Iron Cross_-_N13_2022

‘V’ For Vengeance Turn of the Tide The Devil’s Pact ‘Treasure Castle’ Uncertain start of Germany’s Disaster on the Marne for The pre-war Soviet-Nazi pact Hitler’s hoard of medals and V-weapon campaign, 1944 Germany: summer 1918 that carved up Poland awards discovered by Allies Iron Cross GERMAN MILITARY HISTORY 1914–45 £8.99 ISSUE 13 DISPLAY UNTIL 28 SEPTEMBER 2022 The U-boat War: Fighting it out on the Surface ‘Grey Wolves’ - the Kriegsmarine’s submarine force versus Allied air attacks

FREE TO WATCH THIS MONTH FOR IRON CROSS READERS PRESENTS THE AIR WAR THE ESCALATION OF ALLIED BOMBING A HISTORYHIT ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY During the Second World War a storm of fire and steel was unleashed. All sides in the Second World War believed that aerial bombardment could decisively affect the strategic outcome of the conflict. But did the unprecedented onslaught from the air actually work? Featuring contributions from historians Paul Beaver, Victoria Taylor, James Holland, Sebastian Cox, Sinclair McKay and Sir Max Hastings. Also featuring interviews with veterans including Ken Oatley, Johnny Johnson and Irene Uhlendorff. SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE TRIAL AND GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST 3 MONTHS WHEN YOU USE THE CODE “IRONCROSS” GO TO HISTORYHIT.TV TO REDEEM AVAILABLE ON:

WELCOME Editorial Office Editorial Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West Street, As this issue of Iron Cross was before the end of . Not only that, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH in production, so Russia’s but there were initial Allied plans to use Publisher Rob McDonnell illegal and horrific war these hybrid weapons against Germany [email protected] against Ukraine raged on. and Japan. However, the end of the war Editor Andy Saunders Indeed, as I sat writing this editorial in Europe and the Far East eventually [email protected] introduction, news arrived of more put paid to those ideas. Nevertheless, Tel: 01753 770712 Russian cruise missile attacks against and whilst such plans were shelved, it Head of Design and Production Ukrainian civilian targets. This, of was not the end of the concept of this Lynn Wright course, against the background of weapon for the United States. Russia’s odious foreign secretary ADVERTISING stating that Russia is simply trying to Without doubt, the V Flying Bomb Sales Executive Kristina Green rid Ukraine of Nazis and, at the same (or Fiesler Fi. , to give it its proper [email protected] time, offering the preposterous claim title) was the very first ‘cruise missile’ Tel: 01778 392096 that Adolf Hitler was part Jewish. and the Americans took that idea and Production Manager Nicola Glossop developed it across the decades; this, to [email protected] These current and unsettling world a point where the cruise missile is now Tel: 01778 392420 events only serve to illustrate the a high precision piece of kit and very Production Assistant Charlotte Bamford uncomfortable shadow of the Second far removed from its predecessor, the [email protected] World War which hangs permanently comparatively crude V . Tel: 01778 395081 over all of us, and in particular over the tragic situation in Ukraine. The shadow Whilst the United States has since MARKETING that is cast by this current war includes become the leading proponent of the Marketing Manager Katherine Brown the menace of those cruise missiles, too. cruise missile in its late th and early [email protected] Tel: 01778 395092 In this issue, we examine the st Century wars, so the concept has Marketing Executive Luke Hider interrogation report on an unidentified also been copied by other nations [email protected] Luftwaffe officer, a Prisoner of War around the world. Among them, Russia Tel: 01778 395085 who was captured in either late with its own array of such weaponry; or early . This officer was attached all of them being distinctly ‘look-alike’ DISTRIBUTION to the V launch units initially based in American Tomahawk missiles. Just as Warners Distribution northern France to target London and the Americans copied the V , perhaps? Andy Perry southeast England. The report offers us Plus ça change. Tel: 01778 391152 a fascinating glimpse into how the Flak regiment which launched the V s was The dark wartime days which saw PUBLISHED BY structured, the various organisational German V attacks were endured with Warners Group Publications, arrangements and its order of battle. a degree of stoicism by the British The Maltings, West Street, While interesting in itself, it is chilling population, with Ukraine’s current Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH to realise that the V Flying Bomb was suffering also being similarly endured. Tel: 01778 391000 the first-generation cruise missile. Fax: 01778 392422 Ultimately, Ukraine will hopefully Incredibly, remains of V s downed prevail and will also be uncowed and ISSN 2632-4725 in Britain in June and