Shadow over the Atlantic
Page 38
War Diary of the German Naval Staff Operations Division, Part A:
October 1943, Volume 50, available at Archive.org,
November 1943, Volume 51, available at Archive.org,
December 1943, Volume 52, available at Archive.org,
January 1944, Volume 53, available at Archive.org,
Warsailors.com,
Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz, Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote (BdU – Commander of U-boats) until January 1943 when he was promoted to Grandadmiral and appointed Supreme Commander of the Kriegsmarine, although he remained in overall direct command of the U-boats. He was a staunch believer that cooperation between U-boats and the Luftwaffe was vital to the effective prosecution of the convoy war and rallied Hitler, Göring and others continuously for long-range maritime aircraft. In this endeavour, he was to remain disappointed. (Williamson)
A convoy of merchant vessels makes its way across the Atlantic in 1942. (US Navy)
In a rolling swell, a pair of Type VII U-boats lie on the surface in daylight, their crews clad in life vests. By mid-1943, such exposure was highly dangerous as land-based Allied very long-range aircraft, and gradually increasing numbers of carrier-based fighters, gained superiority in the skies over the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic. The U-boat to the left of the photograph is equipped with a 2-cm Flak C/30 gun. (Williamson)
Junkers Ju 290A-5 Wk-Nr 0180 KR+LK is readied for its first flight on 24 March 1944 at the Junkers works at Dessau, having been towed out of the workshops across the snow by its tailwheel. This aircraft would be operated by 1./FAGr 5, but it was destroyed in a bombing raid on Rechlin-Roggentin on 10 April 1945. (EN Archive)
Some of the officers of 3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.10 who transferred to FAGr 5 at Achmer in the summer of 1943. (Author’s collection)
The roomy cockpit of a Junkers Ju 290, possibly an A-5, showing the excellent all-round visibility offered to the pilots while in the air (though not while on the ground), and the dual controls with the throttle levers visible in the central console. Also visible to the right is the edge of one of the armoured seats. (Goss)
Ju 290A-3 Wk-Nr 0161 9V+DK of 2./FAGr 5 flies over the German countryside on a flight from Achmer, late 1943. The short run of five aircraft in the A-3 series were powered by 1,700 hp BMW 801D engines and featured a reduced-drag, lower-profile aft dorsal gun turret, a tail gun and improved gondola design. (EN Archive)
Ju 290A-3 Wk-Nr 0160. The aircraft was originally coded SB+QJ, but subsequently it became 9V+BH (1.Staffel of FAGr 5) and then 9V+AK (2.Staffel). It is believed to have been destroyed by bombs during an Allied raid on Rechlin on 10 April 1945. (EN Archive)
With three engines running, Ju 290A-3 Wk-Nr 0160 prepares to take off from Achmer. (Knirim)
Ju 290A-3 Wk-Nr 0161 9V+DK of 2./FAGr 5 passes overhead at Achmer in the autumn of 1943. This photograph illustrates how the ventral gondola was offset to the left of the fuselage. The aircraft and its crew were lost when it crashed in mountainous terrain in bad weather while on an operational flight over northern Spain on 26 December 1943. (Wadman)
Ju 290A-2 Wk-Nr 0158 9V+AH of FAGr 5 in flight over north-west Germany in late 1943. This aircraft was passed from 2.Staffel (which operated it as 9V+BK from late August 1943) to 1.Staffel in October. It has the early style, larger dorsal HDL 151/1 turrets and has FuG 200 search radar installed. It also carries the last two digits of its Werknummer on its nose as was customary for many earlier aircraft. Wk-Nr 0158 is believed to have been shot down by German Flak near Oranienburg on 22 April 1945. (Knirim)
Hauptmann (later Major) Hermann Fischer, Kommandeur of Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5 ‘Atlantik’ from its formation in the summer of 1943 to the end of the war. A very experienced reconnaissance pilot, in 1942 he became a recipient of the Ehrenpokal and was also awarded the Deutsche Kreuz that year. (Author’s collection)
Major Josef Augustin, Staffelkapitän of 1./FAGr 5. Previously commander of 3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.10 on the Eastern Front, he had also served as a photographic officer on the staffs of Luftwaffenkommando Don and the I.Fliegerkorps. (Author’s collection)
