Aerial Recon on the Western Front

[Juha]

Strategic recon typically flies high and fast. Tactical recon flies low and slow...

That was the original idea which produced e.g. Hs 126 and Westland Lysander. Modified bombers like Do 17 or simply fast bombers seconded as recon planes like Blenheim were given the strategic work. But it was soon found out that the low and slow approach was more likely to produce lost planes and crews than valuable info if the enemy was able to utilise its fighters over battlefields or had effective AAA. So came FR type planes, 109s, Spitfires and Mustangs flew low but not slow. Also strategic recon planes changed, if based on bombers like Ju 88 they were more extensively modified and were given engine boost systems like GM-1 or were based on TE-fighters like Me 410A-3 and USAAF F-4 and F-5 or were special planes like Ki-46 Dinah. And British used planes based on very fast bomber or heavily modified SE fighter.

Juha

 

[buffnut453]

There is a very blurred line between reconnaissance and army cooperation. Aircraft like the Lysander, Storch and Hs126 were used for observation purposes but they were equally useful for broader roles like message couriers, message dropping, commander's personal transport etc. There were dedicated PR aircraft - the Spits and Mossies flying alone and unarmed over enemy territory - and there were also fighter-recce aircraft that carried both guns and cameras, the latter often mounted obliquely because such aircraft typically operated at low levels. All contributed to intelligence gathering but they did different things and at different time periods as the fighting need evolved.

 

[Juha]

There is a very blurred line between reconnaissance and army cooperation. Aircraft like the Lysander, Storch and Hs126 were used for observation purposes but they were equally useful for broader roles like message couriers, message dropping, commander's personal transport etc. There were dedicated PR aircraft - the Spits and Mossies flying alone and unarmed over enemy territory - and there were also fighter-recce aircraft that carried both guns and cameras, the latter often mounted obliquely because such aircraft typically operated at low levels. All contributed to intelligence gathering but they did different things and at different time periods as the fighting need evolved.

I'd say that BoF showed to RAF that Lizzy was a failure in its designed role and they wanted something else for their army co-op sqns and when US planes became available in sufficient numbers, most got Tomahawks and then Mustangs and when the supply began to dry out, some got Spitfires. In LW Hs 126, which was rather similar than Lizzy was slowly replaced by Fw 189 but when even that was found out to be too vulnerable units began to get tac rec 109s.

Fi 156 was a rather different bird, weighted some 50% less than Lizzy and 126, had 240hp engine vs 800+hp engines in those other two, In fact it was nearer to AOPs or US Army Pipers than Lizzy. So IMHO the realities of WWII killed the Lizzy/Hs 126 type army co-op planes and their duties were taken by AOPs, which usually stayed over the territory occupied by their own side, popping up over skyline when directing arty fire. And they were effective in that, maybe the Allied planes most hated by German ground troops in Normandy and dead cheap, so really good bargain. On other end of scale were the FR planes, operating over enemy territory looking info on enemy troops and attacking targets of opportunity. Lizzy type planes would have been vulnerable over enemy territory, easy targets to AAA, being big and slow and fighters, so they needed a fighter escort and being slow were rather difficult to escort effectively. So because one had to sent fighters anyway, it wasn't difficult to understand why the idea of FR spread. A pair of FR planes could do much of the same than a Lizzy and 4 fighters and more safely. Much cheaper AOP type planes could do the courier and transport jobs, message dropping was much less important than was thought because the development in radios etc.

Juha

 

[davebender]

replaced by Fw 189 but when even that was found out to be too vulnerable units began to get tac rec 109s.

The fighter aircraft was nowhere near as capable as Fw-189 for tactical recon but I suppose you have no choice without air superiority. Just as Ju-87Ds were replaced with less effective but more survivable Fw-190F late in the war.

 

[Aozora]

Just finished reading Dr Alfred Price's The Hardest Day (Battle of Britain 18 August 1940): one statistic worth quoting is the number of RAF day fighter sorties put up on that day; 886 sorties...
Of these 403 were used to intercept the major raids...
and no less than 427 sorties were sent up to intercept the Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft! (Bf 110s and Do 17 or 215s plus at least one Ju 86P).

According to Dr Price the effort to catch the reconnaissance aircraft was well worth it because they were forced to fly high and couldn't take high resolution photos of RAF airfields, so a lot of attacks were against FAA or BC airfields, rather than key Fighter Command facilities. It also meant that the Germans over estimated the damage they were doing to Fighter Command.

