a) wis a Volume OneLUFTWAFFE FIGHTER-BOMBERS AND DESTROYERS “From 1938 onwards, the Luftwaffe had developed the Me 110 twin-engined fighter; called the “heavy” or “destroyer” fighter (Zerstorer). The role of this fighter was theoretically to be the pursuit of enemy formations operating over the Reich or returning over their own territory. In point of fact many squadrons of these aircraft were employed as fighter-bombers in the early war campaigns, The twin-engine fighter was something new in German pre-war concepts, and in the Staff College lectures its experimental nature was constantly emphasised.” From The Rise and Fall ofthe German Air Force 1983-1945) issued by the Ait Ministry (CAS, [I], 1948)2 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers The twin-engined heavy fighter: concept and development he genesis of the Messerschmitt 110 evolved out of a requirement of the German Air Ministry in the early months of 1934 for a twin-engined heavy fighter, which would be gwen the name ‘Zerstérer, Iteraly ‘Destroyer’, which could cleave path ahead of bomber formations, and that could also carry ut the role of strategic reconna'ssance and bomber. By June 1934 the project had beon put out to tender to Arado, Dornier, Focke-Wulf, Heinkel, Henschel and Bayerische Flugecugwerke (Messerschmit) The timetable issued to these companies specified that the mockups were ta be feady by February 41935, and the first aircraft by February 1936, Following on swiftly from the issue of the tender, in July 11934 the Air Ministry issued contracts to Focke-Wulf, Henschel and Bayerische Flugzougwerke for the evelopment of the Zerstérer concept, along with the Erprobungsstelle (Test Cenive for the Luftwaffe) the latter undertaking a multiplicity of tasks in the testing of all aspects of development of the model Competition for the @f 110 would come in the form of the Fw 257 and Hs 124 The Air Ministry's further requirement for a high-speed bomber in the spring of 1935 resulted in the Bf 110 gravitating towards a pure ‘Zerstover’ concept. As a result, the inadequacies of the other two designs led inexorably to the BY 110 being the favoured design for the ‘Zerstérer' role. By November 1935, this was confirmed. The Air Ministry also took the view at this time that the Bf 110 ‘mock up lent itself to a bomber configuration. This clearly shows that even before the maiden test fight ‘of the BF 120, Luftwaffe thinking had envisaged the sircraft not only as @ machine that would clear a path for vember formations, but which would also undertake duties as @ ground.attack aircraft in support of German ground forces. It was also at this time that the Air Ministry unequivocally stated that the term ‘BF for Messerschmitt aircraft types should be used; Me" was not to be accepted on documents in order to ensure consisteney in aircraft type designations. Finally, 0” 12 May 1936, the BF 110 Vi took off on its maiden flight from Augsburg. Testing of suocessive prototypes proceeded in the ensuing months, with various Procurement Plans throughout 1937 and 1938 calling for delivery of BF 210 °B' and ‘C’ variants outfitted with sifering engines (Juma 210 arid DB 601), and in ever changing quantities. BF 1410 production had, in November 1926, already been identified as taking place not only at Messerschritt's main plant in Augsburg (the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke) but also at the Gotha factory. ‘hile the prototypes flew without armament, by May 1939 development of fiepower forthe Bf 110 had ultimately settled on two MG FF cannon and four MG 17 in the nose, and a single, rearward tiring IMG 45 for the Boratunker. Two manths later, a Bf 110 B- fied with a single 30 mm MG 101 cannon in place of the two MG FF was displayed at Rechlin to Hiller MG" was the designation given to all ‘cannon'sized, 2. 20 mm or higher calibre, weapons up to the end of 1940 at least, in spite of most publications up to now incorrectly identifying the 30 mi weapon 8s “MK, which designation only came ‘at a later date}. This concept would evolve into the BF 110 C6 variant, albeit produced in very limited number Only a small number of Bf 110 As were built, vesulting out of an order for nine, Seven that were produced were used as test beds for the further development of the type. The other two were in fact delivered as ‘B's, Into Service ‘The Jumo 210 Gengined BF 110 8-4 entered limited production from Apa 1938 onwards. Including the ‘wo ‘A's built a8 “B's, the total production of B series Bf 110s was 88. Produetion continued unt October 1939, spit between the Messersclimitt and Gotha works. As well as being issued to tain units, the BF 110 8-1 also found its way to front line units Zerstorengeschwader 26 (2G 26} and L(Zerstorer) Lebrgeschwader 1 [lZ)/LG 1). By the summer of 1939 the ’B’ variant was being withorawn from the front line and passed to training unit, its place taken by the °C’ variant equipped with 05 602 engines with a redesigned lower engine Cowling. The large radiators, a prominent feature of ‘8 airraft were redesigned and relocated on the lower wing, resulting in a more refined coming, The first production C series aircraft, the C1, can be Identified by the twin aerial leads from the mast situated fon the cockpit roof being attached to Hoth fins ofthe aircraft. From the C-2 series onwards there would nly be a single lead to the starboard fin, The C-4 would appear similar to the C-2 externally, and theLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 3 sion the front, ‘canopies ai nones ‘ofthese BLO ‘arias of 26 26. OF note ithe ety the sw fin was somewhat sees ir commonty em sero otf reconnaissance version, the ©-5, would also be difficult to identity from the C-2 and ©-4, since the ‘modification involved the internal fitment of a camera. The faring encosing the 30 mm cannon beneath the fuselage clearly identified the C-6 version. The ‘D’ series’ most distinguishing feature was the ‘extended rear fuselage that housed @ dinghy and ervergency equipment for life-saving purposes over water, with the ‘Dackelbauch fuel tank or bomb racks undes the fuselage being a further identifying feature of the type. The C-7 was 2 factory conversion of the earlier C sub-variants (but not the C6) tat was retrofitted with bomb racks, and only a few reached units in 1940, The main gistinguishing feature fof the E variant, which began to See operational service with some units towards the end of 1940, was the small rectangular air inlet on the nose ‘The first unit to be equipped with the °C’ variant was 1(2)/LG 1, Having missed combat in the Spanish Civil War, the @f 10's first experience of combat conditions occurred at the outbreak of the ‘Second World War over Poland. Less than 100 serviceable machines were available on 1 September 1939, 1(2)/L6 1, 1.Gruppe, Zerstorergeschwader 1 (1./2G 1) and J. Gruppe, Zerstorergeschwader 76 (L2G 76) all saw action, having been outfitted with the Bf 110. The thee Zerstérer units were distributed across the whole of the front {trT Tis shows al ene Danas of he fst variant to go to fot ie ots MASHL of 3/2676 Iusthe ely narrow syle of fsclge ‘ous The narrow anderwing cross pbc earth wing i, with she ‘vidual aera eter inboard of Late the ealrged underwing rose sould be pliced fa close to the ‘attr changing pices with the leer Note the starboad ay rudder leks in place, a8 well a the ewin sstenae from the cockpit ata Th noyap also shows to go effet the ing equpent une to se move the port engine tn the ‘Ceara can be sce,4) @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers An excelent Ina 37 2 Spode sue emer frown fs CGruppenkontmandr, riedrich Volbracht, cared & ning flash, When they bod” moved to Geschwaderstab pontons with ZG 2, they continued the The individual srrat fetter Bin the fasclage ce sn the Gsippensab colour o rech Spinners are in the sam cor Note the swastika ariel nthe fin only There isn evitence ofa Werkummer On ether the hselage or fnLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 5: ABOVE, A closeup of ste nose of LL+A11 showing the unit emblem and white spianer aps The propeller blades spp be wooden Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-1 of 1.(schwere Jagd)/LG 1 Carrving the second style of fuselage code (intially only numbers had been carried on the Bf 110 B-is of the unit), L1+A22 carries the standard twostone 70/73 upper surface camouflage down the sides of the fuselage. The small wolf's head emblem of the unit is carried fon the nose. White spinners and letter ‘A’ are in the correct 4. Staffel colour. The early radio equipment is fitted, requiring two leads from the cockpit mast. Note the silhouette of 2 Bt 120 painted on the engine cowling, a stil unexplained practice seen on early ‘Bf 130s, and at least one propeller blade appearing to be in bare metalLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 78) @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers The Polish Campaign On 1 Septemoer 1939 Germany attacked Poland across a broad font, but the prevaing bod weather Conditions prevertet any large scale inital deployment of Zerstrer units atthe outbreak of the war. 2/26 76 under Oberleutnant (Ook) Wolfgang Falck was. ertorne eet in the morning but encountered 10 Polish opposition. in the afternoon, elements of 1/26 76 were locked in combat with Polish fighters and mage ter fist claims ofthe war, ut also suffered their frst losses. An ominous sign, perhaps, that in fgnterversus tighter Combat the Messerschmitt 110 would ultimately Suffer unacceptatte losses, The first day also sow 1/26 1 action, but i sufered a major ss 00 the following Gay when Hauptmann (Hptm.) von Millenheie, Stoffeiksptan of 3. Statfel was killed inaction against the nimble PZL P11 fighters, His Place a the head ofthe Store! was taken by Obl Water Enle, a fre night fhter ace. On the frst day LiZAG 1 (rovded escort for Heink! He 11.1 bombers, and thet rte could be consideres tess than successful once Polish fighters intercepted. Si Heinkels were shot down, with two Polish fighters being clsimed by the Messerschnitt 140 pls. Maters improved in te atternoon on 2 further bomber escort mission when LiZI/LG 1 lodged claims for ‘ve enemy fers. nthe main, the Polish fighters were slower, and more lightly armed, but on oeeasions proved to be nimble and determines eppanents In the days following, the BF 110s were regulary inaction, wth varying degrees of success. 