Hauptmann Karl-Friedrich Bergen, Staffelkapitän of 2./FAGr 5 (seen here as an Oberleutnant), played a key role in the formation of the Gruppe at Achmer. Having seen service in Russia with 3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.100, he had also undergone senior unit leader’s training in France before joining FAGr 5. He would be lost over the Atlantic while on a shadowing mission on 16 February 1944. (Goss)
Oberleutnant (later Hauptmann) Oskar H. Schmidt, a pilot and observer who served primarily as commander of the Stabskompanie of FAGr 5. A diligent and resourceful officer, he organized and led a column of the Gruppe’s personnel and vehicles on a journey across France to the safety of the Reich in the late summer of 1944. (Author’s collection)
The General der Aufklärungsflieger (General of Luftwaffe Reconnaissance Forces), Oberst Karl-Henning von Barsewisch (left) discusses equipment at either Achmer or Mont de Marsan with senior officers of FAGr 5. Frequently, von Barsewisch found himself caught between the demands of Dönitz and the Kriegsmarine for Luftwaffe support for the U-boats, and Göring’s reluctance to invest in long-range maritime reconnaissance. Also seen here are Major Hermann Fischer (centre) and Hauptmann Karl-Friedrich Bergen. (EN Archive)
Major Josef Augustin, Staffelkapitän of 1./FAGr 5, and Oberleutnant Herbert Abel, the Gruppenadjutant, stand in front of a line-up of officers and NCOs of 1.Staffel while they await the arrival of their Gruppenkommandeur at Achmer in the autumn of 1943. (Author’s collection)
Senior NCOs of FAGr 5 enjoy a glass of wine at their billet during the early period of formation of the Gruppe. (Author’s collection)
The officers of 1./FAGr 5 were quartered in a comfortable villa in a leafy street in Mont de Marsan, close to the airport. (Author’s collection)
A Ju 290 of FAGr 5 runs up three of its BMW 801 engines on a grey day at Mont de Marsan. (Goss)
Generalleutnant Ulrich Kessler, from February 1942 the Fliegerführer Atlantik. A former naval officer, he subsequently joined the Luftwaffe and, among several appointments, was Kommodore of KG 1 at the outbreak of war. His tenure in command of Luftwaffe units over the Atlantic was an unhappy one and he never believed his role was truly understood or supported by Göring and other senior Luftwaffe commanders. He was replaced in March 1944. Perhaps in an attempt to sideline him, he was transferred to Tokyo as air attaché for the rest of the war. (EN Archive)
Leutnant Hans Wessel joined FAGr 5 upon its formation as Gruppe signals officer. (Author’s collection)
Oberleutnant August Vaupel joined 1./FAGr 5 at its time of formation and was one of the first observers of the Staffel. He had served previously with 3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.10 in Russia. (Knirim)
Officers of the Gruppenstab, from left to right: Oberleutnant Ludwig Herlein (pilot in Stab), Oberleutnant Hans Müller (Gruppe Technical Officer), and Oberleutnant Herbert Abel (Gruppenadjutant). All three men had served in reconnaissance units before joining FAGr 5. (Author’s collection)
Officers and NCOs of the Stabskompanie, FAGr 5, Mont de Marsan, early 1944. (Author’s collection)
A tow bar can just be seen on the ground, which was used to connect the tailwheel of the Ju 290 to the heavy-duty tow vehicle parked close to the aircraft. Such vehicles would be used to tow the aircraft from the runway to wooded dispersal areas on the perimeter of Mont de Marsan airport. (Wadman)
A German atlas illustrates the method of Suchkreise (search circles) over the eastern Atlantic as adopted by Ju 290s of FAGr 5 flying out of Mont de Marsan. Using FuG 200 search radar, aircraft would ‘sweep’ a circle of sea area with a radius of 80 km, before moving on to repeat the process, using a course of parallel rows as illustrat
ed on the map with some circles overlapping. An area 500 km x 480 km would be covered, involving 19 circles. The process would take over 15 hours. (Knirim)
Some idea of the extent of the 42-metre wingspan of the Ju 290 can be seen from this photo of the A-5 KR+LA of FAGr 5. Though covered for protection here, the circular area between the two gun turrets on top of the fuselage is the location of the clear Plexiglas panel of the astrodome, from where the crew would take accurate positional fixes using astronomical navigation. (Goss)