early July unbowed by Russia’s st Century were shipped to America where a version of the ‘Flying Bomb’ campaign. The U-441, a U-Flak boat, comes reverse-engineered copy of the V was under attack in the Bay of Biscay by built, tested, and put into production Slava Ukraini! a Sunderland of 228 Squadron, RAF, on 24 May 1943. U-441 shot down Andy Saunders the Sunderland which crashed and (Editor) exploded in the sea, killing all 11 crew. (Artwork by Piotr Forkasiewicz) ZINE & BROCHURE PRMAGAINTERThis publication is printed by Warners Midlands PLC WARNERS Telephone: 01778 391000 Midlands PLC SUBSCRIBE TO IRON CROSS For the latest offer call 01778 392489 Save over 20% a year. Details on page 54. Buy a digital edition at www.pktmags.com/ironcross Keep up to date on Facebook ANDY SAUNDERS – EDITOR www.facebook.com/ironcrossmagazine Andy has been involved in military history for almost 50 years and is well-known in historic aviation circles. He previously edited other military history magazines, was Follow us on Twitter founder and first curator of a leading UK aviation museum at former RAF Tangmere and is a published military history author and specialist consultant and contributor @IronCrossMag for the news media, TV and film. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. IRON CROSS ❙ 3 All rights reserved. Dates, information and prices quoted are believed to be correct at time of going to press but are subject to change and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. Neither the editor nor the publisher accept responsibility for any material submitted, whether photographic or otherwise. While we endeavour to ensure that firms and organisations mentioned are reputable, the Editor can give no guarantee that they will fulfil their obligations under all circumstances. 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IN THIS ISSUE CONTENTS at Scapa Flow in 1919. We ask whether it could have originated from the light ISSUE THIRTEEN cruiser, the SMS Nürnberg. Features the last throw of the dice for the forces 53COMPETITION of Imperial Germany. More than any In this issue, win one of eight 06 COVER THE U-BOAT FLAK STING other battle across that momentous copies of the superbly informative STORY In the deadly U-boat last year of the war, the fighting of ‘German U-boat Losses during World war of the Atlantic, Allied aircraft were July and August signalled the end for War II’ by leading German naval historian, pitted against German submarines. Germany. Alex Niestle. Very often, there was a bad outcome for attacking aircraft as the U-boats 88THE DEVIL’S PACT 56NOTES FROM THE ARMOURY – fought back. We chart what was often As a new war rages in Eastern THE MG 42 an unequal battle and detail the Allied Europe, we examine the road to Widely regarded as the best light aircraft downed by the U-boat force. war in 1939 and a pre-war Soviet- machine gun of the Second World War, a Nazi pact which led to joint military version of the MG 42 remains in service 20ZEPPELIN DOWN! training, sharing of technology and an with some armies to this day. Mark When the L 33 was downed agreement as to the division of Poland Khan evaluates this significant weapon over Essex in September 1916, the before Germany finally turned on the and describes its development and British were presented with a relatively Soviet Union in 1941. operational deployment. complete Zeppelin and they examined and photographed its every detail. Ian 117CHANNEL DASH – AIR 71OBJECTS IN FOCUS Castle explains what can be seen in CLAIMS AND CASUALTIES A unique emblem taken as a this fascinating collection of official As a follow-up to his full-length feature souvenir from a Messerschmitt Bf 109 photographs. on the February 1942 Channel Dash, in which was brought down over Malta which Chris Goss detailed the principal during 1942 comes under the spotlight. 40THE FÜHRER’S WOLF’S LAIR naval aspects of the ‘Dash’, he now lists Hidden away in dense forest on and details all the German and British 72BOOK REVIEWS the Polish - Russian border, a group of air losses directly associated with that We review some of the latest huge bunkers and buildings was built in dramatic action. German military history titles. 1941 to serve as Hitler’s military HQ and command post: the Wolfsschanze. John Regulars 76THE TREASURE CASTLE Grehan describes the complex, explains When American troops came its purpose, and visits its eerily macabre 50A QUESTION OF PROVENANCE across a castle near Salzburg during ruins. In our regular ‘Unlocking History’ the closing stages of the war they series, we investigate the intriguing discovered a treasure trove of Third Reich 62TURN OF THE TIDE story behind an Imperial German Navy high awards and decorations. Dietrich The Second Battle of the Marne ensign taken as a trophy after the Maerz tells the astonishing story in our in the summer of 1918 was, in effect, scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet ‘Orders, Medals, and Decorations’ feature, explaining what became of them. 98FROM THE ARCHIVES – INTERROGATION OF V1 OFFICER The interrogation of a Luftwaffe officer EDITOR’S CHOICE 28RED BANDS AND SWASTIKAS In early 1940 a new commander took over the leadership of one of the Luftwaffe’s most famous fighter units, JG53, and became the focus of anger from senior Nazi’s when his wife’s Jewish ancestry was revealed. It was something which had repercussions for the unit and its pilots, seeing 'punishment' markings applied to its aircraft to obliterate its 'Ace of Spades' emblem. But the men stood by their CO, however, with one part of the unit obliterating the swastikas on its aircraft in solidarity. 4 ❙ IRON CROSS

