27 November 1944: Not even a single bomber is shot down
Due to the numerous replacements which arrived from the aircraft industry and the flight training schools, the Luftwaffe could dispatch hundreds of fighters against the Americans already on the day after the 26 November defeat.
When the 8th Air Force on 27 November sent its three Bombardment divisions, covered by over 700 fighters, against marshalling yards in Germany, the II. Jagdkorps of Luftwaffenkommando West also was called in to reinforce the defensive effort. The exact number of Luftwaffe fighters brought into the air on that day is not known, but the Allies estimated 750 fighter sorties - a record number.
II. Jagdkorps again ordered JG 3, JG 26, JG 27 and IV./JG 54 into the air - defying very bad weather. JG 26 historian Don Caldwell wrote:
"The Geschwader pilots on duty could see the clouds coming in, and were very surprised to receive an order to scramble and rendezvous with the Bf 109s of JG 3 and JG 27."
III./JG 26 took off with 15 Bf 109s and met I./JG 26 with only four Fw 190s. Don Caldwell refers to the account by one of the participating German pilots, Uffz. Georg Genth, and writes:
"The Messerschmitts could not maintain close formation, but lurched around in the sky like so many drunks. The canopy of [Uffz. Genth's] Bf 109 K-4 iced over, and he could see only straight ahead through the armoured glass panel. He cleared a small spot on the left canopy pane by breathing on it, so he could see to the rear. He was at the rear of the formation, and (. . .) saw two P-47s banking on an attack curve. . ."
Seven of JG 26's fighters were shot down.
Meanwhile, the thick layer of clouds caused the German ground control to vector some units of I. and II. Jagdkorps towards "bombers" that materialised in Mustangs, and other units failed to find any US aircraft at all.
Thus, II./JG 27 saw no combat, while I./JG 27 scrambled from Rheine at 1100 hours and was engaged in a brief fight with Mustangs, resulting in one Mustang getting shot down without German losses. But the Gruppe never reached contact with the bombers. IV./JG 27 ran into nothing but Mustangs and Thunderbolts, losing eleven Bf 109s (nine of which were due to air combat) against claims for two Mustangs and a Thunderbolt. 352nd FG's ace Captain Walter E. Starck, who bagged three Bf 109s near Hameln, after which he got himself shot down and captured, probably fought IV./JG 27. In total, the 352nd reported 18 victories against three own losses on 27 November 1944.
The inexperienced JG 300 and JG 301 fared even worse. In Roger A. Freeman's words, the German "novice formations stupidly clung together while Mustangs shot them down". JG 300 was completely hacked to pieces, losing 39 Bf 109s and Fw 190s to several US fighter groups. JG 301 lost 15 Fw 190s. Among 357th FG's pilots, Captain Leonard Carson bagged five Fw 190s, Captain Chuck Yeager shot down four Fw 190s (increasing his total score to 11.5), and 1/Lt. Frank L. Gailer, Jr. brought his total to five by destroying two Fw 190s. In all, the 357th FG claimed 30 victories against a single own loss. The 353rd FG also participated in this slaughter, attacking a group of fighters where "once again the Germans continued to hold formation". In total, the 353rd claimed 18 kills - whereby 1/Lt. Charles J. Cesky achieved his fifth victory in total by bagging a Bf 109 near Hannover at 1205 hours - and lost two of their own.
The 359th FG pair of Captain Ray S. Wetmore and 1/Lt. Robert M. York which came across two large formations of German fighters - one with Bf 109s and one with Fw 190s below - probably also encountered JG 300, where the III. Gruppe's Bf 109s flew together with the Fw 190s of the other Gruppen.
Without hesitating, and without any other US fighters in sight for the moment, the two Mustang pilots attacked the mass of German aircraft. York gives his account in Eric Hammel's "Aces Against Germany":
"As I cleared the first 109, I found another Me 109 in my sight. There were so many German airplanes in the sky, in this small area, that I did not have to maneuver at all to locate my next target."
The two Mustang pilots succeeded in shooting down six Bf 109s, three apiece, and then got away unscathed. Thus, Wetmore reached a total victory score of 13.25. It should, however, be noted that only a few minutes after Wetmore and York engaged the German aircraft, they were reinforced by another ten Mustangs from the 359th FG.
Despite a massive effort, the Luftwaffe failed to shoot down even a single US bomber on 27 November 1944. All intercept missions were successfully contained by US fighters. No less than 81 German fighters were brought down, and the Americans lost only 16 fighters - of which many were to ground fire.
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