Take-offs were easier and more fuel-efficient
when the aircraft was catapulted into the air
from a ship, such vessels being positioned
away from usual bases. Four BV 138s were
also tted with a degaussing ring for mine
detection operations, such aircraft being
known as BV 138 MS.
By 1943, the main areas of operation
for the ‘Flying Clog’ were now the Baltic,
North Atlantic and Arctic with the Black Sea
being secondary in comparison. However,
with increased Allied air superiority, combat
losses began to rise. One particularly bad
day involved 2./406 – July 28, 1943. With
Allied forces poised to invade Sicily, they
attempted to force German attentions on
southern Norway by a simultaneous naval
movement intended to simulate a large-scale
raid. Five BV 138 C-1s were launched from
the catapult ship Bussard in Trondheim Fjord
that day and none returned. The rst BV 138
was shot down by Grumman Martlets of 890
Sqn, launched off the carrier HMS Illustrious.
Shortly after, two more were shot down by
Bristol Beau ghters of 404 Sqn and, later
on the same day, another crew from the
same unit accounted for the nal pair. A
total of 23 BV 138 aircrew were killed and,
although three were picked up by U-489, the
submarine was sunk by a Short Sunderland
of 423 Sqn on August 4, 1943 and the three
aircrew were captured.REORGANISATION
Mid-1943 now saw a confusing
reorganisation of the BV 138 units that
were still operating in the Mediterranean,
Black Sea, Atlantic and Norway. The unit
2./406 became 3./Seeaufklärungsgruppe
130 (3./SAGr 130), 3./406 was renamed
1./SAGr 131, 1 & 3/ Aufklärungsgruppe
125 were changed to 1 & 3./SAGr 125,
1./706 became 1./SAGr 130 (and a month
later 2./SAGr 131), while 2./706 was
formed from 1./SAGr 125 in June 1943
only to become 2./SAGr 130 the followingmonth. The other units were 2./SAGr 125,
mainly based at Trondheim in Norway, it
received BV 138s at the end of 1943 and
1./SAGr 129 which primarily ew from Lake
Biscarrosse in south-west France. It had
a mixture of BV 222s and rarely more than
three BV 138s. With many aircraft now
equipped with FuG 200 Hohentwiel ship-
search radar, the type still tried to perform
its convoy hunting and shadowing duties
to the best of its ability, but time and the
war were against it. Manufacturing came
to an end in December 1943, by which
time 276 production aircraft had been built.
Attrition both from enemy action, accidents
and fuel and spares shortages limited its
effectiveness for the nal year-and-a-half
of the war. By 1945, the only operational
BV 138 units were 1 and 3./SAGr 130
plus 3./SAGr 126 (the latter received in
the region of eight aircraft towards the
end of 1944, on moving back to Germany
from the Mediterranean, having been an
Arado Ar 196 unit before that). A number
of ‘Flying Clogs’ were captured at the
end of the war. The RAF ew three from
Trondheim to the UK for evaluation, the
only one known being C-1 Werk Nummer
310081, after which it is believed they
were scrapped at Felixstowe post-1947.
Substantial remains of C-1 Werk Nummer
310050 formerly of the Flieger Ergänzungs
Gruppe (See) were recovered from the
sea off the coast of Denmark in 2000,
and are now exhibited as they would
have appeared on the seabed, at the
Danemarks Flyvemuseum, Helsingör.
The BV 138 was an oddity with a chaotic
entrance to service. However, the nal word
goes to test pilot Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown,
who said: “...one must concede that, handling
shortcomings or no, it was an operational
success and it did a sterling job of maritime
reconnaissance for the Luftwaffe.”http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 35
One of the four BV 138 MS variants with the degaussing ring clearly visible – these were used
to detect mines.
A BV 138 B-1 – note the three propeller blades on the centre engine, this was one way to differentiate the variant from the later C-1 which had four.