62 CONTRIBUTORS closely involved with the V1 Flying occasional Myth Buster feature looks Introducing you to some of our main Bomb campaign, and who was taken at the strange tale of wooden bullets contributors for this issue:- POW during 1944, revealed to the Allies supposedly being used by German a great deal about the organisation troops in Normandy during 1944. We DR JACK SHELDON behind the V1 organisation, the order separate fact from fiction. Jack Sheldon retired from of battle, the campaign, and its rather the British army in 2003. faltering start. 127NEXT ISSUE Since retirement he has We reveal some of the written or co-authored 112UNIFORMS AND exciting content lined up to appear in 18 books and battlefield EQUIPMENT – SHOOTING our next issue. guides. He is a member of THE PAST the British Commission for Military History, We showcase some of the stunning 128PHOTOS FROM THE FRONT a Vice President of the Western Front imagery shot by the Netherlands based Our subject photograph for Association and the 2022 Fellow of the Marcel Bahnen of ImageworX which this issue depicts the Messerschmitt Bf Douglas Haig Fellowship. feature the Wehrmacht uniforms and 109 F of a high-scoring Luftwaffe ace equipment of 1939 – 45, all posed in who was brought down in the Western IAN ONA JOHNSON historical re-enactments and living Desert in December 1941. The image Ian Ona Johnson is the P history tableaux. has been colourised by our in-house J Moran Family Assistant colourisation artist, Richard J Molloy. Professor of Military History 122 NEW WEAPON SPOTLIGHT at the University of Notre #1 130FILM POSTERS Dame. His first monograph, In this new occasional series, we Featured in this issue Faustian Bargain: The Soviet- showcase German military weaponry we have the rather striking poster German Partnership and the Origins of the spanning the period 1914 to 1945. advertising the film ‘Stosstrupp 1917’, Second World War (Oxford University Press, Our focus in this issue is on the MG 08 a film about the First World War but 2021) won the 2022 Distinguished Book machine gun of the First World War. made during the period of the National Award from the Society for Military History. Socialists, and thus very much in 124WOODEN BULLETS accord with the Nazi messaging of that IAN CASTLE This issue’s subject for our period. Ian has been researching and writing about military history for 35 years. Besides numerous articles in magazines and journals, he has authored or co-authored 20 books on a variety of subjects. His work has focused on German air raids on Britain during WW1 and he has been an adviser for and appeared in a number of TV documentaries. DIETRICH MAERZ Dietrich Maerz is a researcher and historian and is also the author of several books and articles about the decorations of the Third Reich, among them The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross and The German Cross in Gold and Silver. He is the owner of B&D Publishing LLC, where he also publishes the quarterly magazine International Militaria Collector. IRON CROSS COLOURISATION ARTIST Richard J Molloy is the house colourisation artist for Iron Cross magazine, unless colourised images are credited otherwise. SAVE OVER 20% A YEAR when you purchase an Iron Cross subscription SEE PAGE 54 FOR DETAILS IRON CROSS ❙ 5

THE U-BOAT WAR ■ U-848 comes under attack from three B-24 and one B-25 aircraft on 5 November 1943 in the South Atlantic south-west of Ascension Island. The U-boat was sunk by depth charges and all 63 of the crew were lost. The anti- aircraft gunners cower on the conning tower from the attacker’s fire and at least one of them can be seen wearing a steel helmet. Although this U-boat was sunk, an attack by aircraft was by no means always a one-sided contest. The U-boat Flak Sting While U-boat claims during the Second World War are more often-than-not associated with shipping losses, the U-boat force exacted a terrible toll against patrolling Allied aircraft as Chris Goss explains. The U-boat war fought in the Atlantic was a resulting in the loss of the German submarines and their bitter one that cost many thousands of lives. crews. It wasn’t all a one-sided battle, though, and at the Generally, accounts tend to concentrate on beginning of May , the Befehlshaber der U-Boot (BdU), the ships sunk and on battles fought by Allied commander-in-chief of the U-boat force, ordered: aircraft and naval forces against the U-boats, invariably “Anti-aircraft submarines are to be tried out against 6 ❙ IRON CROSS

