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Info Eduard - November 2010
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HISTORY
It was one such encounter that proved fateful for Gotthard
Sachsenberg. It was on March 8 th, 1944, during a raid
on the ball bearing factory at Erkner southeast of Berlin.
The Americans lost around forty bombers of the 623 sent, and
34 of the formidable escort component of 891 fighters. Bomber
crews claimed 63 kills, and the fighters 79. Actual German
losses were lower. The Luftwaffe countered the raid with 378
fighters, and over 50 were destroyed or heavily damaged.
Other aircraft from non-combat units found themselves in the
sights of American fighters and several were lost. Another
(curious) example was a Ju 188 E-1 from 6./KG 2 that was
accidentally shot down near Koln by a friendly fighter.
Twin engined fighters were committed by III./ZG 26, II./NJG
3 and II./NJG 5. A total of nine kills were claimed by -110 pilots
of III./ZG 26 without loss. Another victory was gained, again
without a loss, by -110 pilots of II./NJG 5. Finally, Sachsenberg’s
II./NJG 3 with Junkers Ju 88s gained no victories, and lost
a single aircraft with a pilot - Lt. Sachsenberg.
German records tell us that Lt Gotthard Sachsenberg went
down near Völkenrode with Ju 88 C-6 (W.Nr. 750 695). They
go on to say that the kill was made by an American fighter,
and the two remaining crew members bailed out and survived
- Fw. Hubert Prommer and Uffz. Hermann Fisch. I have also
tried to identify Sachsenberg’s conqueror. Should anyone have
any missing or corrective information to add to the following
hypothesis, I would be very grateful.
First and foremost, Zemke’s 56 th Fighter Group comes
to mind. Before unleashing himself from the bombers, Capt.
Walker ‘Bud’ Mahurin of the 61 st FS noticed a low flying -110.
So he attacked, but his speed was too high, and so the target
was flamed by 1/Lt. Berard R Smith, who led the second pair
in Mahurin’s foursome. Evidently, the victim here was a Bf
110 G-4 from a unit that ferried aircraft to combat elements,
1./Flugzeugüberführungsgeschwader 1 Nord. The Messer-
schmitt went down southwest of Wesendorf. Inside basically
the same minute near the base at Wesendorf, Capt. Walker
Mahurin flamed an -88. In my opinion, it is virtually certain to
have been a Ju 88 operated by Volkswagen and went down
at Wilsche southwest of Wesendorf at 1330h (German and
Allied times agree). The aircraft was completely destroyed.
The final kill in the same airspace was achieved by 2/Lt. Claude
E. Mussey at 1330h, but this was a probable kill of a Ju 88.
Again, this was an aircraft likely flown by Fl. ÜG 1, one of who’s
Ju 88 A-4s suffered 15% damage after being engaged by an
enemy aircraft. I can not rule out the possibility of Mahurin’s
and Mussey’s victims being reversed. More could be gained
from examination of the gun camera footage.
Significantly further to the west, near Bramstedt and not far
from Bremen, a Thunderbolt flamed a courier Fw 58 Weihe of
3./NJG 3. One crew member was killed, and two wounded.
The identity of the American pilot that downed the Weihe
is not known. No known facts correspond to this event, and it
is possible that the fighter in question did not return to base.
Another twin engined victim was claimed by Capt.
Kenneth G. Smith from the 335 th FS/4th FG. In the vicinity of
Magdeburg, he shot down an ‘Me 110’ at 1334h. The nearest
to this area is Braunschweig, where a Bf 110 G-4 crashed
due to an engine fire and also belonged to an industrial firm.
This time, the firm was Gothaer Waggonfabrik, and its -110
was written off with a 90% damaged assessment
(Note 1).
Nachtajgd
Crest
Footage from March 8 th, 1944, on which the factory at Erkner is seen during bombing, and showing a Boeing B-17 of the 384 th BG, 1 st Bomb
Division, 8 th USAAF. Gotthard Sachsenberg was shot down while intercepting the bomber force. (NARA via Footnote.com)
NOTE 1: Gothaer Waggonfabrik (GWF), during the
Second World War built over 2000 Messerschmitt
Bf 110s under licenece.
Ju 88 C-6 D5+GX II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3,
Gotthard Sachsenberg’s unit.
Profile: Simon Schatz, Maciej Noszczak