Heinz Knoke B-17 Flying Fortress July 28, 1943

WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)

VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 78 : The aviation industry in Germany is targetted but bad weather hampers the raids. The targets are :

1. 182 B-17's are dispatched against the Fieseler Works at Kassel, Germany ;
58 hit the target at 1027-1054 hours; they claim 27-15-22 Luftwaffe aircraft ;
7 B-17's are lost, 4 are damaged beyond repair and 54 damaged ;
casualties are 15 WIA and 71 MIA.

2. 120 B-17's are dispatched to the Fw 190 plant at Oschersleben, Germany ;
37 hit the target; they claim 56-19-41 Luftwaffe aircraft ;
15 B-17's are lost , 1 is damaged beyond repair and 64 damaged ;
casualties are 11 WIA and 134 MIA.

This is the deepest US bomber penetration into Germany to date.
The raid achieves good results however, 22 B-17's are lost as fighters score first effective results with rockets.

105 P-47's, equipped with jettison-able belly tanks for the first time on a mission, escort the B-17's into Germany ;
other P-47's, going more than 30 miles (48 km) deeper into Germany than they have penetrated before, meet the returning bombers.
They surprise about 60 German fighters and destroy 9 of them ;
1 P-47 is lost.

The Crash Location is situated in sea, falling points with ground should so be moved aside.
The 11 victories of 5. / JG11 were gained above the North Sea.
There is 10 B-17 disappeared in sea in the list above.
None of B-17 having for mission Kassel was shot down in sea.

Description of this victory by Heinz Knoke and different information :

Heinz Knoke's Flightbook mission 206 left page

Heinz Knoke's Flightbook mission 206 right page

	Heinz Knoke Informations	Personal comments
Source	I flew for the f... page 107
Date	July 28, 1943
Type of claimed plane	B-17 Flight Fortress
Place of the interception	Beginning of the attack in the area of Heligoland above the North Sea. The attack begins with the dropping of bombs on bombers.
Crash Location	North Sea near Heligoland.	In his Flightbook Knoke mention Westerland's name which is 90 km in the North of Heligoland. Why?
Presumed Mission USAAF	Presumed towards Hamburg by Knoke.	The primary targets were Orschersleben and Kassel
Presumed route USAAF
Schedule	Alert : enemy concentrations in the reference sector Dora Dora Jever's takeoff : 08. 35 Landing to Jever : 09. 50 ( 10 intact planes)
Weather report
Knoke's Unit	5./JG11 11 Bf 109G from II./JG11	All Bf 109G are equipped with a time bomb of 250kgs. Knoke uses a new plane with a 30mm gun. It is a Bf 109 G6 / U4.
Description of the fight	"I have a new aircraft with a thirty-millimetre cannon. I punches great holes in the fuselage of the Fortress which I have picked as my victim... ...When I have brought down my oppenent, I return to the attack on the disrupted formation. Together with Sergeant Raddatz I open fire on another Fortress, until it is in flames. Raddatz finishes it off, when it tries to escape to the west."	A sure victory. Knoke does not mention parachutes.
Detail 1	"...and release our bombs. A fantastic scene is produced by the explosions. The close-flying formation is desorganised completely. Some of the Fortresses plunge down in steep dives, while others swere off to the sides. They narrowly escape mid-air collision. The bomb dropped by Sergeant johnny Fest explosed exactly in the center of a close flight of three heavy bombers together. All three simultaneously go down to crash. More than twenty parachutes float in the air."	In his book Freeman evoke this scene of which were victims B-17 of the 385 BG. What is surprising is that Americans believed that they had been struck by rockets ! This day being quoted : fighters score first effective results with rockets. !
Detail 2	"Five or six more of the enemy, some of them on fire, also swerve from what remains of the battered formation. Now we can pick them off one by one ! One after another they go down in flames to crash into the sea. Only large patches of burning oil remain on the surface."
Detail 3	"...I observe that one of the comrades is on fire. Opening my throttle, I draw alongside. It is Sergeant Höfig... ...I follow him down, circling his parachute. Höfig waves his hand, then points downwards. The sea awaits him below... <<Little brother shot down in Ulrich-Quelle-Six. Parachute descent into sea. Notify rescue service."	The precision of the square UQ-6 is interesting because it allows to better place the situation of the fight, and to confirm Heligoland's geographic nearness.
Detail 4	"Eleven victories to be added to our score on the board."

