Junkers Ju 88 Kampfgeschwader in North Africa and the Mediterranean

51 Pages·52.027 MB·English

by  John Weal

Osprey'sprimaryLuftwaffe
author/artist,JOHNWEALhas
written and/orillustrated more
than 25titlesintheAircraftof
theAces, CombatAircraftand
Aviation EliteUnitsseries
since 1994.Possessingoneof
thelargestprivatecollections
oforiginalGerman-language
literaturefromWorldWar2,
OSPREY COMBAT AIRCRAFT • 7S
hisresearch isfirmlybased
onthishugearchive. Fluent
inGerman,Wealhasalso In
spentmuchtimeestablishing 88
contactwith ex-membersof
theLuftwaffe,from General
StaffOfficersoftheRLMto
l{AMPFGESCHWADER
frontlineaircrew. Hehasoften
usedtheseprivatesourcesto
gainaccesstofurtherarchival
material, includingcomplete
OF NORTH AFRICA AND THE
Luftwaffeordersofbattlefor
thevariousfightingfrontsand
individualcombatreports.
Afreelanceairbrushartist MEDITERRANEAN
sincethedaysofthemonthly
RAFFlyingReview, andits
varioussuccessors,Wealalso
helpshisGermanwiferuna
smalltechnicaltranslation
and interpretingagency.
SERIES EDITOR: TONY HOLMES
OSPREY COMBAT AIRCRAFT • 75 I
In
88
~...WADER
CONTENTS
Frontcover Firsrpublished inGrear Brirain in 2009byOspreyPublishing
ThemostfamousLuftwaffe Midland House, WesrWay, Borley,OxFord,0X2OPH
fighterpilotinNorthAfricawas
443 ParkAvenueSourh, ewYork, Y, 10016, USA
undoubtedlyHans-JoachimMarseille
ofJagdgeschwader27. Hisnameis E-mail: [email protected]
stillfamiliartoenthusiaststoday.
Buthiscounterpartinthebomber ©2009OspreyPublishingLimired
arm,oneJoachim Helbig,isnow
allbutforgotten.'Jochen'Helbig, CHAPTER ONE
ashewasuniversallyknown,was All righrs reserved.Aparrfrom anyfairdealingforrhepurposeofprivaresrudy,
asomewhatunwillingrecruittothe research,criricismorreview,aspermirred underrheCopyrighr, Designand BATTLE IS JOINED 6
Luftwaffewhenhewastransferred
ParenrsAct 1988, noparrofthispublication maybereproduced,stored in
from hisfirstlove,theartillery,to
aretrievalsystem,ortransmirred inanyform orbyanymeans,electronic,
thefledglingairarmoftheThird
Reichin1936.Despitethisinitial e1ecrrical,chemical,mechanical,optical, photOcopying, recordingor CHAPTER TWO
reluctance,however,heroseto orherwisewithoutpriorwrirren permission.Allenquiriesshould be
prominencein hisnewrole, MlIRITlITOMERKUR 16
addressed to rhe publisher.
beginningthewarasan
oberleutnantandobserver
with LehrgeschwaderILG)1and ISBN: 9781846033186 CHAPTER THREE
subsequentlyrisingtotherankof E-book ISBN:978 I846038884
oberstandbecomingGeschwader MALTA OR CAIRO? 45
kommodoreoftheunit.
AndjustasMarseilleisassociated Edired byTony Holmes
with Bf109sbearingthenumeral Pagedesign byTonyTruscott CHAPTER FOUR
'Yellow14',soHelbig,afterbeing CoverArtwork byWiek Luijken
appointedStaffelkapitanof4./LG 1 TWO-FRONT WAR INAFRICA 71
AircraFt ProfilesbyJohn Weal
inthespringof1940,always
preferredtoflyaJu88Acoded Index byMichael Forder
'LhAM'.Evenmoreremarkably, Originatedby PDQMedia, Bungay, K CHAPTER FIVE
heapparentlyretainednotjustthe
Printed in Chinathrough Bookbuilders
samemarkingsbutthesameaircraft THE 'SOFT UNDERBELLY' 78
too.Accordingtosomesources,
Helbig's'Anton-Marie'wastheonly 09 I0 \\ \2 \3 I09876 5432 I
Ju88intheLuftwaffetocomplete
over1000flying hours- some750of APPENDICES 90
themonoperations.
Foracatalogueofall bookspublished byOspreypleaseconract; COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 92
Thepartnershipbetweenman
andmachinethathadlastedforover
INDEX 95
threeyearsfinallycametoanend orrhAmerica
when'L1.AM'fellvictimtoaUS
OspreyDirect,C/o Random House DistributionCenter,
heavybomberraidon Pordenone
airfieldinnorthernItaly.InHelbig's 400 Hahn Road, Westminsrer, MD 2\157
ownwords,'Shewasonlya E-mail;[email protected]
machine,buttoherpilot,herloyal
crewandherinconsolablechief
ACK OWLEDCEMENTS
mechanicshehadbecomealiving,
breathingsomething...andnow OspreyDirect,The BookService Lrd, Distribution Centre,
shewastakingherleaveofus'. ColchesrerRoad, FratingGreen, olchester, Essex,C077DW, UK
WiekLuijken'sstrikingcover E-mail;[email protected]
painting,reconstructingone
ofthemanycamouflageschemes
'Anton-Marie'woreduringitslong ww\V.ospreypublishing.com
career,neatlyencapsulatestwo
oftheaircraft'srolesinthe
Mediterraneantheatreasittakes
timeoutfromsupportingtheAkrika
KorpsintheWesternDesertto
attackanAlliedconvoyatsea(Cover
artworkbyWiekLuijkenl
BATTLEISJOINED
UJ in 1936, ultimately comprised five co
Z \ l>
o Gruppen-two flyingbombers,one --j
--j
cc flying fighters, another operating r
UJ m
af. .. Zerstorer and the fifth equipped
:<rJ:: with dive-bombers. It was the oc....