1/261 filed relatively few claims while LiZ/AG 1 claimed 30 vietores. As the Polish campaign ground 0 ts inevitable conclusion with German forces advancing inexorably tivoogh Poland, the tole of the Zerstorer units changed. From bomber escort, tne duties moved to that of ground support Seeking out and attaching elements of Polish ground forces in their headlong retreat, this type of sion was nat universally ike y the BY 120 plots, who at that time saw their task as airtoair combat and protection of their fying ABOVE Te gave comrades in other unis rather than in grouncattack missions ote war among the losses sufered durn the Polsh campaign was Mejor Keri Ents sinker Hammes, the 43 yearold Stafepitan of 4./26 4. Hammes had ad 2 Satan of somewhat chequered life, Born in March 1896, he enlisted at the outbreak of 13. afi, the First Word War end served intially a8 an artilry offer. Obtaining a OM ele transfer to tre ai force, he few inaly with a reconnaissance unit before hedring an auack transtersing to Jasta 35. With that unit ne claimed four acl vitories before by Pls aber, being badly wounded in combat on 9 September 1917. By this time he hag SM was he Pet attained the rank of Obit. and been awarded the Iron Cross, Fst Cass. His tee edi wounds were So Severe that he undertook no further frontline fying before the action. end of the war. His ie then took a completely new course, a5 he embarked upon a careet as an opera singer He reached the top of that profession as a Dantone, appearing atthe Kall Opera House in Berlin andthe State Opera in Vienna among otter top venues. Tne lure o te Luftware proved too much, ne — March 1938, By the outbreak of war in September 1939 ne held the rank of ino Major and Wed 1./2G 2, part of 1. Gruppe under tne overall contol of Gruppentonmandeur, Major (Ut. riedicts Joachimredrich Huth, another First World War veteran, So it was that while leading 1. Staffel on the Linden wa peming of 6 September on an escort mission for Stukas, the German fighters came under attack trom Mince on Polish Pc fighters. Mojor Hammes’ BI 140-2, coded 2N+IM, received its end was Seen to go down $ September 1939. in a shallow glide. although etfecting a relatively good bellytanding, Major Hammes died of his wounds, ane cine His Borafunker, Oberfeldwebel (Of.) Walter Steffen, was wounded and taken into captwity, returning Uitekur Raleck, to Germary when the Polish campaign was concluded. Thus ended the colourful lite of Major Karl opined German’ Hammes, opera singer and fighter pilot. His place as Staffelkapitan of 1,/2G 1 was taken by lncsandreturest gp Martin Lutz, who would feature prominently during the Battle of Britain with rode unt Erprobungsgruppe 210 (Expr. Gr. 210).Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers) @/9 net: The pllor ot this Br 110 Ct has ade a relatively ‘good ell aning, thou appears that the aircraft vith the a ofthe catis the early Sipe fuselage cross ‘vith te thin shite arc andthe fly encloned ordnker's ear ‘sinopy The pntenna eeacy has to serial Heads ranging fom denoting the ety radio sytem ited toBand Ct series BU 110 src The Single ring zound them, which, ke the indivi appear to be white Phoney War Following the cessation of hostities against Poland, matters setied into what was termed the ‘Phonoy War or ‘Orble de Guerre. appeared tobe more @case of al sides taking stock and not quite knowing ‘what to 60 net nth period the opportunity was taken to convert those Bf 40Bequipped Zerstxer units to the 8/240. For exemole, 1/26 4 converted from the Bf 109s used inthe Polish campaign to £F 120s, and ZerstOvergeschwader 2 (2G 2) made the same conversion. Although this period saw one of the severest winters for many yeas, it also saw one of the fst major encounters between the German fighter force an Aled arcraf December 1939 - Heligoland Bight An event of note occurred on 18 December 1939 when the RAF sent a force of Wellington bombers to Wihelmshafen. This proved to be an iltadvised move, since the Luftwaffe was able to intercept With mixed force of Bf 109s and BY 110s. The total number of aircraft at the disposal of the Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1), Oberstieutnant Cari Schumacher, under whose overall command they came, amounted ta between 80 and 100 fighters. //26 76, under Mptm, Giinther Reinecke, was the sole twinengined unit assigned to Schumacher. However, when the bombers were intercepted, the Zerstérer engaged in a rather piecemesl manner. The Staffelkapitan of 2,/26 76, Wolfgang Falck, along with his wingman, Unteroffiier. (Uffz.) Heine Fresia, was already airborne, and they were the first BF 110 crews to engage the Wellingtons. After their attack they loaged claims for two Wellingtons each, but Falek’s aircraft was te victim of defending fire and he had ta crashand on Wangerooge. Other aircraft of 1./ZG 76 intercerted at intervals, and the final Feckoning resulted in claims for shot down Wellingtons amounting t0 38, of which 1./2G 76 claimed 15. Many of these were not allowed to stand, but the Zerstorer crews could lay claim to their share of victories in this action. Postwar information from official RAF sources admitted the loss of 12 bomivers, with a further three returning to Britain damaged. One interesting matter emerged from this mission by the Wellingtons. Luftwaffe examination of one of the dawned RAF bombers concluded that ‘no bombs had been carried, which perplexed intelligence officers. They were later staggered to learn that the mission was a “navigation flight’ according to the information provided by some surviving RAF aircrew. Aircraft cuula be replaced, out to lose so many valuable aircrew seemed a criminal waste of resources at the time.10 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers rts PAG AND which ws sot oven in combat on 6 september 1939-The Prt, Mor Kae old Stfelkaptin of Borafunker, obi. Walker Seti, 928 taki int eapteny, bu fuselage code white the want overlaps both imand rodeer The vary style fel ross with thin white toute can be leary con The propeller Spinner ii the Sate) Hammes Was Duet reside his erased arealLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers/and Destroyers @ 11 BELOW” The grave of Major Kal Hammes The Inscription on the cross testes a ‘Major of the Lfwafe Hames fll i combat for Finer and Greater Germany on 69.59;12 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and DestroyersLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers)and Destroyers @ 1314 @)Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and DestroyersLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 15 THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE, This series of photographs 1@yle 1 antennae tel16 @)Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers seat‘roms‘The spinners have a al white ing on 'F has 2 smal locomotive painted beneath the burs ahove the swat itt BF 110 C-1 of 1./26 76 M8+FH carries the early style solid fuselage camouflage, and the early style fuselage cross. The small white rings on the spinners are in the Staffel colour of white, Although an early °C’ variant, the swastika is In the later position of being applied to the fin only. F' has a ‘small locomotive painted beneath the windscreen.18 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers ABOVE: Ax ‘ist temporary placement ofthe 2776.76.09 9 i the units BF 110s. ‘Tis believed be the aircraft of the onetime Ssatekapitin Wolang Pale. The Scandinavian Campaign - April 1940 ‘The frst major campaign in 2940 came about through the political machinations of the opposing counties, with Scandinavia as the focal point. This northern part of Europe tad taken on a strategic importance vital forthe future prosecution ofthe war, fr the deep water harbours i afforded to a major naval force, and the airfields that would allow a vital extension of any airborne undertaking. Among the many Lutwafte units slated to take part inthe offensive were ./ZG 1 (now with Hptm Wolfgang Falck 2s Gruppenkemmandeun and 1,/Z6 76 under Hptm. Ginther Reinecke. ‘Operations commenced on the morning of 9 Apr with German ground forces crossing the border and marching into Denmark. ./26 1's role was to provide air cover forthe paratroop landings at Alborg, but such was the ‘ease ofthe operation that na opposttion was encountered in the air and the ‘nit was able to land on Alborg airfield. Commissioning Obit. Vietor Molders to find accommodation for his 1. Stain Alborg, Obl. Martin Lutz could justffably lay claim to the fact that he led the occupation of the town, 1/26 76 had a fat more dificult time in its Support of the landings in Norway. 4. Stoffel, under Obit. Werner Hansen, was charged with gaining air superionty over Oslo Forebu airfield in advance of landings there by Junkers 52 (iy 52) transports. Plans, however, hae taken no ‘ecount of tne fact that bad weather could possibly play # part in the day's operations. and immediately things began to go awry when the fst weve of transport aircraft turned back due to inclement weather Conultions. 1. Staffe, however nrassed onto its allotted target as to turn back wosld isk running out of fuel before reaching safety its only hope now was to be able to land at OsloFamebu. Before reaching there they ‘wore attacked by seven Norwegian Air Force Gladiators and suffered the {oss of two aicraft to the biplanes. So it was that upon arsiving over the airfield the State), now reduced to six Bf 110s, were greeted with the situation that no landings had yet been made by Luftwaffe transport aicratt. When Ju 52s came into sight they did not disgorge paratroops, but were instead carrying regular troops. The second wave had arrived, not the first. Heavy ground fire greeted the first attempts of the first Ju 525 to land. This appeared enough to dissuade the others to land, and presented Hansen with a dilemma. Ordering Lt. Helmut Lent to go in fist to land, Hansen and the remaining Bf 110s remained overhead ard watched as Lert’s MBFDH finally came to a halt at the edge of the airfield. The remaining Bf 110s of 4. Staffel then went in and landed safely, wth the dofending Norwegian ground forces having retreated. An eventful start for 1. Staffen Meanmile Obit. Gordon Gollob had taken off at the head of his 3./26 76 and headed for StavangerSola airfield. Like its counterparts trom 1 Staffel, Gollob’s formation encounteree bad weather, and ee Gollod ordered a return to base. However ‘only one Schwarm followed the order, the ‘other carried on to its objective. Tragedy followed as two BF 110s collided and crashed into the sea with both erews being kiled, The two remaining BF 120, flown by Of. Fleischmann and Of. Groning, carried ‘on to Stavanger, witnessed the paratroops lighting from the Ju 62s, and then set own there safely. Belated, Srtish landings were made in northern Norway, when the whole of southern Norway was in German hands and the central part of the country was also rapidly falling into German occupation. Thwoughout Aor, 1/26. 76 continued to ‘encounter RAF bombers and to chalk up LEFT. An unknown ground mechanic poses in front of BT 110 C OF 1/26 52 Note the filly enclosed Bovauaker's central rear ‘anopy Seen 10 fred effect are the fra al atc, ee ter for seve 0 the port wing. and the aerial beside iLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 19 victories. Among those ladgng claims were Wollgen Falck, Helmut Lent, and 2 later star of night fighting, Helmut Woltersdort. But along wih the successes came the invtable losses. On 20 Api /ZG 76 sulted a heavy oss when its Gruppenkommanceur, Hptm. Gunther Reinecke, was shot down following combat with 2 Bristol Blenheim. Reinecke's wingman Obit, Hans Jager was able to recount ow Reinecke's averat was it by relum fie and suddenly plunged into the sea. On the same day te Gruppe ist two of aces" when Lt Heim Fanibusch anc Oe Georg, Feischmann were both killed in action against Butlsh bombers. The Statfekaptan of 1. Staffel, Werner Hansen, took over temporary command ofthe Gruppe until a new Grupperkommandeur, ptm. Werner Restermeyer, was posted in on 11 May In spite ofthe [oss of Reinecke, missions continued, nd with the issue of the “Dackelbauch B 110 0.05 to te unt, 1/26 76 sent a detachment oferews equipped with this variant to Trondheim under the leadership of Obit, Hans Jager. Their missions were to fy standing patrols and provide escort to Luftwaffe units mounting attacks on British forces in the far north of Norway. The addtional fuel tank under the {uselage provide the extended range reared oftheir ates, and tens of upto five hours were recorded. In the second half of May ational RAF units supplemented the British land forces, and the Dackelbaveh detachment soon tangled with RAF fighters, Regular combat ensued, with An00 0 the result that the strength of the rtish force soon dwindled. However, the RAF was still capable of taking smenmender pn the BY-110s, as Hons Jage found out on 29 May during combat wth Hurricanes