Luftwaffe night fighter control methods.
Part 9.
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Night fighter operations autumn 1943.
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Luftwaffe night fighter control methods. |
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Part 9. |
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Night fighter operations autumn 1943. |
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| I recently got the opportunity to read through a part of the KTB of XII.Fl.Korps/I JK. I was surprised at the very low number of Zahme Sau sorties and the very high number of Wilde Sau sorties flown by twin engined fighters in the autumn of 1943. It is undisputed and very well documented, that twin engined fighter units did fly some Wilde Sau sorties, but the extend reported in the KTB puzzled me. I started to suspect, that either had the terminology been reversed, or on most occasions no distinction was made between Wilde Sau and Zahme Sau sorties. On one occasion at least it is obvious, that the commander of I JK (Gen. J. Schmid) did not have his terminology straight, please see below. | ||
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| As Herr G. Aders so eloquently expressed it during our discussions: "Wenn "Beppo" Schmidt beschleunigte Ausstattung der Nachtjäger mit SN-2 fordert, da das unverzichtbar sei für "Wilde Sau", ist das natürlich Quatsch - der Herr General hat schlicht und einfach "Zahme Sau" und "Wilde Sau" verwechselt". A confusion in terminology or lack of consequent distinction seems to have been embedded in the staff culture at least up to mid November 1943. | ||
| A review of the locations of claims and kills by the twin engine fighters would be a good indication of the type of Verfahren employed. So based on the KTB the sheet below was compiled. It is a summary of night operations based on the KTB of I JK and RAF Bomber Command War Diary , please see below. | ||
| and the locations of kills by twin engined fighters was plotted based on Claims and casualties., please see below: | ||
| It is evident, that there must have been some twin engine fighters employed on Wilde Sau on some nights, but the long dispersion of kill positions before and after the target also clearly indicate Zahme Sau employment. | ||
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