JABO PILOT
“I served as a Messerschmitt 109 ‘Jabo’ pilot on the Channel Coast during 1940, flying from our airfield at Calais Marck, where I joined my unit during September.
Our first operations were against coastal targets, but later we carried out raids against targets like London.
On these operations, we would have approached London at about 7,000 to 8,000 metres (around 26,000 ft) and I have to say that the Messerschmitt 109 was not so easy to fly with a bomb attached at such altitudes.
If we were to carry out diving attacks, we would go down at 400 to 500, diving through something like 1,000 metres, and then releasing our bombs not lower than 5,000 metres. However, when we were diving like that, it split the formation and made individual aircraft far more susceptible to fighter attacks. When we made diving attacks, though, the leader would bank his aircraft onto its side so that he could see the target and line-up on it. When he dropped his bomb, we followed him down singly.
But if we attacked together, then we would all drop our bombs together in horizontal flight at the 6,000 or 7,000 metre altitude.
In either case, we flew in a more open formation on our way to the target but would closeup as we neared it. Certainly, we would not dive if we were attacking a large objective like London or the docks there. Sometimes, when not diving, the leader might give instruction by radio, but usually we just kept our eye on him and dropped our bombs when he did. If possible, we didn’t use radio – not unless it was absolutely necessary.
I would say that flying a Messerschmitt 109 – which was a fighter, after all - with a bomb slung underneath it, well, it wasn’t exactly a natural thing to do!”