of 46 Squadron, With itiamtars'uriio one engine hit, he attempted to regain base, but that was no longer possible ance the other engine failed. Wincunike Making a safe landing, Jger and ri Bordtunker were soon taken into captivity by Polish oops before feagon exiblcm being handed over to the British. Jager and his Bordfunker, Uffz. Helmut Feick, were shipped to England sere 1% Stator onto Canada to spend ne esto the war ax pisoner, ‘The Norwegian campaign moved tits inevitable conchision with German fores in the ascendancy, and by the middle of June the cont was over, 1/26 76 remained in Norway, and from there would catty out i only mission of be Batle of Britain, Meanwhile, we before the concusion ofthe Norwegian campaign, 1/26 4 would retun to Germany in time to take part n he next major campaign, the attack on France and ‘The Low Counts. But not before Wolfgang Falck and otner plots of 1/26 1 had experimented wth twit figas to attempt to seek out enemy aircraft, which utimately lec to tne formation of tre Lutwaffe right ‘iter force. For taking the lead in Ws particular mater, Falek wou be charged with working Up the fst night fer unt to combat readiness. Again this aera caries the ste of fuselage eros nore ‘commonly sen i 1940 The Wand ‘normaly seen fe fuselage cones,Vesti BE 110 D0 DDacketch’ of 272 76 ‘shite Nore the ied onsiniction of the Dache tone upper stice Messerschmitt 110 D-0 (Dackelbauch) of 2./2G 76 The first ‘Dackelbauch’ Bf 110s were issued to |./ZG 76 during the Norwegian campaign and M8+OK, W.Nr. 3148, displays the huge central fuselage fairing covering the supplementary fuel tank. The extended rear fuselage housed emergency equipment for the erew if they came down into the sea, common to 'D" series Bf 140s, can be seen, as can the groove down the top of the port side fuselage housing the release cable for the rear fuselage section. This Bf 110 is also camouflaged in solid two-tone greens, 70/74, with the Individual aircraft letter 0” in re.Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers)and Destroyers @ 21 10% The font view of a Dackelbaueh of 1/26 76 being refueled ‘Ge the refuelling oat i the Font cenic of the Bache bach ABOVE: A head view ofthe Dackelbaueh, showing ix Palos shape 10 ABOVE: Mineup of LEFT. white spionee fips wer22 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and DestroyersLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 2324 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and DestroyersLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers)and Destroyers '@ 2526 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers RIGHT. SBE NOC oF 5/24 | carrying the sim Sra colon of yon ABOVE: 2NGCH oF 1/26 1 LEFT. Vote the previous photograph 1 sealfel, 76 1 machine sbi outtines i forthe thi character the Riel ride would be cael forward when the Sttfel was eclesignated 1 /Eipe Gr 210,Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 2728 @)Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers The Campaign in the West When the Germans ozened the Western campaign the counties opposing tiem could nover nave imagined the speee ana ingenuity of tactics that were tobe employed against them, This was to be no static miltary operation, but a f8st moving campaign utlising both the speed of srmoured units and close support rom the Luftware, This campaign would commit the greatest number of Zerstorer units since the start ofthe war. with over 360 8F 110s availabe ‘Opening inthe early Hours of 10 May, BY 120s were invoWed inthe action from the stert. M/Z 4 was charged with a grounéattack mission against Vissingen airfield, while L/2G 1 was to provide escort to 1u82/38. The Dutch ir Force put up spite resistance, but uimately was no match forthe tnodern Luftwaffe iter, and by the close of 13 May ietfectnely ceased to exist. nt Moy, 1,726 2 encountered a section of Hurricanes in the fate afternoon, Two BY 120s were lost in the combat which followed, out ofa total of seven forthe cay, 261 with thee and ZG 26 with two being the otner units to report oases. However 1/26 76 lodged clams for five French ites. 412 May saw 1/26 26 nection, and the Gruppe returned an impressive figure of eight enenty aircraft shot down for no loss. V(Z)/LG 1 was also in action on 0 escort mission, and suered tne loss of three Bf 1105 shot down Four ot ofthe six aircrew survived into captivty, however. Meanie the relentless German advance continued ith increasing victory claims from Zerstver crews. 81 110s were in action in some stiength agin on 13 May wth 1L/ZG 1 again operating in the ole of groundattac aircraft by strafing enemy arilds. 26.26 and I1/ZG 76 also were in action on @ day nen Sedan felt the Germans an the course ofthe campaign shifted heaviyin their favour. Among the losses was the Staffetkapiin of 5./26 1, Hptm. Roderic Kuppers who, alongwith his Bortunker Foldwebe Fa: Emard Benrend, was shot down and killed by RA fre {14 Muy's main event was te desperate attacks by the Alid ai fores against the brges around Sedan, but this proved to be at a heavy cost. The air fighting had cost L/ZG 52 two aircraft, with 26 26 also posting losses and Lt. Wolfgang Schenck of 1./2G 1 getting his damaged BF 20 back to base wih a wounded Borafunkor on board 15 May proved to be the day of heaviest losses sofa for the Zerstver units as contact with enesry lighters west of Sedan increased considerably. This waS an ominous portent of things to come. 1/26 lost two srrat as a result of ther colision; 26 2 suffered a single loss; 2,/26 26 had two aircraft Shot down and another two relied damaged wth wounded ctens onboard. Among the 26 26 losses was tha of the Gruppenadutent of |. Gruppe, Ob. Hans Ginther Koch who was Killed in acon. Both Hot. Herbert Kaminski, Stafflkaptin of 2/26 26 ana his Borfunker etured to base wounde. 26 76 otumed details of two Bf 110s shot down ant one damaged, 6/26 76 recording the loss of Obit. ans:Jochen Knop and his Bordfunker who both survived into captaty and later retuned to Germany in the forthcoming weeks, a8 ci many others who landed in Aled hands. During the Bate of Britain the RAF would attempt to shoot down many former Luftwaffe prisoners agin. LEFT. 10 May 1940.Airctew of 5/26 26 gather round to receive Instructions about On the right ofthe pletuee atthe font IsAlois Komanas, who would be Killed inaction ceght days acemeee TIS6-TI4G The following day resuited a lessening of activity, but also saw Wolfgang Schenck of 1./26 4 ‘wounded in combat and hospitalised. He would not return to active service until September 1940. The steady toll upon the officer class within the Zerstdrer continued, with the loss on 16 May of Lt. Georg Schwartzer of 15.(2)/1G 4 and Lt. Heinvich Bucksch of 1./2G 1. \V(Z/LG 4 was in action once again on 17 May, and it suffered the loss of one of its combat veterans when Obit. Werner Methfessel, Staffeikapitan of 14. Staffel, was shot down and killed, together with his Bordfunker to the west of Reims. Losses were relatively light, with V/2)/LG 4 recording two damaged aircraft and //ZG 1 submitting one loss, that of Lt. Helmut Schwabedisser and his Boratunker, both of 3. Stat¥el, killed in action. (On 28 May continuing heavy action resulted in ZG 26 and ZG 76 taking the iosses ir their contact with Allied fighters. The highest ranking officer to be shot down since the war began was posted missing on this, ‘Gay: Major Walter Grabmann, Geschwaderkommodore of 2G 76. He was shot down in MB4XA and survived, later rejoining his unit after a particulary eventful period of captivity: Among the losses suffered by Z6 26 Was thet of one of ts Stafferkapitén, Hptm. Eberhard d'fisa of 5. Staffel. Disa returned later from ‘captivity, but such were his injuries that he never undertaok front line fing duties again. ‘ter the exertions of the previous ¢ays. 5./ZG 26 had only three serviceable Bf 110s on 19 May. In spite of that, and led by their new Staffeikapitan, Obit. Theodor Rossivall, a Condor Legion veteran, the crews undertook a mission in concert with other Bf 110 Staffeln, and were soon caught up in ‘combat with French Morares. Their aircraft complement was reduced to two when Obit. Artur Niebuhr ‘and his Borafunker had to abandon their aircraft while returning to base. Losses due to combat on 20 May were few, but of the two losses and one damaged Bf 110s recorded, two involved Staffelkapiténe. 1./ZG 2 lost Oble. Fritz Ladders killed in action, while 7./26 26 had Staffeikapitén Obit. Kurt Wilhelm Heinrich wounded. Heinrich succumbed to his injuries on 24 May. In the folowing days, the Zerstorer units began to meet Saitfres more frequently as the German land forces moved ever closer to the Channel coast. and Spitfire savadrons could operate from the southern alrfields in England in support of the increasingly desperate Aled situation in France. During the period 21 to 25 May the losses were spread across the Zerstérer units, and fairly minimal, but the pace began to pick up again on 26 May, when the focus of Luftwaffe attacks turned to the Alied pocket around Dunkitk. ‘With attention now firmly on Dunkirk, the RAF effort fram bases in England increased considerably, {and the losses for the Bf 410 units in the following days would reflect this, as the limitations of combat ‘with modern single-engined enemy aircraft became clear, It was during this phase of the campaign that 41./26 1 started to test the 30 mm cannor-armed BF 410 C6s that they had taken on charge. On 26 May 1/26 2 suffered a heavy loss when Gruppenkommandeur Major Johannes Gentzen crashed while taking of from Neufchateau and was killed. Gentzen was one of the earliest ‘aces’ of the Bf 110 units. The loss was compounded by the fact that Gruppenadjutant Lt. Hartwig Bortis Domeier was occupying the Borafunker pasitian and was also killed in the crash. Elsewhere, 1./ZG 1 lost two BF 1108 trom its Gruppenstab (Staff Fight) when Gruppe Technical Officer, Obit. Konrad Martin, and Lt. Werner Kleinecke failed to return from a combat mission. Kleinecke and his Borafunker Otto Schamberger both later returned from captivity. 