to lure unsuspecting Allied aircraft towards U-boats on the surface. And these U-boats would literally be bristling with all sorts of anti-aircraft defences. By the very nature of such air attacks, the attacking aircraft would generally engage surfaced U-boats low and at a relatively slow airspeed. Such aircraft presented themselves (potentially) as ideal targets, and if the boats now fought it out on the surface, then the results achieved by what would be designated U-Flak boats were predicted to be significant against their unsuspecting attackers. ■ Konteadmiral Karl Dönitz seen here visiting the Focke-Wulf 200 FIRST TO FALL unit, I/KG 40, in 1941. Dönitz was Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote (BdU) from October 1939 until becoming Oberbefehlshaber der The first loss of an aircraft credited to a U-boat, however, Kriegsmarine in January 1943. After January 1943 he still retained occurred on the afternoon of 17 December 1941; practical control of his U-boats. this was to U-131, a type IXC U-boat commanded by Korvettenkapitän (KKpt) Arend Bauman. She was part enemy aircraft in Biscay. The first of these submarines of Wolfpack Seeräuber (lit: pirate or buccaneer) which will leave port at the beginning of May. These boats comprised eight U-boats and sailed between 14 and 21 carry strong anti-aircraft armament and have a lightly December 1941. The primary objective of the Wolfpack armoured bridge and weapons. They are to operate on was to attack a north-bound convoy: HG76. the surface in Biscay with the specialised task of attacking aircraft.” The Wolfpack’s first sinking was credited to U-108 on 14 December 1941: a neutral Portuguese merchant vessel, With this announcement, Großadmiral Dönitz Cassequel, which was not part of the convoy. This was 160 signalled grave concerns about the growing scale of miles south-west of Cape St Vincent. Meanwhile, Convoy U-boat losses to aircraft and made clear his intent to HG76 would go on to lose two ships to U-boats on 19 find a way to turn the tide. What he had in mind might December. But this was at the cost of four U-boats - one be considered a ‘sting’ operation in which he intended of them being U-131. On the morning of 17 December, U-131 was spotted ■ A U-boat seen practicing with a Do 217 of I/KG 2 in the Bay of Biscay during June 1942. Exercises like this enabled the anti-aircraft gunners on U-boats to hone their skills in engaging aircraft. ▲ IRON CROSS ❙ 7

THE U-BOAT WAR ■ U-995 can be seen today on display at Laboe near Kiel. It survived the war and served with the Norwegian Navy as Kaura but was returned to Germany to become a museum piece in 1971. A pair of twin 20 mm and a single 37 mm Flak guns are mounted on the conning tower bandstand. by a Grumman Martlet of 802 Squadron, FAA, flying Martlet of 802 Squadron flown by Sub-Lieutenant George from HMS Audacity. The U-boat was sighted 22 miles Fletcher. off the port side of the convoy and five warships were immediately sent to intercept. By now submerged, the However, the U-boat’s primary defensive armament (a submarine was damaged by depth charges, forcing her to 37 mm and 20 mm gun) succeeded in shooting down the surface. Shortly afterwards, she was strafed by another fighter, killing its pilot. George Fletcher had become the first Allied airman to fall to a U-boat’s guns. Shortly afterwards, U-boat U-131, now trying to flee on the surface, was further damaged by shellfire and at 13.30 hrs she was scuttled with all 47 of her crew being captured. ■ The first aircraft to fall to a U-boat’s guns was a diminutive Grumman NO SURVIVORS Martlet of 802 Squadron, FAA, flying from HMS Audacity on the morning of 17 December, having been shot down by U-131’s guns after attacking Despite America now having entered the war, and the the German submarine. (Note: this photograph depicts a Martlet of 888 Battle of the Atlantic starting to intensify, relatively few Squadron.) (Colour by RJM)) aircraft were shot down by U-boats in 1942. However, this would change dramatically in 1943. At the end of August 1942, however, the BdU had already stated: “Numbers of enemy aircraft have increased, a great variety of aircraft types have appeared, aircraft are equipped with an excellent radar set against U- boats; all these factors have made the conduct of the U-boat war in the east Atlantic very difficult.” The BdU then went on to state at the end of March 1943, that: “During the period November 1942 to January 1943, enemy aircraft anti-submarine activity had little result 8 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ A Coastal Command Wellington of 311 Squadron. The type was heavily ■ Another unit active against U-boats was the USN’s Fleet Air Wing 7, engaged against the U-boats. based at Dunkeswell in Devon, and which operated the PB4Y-1, one of which is seen