“Near Knokke-Ostend
([Belgium], the tide drove us to
the coast. Navy soldiers took us
to a bunker. After some injections
and medical treatment, I was fully
conscious again. The kapok life
jackets with neck support had
been lifesaving for us and were our
guardian angels.
“We were driven to the field
hospital [at] Bruges. In addition
to second and third degree burns
to the face, both hands and neck,
I suffered severe shock, a severe
concussion and a skull base
fracture. Alfons Rieger was less
injured. The gunner, Gefreiter
Pollinger, was severely injured and
remained in hospital until the end
of the war. The second gunner and
the radio operator drowned and
their bodies were not recovered.”
TAKING A TOLL
Missions were flown on at least 12
nights during August, involving
228 aircraft. The logbook of Uffz
Herrle records seven sorties from
Rosières until the 14th, after which
they were switched to Venlo.
Although Herrle did not fly
overnight on 30th-31st the target
was, unusually, reported as being
Gloucester with 20 V-1s launched
in the early morning. Just eight
crossed the coast before all fell in
East Anglia. During that night
the He 111 flown by Uffz Lorenz
Gruber (8./KG 3) crashed near
Gilze-Rijen for unknown reasons,
killing all on board.
There were sporadic operations
during September, with a break
between the 5th and 16th, by
which time III./KG 3 had relocated
to Varrelbusch in Germany.
A week later RAF night-fighters
started to make an impression. An
He 111 was probably destroyed
over the North Sea, by Fg Off Ray
Henley of Mosquito-equipped
25 Squadron, at 2150hrs on the
24th. Nearly seven hours later a
similar claim was made by Wg Cdr
Leicester Mitchell, also of
25 Squadron.Oberleutnant Günther Bohnet,
Staffelkapitän of 8./KG 3 and Lt
Helmut Denig (7./KG 3) were
declared missing on September
24 and 25 respectively. Feldwebel
Herbert Böhling and his crew, also
of 7./KG 3, were killed when they
crashed near Hankenberge, near
Osnabrück on return from a raid on
the 26th.
It is claimed III./KG 3 changed
designation to I./KG 53 in
September. However, reports state
that III./KG 3 was still in existence
until October 20, 1944. By that
time II., and soon afterwards III./
KG 53, had finished conversion to
V-1 operations.
That month there were 13 nights
of attacks with a total of 177
missiles dispatched, predominantly
on London. German losses starting
to heighten with Wg Cdr Mitchell
claiming two He 111s early in the
morning of September 29. Two 9./
KG 3 crews, Staffelkapitän Oblt
Erhard Banneick and Uffz Willi
Döhring, perished that night.
To make matters worse Hptm
Heinz Grünewald, 7./KG 3’s
Staffelkapitän, was killed in an air
raid on Münster-Handorf on the
30th. All three staffelkapitän of III./
KG 3 had been killed in action in
the space of six days; all men were
hard to replace so late in the war.LEFT OR RIGHT
Operations resumed, from
Varrelbusch and Ahlhorn, on
October 5 with London the
target for 11 aircraft, all of
which apparently returned safely.
Flight Lieutenant John Jones of
25 Squadron claimed to have
destroyed an He 111, east of“Two He 111s of 9./KG 3, piloted by Uffz Wilhelm Nolte and Uffz
Martin Mehnert, collided on the runway at Amy. Both aircraft were
totally destroyed; amazingly just one crew member died”Above
Heinkels of III./KG 53
prior to conversion
training for V-1 missions.
The under surfaces
appear to have been
painted black for
night operations.Left
He 111H-16 WkNr 16100 of
2./KG 53, fi tted with a V-1.November 2018 FLYPAST 35