u task ofthese disparate Gruppen ro
Z
Firstflown in prorolypeform on21 December I936,Junkers'twin develop and refine the combat m
o
enginedJu88 wassubsequently ro evolve into whatwasarguably tactics ro be used by the many new
the most versatile machine ro serve with the Luftwaffe in World aircraft entering Luftwaffe service
War 2. And nowhere was that versatililY moregraphicallydemonstrated in the run-uproWorldWar2.
than in the Mediterranean theatre, where theJu 88 - initially designed With the outbreak of hostilities
and classified as a SchneLLbomber, or high-speed bomber- operated as a In September 1939 their work was
dive-bomber, medium-altitude level bomber, torpedo-bomber, heavy effectively done. By the time ofthe
fighter, nightfighter, reconnaissanceaircraft,convoyescortand maritime Battle of Britain, tllI'ee of LG ]'s
patrol fighter, courieraircraftandemergencytransport. Gruppenhadthereforebeenre-equippedwithJu88s,andthispartoftheunit OneofLG 1'searlyarrivalsinthe
TheLuftwaffe'sinvolvementin theairwarin theMediterraneancame was, ro all intents and purposes, operatingas astandard KampJieschwader Mediterraneantheatrerunsupits
enginespriortotake-off.Asingle
aboutasadirectresultofItaly'sdeclaringwaron FranceandGreatBritain (the tvvO remaining GruppenwOLud laterbe redesignated and incorporated
heavybombisjustvisiblebeneath
on 10June 1940. With theBLitzkriegin thewestbythen atitsheightand inro the nightfighterand dive-bomberarms). And it was in late 1940, just eachwingcentre-section.Note
Francealreadyonthepointofcollapse,theItalianDuce,BeniroMussolini, as the night Blil'Z on Britain was intensifYing, that 11. and IlLlLG ] were toothesmallfairingimmediately
saw this as a golden opportunity ro share in the spoils ofvictory with suddenlywithdrawn from Lu./iflotte3in western Franceand ordered ro the behindthenoseglazing(beneath
thewindscreengun),indicating
German co-dicraror Adolf Hitler. Instead, 1talian forces soon found Mediterranean. Departing their bases at Orleans-Bricy and Chateaudun,
thatthisisaJuBBA-6,whichhad
themselves indiretrouble.Atsea, the Royal Navyengaged italian vessels, respectively, theywere rostage,viaLechfeld, in Germany,down tile length presumablybeenfittedwitha
inflictingasuccession ofdefeats and giving the lie ro Mussolini's proud ofItalytoCatania,on theislandofSicily. balloon-cablefenderandcutter
boast that the Mediterranean was mare nostrum - 'our sea'. In orth Although theydid not know itatthe time, theirsojourn in thesouth duringtherecentnightBlitz
overBritain
Africa, the Italian army invaded Egypt, only ro be driven back halfway was ro bea lengthy one. In fact, LG I would not rerurn ro Lujiflotte3
across Libyaand allbutdestroyed byBritishandCommonwealth troops. in northwest Europe until recalled ro combat the Allied invasion of
Unable to ignore thegrowinginstabilityon hissouthern flank, Hitler Normandy in June 1944. in the intervening three-a-halfyears, LG I
ordered that Luftwaffe units be sent to the area ro restore the situation. ThetwomostfamousLuftwaffe forged foritselfanameastheMediterranean Kampfgeschwader. Itbecame
Thecommandselected ro make the transferwas GeneraLderFLiegerHans units,onefighterandonebomber, thattheatre'sbomberequivalentofthefamedJagdgeschwader27 'Afrika:
Geisler's X FLiegerkorps, then stationed in orway. And to provide the thatdominatedmuchoftheair And just as JG 27 had its Hans-Joachim Marseille, so roo did LG 1 HauptmannJoachimHelbig(right)
warinNorthAfricaandthe andhiscrewpicturedinthecockpit
Korpswith the necessarystriking power, two Gruppeneach ofJu87s and MediterraneanwereJG26andLG produceoneoutstandingpersonality. oftheirtrusty'AM'.This
Ju88s were added ro its orderofbatrle. For theStukas, the movesouth 1.Here,arepresentativefrom each Staffelkapitdn of4./LG I at the time ofthe transfer ro Sicily, and photographwastakensometime
wouldgivethemthechancetoregainsomethingofthefearsomereputation Geschwader-aBf109F-4/tropof already a holder ofthe Knight's Cross in recognition ofhis operations. after30August1941,when
6./JG27andaJuBBA-4of12./LG1 OberteldwebelFranzSchlund- seen
theyhad lostafterbeingtrouncedbythe RAF in the BattleofBritain.The over Poland, orway, France and Great Britain, Hauptmann Joachim
- standcheekbyjowlatMartuba, attherear- becametheLuftwaffe's
Ju88 had no need to proveanything. By late 1940 it had already firmly inLibya,duringthespringof1942 'Jochen' Helbig would subsequently become Geschwaderkommodoreof firstwireless-operator/airgunnerto
established itselfas the best bomber LG 1. He wasalso oneofthe few Luftwaffe bomber pilotswhose name beawardedtheKnight'sCross
in theLuftwaffe'sarmoury. would be familiar ro both friend
ThetvvOJu88 Gruppeninvolved and foe alike. Before it finally left
in the initial transfer both came the Mediterranean in mid-1944,
from the same parent Geschwader, the unit he commanded, while
Lehrgeschwader I. One of only still officially Lehrgeschwader I, was
two such units established by the being more commonly referred ro
Luftwaffe(a third hadbeen planned bybothsidesasthe'HelbigFlyers'.
