Heinkel 177 ground attack

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budgierigar
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Heinkel 177 ground attack

#1

Post by budgierigar » 04 Feb 2015, 20:14

I am looking for information on the Heinkel 177 used in a ground attack role on the eastern front in 1944. I know they flew low level missions against soviet armour and suffered losses can anyone help me find out more thanks

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phylo_roadking
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Re: Heinkel 177 ground attack

#2

Post by phylo_roadking » 06 Feb 2015, 01:44

OP, you mean the ones converted to carry antitank guns under the nose? There was a "handful" modified to carry the BK 5 gun, and later the A-3/R5 variant of the He 177 was fitted with a 75mm gun....but only five of them.
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Ironmachine
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Re: Heinkel 177 ground attack

#3

Post by Ironmachine » 06 Feb 2015, 09:04

It's not much, but what follows comes from Luftwaffe Schlachtgruppen (Osprey’s Aviation Elite Units Series) by John Weal:
So deep was the crisis on the eastern front by this time [mid-1944] that even the Heinkel He 177 – the Luftwaffe’s only four-engined strategic heavy bomber – was also pressed into service in the anti-tank role! The 43 machines of II./KG 1 had recently arrived at Prowehren, in East Prussia, and had already mounted several long-range raids deep inside Soviet territory when Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring ordered that they should be switched instead to attacking the Red Army tanks approaching Germany’s borders.
When the unit CO attempted to point out the Heinkel’s total unsuitability for such a task he was quickly overruled. Göring cited the enemy’s current use of heavy bombers in the ground campaign in Normandy, but what the Reichsmarschall failed – or refused – to recognize was that the Allied Fortresses and Lancasters were engaged in medium to high-altitude carpet bombing. What he was demanding was that KG 1’s Heinkels should play the part of ground attack aircraft and go in at low level!
The outcome of the first such mission, flown by all 24 serviceable He 177s of II./KG 1, was never in any doubt. Despite attacking in pairs in a vain attempt to provide some measure of mutual protection, half the bombers failed to return. Further attacks followed, only to result in more heavy losses as the unwieldy and unarmoured Heinkels ran the gauntlet of massed Soviet anti-aircraft and infantry ground fire. Although reinforcements were dispatched to Prowehren from KG 1’s other Gruppen, the losses could not be sustained. On 28 July the survivors of II./KG 1 were withdrawn to Germany[…]

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kstdk
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Re: Heinkel 177 ground attack

#4

Post by kstdk » 06 Feb 2015, 09:22

Hello

The Wikipedia gives a fairly good description of the plane and its roles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_177

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Kurt
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Panzerfaust60
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Re: Heinkel 177 ground attack

#5

Post by Panzerfaust60 » 15 Feb 2015, 10:33

Ironmachine wrote:It's not much, but what follows comes from Luftwaffe Schlachtgruppen (Osprey’s Aviation Elite Units Series) by John Weal:
So deep was the crisis on the eastern front by this time [mid-1944] that even the Heinkel He 177 – the Luftwaffe’s only four-engined strategic heavy bomber – was also pressed into service in the anti-tank role! The 43 machines of II./KG 1 had recently arrived at Prowehren, in East Prussia, and had already mounted several long-range raids deep inside Soviet territory when Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring ordered that they should be switched instead to attacking the Red Army tanks approaching Germany’s borders.
When the unit CO attempted to point out the Heinkel’s total unsuitability for such a task he was quickly overruled. Göring cited the enemy’s current use of heavy bombers in the ground campaign in Normandy, but what the Reichsmarschall failed – or refused – to recognize was that the Allied Fortresses and Lancasters were engaged in medium to high-altitude carpet bombing. What he was demanding was that KG 1’s Heinkels should play the part of ground attack aircraft and go in at low level!
The outcome of the first such mission, flown by all 24 serviceable He 177s of II./KG 1, was never in any doubt. Despite attacking in pairs in a vain attempt to provide some measure of mutual protection, half the bombers failed to return. Further attacks followed, only to result in more heavy losses as the unwieldy and unarmoured Heinkels ran the gauntlet of massed Soviet anti-aircraft and infantry ground fire. Although reinforcements were dispatched to Prowehren from KG 1’s other Gruppen, the losses could not be sustained. On 28 July the survivors of II./KG 1 were withdrawn to Germany[…]
Interesting, were these some kinds of shallow dive attacks during daytime?

budgierigar
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Re: Heinkel 177 ground attack

#6

Post by budgierigar » 16 Feb 2015, 21:16

thanks for the info about the He 177 in the ground attack role, I didn't know much before and it is interesting to read more about their operations as anti tank aircraft.
Last edited by Dieter Zinke on 17 Feb 2015, 18:40, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: He 177 - not "HE177"

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