27 May prosaged further losses, with /26 52 having tnree Bf 110s shot down. One loss was that of Lt. Christian Friedrich von Neumann, the Gruppenadjutant, who was shot down by RAF fighters. The only loss for the rest of the month resulted from a crash during takeoff of a 5./23 1 machine which was carrying, a crew of three for a cross-country flight. All tree on board were killed. Matters did not always go the way of the RAF, nowever. On 34 May 5./ZG 26 had the opportunity to “bounce a formation of Spitfires and claimed five victories for no loss to themselves, In the last days of the Dunkirk evacuation, Zerstdrer continued to be active. /ZG 1 were in action fon 4 tune, and suffering losses again. With two shot down and two damaged, the aircrew losses included Obit. Jérgen Moller from 2. Staffel who, together with his Bordfunker, survived into captivity. Minimal casualties foloed up to 4 June, when tne Royal Navy took the last troops off the beaches at Dunkirk With the Dunkirk pocket siminated, the German armed forces turned their attention to the drive south and west, Inthe frst half of June, the German Army's advance continued unabated with ZG 1 Still being heaviy involved and carrying most of the losses, albeit relatively lightly. On the credit side, 2G 26 figured prominenty in claiming vietories over French aircraft. ‘One noteworthy event was to occur in the early days of June. On 4 June a formation of He 14s flagrantly violated Swiss air space, accompanied by BF 110 fighters from I /ZG 1 Suiss Air Force Bf 109s responded and shot down one of the escorting fighters from 6./ZG 1. Not satisfied with this, J/ZG 130 @)Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers snd his Bordfunker Herbert Klink, Dale ant Kline took patt in hme 1940, RIGHT: The reset ‘of Die and inke's ight over Swittertnd on ‘June Dane managed to pat 2N+GN down in oud condition Following fighter attack rom from Fk were repatriated Dine wa le Inaction mer in the Bat of Feta: Kok ler Russian front with SKG 210 and 26 1 and survived the war were tasked to fly aver Switzeriand once more on 8 June and again Suis BY 109s took off to intercept. This time the Swiss BF 109s exacted a higher toll than four days previously IL/2G 4 suffered the loss of four Bf 110s, two from 4. Staffel and one from each of the other two Staffeln, One two 4. Staffel aircraft shot down, three aircrew were killed, The 5. Staffel BF 110, a C-4, 2NVGN, W, Nr. 2831, was put down relatively intact by Fu, Manfred Date after taking hits fom AA fire and in combat with a Swiss Bf 109, anne and his Borcfunker, Herbert Klinke, were repatriated, and whereas Klinke survived the wer, Dahne was to lose his life over England later in the year. The 6, Staffel aircaft to be lost was the of Staffelkapitan, Obit. Gerhard Kadow. Kadiow, like Dahne, would be shot down over England a few weeks later, but unlike Dahne he would became 2 prisoner of the British. Swiss losses amounted to one Bf 109 E which bellylanded after combat. After this incursion on 8 June, and the consequent losses to the Luftwaffe, no further forays by BF 110 units were made over Swiss air space. ‘As the month progressed and matters drew to their inevitable conclusion in the Western campaign, 2G 26 bore the brunt of most of the losses in combat. All Zerstérer units would soon be preparing for the next campaign: the attack on, and potential iavasion of, Great BritainLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 31 eo: 114932 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers ict, WeLOW ANDLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 33 LEPT. NBADN of 5106576. ‘BELOW: 29 May 1940, MM¥DN of 5/26 76 crash landed northwest Omer tolling damage in combat, with Borer Ute Abert Links wound! RIGHT, Bey tones BIO 62 of 1/26 52,hieh again des not easey the Gruppe ‘emblem The Werkummer of the tical can be sen in white on {he ear fuselage Note the larger sie fiselage crossLEFT: Acad game io progress eatering, fon ek Kobert fw, Siyetann and Fw Homan all rm 13 State eirgeschader LIVER of 1. Stal forms 2 Iuckrop 9 the game Sch 1 Sepiembee 1940, Secgemuna was killed when his F110 crshed on wake May 140 a wn ws killed inaction September 1940 fying Ronan Staelkipiein ptm Hes Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-1 of 14,(Z)/LG 1 LA+EK displays the early style twotone green camouflage witht Just be seen on the forward fuselage. This ‘C’ has the rounded wl style fuselage cross. The small wolt's head Gruppe emblem ean ips of the earlier ‘B" variant.Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers °@ 35 Spacing ofthe uni eode aracters an the lsc fuselage "The swastk feared on ‘only What appear to be of some kin! pray covers the fnclage crise and 13@G This machine rae: loa of the upper surface wing eros ‘ities the ante ee fuselage cron andthe36 @)Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers "Er _ Be {BET A formation of Ju 875 ty over Be 10 Gs of 1/26 1The dstincsve hoc wisps above clouds’ ember {scarred on the nose of all sbrce BE 10, ABOVE: The remains of BF L10 brought down during the Wester Campaign, RIGHT. 2N4GH forms 3 backdrop for Vietor Maier a Statfelnand dang fhe Western campaign The useage eros thar seen in an eather photowaph of 4 265240 110doen the fuselage sides with the Sndar! se fnelage eso ad Sweat om the fi ony festres which became mare peevalent asthe Tutwaffe headed ia the Bane of Brain The fin caries one victory be Messerschmitt Bf 110 C of 5./26 76 Black ‘Gof 5./2G 76 carries features that were common to this Gruppe throughout 1940. The distinctive ‘Sharksmouth’, emblem ‘adorns the lower nose, while a solid two-tone upper surface camouflage of 70/71 Is Seen. Unlike other units, ll,/ZG 76 did not lighten the fuselage sides of its aircraft and this upper surface scheme was carried to the end of the Battle of Britain, The laterstyle larger fuselage cross is evident, the swastika is now painteé on the fin only, and one vietory bar Is painted on the port fnms pace AND OPPOSITE Foe vows OBE TIO C, Scat ified. The emblem of 9 State ean be ceaey seen on the nose and the indivi erat eter Band the Spine tips are in the Statel colour af yellow. Messerschmitt BF 110 C of 9,/ZG 26 3U+ET has the Solid two-tone camouflage that was prevalent in the early months of 1940. The individual alrcraft letter and the spinner tips are in the Staffel colour of yellow. The 9. Staffel emblem of a cockerel is carried on the nose. Note the relatively wide spacing of th and number of the fuselage code.Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 3940 @)Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers ABOVE. A uround ‘mechan poses in front of He 110 C OF IL/2G The ‘eb of thee smmabne to good advange ascan the two tone upper sure amoulfago¢ REE Battle of Britain Vo sccccarnnan trite dite sren ott npc ne Syansh Gn ra tote ee conoogw nie evens ne res, hte woul ove ater fr ne oe Goreairt motto ors apvonch fhe ovate oes eo Loews tno nut tre Ronsees apart vs moderators stn ne wat het canoe of singe wines esses 6/105 te Stuhes abner anny Stone nv be cnn ye Lae iret lenge Pls Sacnavon crore mabe’ ls te aan eet cab ona Lua cove ite everson ear ot ftng ate re cow ino or areal oo’ rc ang ot ol tre rence oh of he evoag Bt c,h the ie of ase sowie we ste uma shape re Sate, oats eazame, re BaP hd tle Irena of tw Late as Bepestone, estore ard sera, te tar bbe FAP eres Scien Tie ttmfe he eat enone hotigare Sete, bt Seon ob Nowe na spre tea aco te alte pr orm Lue ews ctcoran he unba cr FAF area shot down, and te davage cured oad and ound stators. Ovrestratn acing Oop essen woud be LEFT. A view of a 1/26 1 machine inside a hangae The starbourd spinner tip appears to be in eto hen ‘white of the was wings, hich ‘would incite a 6, State ace ‘The forward scion of the Starboard engine cowiing i “unusually fre fom any staining ooLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers'and Destroyers '@ 41 July (On 4 July the only unit formed specifeally for operations against the United Kingdom came into existence. Efprobungsgruppe 210 (Expr. Gr. 210), which trensletes roughly as Test Wing 210, was formed at Kain Ostheim airfield under the command of Hotm. Walter Rubensdérffer. Rubensdorffer, 2 Legion Condor veteran, had spent 2 period of time at the Air Ministry before taking up his new post. ‘The unit has previously been credited with having hand-picked crews, or being a unit with ete fers. Neither is correct. The unit was formed from existing units and crews posted in, mainly straight out of training school. 1. Staffel was formed feom 1./26 4 apart fram Lt. Victor Molders who went to night fighters, and Lt, Horst Marx whe moved to the Bf 109 Eequipped 3, Staffel of Erp. Gr. 210). 2. Staffes was formed from 3. Staffel, Stukageschwader 77 (StG. 77), and 3. Staffel was formed from 4. Staffel, Jagdgeschwader 186 (4./JG 186). Among the crews pasted straight in from training were Lt, Erich Beudel and his Bordfunker, Obergerreiter (Ogefr) Heinrich Diemer, and Uffe, Werner Neumann and his Bordfunker, Oger. Kar! Stott. Adaitionally, because of his Specialist (albeit limited) knowledge of using, the Bf 109 Eas a fighteroomber, Hptm. Karl Valesi was seconded to 3, Staffel In the weeks leading up to the formation of Erpr. Gr 210, the expectation was that the unit would oversee the testing and operational development of the projected Messerschmitt Me 210. However such were the delays in that aircraft's programme development that the unit was used instead to dovolop the fighter-bomber concept. Allied to that, the Messerschmitt Bf 140 C6 aireraft on charge with 1./2G 4 were transferred with the crews to 1./Erpr. Gr. 210, and the new Staffe! operated these aireratin July and the first half of August in missions against England. The 'C-6', of which only 12 were ever built, was net a bombcarrying Bf 110 it carried a 30 mm cannon housed in a large fairing under the central fusetage in place of the standard two 20 mm cannon, The 30 mm cannon-armed Bt 120 was factory built; it was not a modification that could be fitted ‘inthe fla’. Erroneously referred ta in ‘most publications as the MK 101, the correct designation for the 30 mm cannon of 1940 was, in fac MG 104. All armament of ‘cannon’ calibre (i.e, 20 mm or above) in the Luftwaffe in 1940 was referred to as "MG" witness the MG-FF and MG-FF/M 20 mm guns in both tne Bf 109 and BF 110, ‘The unit code for Erprobungsgruppe 210 was 'S9. However, the BY 110 C6 retained their old unit comes (of 2N’ unt the fist fighterbombers were taken on charge by 2. Staffel atthe ond ofthe fist week in AUgUSt twas only then that al the unit’ aceaft carried the °$9" code. 2. Staffel and the Gruppenstab took on chara the frst batch of 13 BF 110 DO/@ fghtertomaers deiveres from the factory In the forthcoming weeks these Units. would figure prominent in the developing battle for supremacy ofthe skies over England. By 1. July the reorganisation of tne Zerstover forces was complete, Whereas ZG 26 remained intact, 26.2, previouslya single Gruppe, was increased to two Gruppen strength with I/26 52 being re-designated 2G 2. 26-1 was disbanded. With 1. Staffel becoming 1./Erpr. Gr. 210, the other two Staffein of . Gruppe LEFT, 2N RH, BEL C6 of Lepr Gr 210-The swbie/be/white spinners ean be ‘leary seen as ean OF Safe of sing blue asthe colour for he third character ofthe42 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers The Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-6 somewhat unis ircrft appeared inthe ses of Western Burope in the spring and summer of 1940. ‘Whereas in the standin Bi 110 fighter there was a change fom the two 20 mm MGEF cannon tthe inyproved NGFF/A, inthe C6 subvariane thre ws «racial adjustment to the armament inthe kwer nose This involved a change that could only be undertaken in te construction fctory. not inthe eld. place ofthe fr 20 ct cmp cule 30 oun cana, housed ia lp fing was noted exile ocho: The origins of this cannon could be foun! in the Solothurn S-18-1000 20 wm antkank rie Rheinmetall tok that design and scaled it up to 30 mm configuration. The test ed forthe installation ofthe protoype in a BF 110 was Bf 110 BF, DAAPY.Ai tests were considered a succes, and plans were tn 1940 all guns of 20 mma calibre or higher wer stil designated "Gewebr’ (gun), not ‘Kamome? (Gannon), hence the MG-FF and MGFE/M 20 mm armament in Bf 109 fs of 1940.The 30 mm Kanone invalled in the C6 was given the designation MG 101", One pilot, when questioned about the qualities ofthe C6 stated tat the ftment ofthe 30 tim cannon actwally improved the fying hirscerntics ofthe machine, an the picement of the cannon changed the cente of gravity of the ict aing itr euler to bande ste In carly June 1940 two BF 110 C6s were ised to 1 Safe, Zerstorergeschwader \ for operon testing These aircraft were allocated to 1w0 ofthe feost experienced plots of the Staff Obertenimant Martin Itz, and Oberleutnant cine Vicor Milders Ther remit was o test the aircraft's capability in atcks against ground targets, withthe head-on ew of caveat that under no circumstances should dearer iliwo enemy hand Aftera repulse bomber escort the 30 mm 6 10 inssion, the two pilots, with their Bordfunters, would take off in the 6s and seek out tagers of Kanone ite co Opportunity The Stafel took on charge more Cs during