BOXART STORY

#7467

Markersdorf Raid

In the first half of 1944, the Luftwaffe command decided to reinforce fighter units in

Western Europe. The number of Staffeln in

a particular fighter Gruppe was increased

from three to four. Therefore, some fighter

Gruppen in other theatres had to select one

Staffel and send it to the West. Hence I./JG 51

“Mölders”, fighting on the Eastern Front with

Bf 109 Gs, had to send its 2. Staffel, which thus

came under the command of IV. Sturm/JG 3

“Udet”in June 1944. The commander of this unit

was Major Wilhelm Moritz. It was one of the

three Sturmgruppen in the Defense of the Reich, designed to attack bomber formations at

close range. For this purpose, it was rearmed

in May from Messerschmitt Bf 109s to heavily

armoured Fw 190 A-8/R2s (and a few A-7s).

At the same time one of its three Staffeln

was disbanded and replaced by Sturmstaffel

1, which specialized in such attacks. Its newly

added Staffel, 2./JG 51, was getting familiar

with Focke-Wulfs throughout June. In August,

it was formally redesignated 16. Sturm/JG 3.

For the first time, IV. Sturm/JG 3 entered combat as Sturmjäger unit on July 7, 1944. With 44

aircraft from Stab and four Staffeln, the unit

managed to attack an unescorted Liberator

formation at Oschersleben, shooting down 19

of them during the three-minute battle. As a

result of this engagement, the 492nd BG had

to be disbanded.

Moritz and his four Staffeln with 45 armoured machines made a similar attack over

Starnberger See on July 18, 1944. Top cover was to be provided by Focke-Wulfs from

2./JG 51 under Oblt. Haase. The Germans were

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INFO Eduard

able to attack a B-17 formation from the 483rd

BG that was also unescorted. In the ensuing

fight, 14 bombers were shot down. The American unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation

for its valiant defense. Oblt. Haase, however,

disobeyed Moritz's order and instead of protecting his colleagues, ordered his 2./JG 51

to attack the bombers as well. The Mustangs

that arrived at the scene of the bloody encounter punished this mistake severely and

the result was 12 Focke-Wulfs shot down and

an equal number of pilots killed or wounded.

In the following weeks the number of aircraft

that IV. Sturm/JG 3 deployed into combat was

reduced in most cases to between 10 and 20.

Similar events happened on August 23, 1944,

when 17 fighter planes took off under Moritz´s command from Schongau airfield against

bombers of the 15th Air Force targeting fuel

production plants in Blechhammer (Blachownia Śląska) and Odertal (Zdzieszowice),

as well as aviation and industrial plants in

and around Vienna. In total the Germans sent

96 fighters against that raid, but only 50 of

them made contact with the enemy. The allied

escort fighters shot down seven Focke-Wulfs

from II. Sturm/JG 300 and the only significant

success was scored by Moritz's Sturmgruppe.

At first his unit joined the JG 300 formation,

which drew attention of the US fighters. But

IV. Sturm/JG 3 then avoided the escort and

south-west of Vienna it attacked 24 Liberators of the 451st BG, which were flying, without escort, a north-westerly course to their

target, Markersdorf airfield. The bombers took

up a tight formation to make it dangerous for

Text: Jan Bobek

Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz

the Germans to attack at close range. A deadly

struggle ensued, taking place at an altitude of

6000 mètres on a route of sixty kilometres

approximately between the towns of Nasswald and Kilb. Moritz and his fighters claimed

the downing of nine bombers within three minutes, and nine actually crashed. The others

were badly damaged. The commander of the

American unit, Col. Robert E. L. Eaton reported that about forty fighters attacked them

extremely aggressively, making expert use

of the dense cloud cover before the attacks.

The Germans attacked in groups of six to ten

machines in a very aggressive, almost suicidal manner. Some of the Liberators were so

badly hit that they disintegrated in mid-air. The

picture of the burning Liberator “Extra Joker”

just before its explosion is one of the most famous photographs in aviation history. Its commander, 1st Lt Kenneth A Whiting, was killed

with his entire crew.

Sixteen 451st BG aircraft got over the target

and managed to hit Markersdorf airfield. For

this action the unit received a Unit Citation

from the commander of the 15th Air Force,

Maj. Gen. Twinning, stating among other facts

that the gunners shot down or damaged 29

enemy aircraft. Certainly, five pilots of the 15.

and 16. Sturm/JG 3 were shot down, killed or

remained missing, to which must probably be

added three other machines that were damaged. During the fighting over Europe, the

451st BG lost 112 crews over enemy territory. The fight over the foothills of the Alps on

August 23, 1944, was one of the heaviest.

February 2023