This risky tactic accounted for the
deaths of Uffz Günter Rohne and
his crew from 9./KG 3, when they
hit an aerial mast near the Dutch
town of Eindhoven, while on a raid
to London on July 27.
By the end of July
1944, it‘s believed
that III./KG 3 had
flown more than360 sorties on at least 18 different
nights, launching about 280 V-1s.
The effectiveness is hard to assesses
due to a lack of documentary
evidence, and because attacks were
interwoven with conventional
flying-bomb barrages.
The logbook of Uffz Hermann
Hurrle (7./KG 3) records eight
missions in July 1944, one of which
was against a target in Paris, but the
document fails to give details of the
targets each night.
In addition to the losses mentioned
previously, Uffz Heinz Schmidt (8./
KG 3) failed to return from a raid on
London on the 29th. That night was
costly: a 7./KG 3 aircraft came down
near Corbie in France after being set
on fire by flak; Uffz Karl Schmidt’s
He 111, also of 7./KG 3, impacted
at Trouville with all five crew killed,and Uffz Gerd Schwärzel (8./KG 3)
crashed west of Amiens.GUARDIAN ANGELS
On July 30 the He 111 of Uffz Alfons
Rieger (8./KG 3) was shot down
by a German convoy in the Scheldt
Estuary. Uffz Rudolf Noreike, one
of the survivors, recalled: “We were
flying over water as the first aircraft
in front of our Staffel [flight] at
50 to 80m. We came under fire of
many guns from ships we could not
recognise. Immediately I fired our
flare pistol, but the fire continued.
“Because of many hits, our plane
caught fire. Uffz Alfons Rieger
decided to ditch. I immediately
released the V-1 from the plane,
gave the instruction to open all
emergency exits, to release the
parachute and the straps.Above
A V-1 in position,
suspended from the
centre section of an He
111H. This is believed to be
an aircraft from 7./KG 3.
Above
Left to right: Gefr Hans Gründler (radio operator,
killed), Uffz Alfons Rieger (pilot), Uffz Rudolf Noreike
(observer), Gefr Egid Pollinger (gunner), Ogefr
Waldemar Lahn (gunner killed). This 8./KG 3 crew was
shot down by friendly fi re on July 30, 1944.Left
Allied air attacks on airfi elds hampered Luftwaffe
operations: this scene of devastation was at
Gablingen, April 24, 1944.WORLD WAR TWO VENGEANCE WEAPON
34 FLYPAST November 2018