but never reached full strength), The British were fully aware of
the Lehrgeschwaderwere unique in X Fliegerkorps' initial migratJon
thattheywerecreatedasoperational southwards, the RAF's wireless
trainingand evaluation wings, with interception service reporting the
each of their component Gruppen first four Ju 88s ofLG I as having
beingequippedwithadifferenttype arrived at Catania, on the eastern
of aircraft. Lefngeschwader I, for coast of Sicily, by the evening of
6 example, which was first activated 26December 1940.TheLuftwaffe's 7
ZLJ.J movemenrs conrinued ro be closely the ops room. The Geschwaderalso »OJ
o monirored In the weeks that reportedeightwounded. -l
a: -l
0LfJ. ..J. sfioglnloawlsedi,natenldligbeynmceid-hJaadnuanroyt1o9n4l1y, FlieTgherekofroplslo'fwirsitngmadjaoyrrawiditnoenssMedaltXa.. rm
:<rI:: established that49Ju88sofStab, JI. The target was again Illustrious, C
u o
and lIl./LG 1were concenrrated at and among the artacking force were
Z
Catania, they had even pinpoinred 17 Ju 88s from U. and II1./LG 1. m
o
a number of stragglers, beset by Duero poorweatherconditions, the
mechanical problems,strungouton Bf 110 escorts failed ro make the
fieldsdown thelegofftaly,including rendezvous so theJu 88s pressed on
one at Reggio nell' Emilia, two at alone. Twooftheirbombsexploded
Pisa,andanotheratNaples. in the water between the carrier's
Sittinginthemiddaysunat GeneralderFliegerGeislersetuphisKorpsHQin theHotelDomenico hull and the harbouI' wall at the
Catania,5./LG1's'DN'ischecked atTaormina,aholiday resortsome30 milesup thecoastfrom Catania. enrrance to French Creek against
overpriortodepartingonitsnext Given its relatively limited numbers, the list of operational tasks which it was moored, causing the
mission.Althoughthewhiteaft
fuselagebandoftheMediterranean that X. Fliegerkorpswas expected ro carry out was daunring, ro say the vesselfurtherdamage.
areaisclearlyinevidence,there least. Firstly, it was ro close the cenrral Mediterranean (i.e. the Sicilian TheRoyalNavycarrierHMS Anumberofclaimswere made by the island'sdefending fighters and
isnocorrespondingwhitetip Narrows) ro the passage of Allied convoys between Gibraltar and Illustriousishiddenbyfountainsof anri-aircraft gunners, but only oneJu 88 was in fact lost. This was 9.
outboardofthatsmallunderwing Alexandria, thereby starving the island of Malta ofessential supplies. waterthrownupbynearmisses StafJel's'Li+cr,whichwasengagedbyaFleetAirArm Fulmarandwenr
individualaircraftletter'D'.There (rightlclosetoitsberthatthe
iseverylikelihoodthatthisisthe Secondly, it was ro disrupt the lines ofsupply ofGen Wavell's Desert entrancetoFrenchCreekinMalta's down intothesea, takingOberleutnanrKurtPichlerand hiscrewwith it.
'L1+DN'thatwaslostinaction Army by miningtheSuezCanal (ajob for theKorps'He IIJs).Thirdly, GrandHarbour Threeotherscrash-landed backatCataniadue ro combatdamage,and a
on21 March1941attacking itwas rosuPPOrt Italian land forces in Libya in order ro halt the further fourth, piloted by Oberleutnant Theodor Hagen, just reached Sicily
AlliedconvoyAN-21,carrying
advance ofBritish and Commonwealth troops, and thus retain hold of before making an emergency landing on the beach of Pozzallo. In
Commonwealthtroopsfrom
AlexandriatoGreece Tripoli,theinrended portofdisembarkation for Rommel'sAfrikaKorps. addition, the Geschwaderwas ro lose two moreJu88sbeforethedaywas
And fourthly, it was ro secure the Axis convoy routes transporting out,writtenoffon thegroundwhenan Italianaircraftcollidedwith them.
suppliesacrosstheMediterranean from Italyro NorthAfrica. Forty-eight hours later, III. Gruppe reported another rew missing
when Leutnant Horst Dunkel was forced ro ditch 'Ll+ER' after being
INTOACTION
attacked byHurricanesduringaraidon Malta's I al Farairfield.
Lehrgeschwader I'soperational debut in the Mediterranean was low-key The nextday, 19JanualY, the Geschwaderturned itsattention back ro
and far from successful. On the afternoon of 10 January three Ju 88s Illustrious. Although theisland'sdefencesclaimedeightofthe30attacking
weresentoutagainst the Royal Navycarrier HMS Illustrious, which was Junkers destroyed, only two machines - both from 8. StafJel, one being
limping rowards Malta after beingseverelydamaged byJu 87s. But the Itwasnotonlyintheskiesover thatoftheStafJelkapitiin,HauptmannWilhelmDLirbeck-failedroreturn.
triowas interceptedand driven offby Hurricanes, which forced them ro MaltathatLG1'smachineswere DLirbeck's 'Li+AS' is listed by Ol)e source as having fallen victim ro
atrisk.HereatCatania,oneofthe
jettisontheirbombsand turn tailforhome.Asecondraidbyseveralmore a Hurricane, but Feldwebel Herbert Isachsen, the pilot of the aircraft
unit'sJuBBA-5shasbeenrammed
111. Gruppemachinesshortlyafterwards provedequallyfruitless. byanItalianSavoia-Marchetti followinghimdown in thediveon thecarrier,describedafterhisreturn ro
Worsewasrocome.TwodayslaterIU./LG 1wereonthereceivingend. SM.79bomber.Thecaptiontothe CataniahowhesawtheStafJelkapitiin'smachinehitbyAakandbreal<apart
Afterfirsttal<ingtheprecautionofdespatchingareconnaissance machine originalprint- onwhichMount in the air. A third Ju 88 chased out ro sea with an engine on fire by a
Etnamayjustbeseenintheleft
tooverAyCatania- which was meantropersuadetheGermans thattheir background- readssimply Hurricane wasalmostcertainly theaircraftofIll. Gruppe'sStabskettethat
presenceon thefield had beendetectedfrom theair,and thusdisguisethe 'Adifferenceofopinion!' wasdestroyedwhen itrooforced-landed nearPozallo.
factthattheirapproachandarrival had, in reality, beencloselymonirored Thisstretchalongthesoutheastern
by radio inrercepts - the RAP mounred a night raid by Malta-based coast ofSi ily, the nearest piece of
Well'ngrons. FiveAxisaircraft weredestroyed on the ground, inclu~ing friendly terrirolY for any badly
twOofIll. Gntppe'sJu88s. damaged machine struggling ro
It was 15January before the bulkofII./LG I reached Catania. That make it back from Malta, was soon
same evening 16 of their number rook offagain ro attack Illustrious, ro acquireareputation assomething
which had bynowreachedthedubioussafetyofMalta'sGrandHarbour. ofanaircraftgraveyard!