June and upon its redesignation to 1 Stage, MHOCE OE Erprobungsgruippe 210 on | July 1940, it took its C6s with i to this new experimental unit, Ulimately, 2 Ta total of ony 12 Cs woud be ssed fom the Gotha factory Upon its formation, irprobungegruppe 210 had x mixed bag of aircraft type. I. Staffel had only Ce Gruppenstab and 2. Safe took on charge the ft batch of Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighteebombers designated BF 110 DOMs, and. 3. Stafel were outited with the fighterbomber version of the Messerchnit i 109, the BF 109 E-4/B. With this melange of Messerschmits,Erprobungsgruppe 210 entered the Bate of rtan Evilence from the fight log book of Zeunant Erich Beudel of 1/Erpe Gr. 210 shows thatthe craft letter (he thin! character inthe fuselage code) ofthe G6 with 1/2G Land LE Gr 210 was selected fom the second half of the alphabet. eutnant Erich Beudel flew Cs between 9 July incivi ae and 15 August with the individual leters-P',"R',O"N''S-and T’.Additionally, the old unit designation of TEA on 2G 1,2N" (the first ewo charicters of the fuselage code) was cartied on the Cs of 1 /Eype: Ge 210 until Mh ihe fang. the Stal received its fest batch of D4/B fighter-bombers in eaely August, when all aircraft of the Staffel renewed, then carried the Exprobungsgruppe 248 cade of $9 ‘nly and carly August. the G4s were involved in providing escor to the Bf 110 fghtesbombers ofthe unit careying out attacks on shipping around the southeast coast of England and undertaking armed reconnaissance missions secking out convoys and reporting back their position. On occasion they would ako cary out attacks on ships with the 30 mm cannon if 4 suitable opportunity presented itself. was on one such escort mission, on 29 July thatthe aireruft of Lewinant Brich Beudel was bitin combat with Hursicanes of 151 Squadron, and he namayed (0 crsband his damaged Bf 110 C6, 2N#RH, back in France with his Bord/unker, Obergefreiter Heinrich Diemer, being. hospitalised due to wounds he received during combat.The Stall recorded loses of C6 in action on 30 July (one), and. 11 August (two) when it operated a mixed force of (€465 and D0/Bs for the fest time. Wit the areval ofLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 43 the DO/B alert and the shift ofthe Late c land targets the use of the C46 diminished. However on the ‘aid against Croydon in the early evening of 15 August, ‘one C6 was lost, the only one to erash on the English mainland during the entire course of the Battle of Britain, Leumant Brich Bewlel and his new Bondjienker, Oto Jordan, were both killed 484 result of being shot down in S9¥TH.This gave the RAF and in particular the Royal Aircraft. Establishment at Farnborough, the opportanity to examine the MG 101 And its armament The remaining 6s were retained by Pxprobungsgruppe 210, and when that unit wis Sym Kanone is redesignated Sebmetizampfgeschuider 210 in. April clearly sen on this 1941 ad transferred tothe East weeks tert take pat HE 110 C6 of in the assule on Russia, the COs moved with it, L/tepeGr2t0 Evidence from the camage/loss reports shows that the Nowe Me sper 156s were estribated tothe Il. Gruppe ofthe new unit Inevitably arter loses were sere. fcr and ‘Ante stvon the 18 October 1941 a C4 coded S9+AM of 4 /SKG 210 didnot rtuen from a combat mission south of Moscow, the distinctive cin silof this and on 16 Decne further C6 coded SD+MN of 5/SKG 210 fi ApOvE Wathasar——rema sd rete from operations An in esting colours atthe B06 fin st hon ete ath the aerate tee emooe! eran hea owe as See Aa te ieee er cere eer eynter oe pound am roscoe & wicese oey l er eee a pee Te eves Sart ee goes ecm waar eg es Seen eet cere eee eae tapping anaes west coeds’ The Sel eee ane Joss of G6 within the lineage of Erpr G 2G 1 occurred on 27 February 194: 210 = SKG 210 ‘when SO4SP of Iovsing vo sing down for servicing ndmmimtenance, 6/2 1 was lost south of Mosisk the $0 Later in the war three G6s were in service with sone MIL/ZG 26 in North Africa. Their allocation to that unit almost certainly came about through the Gés being sent to a repair facility, and then issued to 2 front line unit requiring replacement aircraft, Although the ©6 passed into history, the principle of ‘mounting a heavy calibre weapon under the fuselage of the BY 110 did not cease, Later in the war, the BF 110 G variant was fitted with a 37 mm cannon, known as the Flak 18%, with the intended purpose of using i€ a8 tank destroyer. It was, however, later used in action. against Americin bomber formations Messerschmitt Bf 110 C6 of 1./Erpr. Gr. 210 One of only 42 Bf 440s armed with a single 30 mm cannon under the fuselage, this alrcraft of 4./Erpr. Gr. 240 was shot down following the early evening raid on Croydon on 15th August, taking the pilot, Lt. Erich Beudel, and his 19 year-old Bordfunker, Ogett. Otto Jordan, to thelr deaths, The early style solid two-tone green upper surface camouflage of 70/74 is carried. The unusually-coloured spinners in white /bloe/white are shown, as is the Individual alrcraft letter of ‘T’ in blue outlined in white - a deviation from standard practise.44 @)Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers BELOW: Hen Gruppen ommandeur of VCZ/AG 1 who ted the Gruppe thro 1950 ‘at ein ile in etm over England om 27 Septemiree ‘were transferred to the emerging nit fighter force. I Gruppe, 26 1 was re-designated IlL/2G 76, 0 bring that unit up to the full Geschwader complement of Uiree Gruppen. An interesting point regarding the two Gruppen which were recesignated was that both JL/2G 2 and IIL/ZG 76 retained theit old Gruppe and ‘Staffel identification letters inthe unit code applied to the fuselages of ther aircraft Thus, L/Z6 2, instead ‘of changing the fourth character to "M’¢¢, Staffe, 'N’ (5. Staffe) and ‘P" (6. Staffeh, continued to use ‘HW (1. Staffeh, °K’ (2. Staftef) and “L (2. Staffel) of. Gruppe on their machines, as well as the unit code of 'A2’. Equally, IL/ZG 76 continued to use "M' (4. Staffe), W'S. Staffel and (6, Staffen when infact it should have been using 'R’ (7. Staffel, 'S' (8. Staffel and ‘T’ (9. Staffed. Moreover, the aircraft of M./2G 76 retained their old unit code of "2N' throughout the Battle, and indeed fight through to April 1941 when it formed the H. Grupge of Schneikampfgeschwader 210 (SKG 210), only then changing Its unit code to 'S9'. The reason for retaining the old Gruppe and Staffel identiications has never been explained. The ‘ikely explanation is that adnerence to Standard Luftwaffe practice was simply ignored. It was no great task 10 overpaint letters on either side of the fuselage on about a dozen accra in each Staffel. \Wnile a BF 110 0.0 of Autklérungsgruope Oberbefehishaber der LuRwatfe (a Luftwaffe Headquarters: based unit) did not return from a reconnaissance sortie te Scotland on 6 July, it appears most likely that VIZI/LG 4, under the leadership of Hotm. Horst Liensberger, was the fist Zerstéver unit to undertake ‘operations over the Channel. The Gruppe commenced with an escort mission to > Stukas on 4 July and on the forthcoming days continued with further escort duties for Stuka and reconnaissance aircraft. ViZ)/1G 4 claimed a notable success on 8 Jub, when it lodged a claim for all three Hurricanes of 43 Squadron encountered during one such mission. The fact was that only one Huricane was lost, an early incication, perhaps, of the overciaiming that would infect oth sides missions, and the numbers, fon both sides embroiled in combat, inerease¢ wer the ensuing weeks. Along with ts first claim inthis new campaign, the unit alsa suffered its inevitable fist loss on 9 July when the BF-110 of Obit. Joachitm Glienke and Oger Kat! Hoyer itched in the Channel ‘on the return fight from one such escort mission. On this occasion both crewmen were rescued by the Seenotdienst. The unit was not to be so fortunate as the Batte progressed. Il,/ZG 26 flew its first mission on 9 July losing one BF 110, but it was far more heavily engaged on the following day when stoviding escort to Do 17s out to ‘attack the convoy ‘Bread’. Tangling withthe defending RAF fighters, the Zerstrer plots filed claims for a total of 12 Spitfires and Hurricanes. With the escorting BF 109 Claiming a further 11, the total of 23 was wialy inaccurate; infact the true RAF losses were one shat dawn, one crastrlanded and two damaged. In return Il./26 26 1 BF 440s and another retumed to France damaged. torr Ww ‘kane erewemen face the camera in font of MBELN of 5706; 76.Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Desons se i 11,26 76 was in action on 11 July, fying its first mission over the Channel as escort to Ju 87 Initial underestimation of the strength of the raid soon changed and the Messerschmitts came under fierce attack, elements of 87, 238 end 601 Squadrons being involved. Once again the officer class in ‘te Zerstirer Staffeln was hit hard: the flamboyantly.named Lt. Friedrich Wolfgang Graf von und 2 Castell of 7, Staffel was shot dawn into the Channel, and the Staffelkapitan of 9. Staffel, Ob. Gerhara Kadow, recently returned from a sojourn in Switzerland, set down his Bf 110 C-4, 2N+EP, following ‘combat iniand of the English coast, near Lulworth, The most notable loss was the nephew of Hermann Goring, Obit. Hans-Joachim Goring, also of 9. Staffel, whose Bf 110 smashed into the ground with such force near Portland that no trace was ever found of him or his Borafunker, Lt. Joachim Sohréder ‘completed the losses for 9. Staffel and the Gruppe, surviving inte captwity whereas his unfortunate Bordfunker was Killed. A very sobering first mission for the Gruppe against opposition that proved to bbe determined and woll directed by RDF. To views of BE 110 C4, 2NERW Ne 5851, from 9,/2G 76 shor dows on 11 Joly 1940 Statin, ‘Obke Getz Kaor de 4 ceatively gon landing at Grange Heath, car Luton, both he and Horatuinkes Gee Helmet Schotz suring into captivity Prt frm this sutra would later be wed to get another eapeured testy (On 13 July Err. Gr. 210 undertook its first mission of the Battle of Britain. From Its home base at Denain, this unit would fly to @ forward airfield near the French coast for operations aiainst England ‘St. OmerArques was used intially, but from 1:1 August Calais Marck became the unk’s jumpingoff base for operations. The Gruppe's first action was against two convoys near the mouth of the Thames. Without interception from RAF fighters, the unit claimed hits on a total of 20,000 tons of shipping, and all aitcraft retumed to France. V.