A navigator aboard a Ju 290 makes an entry containing time and navigation data into his flight logbook. (Knirim)
Aircrew use an octant and a navigation watch to obtain a navigation fix while over the sea. (Knirim)
The NCOs of 1./FAGr 5 await the arrival of Generalfeldmarschall Sperrle at Mont de Marsan in early 1944. (Author’s collection)
Accompanied by Major Augustin, Staffelkapitän of 1./FAGr 5, the large frame of Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Sperrle, commander of Luftflotte 3, strides along a line-up of FAGr 5 aircrew during an inspection at Mont de Marsan in early 1944. (Knirim)
During its relatively short operational life, FAGr 5 always suffered from a low unit strength, but wherever possible, the unit’s commander, Hermann Fischer, attempted to fly shadowing patrols with pairs of aircraft in an attempt at mutual protection. It was a measure that rarely worked. Here, two Ju 290s are seen flying at a typically low altitude over the waters of the Bay of Biscay or Atlantic Ocean. (Goss)
A pair of Ju 290s of FAGr 5 out on patrol over the Atlantic. (Goss)
Hauptmann Karl Nather, senior photographic officer of FAGr 5. (Author’s collection)
Leutnant Hellmut Nagel of 1./FAGr 5 flew four long-range shadowing patrols over the Atlantic, as well as numerous instructional and night flights. (Knirim)
The Staffelkapitän of 2./FAGr 5, Hauptmann Karl-Friedrich Bergen (left) in conversation with Oberleutnant Hans Heindorff of 3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr.Ob.d.L., who was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 23 October 1942. Both men wear the reconnaissance flier’s operational clasp. (Author’s collection)
Nemesis of the shadowers: six Sea Hurricanes are lined up on the deck of HMS Biter as the escort carrier pitches forward in heavy Atlantic waves. The presence of such carriers close to the Atlantic convoys meant that no airspace was safe for Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft or shadowers, no matter what their range. (Thomas)
A vessel of convoy OS.68/KMS.42 is silhouetted on the horizon as smoke bellows into the sky from the spot where Ju 290 9V+DK of the Staffelkapitän of 2./FAGr 5, Hauptmann Karl-Friedrich Bergen, crashed after being shot down by Beaufighters of No. 235 Squadron on 16 February 1944. (Thomas)
A Martlet IV fighter of 811 NAS photographed on the deck of HMS Biter in early 1944. Aircraft from this squadron engaged Ju 290 shadowers of FAGr 5 off convoy OS.68/KMS.42 in February of that year. (Thomas)
Martlet pilot Lieutenant Eric Sven Eriksen of 811 NAS walks across the deck of HMS Biter shortly after shooting down Ju 290A-5 WK-Nr 0175 9V+FH, commanded by Leutnant Eberhard Elfert of 1./FAGr 5, over the Atlantic on 16 February 1944. (Thomas)
Lieutenant Eric Sven Eriksen’s Martlet IV FN168 ‘Q’ nosed over as it returned to the deck of HMS Biter after the engagement with Leutnant Eberhard Elfert’s Ju 290A-5 9V+FH. (Thomas)
Formerly assigned to the Luftwaffe air-sea rescue service, Hauptmann Georg Eckl succeeded Karl-Friedrich Bergen as Staffelkapitän of 2./FAGr 5 in late February 1944. (Author’s collection)
A Mosquito passes low over the water and the semi-submerged remains of Oberleutnant Karl-Heinz Schmidt’s Ju 290 9V+FK of 2./FAGr 5 after it had been shot down by Flight Lieutenant R.J. Coombs and Flight Lieutenant R.D. Doleman of No. 157 Squadron off the north coast of Spain on 19 February 1944. (Goss)
Ju 290A-7 Wk-Nr 0181 KR+ LL suffered a collapsed landing gear on its first flight from the Junkers works at Dessau on 1 April 1944 while being flown by Flugkapitän Karl Friedrich Maringer and flight engineer Fritz Pflug. Despite the damage to its undercarriage and the splintered wooden propeller blades, the aircraft was repaired and flew again on 22 April. It later served with 2./FAGr 5 as 9V+GK and in the summer of 1944 was assigned to 1./KG 200. It was eventually destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on Dessau in August 1944. (Goss)
Hauptmann Hermann Fischer, Gruppenkommandeur FAGr 5 (left), and Oberleutnant Herbert Abel, Gruppenadjutant, compare pipes! (Author’s collection)