TheJu 88s bombed through cloud and registered no hits. At the same Bad weather over Sicily on 20
timetheWellingronswerebackoverCatania,wheretheydestroyed four January kept the residenr Luftwaffe
aircraft:and inflictedthefirstcasualtiesrobesuffered by LG Iin-theatre. units' activities ro a minimum
Oneofthe two killed wasLeutnantHorst Nagel,a6. StafJelpilotwhose during theday, butdid not prevent
8 Ju88had beendeclared unserviceableandwhowason temporarydutyin Malta's Wellingrons from again 9
u.J bombingCataniaafterdarknesshad The following day fllustriolts reached Alexandria. From there the
Z
o fallen. The nextevening, therefore, vessel would make its way, via the Suez Canal, to the east coast of
a: theJu88smadetheshonhopacross America, where it was to undergo major repairs. Although these would
u.J
l the Straits ofMessina to Reggio di keepthecarrieroutofthewarforafullyear,thebombersofX Fliegerkorps
e... c:n
<! alabria, on the toe of the Italian had thus failed to accomplish the first task they had been given in the c
I o
U mainland,inordertoescapefunher Mediterranean- namely, tosend the23,000-toncarriertothebottom.
Z
attack. These overnight deploy Buttherewere plentyofotherobjectivesto keep theJu88soccupied m
o
ments to Reggio would become a In their new theatre ofoperations, not least the island ofMalta it elf,
regularfeature in theweeksa11ead. which sat foursquare astride the direct sea route betvveen Italy and
By 23 January llLustriollS had Tripoli, the seapon capital of Libya. The island fortress was rightly
been sufficientlypatched up to allow it toslip undetected outofMalta. de cribed at the time as an 'unsinkable aircraft arrier on Mus olini's
Here,thepilotofJu88A-S'WhiteN'
(fromeither4.or7./LG 1)has Whenareconnaissance machine reponed theve sel'sabsence, Ill.lLG I doorstep'. Its neutralisation asan airandsea basewas thereforeamatter
managedtopulloffasuccessful despatched JIJunkers to find it. Heavycloud and frequent rain squalls ofprimeimportanceifthelinesofsupplytoAxis troops in NorthAfrica
bellylandingbackonSicilyafter
outto eahampered theirefforts.Eightaircraft returned toCataniaafter were to be keptopen. AndJu 88crewswould find themselves returning
beingattackedbyRAFfighters
overMalta- notethechewed-up an hour's fruitless search, having experienced strong interference with to ittimeand timeagain in theweeksand months to ome.
finandrudder. theirradioand navigationalequipment. ButthreeJu88sof8. StaJfeI, led Norwasitjustthebombersthathad tobraveMalta'sdefence. Aclose
byLeumantHermann Bohmer, remained unaccounted for. watch needed to be kept on Allied shipping movements and other
Itlatertranspired thatall threehad runoutoffuelinthickcloudtothe activities on and around the island. And very soon the Ju 88s of X
southofltaly. Although unsureoftheir position, Bohmerhad given the Fliegerkorps'solelong-rangereconnaissanceStaJfeI, I.(F)/121,whi hwere
ordertobailout.Ofthe 12crewmen,onlyFeldwebellsachsen- thepilot basedalongsideL Iat atania,werealsodis overingju thowdangerous
who had witnessed thedemiseofhis taJfelkapitanoverGrand Harbour theskies above Malta could be. One ofthe unit's earliest casualties was
four days earlier- camedown on landandsurvived to tell the tale. Five LeumantHelmutFund's'7A+DH', reported missingon26Januaryafter
bodiesweresubsequentlywashedashorealongthecoastofsouthern Italy, comingunderattackfrom twooftheisland's Hurricane.
andasixthwasfound weekslateronabeach inAlbania, 150milesaway. DuringtheclosingweekofJanuaryandthefirsthalfofFebruary1941
fllustrious and its four attendant destroyers were sighted twice by thetwo GruppenofLG Icontinued toattack Malta.Theyusuallytimed
Thewhitebirdemblem(variously
reconnaissanceaircrafton24January,and31 Ju 88sofiLand III.lLG I describedasaswanorawild theirraidstocomeinaround dusk,orlater,inorderto minimisetherisk
were ordered offfrom Catania. It i not cenain whether the bombers goose)visibleonthenoseofthis from enemyfighters. Theynonethele hadsixJu88 eitherdamagedor
found thecarrieron thisoc asion, letaloneattacked it, but9. StaJfeldid, earlyreconnaissanceJu880 written-offduringthisperiod,mostofthemincrash-landingsatCatania.
identifiesitasamachineof
somewhat inexplicably, repon damaging twO cruisers. Running lowon 1.IF)/121.Thisiscorroborated ItwasatthisjuncturetoO that LG J'sJu88sbegan toventurefurther
...butnoteveryonewassolucky. fuel, some bombers put down at Benina, in Libya, where they stayed bythefuselagecode,'7A+GH', a field. At dawn on 9 February units of Force 'H' (the Royal Navy's
Inthisfortunatelyratherblurred overnight. Otherssetcoursefor thelong, two-hourhaulbackto icily; althoughthetotallackofwhite Western Mediterranean Fleet) comprisingtheaircraftcarrier ArkRoyal,
print,acrewmanliesdeadamong 'The automatic flight control system was switched back on and the theatremarkingsmayindicatethat the battleship Malaya and battle rui er Renown, accompanied by the
theblazingwreckageofhis pilottook his feet offthe pedals. Asalways duringthe homeward flight, thisphotographwastakenpriorto, cruiser Sheffieldand ten dew'oyers, carried out a surprise air and sea
unidentifiedJu88'somewhere orduringX. F1iegerkorps'move
onMalta' the tension eased. We chatted, sucked sweets and chocolate, orstuffed fromNorwaytoSicily bombardmentofthe Italian portsofGenoa,Speziaand Leghorn.