here over a relatively calm Atlantic. but since February 1943, its effect has increased to an west of Ireland by a B-24 Liberator of the United States alarming extent. It is not known whether this is due to Navy’s 2nd Anti-Submarine Squadron (AS), 480th Anti- improved detection equipment or to the use of more Submarine Group (ASG), the aircraft commanded by 1st suitable types of aircraft. The fact is that during the last Lieutenant William Sandford. two months there have been more U-boat sightings by British aircraft and more U-boats have been attacked.” Exactly one month later, the first confirmed shooting down of the year occurred and again it was a 172 Despite this, it appears the first aircraft to be shot Squadron Wellington which fell to a U-boat. Flying down in 1943 occurred on 4 February when it is believed Officer Gordon Lundon* had taken off from Chivenor that U-519, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Günther at 18.35 hrs and, again, nothing further was heard from Eppen, was attacked and, in turn, shot down its attacker - Lundon’s crew. However, we know that at 21.31hrs, a Wellington of 172 Squadron flown by Pilot Officer John U-333, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Werner Myers. Myers had taken off from RAF Chivenor, north Schwaff, reported being surprised by an aircraft while on Devon, at 16.32 hrs and after this, nothing further was the surface in the Bay of Biscay while headed out for the heard from the Wellington. Whether Eppen reported submarine’s sixth patrol of the war. the shooting down has not been confirmed, because on 10 February, U-519 was sunk with all hands south- The first that Schwaff’s crew were aware of the Wellington was when it switched on its Leigh Light (a carbon-arc searchlight carried under the wing) which bathed the submarine in bright light. Despite dropping four depth charges, one of which broke up without exploding and another bounced off the U-boat’s deck causing minor damage, U-333’s two 20mm guns hit the Wellington, setting it on fire. The blazing aircraft hit the sea and exploded 200 metres from them. There were no survivors. Schwaff then submerged and continued with his patrol, returning to La Pallice on 13 April 1943 having sunk the Greek steam merchant ship Carras on 19 March. There would be one more recorded shooting down in March 1943 when U-338, commanded by Oberleutnant zer See Manfred Kinzel, shot ■ The Bay of Biscay was a busy and dangerous place. This photograph shows (*Note: On 19 February 1943, Gordon Lundon had carried out ▲ a major action against German vessels on 28 Dec 1943. another Leigh Light attack on U-268, sinking it west of St Nazaire and killing Oberleutnant zur See, Ernst Heydemann, and his 43 crew.) IRON CROSS ❙ 9

THE U-BOAT WAR ■ Aircrew of 248 Squadron in 1943. The three pilots involved in It went on to add: seriously damaging U-441 on 12 July are Flight Lieutenant Charles “Anti-aircraft armament is being strengthened as a Schofield (front far left) Flying Officer Pat Payne (2nd left) Flying counter-measure, but the solution can be considered Officer George Newman (back 2nd from right). Newman was in fact a satisfactory only when the boats’ armament permits them Frenchman, Lieutenant Claude Serf, but served as George Newman. to remain on the surface to fight it out with the aircraft, or at any rate when it is essential for boats attacking a down a Halifax of 502 Squdaron flown by Pilot Officer convoy to get ahead to make an attack despite enemy air Leslie McCulloch. Again, the Type VIIC’s two 20 mm escorts.” guns hit the bomber, striking it in the starboard wing In addition, the BdU set out its requirement for the and fuselage after which it crashed into the sea. Seven U-Flak boats (as at the head of this article) and, in the of crew were killed, which included a passenger, Pilot event, it would transpire that the majority of claims Officer Adam Stuart. Amazingly, Sergeant Harold Taylor against aircraft by U-boats were made by attack U-boats survived and was taken to St Nazaire as prisoner, arriving which had chosen to ‘fight it out’ on the surface rather there two days later when U-338 returned from its first than claims by the U-flak boats. patrol having already sunk four ships and damaged another. DEMISE OF THE U-FLAK BOATS TO ‘FIGHT IT OUT’ ON THE SURFACE As to the U-Flak boats, the first to see active service was the U-441 which had been built as a Type VIIC but was These early successes against aircraft should, however, converted to be U-Flak-1 (U-256 would become U-Flak-2) be balanced against how many U-boats were lost during with an expanded bridge and additional gun platform the same period: 18 U-boats were lost on operations ahead of the conning tower. It was now armed with two during February 1943, eight of them to aircraft, while 15 quadruple 20 mm guns and a single 37 mm gun, although were lost in March 1943, eight of those also being sunk by some records state the latter was either replaced or aircraft. enhanced