Board:      GAMES BB
Topic:      FLIGHT SIMULATORS
Subject:    SWOTL GROUP
To:                ALL                   Date:    09/04
From:   GVXV90A    KEITH HEITMANN        Time:     3:33 AM

Trojan Horses - KG 200    Part 1
Kampfgeschwader 200 operated a number of captured American heavy
bombers for clandestine missions behind Allied Lines.  The role
of KG 200 was a tightly guarded secret and many of its ground
personnel were unaware of the unit's actual mission or the nature
of its operations. Captured Allied aircraft had the advantage of
being able to operate at night over enemy territory without
arousing too much suspicion.

B-17 Operations

WULF HOUND, captured on 12 December 1942, was the first B-17F
captured intact by the Luftwaffe. She was assigned the
Stammkennziechen DL+XC and was followed by another B-17F which
was assigned the Stammkennzeichen SJ+KY.  During the Summer of
1943 the Luftwaffe captured at least two additional B-17s. LT
Dalton Wheat belied in FLAK DANCER a B-17F-85-BO (42-30048) at
Laon airfield on 26 June 1943.  Ned Palmer's DOWN AND GO!  was
captured on 29 July. The last B-17 captured during 1943 was MISS
NONALEE II, a B-17F-100-BO which crash landed at Norholm Mark,
Denmark on 9 October 1943.

The first B-17G to be captured intact was LT John Gossage's XR*O,
which was captured at Schleswig on 3 March 1944. Five days later
PHILLIS MARIE, a B-17F-115-BO (42-30713) flown by 2nd LT Max
Quackenbush, was captured at Werben. On 9 April 1944 a
B-17G-10-VE (42-39974) of the 452nd Bomb Group, 731st Squadron
was forced down at Vaerlose airfield Denmark.  The crew was
captured and the intact aircraft was delivered to Rechlin a few
days later.

The B-17s, except for MISS NONALEE II (7+8), were transferred to
I/KG 200 during the Spring of 1944 and recieved new codes,
beginning with A3. I/KG 200's B-17s were used both for training
and clandestine operations behind enemy lines. Until April of
1944 Kampfgeschwader 200 operated as a single unit. During that
month, however, the unit was reorganized being divided into
different Staffeln for training and operations.

1.Staffel and 4.Staffel were both based at Finsterwalde.
4.Staffel was the Operational Training Unit and between May and
June of 1944 operated at least four of the B-17s (coded A3+AE,
A3+CE, A3+EE and A3+GE). Training with the B-17 included
navigational flights night flying and on at least two occasions
bombing trials were carried out. After initial training of
aircrews was completed with 4.Staffel these B-17s were
transferred to 1.Staffel.

KG 200 operations were conducted under close security but some
details are known. At least two B-17s missions were flown to
Greece in early 1944.  These missions were carried out at night
with the pilots and navigators being the only crew members
briefed on the destination and route. On at least two occasions
landings were made in Italy to pick up agents who had been
previously dropped over Greece. Several agents were usually
carried on each mission, along with their supplies and equipment.
Prior to each flight pilots were briefed on the locations of all
known anti-aircraft units (friendly and unfriendly) along their
flight path.  During November of 1944 one of the B-17Fs (A3+CB)
was used to develop long range night navigational procedures.
This Fortress was later used for night missions to Greece, Italy,
Ireland, France, the Low Countries, Africa, Transjordan
(Palestine), Poland and the Soviet Union. The range of Flying
Fortress allowed KG 200 to carry out operations deep into Allied
territory.
(To be continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 2
The Luftwaffe used the B-17 for these clandestine missions
because of the shortage of suitable German aircraft. The
introduction of the Junkers Ju-290, gave the Luftwaffe a
transport with sufficient range, however, KG 200 never received
the numbers needed to replace their Fortresses. The B-17 was
popular with KG 200's pilots who praised its handling qualities
and rugged construction.

Even with careful planning KG 200's missions, flown alone and at
night, were extremely dangerous and KG 200 suffered losses. The
first B-17 loss is believed to have occurrd on 15 May 1944. A
second B-17 was lost on 27 June 1944, and a third was damaged on
19 November 1944.

Kommando Olga, under Major Peter W. Stahl, suffered two B-17
losses within a short period. Ofw. Knappenscheider was lost with
DOWN AND GO! when it exploded shortly after take off on 9
February 1945. A second B-17 (A3+BB) was shot down by an RAF
Mosquito near Luvigny, France on 3 March 1945.

The crew of A3+BB included: 1st pilot Faehnerich Helmut
Schenderlein, 2nd pilot Uffz. Werner Hoff, observer Oblt.
Beudel, radio operator Ofw. Willi Helmdach, Ofw. Karl Buch, Uffz.
Webel, gunenrs Fw. Walter Raetzer, Uffw.  Wilhelm Lott, Uffw.
Kurt Boettcher, jump master Fw. Heribert Adams, and Gefr. Mehl.
The Fortress carried nin agents and three supply containers.

