Walter Nowotny has died 8 November 1944.

Related:
07.10.44. FW-190D-9 to protect Me-262
08.11.44. Walter Nowotny death

19 of february USSTAF meteorology division has made good stable weather forecast for the long period and 20 of February general Spaatz gave an order of three words: “Let’em go!”

It was the start of the “Big week” - USAF heavy bombing operation against German aviation industry. The main point - to stop at all or at least to lower down dramatically new German fighters production, so by the D-day allied forces could gain air superiority. Without it any landing operation would be impossible.

Read more »

The skies over Germany has cleared out on the 11th January 1944 and though brilliant weather conditions supposed to be not for a long, 8th Air Force has decided to strike.

By the noon time about 663 bombers took off, formed up three groups and headed to the one target: fighters production in Brunswick-Halberstadt-Aschersleben. This area lay down on the straight air route to Berlin, less then 100 miles away.
German HQ has decided this bombers wave goes to Berlin, so not being in a hurry fighters were prepared.

Read more »

In spite of RAF pilots advices USAF decided to perform bomb strike on Schweinfurt ball bearing plant without fighters cover.
Both RAF and Luftwaffe has studied this lesson during the beginning of war: bombers without fighters cover can reach targets behind the enemy lines only by the cost of great losses, which at the end of the day will become unacceptable. In 1943 USAF still were thinking they will manage.

Read more »

Josef Kammhuber, XII air corps commander, the creator of night Reich air defence has made fatal mistake 24th of June 1943 - he said Hitler the truth.

Due to Kammhuber’s insistence by the summer 1943 his “Himmelbelt” zones were covering territory from the north of Jutland to the Mediterranean, he had five Geschwaders (about 400 of twin-engine fighters) under his command, and sixth was forming up. But he was not going to stop on this. Intelligence reports about plans of allies (especially US) to re-equip bombers aviation with huge amount of four-engine bombers made him think German night air defence will be useless against such power.

Read more »

14th October 1942 Erich Hartmann took off for his first combat mission as a wingman of feldwebel Eduard ‘Paule’ Rossmann. By that day Hartmann was 22 years old lieutenant of 7.III/JG-52.
Immediately after take-off they’ve received order: “Seven fighters and three Il-2 are attacking the road near Prohladniy. Intercept and destroy.”

Read more »

First time Liuftwaffe gave high priority to the mass of horizontal bombers instead of precision dive bombers single strikes, as they did all the time before.

It was Malta operation, planned by the colonel Doychmann, chief of the II air corps staff.
Plan consisted of 3 steps:
1. To destroy British bombers on the ground, based on Takali homebase.
2. To attack bombers and torpedo bombers airbases in Luka, Hal Far and Kalafrana.
3. Attack docks and ports on the Valette seabase.

20 of March, 1942 was launched phase 1 - to destroy British bombers on the ground on their Takali homebase.

Read more »