 

[nuuumannn]

To fool a glass eye, yes, I've heard of that, must read, Juha.

Messerschmitt built 80 LR Recon Bf 109G-4/R3s in 1943, they were able to carry 2 x 300ltr dts.

Yes, this is true, but like I said, these were used for tactical and battlefield recon by fighter Staffeln within the Aufklarungsgruppen. These aircraft cannot be compared with the RAF's dedicated photo recon Spitfires as strategic recon platforms and it's in this role that the Germans had no equivalent to the RAF until the jets came along, specifically the Ar 234. The RAF PRU served as a seperate function to the tactical recon Army Co-op squadrons that you describe. The PRU was a close knit community of hand picked individuals who answered not only to the RAF hierarchy, but also to different British intelligence departments; a comparison might be the difference between the units that operated the RF-4 Photo Phantom and those that operate(d) the U-2 and SR-71. Two different kettles of photogenic fish.

Its not that the Germans didn't know about the use of high speed single seaters as camera platforms; there is a commonly held misconception that the RAF didn't have Spitfires in France prior to its fall in 1940; there were Spits of Sidney Cotton's Photographic Development Unit there and one of these was captured by the Germans. There's a series of propaganda images that appeared in Der Adler showing a Spitfire being chased by a Bf 109; it's an unarmed PR Spit painted in dubious British markings by the Germans. As for the use of the Lysander as a photo recon aircraft, these were typically liaison aircraft and photographic work was done with hand held cameras, not the specialised big long focus ones.

It also meant that the Germans over estimated the damage they were doing to Fighter Command.

One of their biggest failings, a lack of real knowledge of the British state of affairs at any time during the Battle.

 

[Juha]

Hello Nuuumannn
Bf 109G-4/R3s was an exeption among 109 recon plane, others were TacRec but G-4/R3 was a LR recon a/c, see the most famous case of their use: 109 recce - victim of Pierre Clostermann over Scapa Flow... - Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum or http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=4227

It was a plane of a LR Recon unit, namely 1(F)/120.

Juha

 

[Tante Ju]

Yes, this is true, but like I said, these were used for tactical and battlefield recon by fighter Staffeln within the Aufklarungsgruppen.

No, the long range recce fighters (G-4/R3 and G-6/R3, Gewaehltaufklarer) were specifically for strategic missions - why bother with two droptanks otherwise? Unlike RAF PRs, these also retained their motor cannon.

There were also tactical fighter-recce FR 109s (G-6/R2, G-6/R5, later called G-8, as well as G-10/R2), but that's a different story.

These aircraft cannot be compared with the RAF's dedicated photo recon Spitfires as strategic recon platforms

And why is that, because they were not RAF or not Spitfires? G-4/R3 and G-6/R3 went as far as Scapa Flow.

and it's in this role that the Germans had no equivalent to the RAF until the jets came along, specifically the Ar 234.

In fact Arado built (in licence) 29 Bf 109E-5/N already by the end of June 1940. These were with cameras, guns and faster than any RAF fighter in 1940. It was hardly an idea only the British came up with.

The Germans had recce versions of Bf 109E and 110C in production when the RAF had, IIRC a pair of prototype Spitfires (and as you said one of them soon in German hands), provisionally fitted with cameras. Now the "unarmed" part was pretty much a necessity by the RAF, since the Spitfire wing either carried guns, or fuel. And they had to cover plenty of distance.

Its not that the Germans didn't know about the use of high speed single seaters as camera platforms; there is a commonly held misconception that the RAF didn't have Spitfires in France prior to its fall in 1940; there were Spits of Sidney Cotton's Photographic Development Unit there and one of these was captured by the Germans.

Its not that, indeed. They were producing high speed single seaters as camera platforms. Its a common misconception in Britain, that because all the post-war hype of those mid- and late war PR Spitfires, that the Germans couldn't possibly have something similar. In fact they did, and it seems they were already series producing the recce Bf 109E-5, E-6, E-8, E-9 while the RAF had basically two and a confusing myriad of proposed PR Marks at the time.

