USAAF or RAF recce units that made flights over Silesia in 1944

[yahya]

I'm looking for the exact number of the USAAF or RAF recce units that made flights over German Silesia, particularly Breslau, in the summer of 1944 most likely with the dH Mosquito PR. The imagery from such flights originating from NARA (file D13977) has appeared in numerous places on the web, albeit without the details on the unit that originally has taken them. Any suggestions are welcome.

Examples of the aerial photos of Breslau in Silesia allegedly taken in Aug. 1944.

D13977 - stare zdjęcia

D13977, - 92 stare zdjęcia

fotopolska.eu

 

[ColFord]

No.540 Squadron RAF, 8 August 1944. Tasking reference in 106G and squadron matches details listed by NARA for the sortie.

Reference No.540 Squadron RAF Operational Record Book Forms 540 and 541. Extract from Form 541 Ref AIR27-2007-46 Page 5 (available online as digital download from UK Archives Kew).

 

[yahya]

Thank you very much indeed for the instant reply and identification of the plane and mission.

Given that the Mosquito PR XVI was involved in the 8 August 1944 mission, what kind of avionics, particularly navigation equipment could have been fitted into the aircraft unless it was a pure VFR flight by today's standards, albeit on high altitude?

 

[ColFord]

GEE and Rebecca H, are noted as being fitted to the PR Mosquito XVIs, which could be used up until the point where the aircraft went out of range of the ground stations. As the Allies increased their presence on the continent after D-Day, GEE, Rebecca H and Oboe ground units were set up in the liberated areas where they could provide increased areas of coverage. Similarly as Allied units worked their way up Italy, radio navigation aid units followed which extended coverage into areas of southern Europe. Once out of range of radio aids it was 'old fashioned' navigation with course, speed and time, making use of ground fixes on prominent visual features and regular checks for wind drift. When out of range of the radio navigation aids, if there was 'solid' cloud cover preventing accurate navigation (and potentially clear photography of the designated target/s), then the crew would consider options for continuing, reducing altitude to drop below the cloud base to get a fix and see if photography would be possible, or aborting the sortie and returning to base to await better weather. Many days are shown in the unit records when sorties were not conducted due to poor weather or sorties aborted early due to poor weather enroute.

 

[yahya]

Thank you for the reply. Such avionics setups could significantly add weight to the a/c thus reducing its performance. Do you possess any images of such setups in PR Mosquitos?

 

[Geoffrey Sinclair]

Breslau is listed pre war as having around 625,000 people, coal and iron industries, good water and rail connections. It looks like it was never bombed by western allied air forces but was a Hitler fortress, fighting from 13 February to 6 May 1945, most of the city destroyed.

The lack of interest by the air forces will be reflected in the reconnaissance coverage, likely done by the same units as Auschwitz and with similar problems in identifying sorties.

Apart from the equipment mentioned by Col Ford the USAAF had others like LORAN for navigation.

15th PR Squadron USAAF, F-5, single sortie, photo,
12-Dec-44, abortive, Blechhammer, Breslau Area
12-Dec-44, Breslau Area
17-Dec-44, Breslau, Oppeln Area
22-Dec-44, Brno, C. Trebova, Breslau, Brieg, Oppeln, Blechhammer, Odertal
15-Jan-45, abortive, Breslau.

Checking the detailed records will probably uncover more.

 

[yahya]

Well, Breslau was heavily industrialized, and possessed several valuable targets for allied bombers to include the following.

• Linke-Hofmann Werke AG, one of the largest rolling stock manufacturers in the Third Reich;
• Fahrzeug und Motorenwerke AG (FAMO), repair facility for submarine, tank and aero engines and i.a. the maker of the Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe SPA;
• Archimedes Schlesich-Sachsische Schrauben Fabriken AG, tools and machinery works;
• The Nikolaitor works of Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke AG, aircraft factory;
• The Gandau airfield works of Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke AG;
• The Mochbern marshaling yard.

I assume that the 15th PR Squadron USAAF belonged to the 15th Photo Recon Group of the Fifteenth Air Force, which operated in that time from Italy. Right?