biscuitsintoeachother' mouths.' Although some 40 of LG I's
Two Junkers were damaged in bombers had been over Malta only
crash landings upon their return to hours earlier, 21 machines, led by
Catania.SomeaircraftofL Iwere Hauptmann Gerhard Kollewe, the
clearlyalso in a tion over Malta on Gruppenkomrnandeur of II.lLG I,
thissame24January,with4. StaJfeI wereordered to find and attack the
reporting one of its machines British vessels as they headed back
missing after an attack on Hal/ar to Gibraltar. They were reponed
airfield. 'L1+HM' was downed by to be somewhere in the I10-mile
the meteorological Gladiator that it stretch of water between the
chanced upon while approaching nonheastern tip of orsica and
the target and, perhaps rather the coast ofsouthern France. But
unwisely, fired at in passing, for once again the weather intervened.
the biplane promptly forsook its Heavy clouds prevented Kollewe's
weatherdutiesandcha ed theJu88 crewsfrom sightingtheenemy,and
down into the diveand then outto alltheygotfortheirpainsweresome
10 sea'yappingatitsheelslikeaterrier.' inaccurate bursts of fire from 11
ill nervous Iralian anti-aircraFrgunnersas rhey passedcloseto rhe islandof
Z was Forced to dirch. All Four crewmen were picked up by a Brirish OJ
o Sardinia, and an escon ofsuspicious RegiaAeronautica fighrers, which l>
ial:l shadowedrhem until rheyweresaFelyOlltofrange. svuesbsseelqauFernertlyspdeineddionFghimsowreournhdasnineiaghBrenhgohuarzsiihnosrphietairl.dinghy, bur one r----!!
Cf L This Foray to rhe northern reaches of rhe Medirerranean was Despire losses such as rhese, nor everyone was impressed by rhe m
u:<r!: somerhingofaone-oFF, however. Duringrhe laner haJFofFebruary rhe srrengrh of Benghazi's deFences. Afrer anorher early morning raid two c(I )
main Focus of milirary acriviry in rhe area - and rhereFore of LG I's o
days larer, one Geschwader member nored somewhar Faceriously in his
operarions-wastoshiFrsourhwardstorheshoresofAfrica.There,Brirish Z
logbook,'The''Tommies''havebeenourshoppingandboughrrhemselves m
Forces had captured Benghazi From rhe IraJians on 6 February and rhreesearchlighrs'. o
advanced towards EI Agheila, on rhe GulFofSine. Tripoli irseiFwould
On 18 February,duringaraidon asmaJl convoyrharhadjusrpurin
soon becomingunderrhreat. Buron 1J Februaryrhef1rsrshipscarrying to Benghazi harbour, rhecrewsofIII./LG I reported rhe presence rhere
rroopsofrheAfi"ikaKOlpsdocked in rheLibyancapiral.Onrharsamedare
ofrwo Brirish cruisers. In Facr, rhe ships were rhe anti-aircraFr cruiser
aircraFroFLG Iweredesparchedonanarmed reconnaissancesweepalong
Coventryand rhe7200-ton monitor Terror.Thelarrer,ashallow-draughr
rhe orrhAFricancoast.TheyfleweasrasFarasMersaMarruh,in Egypr,
vessel mounring r\"o enormous high-angled IS-inch guns and eighr
burFailedtosporanyshipping.
smaller4-inchweapons, had keprpacewirh rheadvanceoFGen Wavell's
On rheFollowingday,whichwas marked byGeneraJ Rommel'sarrival
rroopsalongrhecoa rroadouroFEgypr, harassingrhererrearing IraJian
in Africa, 18 Ju 88s of II. and III./LG I arracked Brirish rroops and
all rhewaywirhasuccessionofdevasraringinshorebombardmenrs.
encampmenrsaJongrhecoasralhighwayberweenBenghaziandEIAgheila.
Having helped to drive Iralian Forces ba kover rhe Egyprian border,
They suffered a single loss when 6. Staffil's 'Li+IP' was downed by
Terror'sguns had rhen curoFFrheir lineofwirhdrawal by blasringawaya
anri-aircraFr fire sourhwesrofSoluch. Alrhough rhe pilorand air-gunner
ISO-yard srrerch ofrhe escarpmenr leading up to rhe inFamous HalFaya
survived rhe crash-landing, rhe laner was killed bya marauding band of
Pass (inevirably'Hellfire Pass' to rhe Brirish), which was rheonly major
armedArabstwonightslarerasrhepairrried toreachrheIraJianlines.
roure upon to rhe Libyan plareau.They nexr poured nearly600 tonsof
Evenasrhe 18Ju88sweresearchingForrargersaJongLibya'sViaBaJbia,
high-explosiveshellsintoBardia,rhef1rsr Iraliansrrongholdjusr 12miles
anorhersix wereescorringarroop convoyacross rhe Medirerranean, and
inside Libya, beFore adding rheir weighr to rhe naval bombardment of
rhreemorewereraidingMaJra.ThisdivisionoFlabourwasindicariveoFLG
Tobruk,aFurrher75 milesalongrhecoast.
l's prioriries in rhe immediareweeksahead. Malra would be remporarily
MindFul of rhe havoc Terror could wreak on rhe Afi"ika Korp as
relegared to rhird place while rhe Geschwader'sJu 88s f1rsr concentrared
Rommel's rroops prepared to launch rheir push back along rhe coastal
rheir effons on shepherding convoys to Libya in order to build up rhe
highway to regain rhe rerritory losr in rhe re ent Iralian rerrear, rhe
srrengrh of rhe Afi"ika Korps, and rhen in supporring Rommel's rroops
order was given to sink rhe elderly monitor. Thus, on rhe aFrernoon of
in rhe field, or rarher rhe desen, as rhey ser our to push Brirish and
19 February, while rhe bulk of111.lLG I was arrackinga convoy some
Commonwealrh Forces back From whence rhey came - to rhe Egyprian
30 milesoffBenghazi, fiveJu 88sweredesparched todive-bomb Terror,
borderandbeyond.