 

[Juha]

... These aircraft cannot be compared with the RAF's dedicated photo recon Spitfires as strategic recon platforms and it's in this role that the Germans had no equivalent to the RAF until the jets came along, specifically the Ar 234. The RAF PRU served as a seperate function to the tactical recon Army Co-op squadrons that you describe. The PRU was a close knit community of hand picked individuals who answered not only to the RAF hierarchy, but also to different British intelligence departments; a comparison might be the difference between the units that operated the RF-4 Photo Phantom and those that operate(d) the U-2 and SR-71. Two different kettles of photogenic fish.

Yes I know, besides some books on PRU I have bought I photoed theVol II of the official post-war report on PRU during the WWII.

Its not that the Germans didn't know about the use of high speed single seaters as camera platforms; there is a commonly held misconception that the RAF didn't have Spitfires in France prior to its fall in 1940; there were Spits of Sidney Cotton's Photographic Development Unit there and one of these was captured by the Germans. There's a series of propaganda images that appeared in Der Adler showing a Spitfire being chased by a Bf 109; it's an unarmed PR Spit painted in dubious British markings by the Germans.

I always wondered that kind of security lapses, British should have burned the plane before they left the airfield.

As for the use of the Lysander as a photo recon aircraft, these were typically liaison aircraft and photographic work was done with hand held cameras, not the specialised big long focus ones.

Yes that was the norm at the time same in LW with Hs 126s or in FiAF with Fokker C.Xs.

Juha

 

[Juha]

Hello Tante Ju
PRU had on 20 July 40 8 PR IBs, 3 ICs and one IE, of these IBs carried 29 impgal extra fuel and ICs 59 impgal extra fuel. The IF, with 89 impgal extra fuel began ops at the end of Jul 40.

Juha

 

[GrauGeist]

The Luftwaffe employed over 18 types during the course of the war, for recon purposes, including the Ar234 (Ar234B-1 being dedicated for recon).

KG200 conducted long range recon and even employed captured Allied bombers for many of those missions.

 

[nuuumannn]

No, the long range recce fighters (G-4/R3 and G-6/R3, Gewaehltaufklarer) were specifically for strategic missions - why bother with two droptanks otherwise? Unlike RAF PRs, these also retained their motor cannon.

This is very interersting Tante Ju, I wasn't aware of these variants of the Bf 109. You've aroused my curiosity now; firstly, where were the cameras carried, what sort of cameras - in terms of focal length etc were they and what sorts of missions did they fly? Scapa is obvious, but did the German units operate within the branches of the Abwehr or SD?

And why is that, because they were not RAF or not Spitfires?

No, simply because I wasn't aware of them.

It was hardly an idea only the British came up with.

Well, actually Cotton was an Australian and he had a hard time attempting to get his point across to the Brits, who thought he was a bit mad.

These were with cameras, guns and faster than any RAF fighter in 1940.

Which variants of Bf 109s and '110s were these then? Let's see some figures to back this up. The Bf 110 was a very good recon platform, but it was not faster than current RAF fighters in 1940.

The Germans had recce versions of Bf 109E and 110C in production when the RAF had, IIRC a pair of prototype Spitfires (and as you said one of them soon in German hands), provisionally fitted with cameras. Now the "unarmed" part was pretty much a necessity by the RAF, since the Spitfire wing either carried guns, or fuel. And they had to cover plenty of distance.

Were these specialised strategic recon platforms or just tactical recon aircraft? Again, where were the cameras put on the Bf 109? Were they large high altitude cameras? The first two Spits were modified in October 1939 and had flown the first strategic recon op over Aachen by mid November. By the end of the Battle for France the PDU had considerably more that two Spitfires and had flown 557 sorties, photographing practically the whole of the Ruhr and and port facilities, including every German heavy warship. The Spitfire's cameras were initially only carried in the rear fuselage because of their enormous size; it was on later variants that oblique cameras were fitted in the wings.

Its not that, indeed. They were producing high speed single seaters as camera platforms. Its a common misconception in Britain, that because all the post-war hype of those mid- and late war PR Spitfires, that the Germans couldn't possibly have something similar. In fact they did, and it seems they were already series producing the recce Bf 109E-5, E-6, E-8, E-9 while the RAF had basically two and a confusing myriad of proposed PR Marks at the time.