serial number	plane type / name	squadron	code	reason	mission lost on	pilot / crew
42-3116	Boeing B-17F-25-DL	92 BG 407 BS	PY-U	fighter	Kassel Crash Location Schelluinen (Hol)	Porter, 2KIA, 8POW MACR 373
42-3282	Boeing B-17F-40-DL	95 BG 334 BS	BG-J	around 10.00 hours aircraft let formation under control	Orschersleben Crash Location Hoenhausen	Lt. James F. Rivers P , 10POW, MACR 118
42-3316	Boeing B-17F-45-DL "Betty Boom"	385 BG 550 BS	?	Collision with allied plane after Sergeant Johnny Fest's bomb explosion	Warnemünde Crash Location North Sea	Storr, 10KIA, MACR 189B
42-3326	Boeing B-17F-45-DL "Moore-Fidite II"	96 BG 413 BS	?	fighter	Orschersleben Crash Location North Sea	Moore, 10KIA, MACR 137
42-3345	Boeing B-17F-50-DL "Paper Doll"	96 BG 338 BS	?	fighter	Orschersleben Crash Location North Sea	Deshotels, 10POW, MACR 128 ou 138 ?
42-5426	Boeing B-17F-BO 'Fightin' Bitin'"	306 BG 369 BS	WW-X	fighter	Kiel Crash Location Kiel	Winter, 6KIA, 4POW, MACR 123
42-5798	Boeing B-17F-20-VE	92 BG ? BS	?	?	Kassel Crash Location ?	MACR 657
42-5882	Boeing B-17F-30-VE	95 BG 336 BS	?	Last seen under fighter attack	? Crash Location ?	MACR 216
42-29777	Boeing B-17F-70-BO "Peck's Bad Boys"	306 BG 423 BS	RD-H	flak	Kassel Crash Location Diepholz	Peck, 10POW, MACR 125
42-29779	Boeing B-17F-70-BO "Bab's Best"	306 BG 423 BS	RD-A	flak	Kassel Crash Location Wolftun ?	Harris, 6KIA, 4POW MACR 124
42-29796	Boeing B-17F-70-BO	379 BG 527 BS	FO-M	flak	Kassel Crash Location Vreis (Hol)	Taylor, ? MACR 1761
42-29798	Boeing B-17F-BO	92 BG 325 BS	JW-L	fighter	Kassel Crash Location Wageningen (Hol)	Smotherman, 10POW MACR 657
42-29970	Boeing B-17F-80-BO	305 BG 364 BS	?	flak	Kassel Crash Location Seigen	Dragasavac, 10POW MACR 192
42-30032	Boeing B-17F-85-BO "Sky Queen"	384BG 546 BS	BK-D	fighter	Kassel Crash Location : Kortwoude (Hol)	W. Dietzel Jr., 8KIA, 2POW, MACR 15165
42-30141	Boeing B-17F-90-BO "Liberty Belle"	96 BG 337 BS	AW-B	fighter	Orschersleben Crash Location North Sea	Fulton, 10KIA, 1POW, MACR 140
42-30150	Boeing B-17F-90-BO "Exterminator"	95 BG 412 BS	QW-S	under fighter attack aircraft exploded	Orschersleben Crash Location near Latham	Hodges, 10POW, MACR 214
42-30179	Boeing B-17F-90-BO "Murder Inc"	385 BG 550 BS	?	?	Orschersleben Crash Location Orschersleben	Gurgel, 4KIA, 6POW, MACR 189A
42-30216	Boeing B-17F-90-BO "Johnnie"	388 BG 563 BS	?	fighter	Orschersleben Crash Location Minden	Swanson, 10POW, MACR 3128
42-30257	Boeing B-17F-95-BO	385 BG 548 BS	?	Bombed by Sergeant Johnny Fest	Orschersleben Crash Location North Sea	Robbins, 8KIA, 2POW, MACR 189C
42-30285	Boeing B-17F-95-BO "Roundtrip Ticket"	385 BG 550 BS	?	Collision with allied plane after Sergeant Johnny Fest's bomb explosion	Orschersleben Crash Location North Sea	Noel, 8KIA, 2POW, MACR 189D
42-30351	Boeing B-17F-BO "Excaliber"	96 BG 339 BS	?	fighter	Orschersleben Crash Location North Sea	Wilcox, 5KIA, 5RTD, MACR 142
42-30355	Boeing B-17F-100-BO "Dallas Rebel"	96 BG 337 BS	?	fighter	Warnemünde Crash Location North Sea	Nance, 4KIA, 6POW, MACR 141
42-30394	Boeing B-17F-BO	96 BG 339 BS	?	fighter	Orschersleben Crash Location North Sea	Covert, 4KIA, 6POW, MACR 143
42-30401	Boeing B-17F-100-BO	96 BG 338 BS	?	fighter	Orschersleben Crash Location North Sea	Hettrick, Stanley Lukowitz, TG, 10KIA, MACR 139

July 28, 1943, 12th victory

Boeing B-17

progress of the search
4 Last update January 22 , 2004
Evaluation quality of information
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July 28, 1943, 12th victory

Boeing B-17

progress of the search 4 Last update January 22 , 2004 Evaluation quality of information 3

progress of the search
4 Last update January 22 , 2004
Evaluation quality of information
3