by another two 20 mm guns. The bridge also bristled with MG34 or MG42 machine guns. April 1943 would see four claims for aircraft shot down, of which only two can be matched against RAF losses. The modified U-441, commanded by KptLt Götz von Meanwhile, 16 U-boats were lost in action this month Hartmann, set sail from Brest on its first patrol as a Flak and, yet again, eight of these were due to air attacks. boat on 22 May 1943. Two days later, she encountered her first aircraft. May, though, saw a big jump in claims for aircraft shot down, with the BdU reporting at the start of the month: At 14 00 hrs on 24 May, Flying Officer Bert Debnam lifted-off his Sunderland of 228 Squadron from RAF “Air escort, provided by a large number of aircraft Pembroke Dock, Wales, to patrol the Bay of Biscay. At operating over a fairly large area round the convoy, has 20.50 hrs, they came across the surfaced U-441 and went always forced our submarines to lag hopelessly behind into attack just as U-441’s captain had intended.* The the convoy and prevented them achieving any successes, trap was sprung and the ‘sting’ was in play. Immediately, especially when the naval and air escorts cooperated the Sunderland flew into a hail of gunfire. Despite being efficiently. damaged, the Sunderland’s crew dropped their depth charges, although afterwards the flying boat crashed into “In addition, enemy air forces have made themselves the sea and exploded, killing all 11 on board. However, felt over the approaches to Biscay to a very marked degree the Sunderland had caused sufficient damage to force - losses and damage in this area have again sharply the U-441 to return to Brest where she arrived on 25 May. increased, as during the period before the first improvised She was repaired and immediately sent out again on 8 radar interception sets were introduced .” July 1943 on yet another flak-baiting patrol. This time, however, she fell-foul of her intended prey. At 10.32 hrs on 12 July 1943, three Beaufighters of 248 Squadron, led by Flight Lieutenant Charles Schofield, lifted off from RAF Predannack, Cornwall, on an offensive patrol, later reporting the following: “Sighted U-boat, believed to be 740-ton class, two miles to port. All three aircraft immediately turned in line astern and came in to attack. About 15 to 18 people were standing on deck watching Beaufighters approach. U-boat at once opened fire with light gun aft of conning *This scene is depicted in our front cover artwork by Piotr Forkasiewicz. 10 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ Liberator I of 224 Squadron flown by Squadron Leader Peter Cundy seen in the USA June 1942. He was involved in sinking U-628 on 3 July 1943. (See also table of losses.) Flak U-boats On 31 August 1942, U-256 was on her first cruise and sailing from Kiel ■ Close-up of the armament on the conning tower of U-995. to proceed to Lorient via the North Atlantic when she was attacked by a Although not a U-Flak boat, this photograph nevertheless illustrates Whitley of 502 Squadron. The boat was so badly damaged that she was the formidable weaponry which Allied aircraft faced when attacking almost scrapped until a decision was made to convert her into a U-Flak U-boats. boat. Although U-256 was the first boat converted into a U-Flak, the work The U-Flak boats were four of the type VIIC boats (U-441, U-256, U-621 was delayed and on 16 April 1943 it was decided to convert U-441 in the and U-953) modified to simply act as surface escorts for incoming and same manner. Flakvierling mounts (20 mm quadruple sets) and the first outgoing attack U-boats operating from the French Atlantic bases. They experimental 37 mm automatic gun were installed on U-441, along with had greatly increased anti-aircraft firepower and were purely intended to a battery of 86 mm line-carrying anti-aircraft rockets. However, the latter lure aircraft into a trap. system proved impractical. Three more U-boats were allocated as additional U-Flak boats (U-211, On some U-Flak boats, two additional single 20 mm guns were carried. U-263 and U-271) but were never completed in this configuration and The fuel capacity on these boats was limited solely to Bay of Biscay returned to duty as standard VIIC attack boats. operations and only five torpedoes were carried (these for self-defence) because extra accommodation was required for additional crew members The modifications took place in 1943 and initially had some successes to man the Flak guns. against surprised RAF aircraft. Dönitz initially believed these boats had potential, although the RAF soon developed countermeasures while The U-621 was converted into U-Flak in June 1943 after being surface hunters were called in to assist the aircraft. As a result, the damaged on her fourth cruise by a Liberator of 224 Squadron on 31 May boats configured as U-Flak boats were withdrawn and converted back that year. U-621 as a U-Flak sailed on 29 August 1943, but scored no into fighting vessels. However, many boats carried enhanced anti-aircraft success on this her fifth cruise. After reverting to ‘normal’ flak armament armament, including additional guns installed forward of the bridge. and becoming a standard attack U-boat again, she was damaged on her These should not be confused with dedicated U-Flak boats. sixth cruise on 13 January 1944 by a B-24 Liberator of 59 Squadron. ■ The 3.7 cm Flak The effectiveness of the improved anti-aircraft weaponry on the M42 was a longer U-Flak boats, and the scheme itself, had generally failed to live up to calibre version of expectations with just the standard defensive armament on attack the Wehrmacht’s U-boats proving every bit as dangerous for Allied aircrews. 