still berthed in Benghazi harbour. Greered by a Ferocious barrage of
ami-aircraFr fire, and harried by asingle Hurricane, none ofrheJu 88s
ATTACKING BENGHAZI
succeeded in hining rhe vessel. Theycamecloserduringamorning raid
Thef1rsrmajorrargerofrhe orrhAFricancampaignForLG Iwasrhepon
rhree days larer, however, when rwo near mis es cau ed considerable
ofBenghazi. Caprured by rhe Briri hjusraweekearlier, rheenemywere Tuckedinclosetogether.apairof damageto Terrors hull plares.
alreadyusingirtobringin uppliesand reinForcemenrstosrrengrhenrheir 6./LG 1machines- 'L1+OP'inthe
The monitor began to rake on warer, and when rhe ves el was
foregroundand'L1+CP'totherear
posirions around EI Agheila. The Geschwader's Ju 88s took off From
climbhardawayfromSicilyasthey subjecred toyeranorheranack rharsameevening, rhis rime by machines
Caraniatobomb rheharbouronaregular,almosrdailybasis. Duringone setoutonanothermission ofII. Gruppe, irwasdecided rhar Benghaziwa becomingtoo horForrhe
such raid by 15 machines of Ill.
warship,and rhar irshould rerireeasralongrhecoasrouroFharm'sway.
Gruppeearly on rhe morningof15
Bmjusr under 24 hours larer, ar 1822 hrs on 23 February, Terrorwas
February, flak damaged one ofrhe
caughroFFDernabyrwoJu88soFIII.lLG Iengagedonananti- hipping
arrackers. Radlerrhananempringto
sweep. Two bombsexploded in rhe warercloseaJongside level wirh her
make ir back to Sicily on jusr one
bridge. Herhullspliropen,irtookonaheavylisrandslowlysankbenearh
engine, rhe pilor decided insread
rhewaves.TheWorldWar I monitOrwould norberhelasrwarshipofrhe
to crash-land in rhe deserr ourside
Royal Navy to FaJl vicrim toJu 88s in rhe Medirerranean. Indeed, jusr
Tripoli. Ir was a lucky escape For
24 hourswereto passbeForerhe nexroneFollowed irtorheb nom.
Future wordswinnerOberleurnant
The sinking of Terrorhad removed ar lea rone rhrear to rhe Afi"ika
Hermann Hogeback. Anorhercrew
Korps as ir began irs drive easrwards. Rommel's rroops had iniriaJly
werenorsoFortunare.
encountered Brirish Forces near EI Agheilaon 20 February, and rhe f1rsr
Intercepredandchasedourtosea
armedclash berween rhe rwosidesoccurred Fourdays larer. Forrhe nexr
12 bya Hurricane, 7. Staffil's'L1+LR'
FewweeksrheJu88soFLG Iwoulddividerheirrimeberweenshepherding 13
LZ.U convoys across rhe Medirerranean in order ro ensure a sready flow of sufferlossesin rheprocess. InanorherarrackonLuqaexacdyaweeklarer, OJ
o suppliesro rhe rroops in onh Africa,and in providingdirecrsupporrro for example, one of4.1LG I's machines failed ro rerurn. However, for :-t>I
cL.cU rhoserroopsasrheybegan ropush rheBririshbackrowards Egypr. mosr crews rhe end of February and rhe beginning of March meam r-I
l m
e... a resumprion of rheir rourine convoy escorr duries, imerspersed wirh
« FIRSTATTACKONTOBRUI{ C/)
:I: missions insupporTofRommel'srroopsin Libya. c
u In rheearly hoursof23 February, rhree machinesofIJ.ILG I had lifted On 28 February aircraft of Ill./LG I bombed Tobruk. Alrhough o
ofHromCaraniarocarryourrheirfirsrbombingraidonTobruk.Siruared RAF fighrers rose ro imercepr rhem, all rhe Ju 88s rerurned safely Zm
lessrhan90milesfrom rheEgyprianfromier, rhissmallharbourrownhad ro Sicily. Meanwhile, 7.1KG 30 had been desparched againsr a small o
beencapruredbyBririshforcesamomhearlier,and irsdefenceshadsince formarion ofenemyships reponed ro be heading wesrwards along rhe
been significandy srrengrhened. They cenainly consisred ofmore rhan African coasr. Afrer searching in vain for rhe vessels in poor visibiliry,
rhe'rhreesearchlighrs' previouslyarrribured ro Benghazi,and rhe rrioof Hajo Herrmann and his crews subsequendy pur down ar Tripoli ro
Ju88swereluckyroescapeunscarhedfrom rhereceprionrh yweregiven. refuel,beforerheyrooheaded backro icily.Onemachinerharderoured
The following evening, alarger force of 14 bombersalso headed for ro carry our a reconnaissance of Benghazi en route failed ro make ir.