The first agetn parachuted at approximately 0200, an hour later
three others, together the three supply containers, were dropped.
The remaining passengers, four men and a woman, jumped some
twenty minutes later. On the return flight the observer, Oblt.
Beudel became uncertain of his position and the radio operator
tried to obtain a fix from Echterdingen, but was unable to
establish contact. The B-17 was picked up by Allied ground radar
near Dijon, France at approximately 0600.

Shortly after 0600, the Fortress was intercepted by a British
Mosquito night fighter. The fither scored hits in the fuselage
and set the starboard wing on fire. The pilot ordered the crew to
bail out, but of the eleven crewmen only 2nd pilot, radio
operator, jump master and three gunners successfully bailed out
of the flaming bomber, the others perished in the crash.

In September of 1944 the Gruppenstab and bot Staffeln moved to
Finow. In mid-February of 1946, KG 200 moved again this time to
Hildesheim. At this time, 1.Staffeln had an inventory of three
Junkers Ju-290s, one Ju-352, and three B-17s with a personnel
strength of sixty aircrews. The crews were quartered in a former
Arbeitsdienst (labor camp) just south of the airfield.

While the unit was based at Finow aircraft of the 1.Staffeln were
frequently deployed to forward bases for secret assignments known
only to the crews. Many of these missions were agent drops and
resupply missions in areas far behind Russian lines. A KG 200
Flying Fortress deployed to Cracow, Poland on 20 December 1944.
Three days later the B-17 took off with six Russian agents for a
ten hour round trip to the Odessa area.  During the first week of
January 1945, a similar mission was carried out by the same
Fortress and crew.
(To Be Continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 3
Additional sorties were flown from Cracow until mid-January of
1945 when advancing Russian troops forced a a withdrawl to
Stubendorf. Two misisons were flown from Stubendorf, one on 18
January and another to Lubin, Poland the next day.  The agens
dropped on these missions were usually Russians dressed in
Russian Army or partisan uniforms. The Russians were distrusted
and on occasion had shown a reluctance to leave the aircraft.
When an agent balked at jumping, the jump master usually called
on the gunners for assistance.  On one trip over Russia, and
agent tossed a hand grenade into the aircraft as he jumped. Quick
acton by one of the gunners, however, saved the aircraft. Most
agents were given a stiff dose of Vodka before jumping and, on
more than one occasion, a very drunk agent had to be rolled out
of the aircraft on a static line.

On 6 April 1945 KG 200 lost two B-17s on a transfer flight from
Wackersleben to Fuerstenfeldbruck, however, the remaining B-17s
(A3+EK and A3+AE) were active almost to the end of the war. Major
Klemm flew a mission in A3+EK on 22 April 1945, and on the
following night the same aircraft took off for another sortie,
returning on 24 April. It is believed that A3+AE carried out KG
200's las operational B-17 flight when the Fortress flew from
Wels to Aigen, Austria on 2 May 1945.

B-24 Operations

Consolidated B-24 Liberator operations in KG 200 were somewhat
limited. The Germans found the nose wheel of the B-24 unsuitable
for operations from grass fields and Liberator operations never
reached the level of its stablemate, the Flying Fortress.

The first B-24 captured by the Axis was BLONDE BOMER II, a
B-24D-1-CO (41-23659). Piloted by Don Story the Liberator landed
at Pachino, Sicily on 20 February 1943. Captain Giovanni Raina
ferried the Liberator to Catania-Fontanarossa and then to the
Regia Aeronautia Test and Research Center at Guidonia near Rome.

The Germans were anxious to test BLONDE BOMBER II and diplomatic
arrangements were made to transfer the Liberator to Germany.
Captain Raina ferried the B-24, with a temporary Italian civil
registration (I-RAIN), via Munich-Riem to Rechlin on 19 June
1943. Raina and his crew trained German test pilots on the
Liberator and in turn, the Italians were allowed to fly WULF
HOUND. During a test flight at Rechlin, the Liberator's nose
wheel collapsed and BLONDE BOMBER II was grounded until repairs
were made. In early September of 1943 the Germans repainted the
Liberator changing the Desert Pink camouflage to a less
conspicuous overall Dark Green.