Perhaps its because these Bf 109s did not achieve as much as the PRU Spits did. I doubt the Germans used their strategic recon aircraft to anywhere near the same degree as the British did, since little is heard or written about them to the same extent as the Bf 109 fighter variants compared to the Spitfire. It is well known that German reconnaissance over Britain throughout the entire war was sorely lacking and was one of the big misfortunes of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. It's one thing to have these aircraft, another to put them to effective use. German intelligence didn't have a patch on the British in terms of photographic coverage of Germany and its Allies during the war, so a fat lot of good they did for the Abwehr or SD, then. My understanding of German tactical recon is that it was extremely effective, but its strategic recon was poor by comparison to the Allies. Do you agree?

 

[GrauGeist]

where were the cameras put on the Bf 109? Were they large high altitude cameras?

There were several versions of Bf109 for recon.

The camera locations varied depending on the recon requirements and camera type (application). The first Bf109 recon was the Bf109E-5 and E-6, where all weapons were removed except the cowl MG and the camera was located behind the pilot, in the fuselage. The camera used was the Rb21/18.

For the Bf109F series, the F-6 was the version used for recon. Again, the wing armament was removed and because of it's limited range, drop tanks were fitted. The mounted cameras used were the Rb20/30, Rb50/30 or the Rb75/30.

In the G series of the Bf109, there were several dedicated PRU versions. The first of the series, the Bf109G-2/R2, remained fully armed and carried a Rb50/30 camera. Next was the Bf109G-4/R2 and R3. The difference between the R2 and R3, was the R3 carried drop tanks to increase it's range and they both carried the Rb50/30 camera. The G-4/U3 version was unarmed and carried two Rb12.5/7x9 cameras on board. The last G version PRU was the G-8 which carried a Rb50/30 along with either a Rb12.5/7x9 or a Rb32/7x9. In addition, some of these versions were also fitted with a small camera on the port wing.

I don't have photos handy at the moment, but the locations for the cameras were either fitted behind the pilot in the fuselage, on the bottom centerline of the fuselage just aft of the wing or along the bottom of the fuselage offset to either side of the centerline between the tailwheel and the mainwing. And of course, on the port wing.

 

[pattle]

Don't forget the Dornier Do17P, these machines were used by the Luftwaffe until at least the end of 1941. You don't see many pictures or hear much mention of the P model with it's distinctive original slim nose, but the P model was a well used specialised recon plane early war.

 

[Aozora]

This is very interersting Tante Ju, I wasn't aware of these variants of the Bf 109. You've aroused my curiosity now; firstly, where were the cameras carried, what sort of cameras - in terms of focal length etc were they and what sorts of missions did they fly?

This is one installation:

The G-4/R3

All from Prien and Rodeike, Schiffer 1995 pages 50, 53, 94. According to this book the Bf 109F-6 didn't exist

 

[OldSkeptic]

Pierre Clostermann tells of shooting down a very high altitude 109G going over Scapa Flow in his book. So they definitely used them.

And of course they used the Ju-86Ps for high altitude recon for a while, until fighter performance caught up. The story about how they modified a few Spit Mk Vs to shoot down one at 49,000ft is one of those great stories of the war (though seldom mentioned is the decompression sickness quite a few of the Spit pilots suffered as a result).

 

[Aozora]

Pierre Clostermann tells of shooting down a very high altitude 109G going over Scapa Flow in his book. So they definitely used them.

And of course they used the Ju-86Ps for high altitude recon for a while, until fighter performance caught up. The story about how they modified a few Spit Mk Vs to shoot down one at 49,000ft is one of those great stories of the war (though seldom mentioned is the decompression sickness quite a few of the Spit pilots suffered as a result).

Here's one of the modified VBs: (Andrew Thomas; Spitfire Aces of North Africa and Italy (Osprey Aces 98) page 10)

Because the modified Spitfire Vs were so effective it led to this interesting Spitfire P.R variant that was developed by the same Aboukir bods who modified the high altitude Spitfire Vs...

From:

 

[nuuumannn]

but the locations for the cameras were either fitted behind the pilot in the fuselage, on the bottom centerline of the fuselage just aft of the wing or along the bottom of the fuselage offset to either side of the centerline between the tailwheel and the mainwing. And of course, on the port wing.

This is good information, thanks guys. This is what I was trying to find out, where would you put the big cameras in the Bf 109? I assumed it'd have to be in the rear fuse; I've seen photos of the Bf 109G-4/R3 posted here before and I knew there were tac recon Bf 109s, but wasn't aware they were used for long range strategic recon. How effective were they? Any good info about operations using them? Did the Auflkarungsgruppen have a similar strategic recon unit to the British PRU?