Tobrukroanackshippingreponedrobeinrheharbourrhere.Whenrhey Emerging from low cloud over rhe harbour area, meroffizier Perer
arrivedoverrherargerareashordybefore1900hrs,rheJu88ssporredrwo Mulier's'40+HR'fell vicrimroan RAAF Hurricane.Tharsameevening
Royal Navydesrroyersjusrpurringour rosea.Severalofthecrewsopred rhe Knighr's ross-wearingMajorArved CrLiger, Gruppenkommandeur
ro dive on rhe warships rarher rhan on rhe merchanrmen berrhed in rhe ofIIUKG 30, landed inSicilywirh his8.and 9. StaJfe!n.
harbour.OnebombpiercedrhesideofHMS Daintyandpenerrareddeep For much of rhe first half of March 1941, rhe aircrafr of LG I
inroirsoilbunkersbeforeexploding.The1375-rondesrroyerwasquickly ManyofLG,'searlyMediterranean cominued wirh maririme parrol and convoyescorracriviries. Theyalso
engulfed inflamesandsoon wenrdown. missionswereflowninpenny mounred several harassingarrackson Malra, barh bydayand by nighr.
packetnumbers,butnotalways
On 25 FebruaryrheJu88sof7.1KG 30 flew in ro Gerbini- anorher 13 March was rypical. While III. Gmppe spenr mosr of rhar day
insuchneatarrowheadformation
field on rhe aranian plain sourh ofMOLIIH Erna. This StaJfe!was led asdisplayedhere- especiallyifRAF shepherdingyer moresupplyconvoysacross rhe Medirerranean, II./LG
by Oberleurnam Hajo Herrmann who, alrhough now bener known as orFAAfighterswereabout! 1divided irssrrengrhbydesparchingmachineson rwosepararebombing
the originarorofrhe WildeSau nighrfighrer force lareremployed in rhe raids, borh in rhe early hours of rhe morning. One group rargered
defence ofrhe Reich, had been a highlysuccessful bomber pilorduring Malra's Grand Harbour, while rhe otherw'uck ar EI Adem airfield in
theearlywaryears. HewasalreadywearingrheKnighr'sCrossbyrherime rhedesensourhofTobruk. owoccupied byrhe Brirish, EI Adem had
ofhisarrivalonSicily. been rhelargesrlralianairbasein Libya.Asrheyleftrherargerareacrews
The reS[ oflll./KG 30 was scheduled ro follow 7. StaJfe!down from reponed seeing hangars and parked aircrafr burning fiercely, alrh ugh
Holland some five days larer. mil irdid so, Herrmann's unir was ro be many ofrhe laner may have been unservi eable machines abandoned
subordinaredrorheStabofLG I. Linlerimewaslosrincallingupon rheir and lefrscaneredabourrhefield byrhe fleeing Iralians.
services. The groundcrews, who had accompanied rhe taJfe! ro Sicily TheJu88sdid norrerurn immediarelyroSicily,burflewinsread roan
aboard rwoJu 52/3m rransporrs, hadscarcelyhad rime ro wash rheblack ThenextJu88bomberunittojoin airfield near Tripoli where rhey were refuelled and bombed up again.
disremper off rhe undersides of rhe bombers (a legacy of rheir recenr LG' onSicilywas7./KG30.Thisis Then rhey headed back ro Tobruk, arracking rroop posirions near rhe
parriciparion in rhe nighr Blirzover Brirain) when Ober r Friedrich-Karl '4D+DR',oneoftheStaffersA-5s, rown,beforefinallyheadingnonhw srforCaraniaandhome,which rhey
picturedatGerbinitakingabreather
KJlusr, rhe Geschwaderkommodore of LG I, was on rhe line ro Hajo betweenoperations,withMount reached honly before midday- an II-hourshurde mi sion carried our
Herrmann. X F!iegerkorps had ordered rhar a major raid be mounred Etnaagainprovidingthebackdrop wirhourloss.
againsrMalra rhefollowingday,and ByrheendofMarch rheGermanadvancealongrheAfricancoa rwa
every available bomber was ro take gainingmomemum. In rhefaceofinexplicablyweakresisrance,wharhad
parr-Ju87s,He 111sandrheJu88s inirially been launched asareconnaissance in force soon d veloped inro
ofIl.and 11l.lLG Iand7.1KG30. afull-blown offen ive. Rommel'ssuperior in Berlin and Rome rried ro
Thearrackof26 February 194I reinhim in,burrhegeneralwashavingnoneofir. Heurgedhisrroopson.
was one ofrhe heaviesr raids Maim They would rerake Agedabia on 2 April and emer Benghazi ju r rwo
had experienced ro dare. And daysafrerrhar. Now he had hissighrsseronTobruk. Hewas beingably
alrhough rhe island's ainri-aircrafr supporredrhroughourbyrheJu87SrukasofF!iegerfiihrerAftika. Burrhe
gunners werecredired wirh aJu 88 Sicilian-basedJu 88swereconspicuousbyrheirabsence.The main focus
shor down imo rhe sea, and a oftheirarremionshad abrupdyswirched rorheeasrern Medirerranean.
Hurricane pilorclaimed anorher as Justas rheirinirial rransferfrom rheChannel from roSicilyhad been
a probable, ir appears rhar none broughr abour by Mussolini's ill-judged declararion ofwar againsr rhe
were in facr losr. TheJu 88swould AlliesinJune 1940,so rheJu 88s' laresrchangeofdirecri n, awayfrom
cominue ro moum smaller-scale NonhAfricaand rowardsrheeasrernendofrheMedirerranean,wasalso
14 raids on Malra, and rhey would rheresulrofanorherborchedoffensivebyrhe Iralian Duce. 15
o MARITJlTO
On 18 March 1941, 17 ofrhe Gntppe'sJu 88s were senr offon an
~
l- armed reconnaissanceofrheseaareasaround rere. Having been given
CC srricr insrrucrions nor ro violare reek airspace, rhe crews failed ro spor
LU
I
CL anyenemyves els. Afrerpurringdown on rheJralian islandofRhodesro
~ MERKUR
::c refuel, rheyreturned roCaraniawirh norhingro reporr.
u
Ir was ro be adifferenrsrory rhree days larer, however, when asmall
formarion ofJu88sled by HauprmannJoachim Helbig(rhe Kapitanof
4.Staffibsighredaconvoyofmerchanrvessels,escorredbycapiralshipsof
rhe Royal Navy- including rhe aircrafr carrier Formidableand cruiser
Bonventure-offrhe KirheraChannelbetween rereand Gree e Helbia
U . b
nlike Hitler's rerrirorial acquisirions in rhe period prior ro calledup rheresrofII. Gruppe,which was readyand wairingarCarania.