The first B-24 to be captured by the Germans was a B-24H-5-DT
(41-28641) of the 453rd Bomb Group which was delivered to the
Luftwaffe under unusual circumstances on 4 February 1944. The
Liberator's pilot, 2nd LT John R. Turner and his copilot Raymond
G. Emerson, had started the day intending to conduct a routine
training flight from Old Buckenham, Norfolk. The Group was
scheduled for its first combat mission in two days and Turner
along with other Group pilots needed more training in formation
flying. Turner became seperated from the training flight as the
formation climbed thru a heavy overcast. When he broke out of the
clouds, he found that he was alone. He was last seen on an
easterly course away from the group.
(To Be Continued)
 
Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 4
Turner, flying in the wrong direction, re-entered the overcast
where he became completely disoriented. Running low on fuel and
with the inexperienced navigator, Boyd G. McClure, unable to get
a fix on their position, the B-24 headed out over the English
Channel. Making landfall in France the lone Liberator was easy
prey for Luftwaffe fighters and the engineer, Martin W. Nissen,
was badly wounded. Turner managed to land the cirppled Liberator
at a Luftwaffe airfield. When they discovered they were on an
enemy field the crew tried, unsuccessfully, to burn the
aircraft. SGT Nissen, because of the serious nature of his
wounds was repatriated through the Red Cross, while the rest of
the crew became POWs.

The Liberator entered service with KG 200 as +KB. Little is
known about this B-24's operations with KG 200, however, in late
1944 it was used to fly supply missions to the Island of Rhodes.
The missions were carried out from Wien-Aspern and Schwechat
airfields under the command of HPTM Stahnke of Kommando Clara.
In May of 1945 +KB was recaptured by U.S. troops at Salzburg,
Austria.

Besides +KB, KG 200 operated two other B-24s (+PB and KO+XA).
Liberator +PB was destroyed by strafing Allied fighters near
Halle in early 1945, while KO+XA was set on fire by its own crew
after it suffered a broken nose wheel in an aborted takeoff.

At least two additional Liberators were captured and used by the
Luftwaffe. One was captured at Eger on 18 March 1944 and on 9
June 1944 a navigational error caused B-24G-10-NT (42-78106) of
the 460th Bomb Group to land on the glider field at Fussach, a
short distance from the Swiss border and the safety of the Swiss
field of Altenrhein near Lake Constance. 42-78106 becaome NF+FL
in Lufwaffe service and was used to train fighter units and
develop tactics for use agains the Liberator.

One other Axis nation, Rumania, is known to have operated the
Liberator. At least two Consolidated B-24s, both victims of the
costly USAAF attacks on Ploesti, were captured and repaired by
the Fortelor Aeriene Regal ale Romana.
(To Be Continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 5
Mysterious Shadows

Returning American aircrews often reported strange B-17s and B-24s
which they believed were shadowing their formations. Most of these
were bombers that had become separated trying to re-join their
Groups. It is doubtful that the Luftwaffe ever operated captured
Ameircan bombers in American markings to shadow USAAF formations over
Germany. One example of a case of mistaken identity took place on 31
August 1943. The NOTES ON ENEMY TACTICS REPORT of 18 September 1943
contains the following:
  On 31 August four groups of unescorted B-17s attacked the
  marshalling yards at Pisa between 1300 and 1307. The 97th Bomb
  Group  reports that a B-17, bearing the number 25884 with an `0'
  above and  two Yellow bars beneath the serial number, joined the
  formation on  departure from the Italian coast at 1515. This B-17
  flew with the  97th Bomb Group for twenty minutes then turned
  away. It was joined  by another B-17, both of which then flew
  towards Italy.

This  report  is confirmed by a gunner of the 2nd Bomb Group. The
B-17 (42-5884) was never a captured aircraft. It was sold to a
finance company in Tulsa, OK after the war.

The Eighth Air Force was, however highly concerned about the
possibility of enemy operated B-17s and B-24s joining American
formations. One report was issued by Air Intelligence during the
summer of 1943 with the follwing estimate:  ...The use of B-17s
by the enemy does offer possibilities which  under present
conditions, may seem worth trying.  The limited used  to which
captured aircraft have been put is recorded from the first
observed incident on 21 April 1943 to the present. The Germans
first  used the B-17s for observation, staying out of range of
our .50  caliber guns. Since then they have been closely
observing our  tactics. When cloud or other openings appeared
they have joined our  formations and by radio have notified other
enemy aircraft and  ground stations of our every move. Not having
sufficient .50  caliber  ammunition, the Luftwaffe has
re-equipped their B-17s with what  appears to be 20mm cannon. Our
crews have shown a great eagerness  to  shoot them down, but any
such combat in the middle of a close  formation is in itself a
case for special study. Great restraint  has  been put on our
bomber crews so that we don't wind up shooting down  our own
aircraft. Positive identification that a B-17 is an enemy  plane
has not proved as easy as one might expect. The absence of  heavy
heavy bomb loads certainly enable enemy B-17s to out maneuver
our heavily loaded aircraft, permits them to carry more armament
and  ammunition, and allows them to stay with our formations
along their  entire route...

