Luftwaffe Over Britain 1939-45
Stuka Attack!
One of the most recognisable of all Luftwaffe aircraft which operated over Britain was the Junkers 87 Stuka dive bomber. However, its operational use over the British Isles was relatively short lived.
On 18 August 1940, a single formation of no less than 109 Junkers 87 Stuka dive bombers set out from the airfields in the Cherbourg Peninsula for targets in southern England. It was the largest single Stuka operation ever undertaken against England, but the cost for the Luftwaffe would be a heavy one.
One of the lucky survivors of that operation was Oberleutnant Otto Schmidt of 3./StG77. He later wrote an account of events that day:
“For shorter range as a jumping-off point we moved up to Tonneville, near Cherbourg, for this mission. Our wing was to make a bombing attack with all three Staffel on Thorney Island airfield. Two other wings from our group were going to other targets.
“The group briefing emphasised it was a straightforward attack, but if more imagination had been applied it would surely have been realised that we were to stir up a hornet’s nest. But we were quite confident and had no qualms that our Messerschmitt 109 escort might be insufficient. This, as it turned out, was our biggest mistake and it was to be fatal for many of us.
“Take off was at 13.30 hrs, but we were not unduly worried as since the start of the war I had flown 65 sorties, including against Dunkirk and Channel targets, and always returned unscathed. We had enough experience and confidence in our machines to think our attack would be more than safe.
“In flight, we remained in close formation and were led by the commander who gave hand signals as our three groups gained height to about 12,000 ft at a speed of about 200 mph. It was a beautiful summer’s day, and although our fighter escort hadn’t shown up, we were sure they were nearby. It was all so calm and peaceful. As the coast popped up in front of us, the two other groups peeled off. We could make out Thorney Island and intended to go down one after the other onto the target.
“The leading group of aircraft looked like a string of pearls as they started to go in. Then, by chance, I glanced out and saw the first wedge of British fighters screaming towards us. Initial evasive action brought my own flight to safety, but the British fighters’ speed left me speechless, the last flight in our formation taking the brunt of their attack.
“One Junkers 87 went into the sea like
a flaming torch, I remember. All this time, there were no sounds or words on the radio. In any case, we were too preoccupied. There was no time to think about what was happening. The main thing was to remember the correct moment to start the attack. And now it was my turn!”
A SPITFIRE LOOMING LARGE
What was about to unfold would be a massacre of the I Gruppe of Stuka Geschwader 77 as they bore down on their target at RAF Thorney Island. Schmidt continues with his account of what was to be a harrowing and costly mission.
“First, I waggled my wings to indicate I was just about to dive. Then I was going down with my nose on the target. Now, my vision was only downwards, but I couldn’t help sparing a thought for my radio operator and his predicament. All he could do was gaze up into the sky, not knowing when the bombs had left the aircraft or if his pilot was efficient. Or even if he was still alive! As for myself, I was completely concentrating on the target.
“By this time, I saw the two channels down each side of Thorney Island which gave me a fix on the airfield. I could see the hangars close to one another. Certainly, below me, were 24 twin engine machines we had seen on photographs. The hangar complex grew in my sight, and I dropped lower and lower.
“Then, at last, there was just one hangar in my cross wire. I pressed my bomb release, and my job was done. All I had to do now was get the aircraft on an even keel and make for home. Making a wide turn, I went to re-join the formation.
“Normally, we would re-form into flights without much trouble, and giving no thought to the possibility that we might be attacked by fighters.
“Now, I noticed the scattered wreckage of an aircraft in the mirror-calm Channel and then, behind me, was a Spitfire looming large. He was trying to get into a firing position. I had to act fast to get out of his way and turning would not have saved me. So, I sideslipped - a tricky manoeuvre for a Junkers 87. She came out of the slip, and the fighter was foiled. Now, I looked round at my wireless operator. He was hanging forward in his straps, his machine gun pointing aimlessly into the sky. I didn’t realise that either he or the aircraft had been hit.
“Meanwhile, the Spitfire was coming
in for another attack. It was obvious he had selected me as his personal target. In that short breathing space, however, I had time to gather my senses. When he came in again, I knew what to do. He must have seen my helpless gunner and made for my tail, but I sideslipped away from him again and he went screaming past. Then, something else happened.
“One of my comrades in low-level flight suddenly plunged into the sea and disappeared, while yet another Junkers 87 was shot down. I remember he bounced on the surface of the water and just vanished. The situation became even more frightening as another Spitfire joined in the attack on me, but when it followed my sideslip, it touched the water with its wingtip and met its end.
“By this time, I felt I had definitely had it. I was like a hare on the run, and there was nothing at all that I could do. However, the engine droned on and was untouched - the aircraft still responding to the controls. Then, I felt a blow as the aircraft shuddered along its whole length. I had lost so much height that I had touched the sea with my undercarriage.
“I suppose I ultimately escaped destruction because of my desperate evasive action, but it was a truly terrifying experience. Cold shivers run down my spine when I have thought about it since, and I get nightmares of aircraft going into the water and splashes made in the sea by the attacking fighters’ guns.
“By now, all my ammunition had gone, and I started to worry about fuel and whether the aircraft would get me home. For the first time, I noticed blood on my arm and realised I had been hit without realising it. Then, I was back over Caen and with considerable relief I put my Junkers 87 on the ground – and that was my next big shock!
“My landing was rough and fast, and it was only then that I realised my undercarriage had been torn away. Completely gone!
“The ground crew lifted my radio operator out of the cockpit from where he had sheltered me from many bullet wounds. At the same time, they found more than 80 hits in the aircraft.
“From my own Staffel, only one other aircraft escaped; an inexperienced pilot so unnerved by what had happened that he was grounded and never flew again. My poor radio operator, Unteroffizier Gerhard Bärsch, died a few weeks later.
“It seemed to us that we were sacrificed for no good reason and that the fighter escort we should have had failed in their tasks and were completely insufficient in numbers.”
This day, 18 August 1940, turned out to be the hardest fought day of the Battle of Britain and it also saw the largest formation of the Junkers 87 Stuka deployed against targets in mainland Britain. For the I Gruppe of Stuka Geschwader 77, it had resulted in 13 aircraft destroyed, 18 crew members killed or dying later of wounds, six men wounded, and five others held as POWs.
The Junkers 87 Stuka was not used in such numbers against British mainland targets ever again, but this was because of changing Luftwaffe tactics rather than the losses sustained on this day.