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Murmansk was by mid 1942 a hornet's nest of AAA, so intense that it bombing missions had to be conducted at at least 18,000 feet or higher. With so many committments, the Luftwaffe had only limited assets available for the Northern battles. They did score a notable success against PQ-18 in Sept of 42 sinking 10 of 13 frieghters, but their losses in return were severe:
KG-26 - 19 bombers (HE-111/Ju-88)
4 possible 109 losses (JG-5)
Kustenfliegergruppen 406/506/906 - 5 x HE-115
......
Numbers come from Wiki so they should be taken with a grain of salt, especially the Bomber losses. They seem very lite.
But it does reflect a great difference in the results. The reason may be, and I'm speculating, Allied tactics were superior to those used by the LW. The Allies had regular shipping attacks on Convoys and may've refined their attacks whereas shipping was just "another job" for the LW.
Those are pretty high for the situation. I would expect them to be better returns for the effort put into it (although I don't know the loss rate, losing 19 Bombers from one KG is pretty rough).
Could the Ju-88 have a nosefull of heavy weapons plus a few bombs, without being off balance? or cramping the cockpit beyond reason?
Hello Glider
Nikademus is right, out of 40 freighters in PQ-18, 13 were sunk, 10 by air-attacks and 3 by U-boats.
Juha
Isnt the North Atlantic usually foggy or low ceiling?
The Condor dropping the Fritz-X might have been problematic if its targets werent even to be seen. And dito that for winter when there is no sunlight (although the counter is true for summer).
just check the link I provided above from u-boat.net and then research the dates-PQ's and QP's
would of been interesting if the Kondor would of been fitted with twin 2cm waffen pods under each wing and then a belly pack with similar arms for ship busting of course that was the idea of using the drop air to ship Henschlel rocket/bomb systems
6. Atlantic Mediterranean 1943 - Prince Robert StoryUnlike her sister ships, the ROBERT was slated for the role as an anti-aircraft cruiser rather than an LSI. She was taken out of service in January 1943 and Burrard Dry Docks in Vancouver fitted her out. She was armed with ten 4-inch twin HA/LA Mark XXV guns, eight 2-pounder pompoms and twelve Oerlikon 20mm. At the same time, proper director and fire control were added. This was supplemented with some relatively modern Radar, suitable for aircraft warning, surface detection and fire control. The Asdic was also updated and four depth charge throwers added. Now the ROBERT was one of the most powerful A/A ships afloat, for her size.
The ROBERT sailed for England at the end of April, travelling via Panama and Bermuda. The voyage through the canal was made memorable at Colon by the introduction of young Canadian sailors to Central American nightlife...
The ROBERT now joined fast troop convoys to Gibraltar and return as A/A escort. The Bay of Biscay was a relatively dangerous route as the enemy were using long range aircraft as assistance to their U-boats.
By this time the Germans had established very sophisticated radio transmissions both in Spain and France to assist in the location of convoys and to enable the U-boats to home in on them. In addition, the long range Heinkel 177 bomber was able to carry two rocket-assisted flying bombs, which could be targeted by the controlling aircraft from a safe range.
In November 1943, a large Med-UK troop convoy was shadowed by hostile aircraft 250 miles WSW of Cape Vincent, Portugal. A series of U-Boat engagements over a period of four days ensued. Three submarines were destroyed and several damaged during the course of this action with no casualties to the convoy. Among the escorts the Canadian ships CALGARY and SNOWBERRY were credited with sinkings.
Discouraged with the lack of success of their U-Boats, the Germans then adopted new tactics by making strong assaults with large forces of bomber aircraft operating from bases in France. Four-engined FW200s carried out conventional bombing but the surprise threat was from HE-177s equipped with rocket-assisted, radio-controlled, flying bombs. The ROBERT arrived at the height of the action and fired everything she had for the next two and a half-hours.
Despite the ferocity of the attack, the A/A fire saved her from at least one flying bomb and held the casualties of the convoy to one ship with no personnel loss.
This was the first major air attack against Atlantic convoys in over a year and introduced new methods of anti-ship warfare. At a later date, the ATHABASKA was not so lucky under similar circumstances when a flying bomb passed through her before detonating on the other side.
Haven't read it, probably won't. One of the reviewers makes a good point. It was a sideshow to the main show which was the U-boat war.
But it seems nobody ever put any real thought into how effective aircraft could be in the Battle of the Atlantic until the Brits got the idea of using Coastal Command/VLR aircraft. Almost amazing, considering how much thought the Japanese and US put into it for the Pacific. It was something of an afterthought for the Atlantic.
Had the Condor been in large scale production, sync'd in with the U-boat fleet (and a larger U-boat fleet available earlier), it would've been murder for the Convoy system.
Other ships sunk or damaged by the Hs 293 include:
.