This series of Eighth Air Force reports deal with `enemy' B-17s
encountered by heavy bomber formations:  -Intelligence
Memorandum, 4 May 1943, VIII Bomber Command: An  unidentified
B-17 was observed by the 91st Bomb Group flying at  22,000 feet,
twenty miles off St. Nazaire at 1135. The unidentified  B-17 had
gray lettering on the fuselage which USAAF crews were  unable to
see clearly enough to read. The waist gun windows were  closed
and the aircraft was under control. The B-17 made no effort  to
join any Group and flew around our formation, being observed by
crews of the 305th and 306th Bomb Groups.  Enemy fighters did not
attack this lone B-17...  -Mission debrief, Mission No. 64, 15
June 1943:  At 0743 an unidentified B-17 was observed joining the
formation of  the group behind the observing group. This aircraft
held the number  two position on the lead element of the high
squadron and was seen  to leave the formation in the London area
on a heading of 210  degrees magnetic and an altititude of 14,000
feet. It was noticed  that the waist windows were closed....
-Intelligence report, Mission No. 67, 25 June 1943, off the
Frisian  Islands:  ...A heavily camouflaged B-17 ws seen flying
with the formation  over  the Elbe estuary. Its color was lighter
than our aircraft and the  windows of the waist gun positions
were closed. It disappeared  after  two or three minutes.....
(To Be Continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 6
WULF HOUND WULF HOUND, a B-17F-27-BO (41-24585 PU*B) Flying
Fortress, assigned to the 303rd Bomb Group had the dubious honor
of becoming the first American bomber captured intact by the
Luftwaffe. WULF HOUND provided the Germans with a wealth of
invaluable information on the capabilities, defensive armament,
and vulnerability of the "Terrorbomber", as the Nazi propoganda
labeled the Flying Fortress.  In the early morning of 12 December
1942, the 1st Bomb Wing of the Eighth Air Force dispatched
seventy-eight Boeing B-17s to bomb the Luftwaffe servicing base
at Romilly-sur-Seine, some sixty miles east of Paris. Based at
Molesworth, Huntingdonshire the 303rd Bomb Group, known as
"Hell's Angles", furnished twenty B-17s for the mission. The
303rd, under the command of COL James H. Wallace, while it had
received its baptism of fire almost a month earlier, still lacked
hard combat experience. The 303rd in its five missions between 17
November and 12 December had suffered only one combat loss.

After formation assembly, the boxes of bombers headed for France,
but the weather steadily worsened and a number of the bombers
turned back. Seventeen B-17s, including seven from "Hell's
Angles" continued on to the secondary target, the
Rouen-Sotterville marshalling yards. Over Beauvais the formation
was attacked by at least thirty enemy fighters that continued to
harass the bombers all the way to the target. At 1239 the
formation unloaded forty tons of bombs on Rouen. One 303rd Bomb
Group Fortress was shot down in flames, but the crew managed to
bail out, becoming POWs for the rest of war.

LT Paul Flickinger's WULF HOUND sustained major damage and was
seen to drop out of formation. It steadily lost height and
disappeared into clouds. The remaining B-17s returned safely to
England, but eleven of the Fortresses had suffered major damage
 which once again showed the vulner- ability of a small formation
alone over enemy territory.  LT Flickinger was in serious trouble
with his fatally stricken B-17. Alone and disoriented the
Fortress was intercepted by a Messerschmitt Bf110 of
Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 over the Lower Rhine area of the
Netherlands. The crew realizing that surrender ws the only way to
escape destruction lowered their landing gear and the fighter
guided WULF HOUND to Leeuwarden airfield in the Netherlands.

The Fortress soon had its American stars replaced by German
national insginia and the B-17 was given the Luftwaffe
Stammkennzeichen (side code) DL+XC. Temporary repairs to WULF
HOUND's battle damage were completed adn on 14 December a German
crew flew the B-17, escorted by two Bf110 fighters to the German
Test and Experimental Center at Rechlin. Luftwaffe fighter bases
and flak units along the flight route were informed of the
flight, but despite these precautions, the Fortress was fired on,
receiving minor damage.
(To Be Continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 7
For the next three months, German engineers carefully inspected
every system on the B-17 and a number of Luftwaffe pilots began
studying the aircraft in preparation for a test program to
determine the Fortress's flight characteristics. The first
flight, under the control of Flugzeugfuehrer Bottcher took place
on 17 March 1943. On 15 April Flugzeugfuehrer Huber and three
other pilots conducted another test/training flight. In early
May, WULF HOUND was transferred to Department E 2 (E for
Erprobung/Test) for a series of high altitude tests, with the
first being carried out on 4 May by pilot Hirschberg. Between
trials at Rechlin, WULF HOUND was assigned to various fighter
groups in France and Germany to help develop fighter tactics for
use against the Flying Fortress.

