Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre (CSDIC) reports

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

David Pausey
Help needed in identifying Luftwaffe recon unit,crew MTO
Tue Mar 26 21:37:54 2002
195.92.67.75

Hello all
Can anybody help me identify the units & crew of the following aircraft:29-2-44 Ju88T-1 wnr430926 DO+FN crew KIA shot down 6m SE of Derna,Cyrenaica by two Spitfire 9's.
Date? report date 8-5-44 Me410A-3 ??+RK crew KIA shot down by two Spitfire 9's near Vasto,Italy.
3-7-44 Ju88T-1 8H+ZH crew POW forced down by two Spitfires 40m E of Oran (near Port aux Pouls)
Regards David.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Nick Beale
Aufklärer
Wed Mar 27 22:40:44 2002
212.159.25.15

Me 410A-3 +RK of 2.(F)/122 (Werk Nummer 170098; full code almost certainly F6+RK) was shot down at 0730 on 15 April 1944. The crew were Uffz Albert Allrich (pilot, KIA) and Uffz. Erwin Lehmann (Observer, KIA). They’d taken off from Perugia at 06.44 hours.
Ju88T-1 8H+ZH was an aircraft of 1.(F)/33, callsign GI+WY, operating out of St Martin de Craux (Les Chanoines) in southern France. Pilot, Ofw. Helmuth Knapp; Beobachter, Fw. Götz von Houwald; Bordfunker, Fw Günther Schmidt. All three taken prisoner.
After developing engine trouble over Oran harbour, the Ju 88 was making for Spain when it encountered two Spitfires and the pilot belly landed it “without appreciable damage to the aircraft” at 14.00hrs. No. 256 Squadron’s Operations Record Book credits this victory to Spitfire Mk. VIII s/n JF 584 of C Flight of RAF flown by W/O Hally. he was operating out of La Senia and made the interception 25 miles due north of Oran at 21,000ft. He took off at 13.15 and landed at 14.15 hours (source PRO AIR27/1519 and /1524).
I don’t have anything definite on the first aircraft you mentioned (I don’t really do North Africa) beyond a reference to a 1.(F)/33 Ju 88 crew said by a prisoner to have been “lost early in March” on a mission to Africa — the date discrepancy may be just be a memory lapse — Olt. Pander (pilot or Beobachter), a Leutnant (name not recalled, pilot or Beobachter), Uffz. Keller (Bordfunker) and Uffz. Mendyka (Bordschütze).
These incidents are relatively easy to follow up. Prisoner interrogation reports (including examination of the effects of dead aircrew) by Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre (CSDIC) are held by the USAF Historical Research Agency and by the Public Record Office in London (in series AIR51). Further reports were compiled in London by the RAF’s Air Directorate of Intelligence (K) — known as A.D.I.(K) — and their files are in series AIR40 at the PRO and on microfilm at USAFHRA. The daily operations/intelligence summaries of the Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Forces (and their predecessor, NW African TAF) at the PRO will tell you who claimed which unit claimed what on a given day. From there the ORBs of RAF Squadrons will get you to the individual pilots/aircraft concerned and you’ve a reasonable chance of getting the pilot’s sortie report as well. If you’re prepared to spend long enough looking through lists, you may also get a brief report on the wreck of an aircraft, if the Allies examined it.

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

kb
April 13, 1944 raid on Corsica
Sat Nov 30 05:49:40 2002
207.69.15.197

Would like to know the LW units which took part in raid on Alesan A/D, inflicting severe damage to 340 MBG, USAAF.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Larry deZeng
13 April 1944
Mon Dec 2 14:21:00 2002
205.188.209.38

The most likely candidate is III./KG 76, which was based at Villaorba/NE Italy at that time with Ju 88A-4s and a half dozen or so Ju 188s. This Gruppe did operate mainly at night and did attack targets on Corsica during spring 1944. There is no evidence of any participation by elements of KG 26 or KG 77 based in S France as these were anti-shipping Geschwader at this time and busied themselves attacking convoys in the Mediterranean. Nor was KG 100 a participatant. I have the detailed units histories for both KG 26 and KG 100 and neither has any reference to the 13 April night attack on Alesan airfield with fragmentation bombs that totally destroyed 30 of the 340th Bomb Group's 90 B-25 Mitchells and severely damaged 45 others, thereby putting this Group out of commission for the second time in two months.