\'<Iorld War2- rheannexarion ofAusrriaand rheoccuparion of Inalareafrernoon arrack nOITh ofCrere,rhebombersclaimed ["""0of
Czechoslovakiaspringimmediarelyromind- Mussolini'sarmed rhe four merchanrmen sunkand arhirdseverelydamaged. Bur irwould
seaborne invasion ofAlbania ar dawn on 7 April 1939, is now all bur appear rhar none of rhe ships acrually wenr down. The 'large ranker'
forgorren. Eighreen monrhslarer,havingbuilruphisforceson rhefarside credired ro Gmppenkommandeur Hauprmann Gerhard Kollewe was,
ofrhe Adriaric, Mussolini launched an arrack on Greece. Expecringan in all probabiliry, rhe 8271-ron Danish ranker Marie Mae/"sk, which
easy vicrory, rhe Ducehad neglecred ro rell Hitlerofhis plans. And like alrhough badlydamagedand on fire, managed ro reach Greece- only ro
so many Iralian forays, rhisonequickly ran inro rrouble. Theembartled bebombedandsunk in Piraeusharbouron 12April.
Threeunidentifiedcrewmenpose
Greeks accepred Brirain's offer ofassisrance and rhe invaders were nor TheBalkanscampaignresultedin Thisoperarionof21 March resulred in LG I'sflrsrcombarlossofrhe somewhatself-consciouslyinfront
simplysroppedin rheirrracks,burchased backinroAlbania. LG 1switchingitsattentionsfrom monrh when one ofrhe machines rhar had iniriallysighred rhe convoy oftheshippingscoreboardpainted
Havingdriven rhe BririshArmyourofnorrhwesrconrinenral Europe MaltatotheeasternMediterranean. shOITlyafrermiddaywasengaged byaFulmarfrom Formidable. In rrying onthetailfinoftheirJu88.The
Thiswastobecomeitsmainareaof individualinthecentredoes,
in rheearlysummerof1940,rheFiihrerdid nornowwanrhisenemy-in operationsforverynearlythenext roescape from rhe flghrer, 5. Staffil's'Li+0 'ventured rooclosero rhe however...
rheearlyspringof1941 - serringfirm foorin rhesourheasrern reachesof threeyears shipsand wasbroughrdown bynavalanri-aircrafrfire.
his domain. He rherefore ordered Furrheranri-shippingsrrikes were flown over rhe nexr few days. On ...managetosummonup
abroadsmilefortheofficialwar
measures ro be raken ro disrupr rhe 22March twovesselswerehiroffGavdoIsland rorhesourhofCrere,one
photographer,whoseshotwaslater
flowofAlliedshippingrransporring ofwhich- rhe8070-ron orwegian rankerSolheim-wasbombedagain usedonthefrontcoverofthe
men and marerials from Egypr ro and senr ro rhe borrom by II./LG I 24 hours larer. Eleven aircrafrofII. BerlinerlIIustrierteZeitungof
rheir fOlward base ar Souda Bay, ruppefailed ro locareseveral cruiserssourhwesrofCrereon 24 March, 15May1941.Heispointingproudly
toahitscoredona'35,OOO-ton'
on rhe island of rere, and rhence buranarrackonaconvoyin rhesamearea rhefollowingdayresulred ina
warshipon24March,whichtiesin
onwardsrosourhern Greece. claimbyamemberofLG I's Geschwaderstabforonemerchanrmansunk; neatlywithIII./KG30'sclaimsfor
Iris more rhan alirrle ironic rhar 'My rhree SC bombs hir rhe warer directly alongside rhe largesr hitsona'battleshipandapatrol
whilerheAxiswerepouringsupplies freighrer in rhe convoy. As Iwirhdrew, rheship exploded in acloud of boat'northofBenghazionthat
date.Butwhatofthattop
sourhwards across rhe Medirer whiresmoke. Ilanded back ar Carania ar 1850 hI'S. Shortly afrerwards silhouetterecordingahitona
ranean ro build up rheir forces in Iwascredired in wriringwirh rhesinkingofan 8000-ronner.' carrier(almostcertainlyHMS
Norrh Africa, rhe Brirish were Despirerhis,rhevesselinquesrion,rhe6992-ron Baluchistall,survived Formidable)dated29March...
desparching convoys northwards rherhreenearmisses- and foranorher 12monrhsafrerrhar, unril finally
every rhree days in supporr of rhe fallingvicrim roaU-boaroffrhecoasrofWesrAfricain March 1942.
Greeks. Irwasrhisfurrherweakening Irrirared by rhe facr rhar Luftwaffe bombers were shouldering rhe
of Gen Wavell's oversrrerched and full burden ofrheeasrern Medirerranean anri-convoyoperarions, Hitler
overburdened DeserrArmy rharwas pressurised Mus olini roadd hisweighr, insisring rhar'rhe Iralians musr
allowing rhe Afrika Korps ro make atleastdosomerhing ro prevenr Brirish upplies from reachingGreece'.
such signiflcanrgains in irs advance Rome decided rhar rhe honourshould fall ro rhe Iralian navy. On rhe
rhrough Libya. eveningof26 March abartleship, five cruisersand ren desrroyerssailed
LG I's icilian-based Gruppen from POrtSinsourhern 1ralyrocan-yourasweeprorhesourheasrofCrere.
were heavily involved In rhis Burinsreadofinrercepringrheirinrendedrarger-aconvoybound for
two-way traffic. While III./LG I Piraeus- rhe Iraliansweremerbyunirsofrhemain Brirish fleer. Thiswas
conrinued ro devore much of irs afarsuperiorforce includingrhreebarrleshipsand rhecarrier formidable.
rime ro escorring Rommel's supply Theensuing Bartleof ape Marapan - an engagemenrdescribed by rhe
convoys, II./LG J wasgiven rhejob Alliesarrherimeas'rhemosrmomenrou naval vicrorysinceTrafalgar'_
of inrerrupring rhe flow of Allied endeddisasrrouslyforrheIralians.Lackingrhebeneflrofradar,rheirships
16 shippingberweenEgyprand Crere. suffered heavy losses during rhe nighr of28/29 March. The bartleship
17