In July of 1943, the Fortress was equipped with glider towing
equipment and was used as a two aircraft during the DFS-230
combat glider program at Rechlin. The first flight with a DFS-230
under tow was made on 16 June, and was followed by a program of
at least five additional flights lasting until early August. For
a short time during July, the B-17 was assigned to Rechlin's
Department E 3 for the installation of special test equipment.
Department E 3, under the command of Otto Cuno, conducted
performance tests of the B-17's engines and superchargers.

WULF HOUND remained at Rechlin until September of 1943. The
Fortress had provided the Germans with volumes of information on
the performance, operation, strengths, and weaknesses of the
B-17. Details of its advance construction were studied and some
aspects were later adopted by German engineers, influencing their
own production techniques.  Thousands of pages of technical
reports were written on WULF HOUND and by late summer of 1943 the
Germans may have had a more intimate knowledge of the B-17 than
many of the aircraft's designers at Boeing.

On 11 September 1943 WULF HOUND departed Rechlin for Rangs-dorf,
home base of KF 200, one of the most mysterious Luftwaffe units
of the Second World War. At Rangsdorf, the Fortress received new
equipment, a night camouflage scheme and a KG 200 side code
(beginning with A3+). With her assignment to KG 200, records on
WULF HOUND's later service are lost, but it is believed that she
was amoung four B-17s used by KG 200 for training and clandestine
missions between May and June 1944.
(To Be Continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 8
DOWN AND GO!
On 29 July 1943, Eighth Bomber Command dispatched eightyone B-17s
of the 4th Bomb Wing to attack the Arado aircraft assembly plant
at Warnemuende, Germany. The target was a major production center
for Fw-190 fighters and its destruction would have a major impact
on the air war. The bomber stream arrived over the target between
0923 and 0925 dropping 129 tons of bombs on the factory. After
the raid, German officials estimated that damage to the factory
would cut monthly production by at least twenty percent. American
losses were four B-17s listed as missing in action, one each from
the 94th, 96th, 385th, and 388th Bomb Groups. The 94th Bomb
Group, based at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, had furnished fifteen
Fortresses for the raid. The formation was led by MAJ E. O'Connor
with LT McGlaun flying as lead bombardier. LT McGlaun noted an
error in the briefed bombing trajectory figures and by making a
quick adjustment, dropped his bombs squarely on target. At the
debriefing, he was initially criticized for deviating from the
briefed standard but when reconnaissance photos revealed that
bombs from the 94th BG were responsible for sixty-five percent of
the damage inflicted on the target, he and MAJ O'Connor were both
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Returning crews reported
intense and accurate flak over the target area, but weak fighter
opposition. The Group's sole loss was LT Ned Palmer's B-17F-90-BO
(42-30146) DOWN AND GO!, a combat veteran that had been part of
the Group's original inventory. The Fortress went overseas
carrying the name CHEROKEE as part of the 333rd Squadron, however
soon after arrival at Bury St. Edmunds, the aircraft was
re-assigned and the new crew changed the name to DOWN AND GO! 2nd
LT Ned Palmer had arrived in England as one of the first
replacement pilots assigned to the 94th Bomb Group. He flew two
missions as a co-pilot before being assigned his own B-17 and
crew. His crew were all experienced combat veterans and included:
co-pilot Eugene R. Snyder, navigator Frank S. Pellegrino,
bombardier Arthur E. Cooper, radio operator George A. Hamling,
engineer Christos Bassios, ball turret gunner Vernon P. Rathburn,
tail gunner William P. Clark and waist gunners Olin E. Brown Jr.
and Damon D. Cottingham. Ned Palmer later recalled the fateful
mission to Warnemuende: Our aircraft began having problems
shortly after takeoff. As we climbed to our cruising altitude,
both inboard engines began to backfire an run rough. Finally we
had to shut down both engines since the propellers were producing
more drag than power. By using emergency power on the two good
engines, we managed to stay with the formation until just before