(Z)/LG 1 was alsa in action, escorting reconnaissance Do 17s to the English coast ‘and being intercepted in the process. One loss and two damaged was the return for this incursion. ‘There was a lll in operations for a few days, but on 21 ly RAF Intelligence was able to get its hands (on the relatively rare ‘C5 reconnaissance version of the BF 110. SECM, with Obit. Fiedrich-Kaf Runde ‘and Borafunker Fw. Wil Baden on board. They were shot down by Red Section of 238 Squadron afer en ‘eventful flight over southern England during which they shot down a Hawker Hart and @ Fairey Battle.46 @)Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers 1940 Une Paul 2 salle became the fi peo pe Gr 210 whe led in action Asa atk of honor 0 2 Sete fa is ‘ame inseribed abo the uni ‘miler Nove the angle of ave pnt fon the pot side Rubens, Gruppen pe Gr 210, Keeling, Comma Officer of Lito 2h fom ht dori the ater sin the anit on 50 uly 1940-The $0 nm Kanone 0 fr 110.666 can be scout Hight Repaired with parts taken from Gerhard Kadow’s 2N+EP, it would be test flown by the RAE at Famborough, Meanwhile Erpr. Gr. 210 had continued its raids against coastal shipping, and on this day the crew of Obvt. Af Habisch and Ue. Ernst Eifner of 2. Staffel counted 78 nits on theit aivraft and suffered 8 collapsed starboard undercarriage upon landing back in France after one such sortie. in the following days the two Bf 110 losses occurred in Erpr. Gr. 210. On 24 July, while attacking a convoy, the 2. Staffer fightecbomber of Uffz. Paul Hermann and his Bordfunker Uffe. Heinz Meinhardt received a direct hit from AA fire from the convoy it was attacking and plunged into the North Sea east. fof Harwich, AS a mark of respect for the fist pilot of the unit to be killed in action, the name fle, Heemann’ was inscribed above the unit emblem of one of 2, Staffel's machines, The same Staffel sufferee another loss on 27 July when, once gain on a shipping strike, the Bf 110 DO of Obit, Franz Fallerbacher received a direct Hit from AM fie, and, with ts bombs stil attached, blew up in the air. By the end of 27 July, Expr Gr 210 claimed to have sunk 80,000 tons of British shipping in the two weeks it had been operational The remaining daylight casualties for the Zerstérer units to the end of July rested with Erpr. Gr. 240, which, throughout July, was almost certainly the most active Zerstérer unit in the Lufwatfe’s armoury. On 29 July the unit's Aghter bombers attacked the convoy ‘Cat’, escorted by three BF 110 C65 of 1. Staffel and 30 BF 110s from 26 26, Attacked by 151 Squadron, the C-6 of Lt. Bich Beudel and his Borafuiker Ogerr. Heinvich Diemer took the full force of an attack by one lof the Hurricanes. On this eccasion Beudel managed to get his damaged machine, 2N+RH, back to St. Omer-Arques, On the following day, two C-6s of 2. Staffel conducted an armed reconnaissance parol over the North Sea. Having found the convoy ‘Pilat’ and attacked It, they were in turn attacked by F/Lt. Hamilton and Sgt, Allard of 85 Squadron. In the combet that followed, Lt. Hans Herold and his Bordfunker were shot down into the North Sea and posted as missing, The other BF 110 C6, piloted by 1. Staffel's Kapitén, Obit, Martin Lut, managed to return to France. Thus fended @ month of somewnat varied success for the Zerstorer units. A month that saw, however, the ‘Admiralty prohibiting its destroyers {rom patrolling the Channel in daylight An acknowledgement, perhaps, of the potency of the shipping attacks in the first weeks of this latest campaign. ABOVE: The same sireat a thse Shown oppose pallor eftecte'a od bey anding full anit ene ABOVE AB 0 C60f 1 iy Ge 210, 2060, This aera was flown shipping by Esc evden 29 Jy 1940 and ws damaged in ‘combat with Horses from 151 Squaoo. Denil ue Bordfinker Obgete, Heinrich Diemer on board The R's be ‘outned in white. Note the ut emblem on the forward Raa: Note eae Borde pane wh hasbeen ‘Completely removed, a ‘common texture of Exp Gr 210 BF 1103,Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 4748 @)Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and DestroyersLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 49 RIGHT: B10 Cs LEN50 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers WOVE; This econmenssance BF 110 C'S fom 4 (FH esplays Reavy BELOW: ‘Thea Munchhausen emblem can be een on this rong ons ncage sides and on both Insie and outside ofthe BEH10.CS of the reconnabsatice unit 4(PY14. Nove the heavy mote ts kirs, OF paracular intrest is the high contrast berween the down ee fuselage sides an! on beh engine Cowbng sin the rf appli to the upper wing surfaces engine comtings and previous photogBELOW: This BF 110 C5, SEXCM,W.Ne 2177, of §4(F)/14 was shot down by Red Section of 238 Squadron on 21 July 1940. Oble ried Kart Ronde managed to put it down in relatively good condition and parts fom 2N+HR the machine of Obkt Gerhard Kadow of 9 £265 7o, were wed to get SPHCM back © Ning condition for comparative texts inst RAF fighters. Note the heavy mote on the fuselage sides of tis irra as, Messerschmitt Bf 140 C-5 of 4.(F)/14 ‘This reconnaissance Bt 110 C8 was the first to fall into British hands showing the revised fuselage camouflage of lighter sides with an Inreguiat mottle. The camouflage appears to be two greys, perhaps the earliest known example of such colours being used on a Bf 110. Note that the individual aircraft letter °C’ Is not in the normal Staffel colour for 4. Staffel - white, but is in black. Note also the small section of the port rudder painted in primer.52 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and DestroyersLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 53 Lorn, 2N¥CX of (26476 hang ‘wing oe aks replenishes Tis central enclosed pane, which suid i 10 be partly opened for he Horner ta sing the machine som inter te Being posi. The Tdi icra leer € isin ved a unnalleis sho in et the top sorlace ofthe ues August The early cays of August saw litle combat activity: the main event to take place was the equiping of 4. Staffel, Erpe Gr. 210 with fighterbomber Bf 110 .0/Bs. Conversion training tothe use of the BY 120 as a fighterbomber then took piace for crews who had prewously flown the 30 mm carn ‘axmes C6 variant. 2. State suffered the loss of two arcraft on 6 August: one was lost when it was pulled out of ts dive too late during dive bombing aactce and crashed with the loss ofboth crewrnen and the other, ona test fight to check a tepaired faulty engine, was adandoned by its erew when engine robiems arose once more. Inthe latter aivrat the Boraunker’s postion was Daled out Safely. The pilot, Uz Heinrich Scnulthes, baled out but hit the frame of the averaft anc was killed 8 August - Convoy ‘Peewit’ Leaving Southend on 7 August, convoy ‘Peewit’ was closely monitored by reconnaissance aircraft and was frst attacked by German surface boats in the early hours of & August. The fist attack on the convoy, shortly after 09:00 hours, was met with spirited opposition by defending RAF fignters. A second attack was launched inthe early afternoon an the convoy, which had already suffered losses from the morning assault. On this occasion fighter escort for the bombers was provided by the Bf 110s of V(Z)/LG 4. Once again they tangled with intercepting Briish fighters, and once again their claims for vielories were somewhat Ctimistic: 13. feature oftheir claims was that they were all scored at low-level, between 500 and 1,000 metres. Set against that, 14. Staffe lost one Bf 110 ‘and crew, with a further five returning to France with varying degrees of damage, one of whose pilots succumbed to his wounds. 11. August ~ central Channel and Thames estuary Action early on 1. August involved the BF 109s of 3./Erpr. Gr. 210 shooting down barrage balloons AMHo¥r: Pos ‘xotecting Dover Harbour, and the Bf 110 of that unit then following up and bombing the harbour. a FW Gerhard aircraft retuned safely to Calals Marck Jeet Oto Later in the morning two major raids built up, both featuring BF 110s, and the RAF reacted in fw. tsedn strength to each of them. Heading aut of the Cherbourg Peninsula towards the Dorset coast. the Hisdemann of Luftwate formation was racked by Bish radar. Both Gruppen of 26-2 provided te ger escort along NACONG Bf 109 of 1G 2 and JG 27 for Ju 885 and He 4.125 drawn trom KG 54 ané KG 27 respectively. In cilonon Eleht RAF squadrons rose to meet what was the largest raid yet to be sent against England Sant in LA Arriving at their holding point, the BF 110s formed a large defensive circle to draw the RAF nghtersindemann ‘away from the incoming bombers. The ruse worked, and soon a hea dogfight developed between tne fein LiscK an Spitfires and Hurricanes and the Bf 110s of ZG 2. This was sufficient for the bombers to get through 27 September.54 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers WOVE, sE4CA.a rr Dotee Gschwalertah of 76 26,Note the ‘ne chevron on the forwant fusca, hich leer of is in the Geschwadestab ‘colour of Be to their allotted target, the oil storage tanks at Portland, which they duly ht. The consequences, however, were that fighter losses on both sides were relatively heavy. The Geschwaderstab of ZG 2 lost Obit. Giinther Hensel, who was shot down into the Channel and posted missing, and Obit. Wilhelm Schaefer, who ditched into the Channel and was picked up by the German airsea rescue service | Gruppe lost four aircraft into the Channel, with a further four returning to France damaged. Among the |. Gruppe losses was Kommandeur Major Ernst Ott. Hotm. HansPeter Kilbel, Starfelkapitin of 2, Staffel, was appointed acting Gruppenkommandeur. Hl. Gruppe fared better on this eccasion, losing ‘only ane rachine with another returning to base damaged. As was the case whenever combat involving large numbers of aircraft took place, combat claims submitted far exceeded the actual losses of the other side. 26 2 alone claimed 17 victories, which, taken with the claims of JG 2 and JG 27, would be far more than the actual RAF fighter return of 15 losses and 9 damaged. However, overclaiming. was endemic in all fighter forces. AS this raid closed, another, further east, was preparing to take off for the Thames Estuary. ‘The target was convoy ‘Booty’ off the Essex coast, and Evpr. Gr. 210 was tasked to carry out the attack on the convoy in concert with a formation of Dornier 17s from Kampfgeschwader 2 (KG 2), with escort provided by J. Gruppe of 2G 26. This would be the first mission that 4. /Erpr Gr. 210 would Undertake with ‘fighter-bomber’ BY 110s, having taken on chargé their frst batch only a few days earlier In the month and having put the 2. Staffe fighter crews through @ quick training programme in lining Up a target and dropping bombs on it in a shallow dive. Four BF 110 C-6s also flew on this mission. The raiding force was able to attack the convoy before the RAF fighters intercepted, a mixed forse of Hurricanes from 17 and 85 Squadrons and Spitfires from 74 Squadron. In the furious combat that followed Erpr. Gr. 210 lost two BF 110 C65 from 4. Staffel, ali four crewmen being posted as ‘missing records subsequently being amended to ‘killed in action’. 4. Staffel, ZG 26, also lost wo aircraft, with 2 further two BF 110s from 2. Staffel, 26 26 managing to get back to France with combat damage ‘Among the two losses suffered by 1./2G 26 was the Bf 140 of Staffelkapitdin Hptm. Johann Kogler, who was to spend some days in the waters of the North Sea hefore being rescued by the efficient German air-sea rescue service.Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 55 A Zerst6rer pilot’s Battle of Britain pb. Wilhelm Schaefer, 2G 2 ithelm Schaefer wasalready an experienced pilot by the time he entered the Haute of Britain W ‘evict with Zertorenecieacer 2 wih his senior officer Oersteniant Teich Voltbracht, he moved o ZerstOnergescbuuider 2-when Vollbracht was posted to that unit as Commanding Officer oF the Gesebuader. Schueler took up post as Adjutant to Vollbeaeht ‘On 11 August 1940 a large force of Messerschmitt BF 110s flew escort to a bomber formation headed for Portland. Schaefer describes this eventful mission: ‘On this day, shortly elore 10 am. all of the available Me 110s of 1. and I. Gruppen of Zerstorergeschwader 2 formed up over the Chesbourg peninsula 9 escort a large formation of Junkers 885 and Heinkel 111s on an tack on the southemn English port of Portland. “Allogether there were more than 150 aircraft ying towards Portland, of which 60 were Messerschmits. After arriving at the target they (the Messersehmitts) formed an “Abwebriercis defensive cirele) above the bombers, thus allowing them to complete theit task: to destroy the Fue! installations in che harbour. “In this way the Me 110s attracted the fall force of the English attack consisting of 74 Spies yoy poe Withclm and Hurricanes flying above them. The Geemun Fighters lost six aircraft i this attack. ‘Sees en heme dotag ie ae “Tl now supplement this with my own personal experience. The Stab (Staff Flight) machines 1L/KG 142.0 the eae 109 Debi tinh of ZG 2, flown by Gesehwaderkommodore Oberstleuinant Friedrich Vollbeacht, and is personal emblem of single yellow Geschwaderadjutant Oberleutnant Wilhelm Schacter with Bordjunker Oberleutnant de Wilde, — shining Mas can be seen fee this mission with the Staff Flight of | Gruppe, Zerstorergeschwuder 2 under Major Ot “Within this formation I flew on the left side of the Kommodore’s machine. When the Fnglish aircraft tacked, Hursic {80 into position right behind him.1 got into a good firing position andl, with a smoking engine, be dived steeply downward “After 1 combat lasting about an hour, flew alocgside the Kemmadore as the whole unit headed! for the French coast. We Ind just passed the midway point in the Channel when there wl me showed! that my Bordfunker, Oberteutnant de Wilde, had been wounded. Because [ couldn't work out the cause of the explosion - Flak? Enemy’ fighter? Ammunition exploding? ~ I set the aireraf into 2 low dle over the Channel. “At this moment there was a second explosion. The cockpit canopy and other parts blew away: [ele 1 had beca wounded in the head and arms. Obit. de Wilde appeared badly wounded. The plane dived at high speed towards the water A this stage. still hoped that we could reach the French coast, 10 be able help ObI. le Wilde, should he sil be alive. Haling out was oUt of the question. “In order to reduce the speed of the airerat,1 put the propellers into ‘dive’. They had, however, been damaged by the second explosion, so 4 was diving almost vertically towards the water: It was the worst moment in my life up to that point With all my strength I suceeded in coming lout ofthe dive a few metees above the water. Becwuse of the damaged propellers staight Might was nor possible, so I decided at the last minute tw land on che water S ne from the ight 1s an explosion behind me. My oxygen system bad fled and glance be andar instructions for such a landing in an Me 110 were somewhat vague. The pilot was advised to release the cockpit ‘canopy; unharness himself, 10 avoid collision with the dashboard, and roll forward out of the eockpiK. In my case the Me 110 dint respond in the standaed way. IeJanded 0 a swell, the canopy was open, and I was free from my harness. I didn’t roll ont of the cockpit, however ut hit ry head on the dashboard. How long | remained unconscious, Ido not know. When | came to, however, most of the aireralt was already under water. quick glance into the Bordfunker's posi that nothing more could be done. OME. De Wilde was dead “I jumped into the sea and immediately sank like a stone because I hadn't released my parachute. Luckily Twas able to do this 8 1 When T came to the surface once more, the aircraft hal gone under, together with de Wilde: Fean’t deseribe my feelings at that inne ment For flights over water and which had on showed m “All was not lost. I noticed Few metres away the coloured marker which was standacd ui broken off on impact. It would be a lifesaver since it marked with a yellow/preen light the pkice of"anling'so that I might be saved. “The rescue operation ran almost like fry tale. son of Generaljeldmarsebail von tslomberg, Major Axel von Blomberg, was standing A this time on the cliffs near Cherbourg and saw through his binoculars an aircraft returning trom England and falling into the sea, then disappearing. He registered the direction and distance (about 25 kilometres) on his mip and then drove in his car to the nearest fight airfield in order to put into operation a rescue plan.The Me 109s stationed there had returned shortly before the battle and had (© be refuelled and made ready for the next mission. The Station Commander was not particularly keen on the proposed plan but eventually agreed 10 it “In the meantime I swam for almost four hours in the Channel, aways wider the fase impression didn’t know thatthe Gulf Stream was taking me in the opposite direction! During this long period many German aircraft lew overhead, though, Rot one gave me any recognition. AS T felt che onset of tiredness, together with a bullet wound in my upper left arm that was becoming increasingly painful, | suddenly heard the noise of engines and three Me 109s flew directly towards me. They wagaled their wings ~ sign of Fecognition ~ and one flew off back while the other «wo remained in formation near me.Aftet another half hous of so a German maritime emergency altcrat,a Heinkel 59, arrived from its base in Cherbourg. It landed neatby and rescued me from the water “The cold had got to me so avuch that was unable to climb onto the raft of the He 59 without help. 1 had to be hauled into the Someone gave me a schnapps to drink and Iwas then informed that I might have to jemp back into the water if they couldn't st they weren't in 100 per cent working order! that I could reach the French coast. 1 continned overteaf56 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers 10 9p ‘Kommodore, since I ad been reported as"missing'the previous day: That dy. once a down was broadcast live on German radio and heard by my family back home, "A few days later I had the opportunity to thank personally Major Axel von Slombers for his help. For me, the reseue o-bope situation, Oberleutnant de Wilde had made a particular request to fly on that mission of 11 August 1940. His fare was particulary sae for me.” \Wilheim Schaefer did not fly again until 4 September 1940. This was another eventful flight, which he describes “On the evening of 5 September the mision orders of the Geschwaderstab of Zerstirergeschadet 2 fe the following day, Wednesday 4 September, were issued. AS well as the Kommodore, Oberstleutnant Friedrich Vollbracht, and myself as Geschwaderadjutant, the Gauppenkommandeuren of Land Il. Gruppen of 26 2 were in attendance, Our base was Berck-surMer on the Normandy cons, south of Boulogne. “Hoth Gruppen had been detailed to fy escort to bomber formations. The targets were aircraft industry works in the south-west ancl west ‘of London, Twas not down to fly this mission, as my aircraft had been shot down into the Channel on U1 August between Portand and Cherbouns, and a replacement still had not arrived. “On the morning of 4 September, a the aircrif of I, Gruppe were started up, and Il Gruppe were moving to their take-off position, the Geschwaiderkommodore suddenly gave me the ‘green light’ fo tke part in the mission in his machine, in his place “With nis Hontfunker, Untetotlizier Heinz endljus,| arrived atthe airfield ten minutes later and found that the Kommodore’s machine had, ‘one wing uncovered. As both Gruppen hid already taken off there was no time to warm up the cagines, Already, on takeoff there were problems, as the tall unit was malfunctioning and the cold engine was not functioning properly 1 was not successful in my hope of eatching up the Fest of my unit before the English coast was reaches, and so my flight was 2 solo effort to England, rom afar [could see thatthe Me 110s were caught up int heavy dogfight Although my left en inthe meantime to link up with my Gesehovader on the return flight. As a result of my stuttering engine 1 as neither high enowgh nor fast icked by several Spitfires.As my chances inthe forthcoming ‘combat were slim, | took my fist chance to live towards the coast = that was mistake.AS | flew over the coast, coming towards me from the ‘Channel were to English fighters that inmediately engaged me in a low-level combat. Fired at fom both sides, but without success 38 hoping that they would soon have to break off combat elie to ow Fuel, When thi fighter appeared above me in firing position, and tuening, the full se of my Messerschmitt presented 2 good target. In spite of several hits, twas Still able to control the areral, until the Het engine 1s, [shut off botl engines, and carried out a bellytanding in a meadow. The September 1940, With thatthe active war service for ‘oF a happy landing in Cherbourg 1 was taken to the loc hospital to ‘thaw out" and thes nat my unit's bas fue next day, was brought before the StAubin. the story of my shooting, ime out of a still not functioning fully hoped ‘enough to catch up with my returning Geschwader and shorty afterwards was 3 failed and I could no longer do so, In order not 10 eras in place of the force landing was Mill Hil, Shoreluam Downs; the tive was 13:50 hours on ‘my Bordfunker and myself ended "T myself was not wounded, Unteroffizier Bendjus was slightly wounded. Our aim 40 set our aircraft on fire was not ta be, We were soon, fareeted by Home Guard, and transported into captivity in a nearby village. On the way we were met by an English officer pilot, who claimed have shot us down. He apologised for not bein Te wife of the village policeman, in whose kitchen we spent the frst night, provided us with hot ta, toast, sh and sausage for which T am thankful even to this iy Cinfortunately {don’t have the names of these wonderfl people, s0 I wasnt able # Contact them post: able to take us fora drink in the officers’ mess with bie. sich. Noo rg dee on 1 Sepember is SMFAR Bowe by ‘Obi. wae Schacter, Geschvaderadjuan (176 2 with Heine Bends as orunkce The seas the norma Geschier omosore, Obs, Fried Vict, ‘who alms Schaefer 0M his ‘machine om his caLuftwaffe Fighter-Rongiprgnagt = 1 94G 12 August - RDF stations, central south coast, Manston & Hawkinge 1m what was to be its busiest day of the Battle of Britain, Erpr Gr, 210 took of rom Calais Marek avound 08:30 hours on 12 August to attack ROF stations dotted around the south coast of England Heading out low aver the Channel, the unt spit into four formations, each with @ specie target. Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Walter Rubensdortfer set course for the RDF site stuated In the tiny illage of Dunkre, north of Canterbury: Obit. Otto Hintze led the BY 109 E4/8s of 3, Staffel tothe site at Dover; further along the coast Obi. WiheimRicnard RoBiger led 2. Staffel towards Rye, while Ooi. Martin Lute took is 1. Staffel to the most westerly target, Pevensey. Gen the smal size ofthe torgets involved, al four formations acquitted themselves well by hitting therm, The masts, however. were not toppled, and although thre of the four stations were temsorariy put oUt of action (Dunne was the ony site to continue to function, they were al ack n operation before the end of the day All aire of Erp. Gr. 210 cetumed to Calas Marck Towards miday, Jv as of KG 61 tumed ox in force for a raid against Gosport, Portsmouth Harbour and the ROF station at Ventnor on the isle of Wight. Among the escort fghtrs for this raid wore the Bf 110s of 26 2 a8 well a8. and. Gruppen of 26 75. Once again, RAF fgnters oi not imereeot unt the bombers had completed their task. 1 and ML/KG BL Nk Portsmouth Harbour, wile Gruppe together wit the Stabsscharm of KG 51 made @ devastating attack onthe Ventnor ROF site, puting it out of action for three days Following the bombing, the bornbers nay come under attack fom RAF fighters, so exacted a tol of eight bombers shot down, incucing that ofthe Geschwaderkommodore ot KG 51, Oberst Dr. Johann-lkmarFsser.Interceptng ites also engage the AoW: LAsAK of 8F 1105, and 1/26 2 lost wo BY 110s wih a further two managing to get back to France with combat 142 ton he damage. One of the losses was the alcraft of acting Grupponkommandeur ptm, Hans-Peter Kate, {iat vine ‘nose Bf 110 crashed into the Channel off Portsmouth. Kies tenure a8 acting Gruppenkommandeur —sytweined Note had lasted only one day. While lodging claims for sik wetones, I,/ZG 76 oid not escape unscathed, 8 the sin. mal to State lsing Wo ara, incuting hat of