Me 262 fighters on March 31, 1945

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mfy4444
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Joined: 29 Aug 2012, 22:43

Me 262 fighters on March 31, 1945

#1

Post by mfy4444 » 09 Jun 2015, 18:54

Hello all. This is my first time posting on the German portion of this forum, and I have a real conundrum for my inaugural question...

I am trying to sort out what happened on March 31, 1945 in terms of Me 262 fighter sorties. It was a confusing day, with multiple missions flown. Most of the Me 262s up that day were from JG 7, but apparently KG(J) 54 also flew a number of sorties. The day began with a daylight raid by 460 Lancaster and Halifax bombers against Hamburg, intercepted by seven Me 262s of III. Gruppe/JG 7 and “about 20” from I./JG 7. Colin Heaton’s “The Me 262 Stormbird” gives claims of eight Lancasters and three Halifaxes shot down by the Me 262s during that mission, without loss. Many other online sources list seven bombers shot down by jets from the Hamburg attack (and some specify four Lancs and three Halifaxes, so at least some agreement on the latter?), while the Wikipedia article on JG 7, citing Manfred Boehme, “JG 7: The World’s First Jet Fighter Unit” claims a total of 13 bombers in this incident.

Later in the day, Fritz Stehle of JG 7 is credited with bringing down one additional Lancaster near Osnabrück.

A third mission by JG 7 confronted a major American raid, claiming three B-17s, two B-24s, and two P-51s. Again, the Wikipedia article, citing Boehme, says those claims matched up with actual US losses in the raid. Four JG 7 jet fighters were lost on the day, most presumably in this action.

Then there is also the question of KG(J) 54, which also flew missions that day, with both I. and II. Gruppe flying, and which lost two more Me 262s, with one pilot killed. That comes from Heaton again, who also claims a total of 17 British four-engined bombers lost on the day (which would leave five that would have fallen to KG(J) 54, if that number is correct). So I would love any information about what units of KG(J) 54 did on March 31, 1945, since I have nothing else but the above inference regarding their actions. Heaton gives details about the losses for both JG 7 and KG(J) 54, in terms of the fates of the pilots, including the name of the pilot killed from KG(J) 54, Oberleutnant Dr. Oberweg.

Finally, one source I saw (an article by Alfred Price, “The Sturmvogel Goes to War,” in the June 2003 issue of Aeroplane), gives March 31 as the date of the most jet fighter sorties in one day, stating that JG 7 and KG(J) 54 combined to put up 58 Me 262 sorties on the day. This contradicts a figure of 38 sorties for the day found in many other sources, although this might be for JG 7 alone (it does still seem low to me if they put up 27 or more planes in one of their three missions for the day). It also doesn’t square with the fact that I’ve read elsewhere that 59 sorties by JG 7 and JV 44 combined on April 7, 1944, was the highest number of jet fighter sorties on one day.

So color me confused. My basic questions:

How many total claims (and if possible, verified claims) by German jets on the day? Consensus seems to be 14 bombers and two fighters shot down, but then there’s Boehme claiming 19 bombers and two fighters, while Heaton says 17 bombers…

What claims were made by KG(J) 54 on the day, as all or most of the above are credited to JG 7?

Were 58 jet fighter sorties actually flown on March 31, 1945? And if so, were 59 sorties flown on April 7?

Any info much appreciated.

Regards and thanks

Mike Yaklich

Andrew Arthy
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Re: Me 262 fighters on March 31, 1945

#2

Post by Andrew Arthy » 20 Jun 2015, 03:02

Hi,

From a primary source, five jet formations of 1. Jagddivision operated during the day, with some aircraft flying a second sortie. Jets of I. and II./JG 7 were heard operating against RAF Bomber Command between 08:25 and 09:12. III./JG 7 Me 262s were heard operating against the 8th Air Force at Brunswick between 08:37 and 09:58.

Hermann Buchner of III./JG 7 was airborne 08:37-09:32 from Parchim and claimed one Lancaster destroyed, so it seems that elements of III./JG 7 operated against both the RAF and USAAF.

According to the O.K.L. daily report, JG 7 claimed a total of eighteen aerial victories. No claims by KG(J) 54 are mentioned.

Cheers,
Andrew A.
Air War Publications - http://www.airwarpublications.com


Klaus1943
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Joined: 05 Oct 2014, 23:27

Re: Me 262 fighters on March 31, 1945

#3

Post by Klaus1943 » 26 Jun 2015, 01:40

According to John Foreman's book, The Messerschmitt Me 262 Combat Diary, I./KG(J)54 made two claims by unknown pilots: one Liberator destroyed and one Liberator HSS near the town of Halle.

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