reaching the aiming point for the bomb run. Number Four engine
then began overheating and we had to shutdown the engine and
feather the propeller. At this point, we had to drop out of
formation and descned to sea level in order to stay in the air on
one engine. The navigator gave me a heading for Sweden and we
salvoed our bombs and all other excess equipment to lighten the
aircraft so that we could maintain flying speed on the one good
engine. A half hour later the navigator told me that we were over
Sweden and I began to look for an airfield. We started with
Number Four engine and wer able to keep it running, although at a
reduced power setting.
(To Be Continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 9
After looking for an airfield and not finding one, I elected to
crash land in a large open field. It turned out to be a German
army parade ground - not a farmers field in Sweden. Shortly
before landing his crippled Fortress at Alvedore Holme, some six
miles southwest of Copenhagen, LT Palmer oredered the crew,
except for the copilot, to their crash stations. He managed to
land the B-17 wheels up in the short field with litle damage and
no injuires to the crew. When the crew emerged from the Fortress
they were surprised to find themselves surrounded by Wehrmacht
troops. The officers and enlisted men were quickly seperated and
spent the rest of the war in different Prisoner of War camps.
Luftwaffe personnel from Vaerlose air base inpsected the downed
Fortress and reported that the bomber had suffered only slight
damage to the fuselage underside during the belly landing. The
crew had damaged the Norden bomb sight with a hammer, however,
the radio equipment had been removed and was in the safe keeping
of the Signal Corps officer Kastrup. The Luftwaffe considered the
damaged fuselage underside repairable and a few days later
specialists and engineers from the Heinkel Component Factory at
Kastrup arrived at Alvedore Holme to carefully dismantle the
damaged Fortress for shipment to Kastrup whee the bomber would be
repaired. (A number of German aircraft companiew were involved in
reparing damaged Allied aircraft. Lufthansa repaired a Lancaster
at Staaken near Berlin. Espenlaub Flugzeugwerke rebuilt a Bell
P-39 Airacobra. A North American P-51D was repaired by a Fock
Wulf plant and the Wiener-Neustadter Flugzeugwerke overhauled a
damaged Boeing B-17F.) KG 200's primary mission was the delivery
of agents, saboteurs, and their supplies behind Allied lines.
Besides captured American equipment the unit operated a variety
of other aircraft including JU-188s, Fw-200s, and Ju-290
transports, with detachments of KG 200 operationg from forward
bases on all fronts. MAJ Stahl's detachment, Kommando Olga shared
its base at Stuttgart-Echterdingen with III Gruppe of Transport
Geschwader 30. Equipped with He-111s, the transport unit
delivered mail and supplies to German held positions in Western
Europe, including the Islands of Guernsey and Jersey in the
English Channel. On 9 February 1945, eight aircraft of TG 30 were
scheduled for a series of supply missions in support of German
held pockets in the West. That same night, KG 200 was to carry
out a high priority 11elivery' of French agents to the
French-Spanish border. The crew for the mission, OFW Karl
Knappenscheider (pilot) and OFW Von Pechmann (copilot), were both
highly experienced test pilots and Knappenscheider had amassed a
considerable amount of B-17 time fliying KG 200's B-17 (A3+BB).
Just prior to take off an order arrived from higher authority
changing the crew and Von Pechmann was replaced by OFW Georg
Joachim.
(To Be Continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 10
Shortly after dusk, the crew completed their preparations for the
mission and loaded their passengers. On board the Fortress were
nineteen people, a German crew of nine including observer FW
Richard Rosenfeld, radio operator, UFFZ Johann Koening, engineers
FW Efuard Siemsen and UFFZ Wilhelm Frielingsdorf, jump master
OFFW Fritz Burnickel and the gunners UFFZ Heinz Henning and FW
Friedrich Seeger. The ten French agents and government officials
included:
Charles Comte De Bony De Lavergne       Jean Lemain
Pierre Lefevre                          Jacques Lemaire
Henri Du Cros                           Rene Petit
Paul Canut                              Gay Gilbert Pointeau
Georges Bredeau                         Henri Normand