This Ju 290A-4 or A-5 is adorned with the Staffel emblem of 1./FAGr 5, a depiction of the Fliegender Holländer (Flying Dutchman) ship in full sail, carrying the emblem of the Deutschritterorden (the knightly Teutonic Order) on its sails, set against what should be a white shield, although curiously, here it appears to be more of a yellow background – the colour of 2.Staffel. (Wadman)
A member of the groundcrew works on an underwing panel between the dipole transmitter and receiver antennae of a FuG 101a radio-altimeter on a Ju 290 at Mont de Marsan. The aircraft carries the Fliegender Holländer and yellow shield emblem of 2./FAGr 5 and is fitted with FuG 200 Hohentwiel search radar nose antennae. Also visible is the barrel of the 13 mm MG 131 machine gun at the rear of the ventral gondola. (Goss)
‘All that remained of the Junkers was an oil slick and a few floating pieces of debris’. Lieutenant Allen R. Burgham, RNZNVR, a Sea Hurricane pilot of 835 NAS, shot down Ju 290A-7 9V+FK flown by Oberleutnant Hans-Georg Bretnütz of 2./FAGr 5 on 26 May 1944. (Thomas)
Lieutenant Stephen Mearns (centre) of 835 NAS accounted for the Ju 290A-4 9V+GK of 1./FAGr 5, commanded and flown by Leutnant Kurt Nonnenberg, when he shot it down during the Junkers’ mission to shadow convoy SL.158/MKS.49. Some of the crew survived, others were less fortunate. (Thomas)
Sea Hurricanes IIc NF700 7-T and NF672 7-K of 835 NAS on the deck of HMS Nairana in 1944. (Thomas)
Officers of 1./FAGr 5 partake in an al fresco meal at their quarters in Mont de Marsan on a sunny spring or summer day in 1944. (Author’s collection)
To provide recreation to the personnel of FAGr 5 at Mont de Marsan during the summer of 1944, the Gruppe formed its own football team, seen here, which played local army and Luftwaffe units, including the team fielded by Hauptmann Walter Nowotny’s JG 101. (Author’s collection)
Three in-flight views of Ju 290A-5 Wk-Nr 0170 KR+LA. This machine was the first in a series of ten A-5s, which were enhanced by improved protection for fuel tanks and cockpit, as well as an emergency fuel jettison system. Shortly after completion, the aircraft was used for tests by the Erprobungsstelle Rechlin, which included flights as a test-carrier for the new HeS 011 jet engine, but in late November 1943 it was eventually handed over to FAGr 5, where it was assigned to 1.Staffel as 9V+DH. In these photographs, the aircraft is seen finished in the standard later-style splinter pattern of greens on the wing and fuselage upper surfaces with light blue/grey elsewhere. It is believed to have been destroyed in an air raid on Rechlin on 10 April 1945. (EN Archive)
Ju 290A-7 Wk-Nr 0186 KR+LQ, photographed in March 1944 at Dessau. The A-7, of which this aircraft was the second example, was distinctive for its new glazed nose, which accommodated an MG 151 as additional armament. The antennae for the FuG 200 were fitted both above and to the side of the new nose design. This aircraft was later coded 9V+FH with 1./FAGr 5, and in October 1944 it was assigned for special duties to 1./KG 200. It finally found its way to Flensburg at the end of the war, from where the British flew it to the RAE Farnborough. (EN Archive)
Their vehicles covered with foliage for camouflage, armed Luftwaffe personnel take a wary halt at the roadside during FAGr 5’s move across France. The column of the Gruppe encountered the French Resistance on several occasions. (Author’s collection)
‘Every kilometre we progressed towards the east, took us closer to the homeland and safety.’ A 20 mm MG 151 aircraft cannon has been rigged to the roof of one FAGr 5’s vehicles as ‘defence’ for the journey across France to Germany in August 1944. (Author’s collection)
The FAGr 5 column suffered several breakdown incidents a
s it progressed across France. Here, possibly as a result of being overloaded, the wheel axle of a trailer has broken. When such incidents occurred, the Gruppe’s mobile workshop section proved extremely resourceful. (Author’s collection)
Three officers of FAGr 5 pause for some food during the journey across France in August–September 1944. From left to right: Oberleutnant Motzkus (pilot, 1.Staffel), Hauptmann Oskar Schmidt (Stabskompanie), and Leutnant Hertel (pilot, 1.Staffel). (Author’s collection)