HTH,

Larry

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Nick Beale
I'm confused!
Tue Dec 3 23:23:28 2002
212.159.57.155

Are you sure it was April and not May 1944?

PRO AIR20/8534 includes CSDIC (Air) CMF Report No. A.595, “The GAF in Italy”, a post-war study written in captivity (and without benefit of documents) by General der Flieger Max von Pohl. I quote:

"In April 1944, the Luftwaffe in Italy registered one of its last genuine successes. German bombers, led by Oberst Helbig, caused havoc among closely parked Allied “mediums” during a surprise night attack on Corsican airfields.”

On the other hand, Ultra KV 1019 says:

"Total ops by Lfl. 2 [on 13 April] were 118 sorties including: scramble against enemy formations approaching Budapest, without interception. Night 12/13: attack on main supply depots north of Nettuno: co-operation between Luftwaffe formations and Flak artillery."

On the third hand (is this possible?) I do have data about attacks on Bastia harbour, Poretto and Alesani on the night of 12/23 May 1944.

Ultra says that Luftflotte 2 sent 115 bombers in two concentrated attacks. Interesting since on 10 May its bomber force had only 60 serviceable Ju 88s to its name. The bombers in Lfl. 2 at the time were Stab, I. and II./LG 1 and Stab, %. and III./KG 76.

Prisoners from 5./KG 76 and 3./LG 1 shot down later said they had had taken part in these attacks and though the Allies also reported He 177s being involved, there were none in Italy then so any participating (id indeed they did) would have come from France, I guess.

For devotees of "Catch-22", this is a possible prototype for the incient in the novel where Milo Minderbinder bombed the Squadron under a contract from the Germans.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Nick Beale
I'm confused!
Tue Dec 3 23:23:28 2002
212.159.57.155

Are you sure it was April and not May 1944?

PRO AIR20/8534 includes CSDIC (Air) CMF Report No. A.595, “The GAF in Italy”, a post-war study written in captivity (and without benefit of documents) by General der Flieger Max von Pohl. I quote:

"In April 1944, the Luftwaffe in Italy registered one of its last genuine successes. German bombers, led by Oberst Helbig, caused havoc among closely parked Allied “mediums” during a surprise night attack on Corsican airfields.”

On the other hand, Ultra KV 1019 says:

"Total ops by Lfl. 2 [on 13 April] were 118 sorties including: scramble against enemy formations approaching Budapest, without interception. Night 12/13: attack on main supply depots north of Nettuno: co-operation between Luftwaffe formations and Flak artillery."

On the third hand (is this possible?) I do have data about attacks on Bastia harbour, Poretto and Alesani on the night of 12/23 May 1944.

Ultra says that Luftflotte 2 sent 115 bombers in two concentrated attacks. Interesting since on 10 May its bomber force had only 60 serviceable Ju 88s to its name. The bombers in Lfl. 2 at the time were Stab, I. and II./LG 1 and Stab, %. and III./KG 76.

Prisoners from 5./KG 76 and 3./LG 1 shot down later said they had had taken part in these attacks and though the Allies also reported He 177s being involved, there were none in Italy then so any participating (id indeed they did) would have come from France, I guess.

For devotees of "Catch-22", this is a possible prototype for the incient in the novel where Milo Minderbinder bombed the Squadron under a contract from the Germans.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Don Kaiser
May 12, 13, 1944
Fri Dec 20 19:39:13 2002
192.231.106.2

Hi Nick,
You got it right! The raids were in May of 1944, not April.
Please see this site:

http://sbl.salk.edu/~dkaiser/raid.html

Thanks for all the great info. I would love to hear about this raid from the German side. Perhaps there are photos or movies taken during the raid?

Don Kaiser