TG 30 Heinkel He-111's were warming up for take off when another
high level order came through - allegedly from Goering himself,
that the B-17 must be allowed to take off first. Knappenscheider
and his copilot starte the overloaded aircraft down the grass
strip at full throttle, and Kommando Olga's commander Peter W.
Stahl, lined up his Junkers Ju-188 on the runway to follow the
B-17.

DOWN AND GO! took off at 2200 and began to climb. As the aircraft
reached approximately 300 feet, it suddenly exploded in a ball of
flame. The gunners UFFW Henning and FW Seeger, were thrown clear
and survived the disaster.  Debris from the aircraft also killed
a man from Kommando Olga's ground crew. The importance attached
to the aircraft's mission was demonstrated the next day when a
group of General officers arrived to personally conduct the
accident investigation. The ten Frenchmen, part of the Frency
Vichy Government in Exile under Marshal Petain and Pierre Laval,
were buried with full military honors at the cemetery of
Echterdingen by MAJ Stahl.

The loss of the B-17 and its two very experienced pilots greatly
reduced Kommando Olga's capabilities. Pressure from advancing
Allied troops led to several moves before the remaining aircraft
were finally transferred to Holzkirchen airfield where the unit
was disbanded on 29 April 1945.

MISS NONALEE II On 9 October 1943, the Eighth Air Force launched
its most ambitious raid of the year. 378 bomber from all three
Bomber Divisions would attack the targets deep within the Reich.
115 B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 1st Air Division were targeted
against the Arado Component Factory at Anklam in East Prussia.
Bombers of the 2nd and 3rd Air Divisions were to attack targets
in occupied Poland. 100 3rd Division aircraft headed for the
large Focke Wulf plant at Marienburg (Malbork), an important
center for production of Fw-190 fighters, while the remaining
B-17s and B-24s of the 2nd Air Division bombed the harbors at
Gdynia and Danzig (Gdansk). The bombing results were impressive
with the Marienburg force scoring excellent results with minimal
losses (two aircraft). The raid, however, did provide the Germans
with another intact B-17F.
(To Be Continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200    Part 11
1st LT Glyndon D. Bell of the 385th Bomb Group left Great
Ashfield, Suffolk in MISS NONALEE II, a B-17F-100-BO (42-30336).
Bell's crew included copilot 2nd LT Arnold P. Martin, navigator
2nd LT Frank L. Bachman, bombardier 2nd LT Joseph Ostermann,
engineer T/SGT Henry P. Elliott, radio operator T/SGT Lloyd E.
Rodemer, ball turret gunner S/SGT Harold Rudick, tail gunner
S/SGT Albert W. Spencer Jr. and the two waist gunners, SGT John
Edli and SGT Marshall F. Bryan. S/SGT Charlton K. Browing was a
passenger on the mission, assigned as an aerial photographer to
record the bombing for headquarters.

On the way to the target, MISS NONALEE II lost the pitch control
on Number Two propeller and Bell had to feather it.  Now on three
engines, the Fortress lagged behind the rest of the formation.
Approximately eight minutes later Bell turned MISS NONALEE II
toward neutral Sweden and safety. Three other damaged American
bombers also headed for this refuge. SACK TIME SUSY a B-17F of
the 96th Bomb Group landed at Bulltofta, and two 93rd Bomb Group
B-24Ds landed at Rinkaby and Hogsby where they were burned by
their crews.

With his Number Two engine out the 21 year old pilot nursed the
B-17 low over enemy territory. The navigator spotted a large
meadow and insisted it was inside neutral Sweden.  With this
assurance, LT Bell decided to land and gave the opeiont to either
to stay with the aircraft or bail out. They all elected to bail
out and parachuted over the field.  Unknown to the Americans they
were still over the occupied Denmark and they landed in the hands
of the local Police.  They were arrested and held in jail at
Tyskerne before being transferred to the Interrogation Camp at
Oberursel. LT Bell successfully landed MISS NONALEE II at a large
meadow at Norholm Mark near Varde, Denmark. As he had been
instructed in England, Bell tried to burn the B-17, without
success. A group of Danish civilians approached the Fortress and
told Bell that he was still in enemy occupied territory. A local
farmer, Sigurd Nielsen, hid Bell until nightfall. Under the cover
of darkness, they made their way to the small town of Bredsten,
where Bell was put in contact with the Danish Underground. With
their assistance, Bell finally reached neutral Sweden.

It did not take the Luftwaffe long to discover the intact B-17.
After receiving reports of an undamaged Fortress a salvage team
from Flensburg was dispatched in an Arado Ar-232 transport. On
board the transport was all the necessary equipment needed to
recover the B-17. The team surveyed the landing site and
determined that a tak off with three engines would be difficult
without reducing the aircraft's weight. The makeshift grass
runway was 2,100 feet long but a grove of trees at the end made
it imperative that the Fortress be stripped of all unnecessary
weight to insure a safe takeoff. It was decided to transfer all
the guns, armor, ammunition, and radios from the B-17 to the
Ar-232 before attempthing to fly the B-17 out.
(To Be Continued)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 12
The Danish Resistance were monitoring the German activities at
the landing site and decided to attempt to destroy the aircraft
before the Germans could complete their salvage operation. A
small force under Bent Ollgaard would attempt to blow up MISS
NONALEE II on the night of 16/17 October 1943. Unfortunately for
the Danes, however, the salvage work progressed rapidly and Hans
Werner Lerche was able to takeoff on three engines the same day
the underground had planned their attack. Lerche headed for the
nearby Luftwaffe air base at Esbjerg, where all removed equipment
was refitted to the B-17. He then left Esbjerg for Rechlin late
the same afternoon, escorted by the Arado Ar-232 transport.

The feathered Number Two propeller reduced MISS NONALEE II's
speed and Lerche was unable to reach Rechlin before sundown. Not
willing to risk a night landing on three engines, Lerche landed
at Schwerin for th enight and continued on to Rechlin the next
morning. The pitch control was repaired and the Fortress entere
Luftwaffe service with the Rechlin experimental code 7+8. The
B-17 remained at the Test and Experimental Center for the
remainder of the year.

During the summer of 1944 MISS NONALEE II departed Rechlin on a
demonstration tour to acquaint fighter pilots with the B-17. She
is known to have visited units at Brandis, Munich Riem,
Vienna-Apern, Prague-Rusin and Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad). The
B-17 continued in this role, visiting various fighter units until
the end of 1944. The bomber's last recorded trip was to
Leipzig-Brandis airfield in December of 1944, after which all
records of her activities stop. MISS NONALEE II's ultimate fate
remains a mystery.

