MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
I guess that most people have heard of the first 8th Air Force "shuttle" mission, where US bombers hit a target in Germany and then continued on to Poltawa in the USSR, where they rearmed and hit German targets on the way back to England. The mission was a semi-disaster for the USAAF, because the Luftwaffe staged a night raid on Poltawa and destroyed 47 of the bombers. It has been assumed by many that the Luftwaffe had followed the USAAF aircraft to their destination in the USSR and used the knowledge to stage the raid. Well, here is the real rest of the story.
In the book "Battle for the Skies," the author, Michael Paterson, has not written a terribly good book in terms of explaining the air war but has done an exceptional job of gathering personal accounts from WWII pilots, one of which is Fritz Losigkeit, the former commander of JG-51. Losigkeith explains that soon after he took over command he began to instruct his pilots in heavy bomber interceptions. They did not see that kind of activity on the East side of Germany, but he anticipated the Allied shuttle missions.
One day Losigkeit was aloft on a training mission when he received word that a large US bomber force was approaching from the West. He got his units already airborne into position and ordered the Staff squadron to scramble as well. They performed a head on attack as they ahd been training to do, but were jumped by a large force of P-51's and only succeeded in destroying one B-17. A large dogfight ensued and one of the Mustangs was hit, the pilot making an emergency landing on the Luftwaffe airbase; he died of his wounds before the ground crew could render him aid.
Examination of the Mustang revealed a map showing the bomber force was headed to Poltawa. He was ordered to carry out a night attack on the base and succeeded in catching the Americans on the ground.
I don't guess it would have been feasible to perform a shuttle mission without providing the pilots with maps that had the destination clearly marked. But clearly, Opsec is important! .
In the book "Battle for the Skies," the author, Michael Paterson, has not written a terribly good book in terms of explaining the air war but has done an exceptional job of gathering personal accounts from WWII pilots, one of which is Fritz Losigkeit, the former commander of JG-51. Losigkeith explains that soon after he took over command he began to instruct his pilots in heavy bomber interceptions. They did not see that kind of activity on the East side of Germany, but he anticipated the Allied shuttle missions.
One day Losigkeit was aloft on a training mission when he received word that a large US bomber force was approaching from the West. He got his units already airborne into position and ordered the Staff squadron to scramble as well. They performed a head on attack as they ahd been training to do, but were jumped by a large force of P-51's and only succeeded in destroying one B-17. A large dogfight ensued and one of the Mustangs was hit, the pilot making an emergency landing on the Luftwaffe airbase; he died of his wounds before the ground crew could render him aid.
Examination of the Mustang revealed a map showing the bomber force was headed to Poltawa. He was ordered to carry out a night attack on the base and succeeded in catching the Americans on the ground.
I don't guess it would have been feasible to perform a shuttle mission without providing the pilots with maps that had the destination clearly marked. But clearly, Opsec is important! .