Stafeaptan, ptm. Mex Gat Hoyos. oe Meanwhile, rearmed and fuelled, te BF 110s and Bf 109s o Err Gr. 210 took oft rom Calis- yoshi than Marck and headed for Manston airfield onthe south-eastern tip of Kent. On the way they were joined tat onthe nett by Domier 17s of KG 2, and the complete formation made is runin tothe target unopposed. The Me oe Manston Operations Record Boo recorded 100 craters on the airfield, and 65 Squadran managed ok wih take off as the raid was in progress, nly one Spite not making i into te aid to ts engine stalling, —_=Dparety m0 Heading back across the Channel, Erpr. Gr. 210 was attacked, almost certainly by 54 Squadron ne Soltfies and the Hurscanes of 501 Squadron. One fF 110 of 1, State tured wth sight damage folowing this intercept, Early afternoon produced all in proceedings, but inte late afternoon Erp. Gr. 220 took off agin for its tied mission of the day. Unescorted, it made its shortest journey of the day, diving down on Hawkinge airfield ang hitting it witha precision attack. altough considerable damage was done tothe airfield, i was not put out of action. Al srrat ofthe unit returned © Calais Marck. Thus ended a day imyshicn the Bf 1203 of various units had pit in a major effort and suered losses. In the case a Err. Gr 210 twas a cay that would prove tobe te cnost successful in ts history. “Adletag’, upon which the Luftwaffe High Command placed s0 much importance, would folow: the springboard forthe Luftwaffe to achieve the utimate defeat ofthe RAF 13 August - ‘Adlertag” “Adiertag’, 13 August, got off to the worst possible start when, due to unsettled weather conditions, al morning attacks were cancelled. However, in one of the more notable Luftwaffe raids of the Battle of Britain, communications went awry and although the recall order reached the Bf 110 escort from 26-26, Oberst Fink's Do 17s from KG 2 did not receive any such order. Frantic attempts by the Zerstorer crews, to alert the Do 47 crews that they should return proved fruitless and the Dorniers continued to head for their target. Sticking rigidly to their orders, 2G 26 returned to base, leaving KG 2 to press on alone.58 @ Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers ‘K’ Reports luring the battle of Britain, RAF Imelligence Sections gathered information from a number of sources. Ar the time, this information 1vas considered of paramount importance, since the threat of invasion was 8 real fear for the frtsh authorities. Anything that coukd provide an accurate picture of the enemy's Fesources wis vital. faformation was circulated inthe form of summaries, which are now in the public dor “The following copies of summaries for Exprobungsgeuppe 210 give a flavour of the kind of information RAP Intelligence Sections. were sathering, What can be seen Is the fet that they did not know the exact tile of the uni ye occasion had t0 query the sourve information and on 0 Manaton Aerodrome, Kant. 14/0/40. Vetoes MR wo wana: to. 310. 89 + a, mm eft sumery orec: see, | aR ane weston: start TFs SASTTTTL 1550 bo HtosiceSefearones “@'s Setmtee 7 she stctl Sa eo nin Arron ne 07/40 1 REE Breer Pee, RSA Ss oe sngot Bie" frem a thotetet Ste gus, walou exploted the sintreft S°%Es tbs, 052 wounded the Wi, “and Daded Sate Imoaiately after yutling the rip-2ord of Ris peraanate, ho get fonmamolous, tnd ohiy susa'to inthe Sisk Wand! of wast Soares i the cirorart ie inaly mmuieg, but it appears to be in «due to duplication (initial onsite reports fr 27 September give DY 110s piloted by Fw. Fritz Ebner and Hptm, Martin intz the same fuselage cod, S9+DK. Clarification later showed that Hbncr indeed flew the"*DK’, while ‘Lutz was in +D41).Icis interesting to read that relephone communications \were problematic for the intelligence section! Also, in the ease of Matin ‘Lat’ aircraft, the blue individual aireraft letter unique feature of 1. fpr Gr 210 machines) led the section to believe the full coxke was S94DA, blue being the usual colour for Gesehwaderstab letters, and therefore "8 (the Geschwwader identifier) being the last letter. logical deduction, but wrong jn this case. With the passage of time, these summaries provided a unique insight into what was going on behind the scenes ay frontline RAF ‘squadrons locked horns with their Luftwaffe counterparts. eset onmee 22. capes wae formed sae tine afte ioe 20%h iy, ey, ,2t me forage Lili, sem at net of te seven puagat soon enough Hoadley oltbeciiPas Statsoeary"coens © ONE «or Sin bt nt Sa aseaaarit anE S TELAT ee Gruppen te have proven’ & TEU wes t09'e as coe of aud for soe a eg) ena jLuftwaffe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers @ 59 — se 44075 ast. acta. (4) mort ao. 606 PS we ge es ma ne Babee a ede Bartell timo LS REE ERT SE ee “ep, a cqmand van Uauptnant vor ASRENEIN, the guseaeecr of Bienapoarasy ee sets tyerafore the thin Nemandour, ‘eich tue Givgpe how host etnce 25/3/40. rae erin ‘ind'tcw SSnsestawlae entirety on Sia" necciy simye 2 2 3009 eroSing PONTE Ma fade number of tar Mighte witout ‘Sttapanfoa by'e"otsang Zofetirer en aagane Bheu"be B5tay ah alan ee'eta ane 0 te tour en Geptenber 25tt Sn ‘eitask on the Gaperearine Dork and Etspir et geuthamptcn, on be s Ertay wuen they sheraed cron Soevboung stteee icy tu LEFT. SouDti.ehe aircraft Martin Lit was ying when shot doen fon 27 September. Note the high contrast, between the ovo upper srace camoiage oours and the song notte down the elapse The Ania ier letter ‘D'isblve outlined ia Practise fr 1 State Scat of this unit 208.4555, pase S Taae arene 6, 7 and 9 enclound JH dotted Lines sane ap. 3950,000, Parnend ALrezaet Co. Ltda, yate ‘joe! Gb. Meblas “two areas mitel proSthiy Aasowbiga the one bn course. of 2988 ter Ken 2880)’ ahd sere nehaaaaes ‘Be foturn” Sourmay nan made, fron eybriege ‘hlok’Browait' the’ adserefe back to Bouse! Fatt tosinmary srr SXTRK" BLES Ey gay fue60 sist: rae Sew ote coopera inet tiie eieg rebel en ae pet ‘tenet Ts Ntane | machine satel snes “asain thetindige en sant erste Tal og come ‘na rh tencron thet ee mane fe Fighter-Bombers and Destroyers Things were to be no beiter later in the day when, towards midday, a planned rakd with V(2)/4G 1 taking the lead to draw off RAF fighters to allow KG 54 to carry out an attack an Portland alsa miscarried. V(2)/L6 2 duly earned out their allotted task, Out the bombers this time received the ‘cancellation order. Optimistically claiming nine RAF fighters destroyed (only one was in fact lost), Hptm. Liensberger's Gruppe suffered neauly, five BF 110s being lost, and another five returning to France in varying states of damage. The launch of ‘Adlertag’ finally accurred around 16,00 hours in the afternoan in a series of attacks on Portland and Southampton, as well as airfields on the south coast. Mixed fortunes were suffered by the escorting fighters of ZG 2: |. Gruppe lost two BF 1108 whereas Il. Gruppe suffered no casualties on this occasion. However both Gruppen overclaimed, again helping to add to the belief in the higher ‘echelons of the Luftwaffe that the fight against the RAF was being won, in terms of shooting down enemy fighters in considerable numbers. II /ZG 76 was also on duty in this action, up frorn its new forward base of Jersey, Intercepted by Hurricanes, two Bf 110s were lost, and the Gruppe had other aireraft return to Lannion in France with varying degrees of damage, including those of Gruppenkommancieur Hptm., Friedrich Kan Dickoré and his wingman, the Gruppe Technical offices, Lt Richard Marchtelder. Further to the east, Erpr. Gr 210 finally took off for an attack on Southend (Rochford) airfield, ‘escorted by 1/26 26, Weather conditions at this time of day were no better than in the morning and the mmission was aborted, Erp. Gr, 210 releasing ts bombs over Canterbury and returning to base. ./ZG 26 became entangled with Hurricanes of 56 Squadron and, on this occasion, for the loss of one BF 110, shot ‘down four ofthe opposition. Others returned to France damaged, and Lt. Joachim Koepsell, disorientated after combat and desperately seeking a landfall, bellylanded at s'Hertogentosch in Holland, some 265 kilometres from his hase after a fight lasting two hours, forty fie minutes! ‘Adlertag’ nad not gone as expected, and had shown up flaws in the Lufwaffe's communications. ‘stem, Adcitionally, one of the great variables in all miltary conflicts came into play ~ the wether. What ‘should have been a day's action by the Luftwaffe with @ major impact on turning the course of te conflict way turned aut to be a rather inifferent affair. 14 August ~ Manston Following tne exertions of the previous days, the Lufwarte's response on 14 August was somewhat ‘muted. The ony action of note involved once more the BF 120 fgmervombers of Er. Gr. 210. Bad weather hampered endy mocring operations, but towards midday the unit received the aliciear to undertake an operation. intially 4. Staffel was briefed to attack the small cil airfield at Ramsgate, but ultimately it joined with 2. Staelin attacking Manston airfield once again. On this dccasion, however, the airfield defences. were better prepared than two days previously, and as entre, poses in front of bis BF 110 [Note the hole of the spinner apart {oom the ack te, fapuvity on 18 ‘rsguse 1940,Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers/and Destroyers @ 61 noth Staffeln dived to attack the airfield, the defences opened up, As aresult, 2. Staffel last two aircraft Doth shot down directly over the airfield and crashing on it. Miraculously, one of the four crewmen survived, Borafunker Gerr, Ewald Schank exticated himself from his stricken BF 120 in time to deploy his parachute sufficiently to save his life, Landing among the bombs falling from his comrades’ aircraft ‘above, he was taken to the relative safety of one of the slit trenches before being transported to hospital, where he remained for 10 days. Manston airfiel, however, took a hammering ance again, 15 August - north-east coast With better weather predicted, 25 August was to prove to be @ busy day for the Zerstérer units, Operations against the English mainland commenced in the morning, Dut it was not until the afternoon that the 6 1205 entered the fray. Luftfiote 5's entry into the Battle of Britain on 15 August was Somewhat auspicious, and had a direct bearing on its units further employment in 1940. Operating from Scandinavia, the bomber force was escorted by the Bf 110 Ds of 1/26 76 operating out of Janger. A feint raid by Heinkel He 115s to divert Baitish attention from the main focus of attack ‘approached the English coast on an incorrect track, and as a result inadvertently provided the RAF with eeatly information concerning the course of the attacking force. As a result, four RAF squadrons were ‘scrambled, and intercepted the raiders initially over the North Sea, Among the Bf 110 formation, tne first to be shot Gown into the sea was Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Werner Restermeyer, and in the combat which followed a further five losses were suffered. Of the 12 aircrew involved in these losses, only three survived into captivity. Three more Bf 110s managed to return to base damaged. One of them crast-ianded at Esbjerg with only the pilot, Uffe, Richter on board. Richter’s Borafunker had baled out over the North Sea and was posted missing. The losses suffered in this action resulted in 1./2G 76 taking no further part inthe Battle of Britain, ant ally recalled to Germany ‘and incorporated into the emerging night fighter force. he unit was event 46110 D Dackelbavet OF 1/26 76This unit sullered heavy hee during its one mission of ‘ie Bite oF Britain on 15 august 190 LEFT: A tronal view of a Dacketbauch of 2/26 76 showing t effect dhe cibbed