MISS OUACHITA On 21 February 1944 the Eigth Bomber Command
dispatched 861 heavy bombers to bomb Luftwaffe airfields in
Germany as part of Big Week the Eigth's all out campaign to
cripple the Luftwaffe. Most of the formations, however, were
forced to seek other targets of opportunity when their primary
and secondary targets were socked in by bad weather. The 3rd Air
Division, led by H2S radar equipped B-17s, was the only formation
that hit their primary targets, the airfields at Diepholz and
Brunswick. Of the 861 bombers that took off that morning sixteen
failed to return along with five of their fighter escorts.

Among the aircraft lost that day was MISS OUACHITA, a Douglas
built B-17F-20-DL (42-3040) of the 91st Bomb Group based at
Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire. 2nd LT Spencer K.  Osterberg flew
the battered Fortress as a spare on the mission to Guetersloh
airfield. It was the first mission he and his crew had flown with
MISS OUACHITA.

LT Osterberg recalled the mission:  On the way to the target, the
Group changed course from time to  time to  avoid areas of where
heavy anti-aircraft fire could be expected. On  one  of these
course changes the Group turned to the right, but the  aircraft
I was flying wing on turned left. My top turret gunner, T/SGT
Lambert  R. Brostrom, saw us going awya from the formation and
called out  "Formation right!". I banked right and went to full
throttle, but  there  was to much distance between us and the
rest of the Group. We were  now  outside the protection offereb
by the guns of the other aircraft in  the  Group and fighters hit
us several times.
(To Be Cont.)

Trojan Horses - KG 200   Part 13
Focke Wulf Fw-190 fighters of II Jagdgeschwader I repeatedly
attack  the  lone Fortress hoping to score a kill before the B-17
could reach  the  protection offered by the massed firepower of
the rest of the  formation.  The top  gunner shot down one
fighter before he was killed by a  cannon  shell exploding in his
turret.

The FW-190s pressed home their attacks on MISS OUACHITA seriously
damaging the tail section, radio compartment and oxygen tanks.
Wounded, T/SGT Harold Klem, along with S/SGT Clayton E.
Morningstar, bailed out west of Hannover and were captured  by
German personnel from Rheine Air Base. SGT Klem was  taken to the
branch hospital at Lemgo for medical treatment before beign
transferred to Oberursel on 27 February. LT Osterberg, the pilot,
recounts what happened to the  aircraft:  By the time I had
regained the formation my oxygen mask was pressed  up  against my
face and I had to take it off to breath. I knew I could  not
stay at this altitude very long without oxygen. I pulled back on
the  power and headed down towards a cloud bank that was well
below us.  The  fighters hit us one more time on the way down
before we were in the  safety of the clouds. We built up a lot of
ice flying through the  clouds  and when we broke out I went down
as close to the ground as I could  to  keep from being spotted by
fighters. We came to a town, I could see  a  church steeple and I
decided to go to the left of it. In doing so  I flew over a
German airfield and I could see fighters taking off.  They  were
soon making firing runs on us and the copilot, John E. Van
Beran,  was killed. As more fighters joined in attacking us, I
decided our  only  chance was to crash land the aircraft.

LT Osterberg crashed landed the crippled Fortress at Bexten, near
Salzbergen at 1527.  The crew tried unsuccessfully to  destroy
the aircraft and were quickly captured by members  of the
Volkssturm (Home Guard). The pilot, navigator 2nd LT Morris J.
Roy, bombardier 2nd LT George J. Zebrowski, assistant engineer
S/SGT Alexander W. Siatkowski, assistant radio operator S/SGT
Samuel P. Aldridge and Gunner SGT Jay J. Milewski were sent to
the interrogation center at Oberursel then to Stalag Luft I. The
dead crewment John  Beran and Lambert Brostrom, were buried in a
POW cemetery  at Linge.

A salvage team lead by OBERLEUTNANT Radetzky considere the
damaage to MISS OUACHITA repairable and began preparations to
retrieve the B-17. The next morning, personnel from  Dreierwalde
Air base began removing the ammunition, guns, instruments and
other important equipment from the B-17. They had just finished
when the Fortress was discovered by prowling Allied fighters. The
fighters made several  strafing runs over the crippled Fortress,
finally setting it on fire. The Luftwaffe had lost another
potentially  flyable B-17, and the twisted, burned out wreck was
sent to a German scrap yard to be melted down for its aluminum.

MAJ Heinz Baer was credited with shooting down MISS OUACHITA and
inspected the wreck after it crash landed. He had 30 B-17s to his
credit out of a total of 220 kills when the war ended.

          Keith Heitmann, GVXV90A
          Posted to Prodigy SWOTL GROUP
          September 1993
