Jan 1, 1945, Operation Bodenplatte came knocking. The Germans threw all their Western Air power into a surprise dawn attack on Allied airfields across NW Europe. As the Battle of the Bulge was stalling out, this blow against Allied air power in the region was supposed to relieve pressure on them from the constant overhead hunters. The airfield at Asch Belgium (known as Y-29) was the home of the 366th Fighter Group of the 9th Tactical Air Force and the 352nd Fighter Group. The 366th already had 8 P-47s up and forming to go fly a ground sweep, and the 352nd had a flight of 11 aircraft, who took off even as the P-47s ran headlong into a large attacking German force. The 352nd claimed 23 kills, with only 3 aircraft damaged that morning. Bodenplatte did some damage to regional air power for a few days, but the loss of many veteran pilots left the Luftwaffe further weakened and crumbling.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 20:59:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015