The Germans mustn't have placed that much faith in them as the British did their assets; another wasted opportunity, perhaps?

 

[OldSkeptic]

Thanks Aozora, great stuff. They were clever. They couldn't do anything about the supercharger in Egypt, so they raised the compression ratio, carefully grinding down the head (from memory), modifying pistons, etc.
The most advanced field modification ever?

Decompression sickness (the bends) was not so well understood then (though they had a fair knowledge) I wonder how many of the pilots suffered permanent damage (DC can damage the brain for example)?

 

[nuuumannn]

Right then. Have been doing a bit of reading about German single-seat fighters modified as recon aircraft and German strategic recon in general from various sources, including the excellent series Auflkarer, Luftwaffe Reconnaissance and Aircraft. Indeed, the Germans used single-seat fighters (news to me) as strategic recon assets, even over the UK; there are recollections of Bf 109s being shot down or crashing through equipment failure, but these were few and far between and not carried out with any consistency. By 1943 enigma decrypts were revealing that the Germans hadn't taken any recent images over London "for years" and it wasn't until the Ar 234 that such a specially modified recon platform became available, and by then they were too few (only two to begin with) to be of real effectiveness, despite the fact they were largely unstoppable. Primary strategic recon aircraft used by the German armed forces were converted twin engined bombers and maritime aircraft, rather than specialised high speed high altitude assets - the Ju 86P nothwithstanding. German intelligence of Britain's military assets during the war was largely based on recon carried out clandestinely during peacetime and indeed the Germans carried out an extensive survey of the UK before the war, but once the shooting started, German recon of the British Isles declined rapidy. By contrast, the British had scant knowledge of German military facilities before the war and in the first few months of the war, but through the efforts of Cotton began to build a bigger picture, to the extent that the PRU became the foremost strategic recon asset of any armed forces in the war in terms of its utilisation.

Both Fw 190s and Bf 109s were modified by the installation of recon cameras in the rear fuselages and used for strategic recon coverage of Wehrmacht areas of action, in typical LW organisation, the units were self conatined, with their own PIs and developers. From what I've read the Fw 190 was primarily operational from France and to a lesser extent the Soviet Union, but Bf 109s were operational in France, North Africa, Italy and the Soviet Union. These aircraft carried out both tactical and strategic recon under the German Operational Aufklarer stategic pre-and post battle recon and Taktische Aufklarer for tactical battle recon.

The biggest problem facing the LW and indeed the Nazis and their disemmination of information gathered was the fractious nature of relations between the different war departments. The German Aufklarer did not enjoy the same autonomy as the RAF PRUs because of this and the information flow was not always outwith the military command structures of the Wehrmacht and LW itself. By contrast the PRUs and RAF Photographic Interpretation Unit had open communication within the British intelligence departments and not only shared the results of photographic sorties but were under instruction from the intel departments on which specific targets to cover. The lack of German intercommunicational flexibility within its armed forces is no secret.

In conclusion German operations with its single-seaters were pretty much in line with what my understandng of German recon was, although I had no knowledge of the strategic use of the single seaters. Nevertheless, they were not same ops carried out by the RAF PRUs in terms of the endurance and coverage of the Reich for intelligence collecting and were more in common with how battlefield reconnaissance was represented within other countries' armed forces. Modifications to the Fw 190s and Bf 109s were the fitting of cameras and external fuel carriage in line with their role, this extended to the removal of radios and weaponry. The German use of strategic recon was primarily inline with the whims of its military operations in terms of its conquests, rather than building a bigger photographic picture of the Allies and their capabilities at home and abroad. By contrast, by the end of the war, both the United States and British recon assests had photographed almost the entire length and breadth of the Reich. So, my statement about the the differences between the British PRU stands to a degree, then.

German use of its strategic recon assets appear to be determined and persistent at best, but inconsistent and lacking over time to be of real strategic value at worst; furthermore, the modified single-seat assets were not used to the same extent that the British PRU aircraft were, nor did they carry out as extensive operations deep into enemy territory as frequently with the same consistency as the British PRUs, as useful as the German assets were, however. This doesn't take away anything from the airmen who flew these ops for the Aufklarer; PR pilots had a hazardous existence and they were subject to the same pressures as their Allied counterparts.

Thanks for the heads-up guys, I learned something valuable today.