Heinz Knoke P-47 Thunderbolt September 27, 1943

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COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES

MONDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force):

Mission 104 :

The port of Emden in Germany is the target. 2 of 3 H2S equipped pathfinder B-17's of the 482d Bombardment Group (Pathfinder) lead themission. This is the first Pathfinder (PFF) mission.
246 of 308 B-17's hit the Emden industrial area and targets of opportunity at 0958-1008 hours ;
they claim 32-7-24 Luftwaffe aircraft ;
7 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 78 damaged ;
casualties are 1 KIA, 18 WIA and 71 MIA.

This mission is escorted by 262 P-47's which claim 21-2-6 Luftwaffe aircraft ;
1 P-47 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged ;
casualties are 1 MIA.

1 P-47 declared lost on September 27, 1943 :

Source : 56th Fighter Group "Zemke's Wolfpack" 63rd Fighter Squadron: Code UN

serial number	plane type	squadron	code	reason	mission lost on	pilot
41-6199	P47C	56 FG 63 FS	UN-W	Last seen in a fight with enemy fighters near Juist Island	?	1st Lt. Harry P Dugas KIA MACR 666 & 747

The report of the mission 104 declares single P-47 lost on September 27, 1943. Table is complete.

The target of the mission 104, EMDEN, is 50kms far from JEVER and corresponds well to the geographic description which gave KNOKE. The square S/BP - 8 that indicates KNOKE for his victory is situated in lands above OSTEEL and MARIENHAFE, 35kms far from JEVER.
From book "Fighter units & Pilots of the 8th Air Force September 1942 - May 1945 Day to Day Operations . Fighter Group Histories" by Kent D. Miller (page 29) Harry P. DUGAS would have been "Last seen in a fight with enemy fighters near Juist Island".

Square BP-8 Crash location of P-47 #41-6199

Juist Island is only 24kms far from center of square BP-8 designed by KNOKE !
In aerial combat, with speed near 500kms/h, 24kms are little thing.

This report declaring the loss of a single P-47 this day, there is a big probability that Lt. Harry P. Dugas was the victim of KNOKE.
3 victories were scored by Luftwaffe on September 27th, 1943. KNOKE's victory is the only one near Juist Island. The 2 other victories have been claimed 60kms far on North in squares UP-5 and UP-6.

P-47s Luftwaffe' Official Victories on September 27, 1943.

Source : Jagdgeschwader 1 und 11 Tail 1 1939 - 1943 Jochen Prien, Peter Rodeike.

Rank / Pilot	Unit	Plane	Schedule / Place
Lt. Brede	I./JG11	P-47	11.20 S/UP-5 7.800m
Uffz. Biermann	5./JG11	P-47	11.25 S/UP-6 7.500m
Lt. Knoke	5./JG11	P-47	11.26 S/BP-8

Description of this victory by Heinz Knoke :

Heinz Knoke's Flightbook mission 226 left page

Heinz Knoke's Flightbook mission 226 right page

Warning !
To facilitate the reading, lines of Heinz Knoke's flightbook, appearing above, were modified with small computing assembly.
If the disposal is not in accordance with the original, the main thing of the information, namely the mission 226 of September 27, has no change.

	Heinz Knoke Informations	Personal comments
Source	I flew for the f... page 116
Date	September 27, 1943
Type of claimed plane	Thunderbolt
Place of the interception	Jever's surroundings. 20000 feet in height.
Crash Location
Presumed mission USAAF		Target was Emden.
Presumed route USAAF
Schedule	Stand by : 10.30 enemy concentrations in map reference sector Dora Dora. Jever's takeoff : 10.55 Landing with parachutes near Jever : 11.26 (31 minutes)	31 minutes on the whole, everything happened near Jever.
Weather report	"The sky is completely overcast. We come out above the clouds at 10000 feet..."
Knoke's Unit	5./JG11 Bf 109G from II./JG11	All Bf 109G are equipped with rockets of 210 mm. Since August 19, 1943 the 109 are equipped with extra reserve fuel-tanks.
Detail 1	"10.45 : all set. I have a new aircraft. Arndt has been polishing it until it shines like a new mirror : no doubt that will add another ten miles per hour to the speed."
Detail 2	"The reserve tanks are still almost full when I order my Flight to jettison them."	It is a precious indication about Jever's nearness. Just the time to rise in 20000 feet heading East.
Detail 3	"We swing quickly in to attack with our rockets. As we get in position, the Fortress split up into separate groups of some thirty or forty aircraft each, and keep on constantly altering course... I order all our rockets to be discharge when we are in formation at a range of 2000 feet. The next moment a simply fantastic scene unfolds before my eyes. My own two rockets both register a perfect bull's-eyes on a Fortress. Thereupon I am confronted with an enormous solid ball of fire. The bomber has blown up in mid-air with its entire load of bombs. The blazing, smoking fragments come fluttering down."	Knoke first victory on same day.
Detail 4	"They [P-47] have the white star and broad white stripes as wing marking."	Knoke's first meet with P-47.
Description of the fight	<<Reinhard, Reinhard, wake up ! Thunderbolt behind !>> Reinhard does not reply, but keeps on calmly blazing away at his Fortress. I go flat out over the Thunderbolts. The first of them now opens fire on my wingman. The latter just keeps on firing at his victim. But now the leading Thunderbolt is a perfect target in my sights. A single burst of fire from my guns is all that is needed. It bursts into flames and goes down spinning like a dead leaf into the depths below. It is my second kill today."	A sure victory. Knoke didn't mention parachute. No survivor.
Detail 5	"Then there is a sudden hammering noise on my crate. I turn round. There is a Thunderbolt hard on my tail, and two others are coming down to join it. I push the stick right forward with both hands, diving for cover in the clouds. Too late : my engine is on fire. I can feel the heat : it quickly become unbearable. Jetissoning the canopy, I pull the oxygen mask off my face. I unfasten the safety-harness and, drawing up my legs, kick the stick forward with all my strengh. I am shot clear outof the aircraft and somersault through the air in a great arc... ...I quite enjoy the experience. What a marvellous invention the parachute is, to be sure--always provided it opens ! Jever lies off to the north. They must be able to see me from there..."	Crash location of Knoke's plane : Jever is near, north of Knoke's position.
Detail 6	"It is a black day indeed for the squadron. By evening it is ascertained that among my own pilots Sergeant Dölling has been killed, and Raddatz and Johnny Fest shot down also. 4./JG11 has lost two killed and one seriously wounded. One of the Headquarters aircraft has not returned. 6./JG11 seems to have got the worst of it. Nine our of its twelve pilots are lost. All the nine have been killed. The remaining three have been forced to either crash-land or bale out. Not a single one of their aircraft returned. On the credit side, however we have brought down twelve of the enemy to offset these heavy casualties. No fewer than six are credited to my lucky "Fifth" alone."
Detail 7	"Added to the credit side, of course, there is also the fact that today the Americans failed to reach their objective. They were obliged to take their bombs back home with them. The only exception was one of the smaller formations of Fortresses. They unloaded their bombs through a hole in the clouds on the little town of Esens in East Frisia. A school was hit, and 120 children were killed : that was one-third of the entire child population of the place."

September 27, 1943, 15th victory

P-47C-2-RE Thunderbolt Serial 41-6199 Code UNW

Serial	Type	Squadron	Code	Reason	Mission / Crash Location	Pilot
41-6199	P47C-2-RE	56 FG 63 FS	UN-W	Last seen in a fight with enemy fighters near Juist Island	?	1st Lt. Harry P Dugas KIA MACR 666 & 747