3.7 cm Flak 36 and was loaded with a five-round ammunition clip and had a rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute. The M42 could be mounted singly, or as a double DLM 42 U mounting as depicted here. It was manned by a four-man crew, including a loader. (NZSNOWMAN) ▲ IRON CROSS ❙ 11

THE U-BOAT WAR ■ Seen returning to harbour at Narvik on 19 September 1943 after its seventh patrol is U-255. Oblt.z.S Erich Harms, her captain, is believed to be the man with the white gloves. It shows additional armament, including machine guns, introduced because of the threat posed by Allied aircraft. She survived the war and was scuttled on 13 December 1945. The presence of Luftwaffe aircrew on board is because U-255 had helped rescue the crew of a Blohm-und- Voss Bv 138 of 1/ Seeaufklärungsgruppe 130 on 12 September 1943 after the flying boat had run out of fuel. tower and bullets were seen passing just above port wing. Aircraft ‘A’ now came in and followed up with an attack by Aircraft ‘B’ immediately returned fire with a long burst cannon fire. These shots were first seen to fall short but of cannon fire from 200 ft. U-boat was now also firing as aircraft approached shells were seen to strike conning with heavy gun forward of conning tower and pilot saw tower. U-boat now commenced to take evasive action, zig- something approximately the size of a cricket ball pass zagging violently and firing meanwhile. All three aircraft over the cockpit. Aircraft ‘V’ then came in to attack, firing repeated their attacks, and it was noticed that nearly all a long burst of cannon fire. Hits were seen to register on the 18 people originally seen on the deck had disappeared; the conning tower. U-boat was now firing continuously, one man was seen in the water and another laying on and aircraft had to break away and take evasive action. the deck. All fire from the U-boat had now ceased so the ■ A Junkers 88C-6 of V/KG 40 meets up with a U-boat in the Bay of Biscay ■ Sinking of U-571 (commanded by ObltzS Gustav Lüssow) on 28 during 1943. The number of crew on the deck would indicate there were no January 1944 by a Sunderland of 461 Squadron flown by Flight Allied aircraft nearby. Lieutenant Richard Lucas. There were no survivors. 12 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ The back cover illustration of a wartime HMSO publication on the to aircraft. The month also saw aircraft from American subject of RAF Coastal Command depicted a U-boat in the ring sight escort carriers becoming involved, in particular the of a gun on board an RAF aircraft. In reality, the RAF aircraft were also USS Bogue and her aircraft from VC- . One VC- TBM in the sights of gunners on board the U-boats and suffered significant Avenger pilot, Lieutenant ( jg) W S “Munk” Fowler, had losses as a result. the misfortune to have his aircraft damaged attacking U- , commanded by Kpt.Lt Horst Rendtel, south-west Beaufighters were able to press home their attacks from of the Azores on June. Four days later, the same again a much lower level and as aircraft ‘S’ attacked the third happened while he was attacking U- commanded by time, an explosion was seen just aft of the conning tower. Kpt.Lt Helmut Manseck; both U-boats were damaged. A subsequent attack on the same spot produced a much larger explosion...” July would see a similar pattern, but this time combats were also occurring off the Brazilian coast and The Beaufighters continued attacking for another in the Caribbean. Again, aircraft would be shot down punishing minutes, until the U-boat finally or damaged attacking U-boats. For the Germans, this submerged. It must have been a punishing and terrifying would be the bloodiest month yet with submarines ordeal for the men on U- who had valiantly stayed on lost and an astounding of these being attributed to the surface to follow Donitz’s order to ‘fight it out.’ In all, aircraft. This forced the BdU to issue the following order on August : men had been killed and wounded including all the officers - apart from the doctor (Note: due to increasing “Enemy air and surface craft activity in Biscay is at injuries because of air attacks, from the beginning of present very strong and effective and losses have been July , % of U-boats carried a doctor) who took heavy during the last days. U- , U- , U- , U- , command and headed U- back to Brest where it which have only been at sea a short time, have therefore finally docked the following day. been ordered to return to their ports. It was now clear that the ‘Flak Trap’ U-boats were not “It has also turned out that boats proceeding in groups the solution and U- (and U- ) was converted back are sometimes completely destroyed after being detected to be a Type VIIC by December , only to be sunk by by aircraft or surface vessels which must be attributed to aircraft in the English Channel in June . large numbers of anti-submarine forces working in good cooperation. Orders have therefore been given for the A BLOODY SUMMER immediate dispersal of all groups on passage. Boats are to proceed alone, independently of the courses ordered.” In summary, May had seen U-boats lost on The first eleven days of August, however, still saw operations, of which can be attributed to aircraft. aircraft damaged or shot down. Then, very little occurred until September. However, the last recorded combat This should be balanced against the aircraft either shot of the month had seen one of the most notable U-boat versus aircraft battles and resulted in the pilot involved down or badly damaged by U-boats that month. June being awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross on the recommendation of a U-boat captain. saw another nine aircraft shot down or damaged, ▲ New Zealander Flying Officer Lloyd Trigg, who had only but U-boats were lost and again of them fell victim recently been awarded a DFC, took off from Rufisque, near Dakar in Senegal, at . hrs on August in a B- Liberator with a crew of seven. They were to undertake an anti-submarine patrol and the Squadron Operations Record book recorded what happened: “At hrs was diverted to hunt for a U-boat which had previously been attacked by a Catalina. U-boat was found and attacked after gunfire had severely damaged the aircraft and set it on fire. The attack was a complete success, and the destruction of the U-boat was confirmed by some of its survivors who were also the sole remaining witnesses of the Liberator’s crash which occurred immediately after the attack with, we regret to record, the loss of the whole crew. Aircraft on Air Sea Rescue sorties discovered the remaining members of the U-boat’s crew in one of the Liberator’s dinghies.” Trigg had attacked U- , commanded by Oblt.z.S Klemens Schamong (which had set sail from La Pallice on July) and managed to drop six depth charges - two IRON CROSS ❙ 13

THE U-BOAT WAR ■ Crew resting among the defensive armament of U-315. A clip of 37 mm ■ Focke-Wulf 200 Condors over an Italian submarine in Biscay, Flak rounds can be seen bottom left. This submarine survived the war but illustrating that Italian submarines were also part of the battle. was scrapped in 1947. of which severely damaged the stern of the U-boat which PAINFUL STING sank soon afterwards. Of its crew of 51, less than half The remainder of 1943 would be much quieter in respect of battles between U-boats and aircraft with four aircraft lost managed to abandon her - although only seven, including and damaged in September and five each in October and November 1943. Things were made more difficult for the the captain, survived. U-boat crews when, from 8 October 1943, Portugal allowed the Allies to operate anti-submarine missions from Lagens At 14.51 hrs on 12 August, a dinghy was sighted by a airfield in the Azores meaning it was getting much harder for the U-boats to remain undetected. Sunderland of 204 Squadron flown by Flight Sergeant The last recorded aircraft losses of the year came on 22 Charles Watkinson and presumed to contain the seven December 1943 when U-1062, a Type VIIF torpedo transport U-boat commanded by Oblt.z.S Karl Albrecht, was attacked crew of B-24. by Beaufighters of 144 and 404 Squadrons off Egersund, Norway. The U-boat, together with minesweeper M-489, Then, at 06.30 hrs the following day, Flight Lieutenant accounted for two aircraft of 404 Squadron, flown by Flying Officer Ian Gillespie and Flight Lietenant Roy Munro; all John Pare, also of 204 Squadron, directed HMS Clarkia to four crew members were killed. The U-boat was damaged with one crewman killed and three wounded with one more pick up the dinghy when its occupants were found to the wounded on the minesweeper. On 30 September 1944, survivors of U-468 in one of the Liberator’s dinghies. It ■ The submarine pens at Lorient in 1943. was only now that what had happened became clear: “The Liberator was heavily hit and burst into flames during run-in, but nevertheless completed an accurate attack before diving into the sea at over 220 knots. U-boat captain and officers amongst survivors very impressed by coolness and courage displayed by doomed bomber’s crew.” It was testimony which resulted in the award of the Victoria Cross to Lloyd Trigg on 2 November 1943, the lucky survivors of U-468 having been fortunate enough to make their way to the inflated dinghy of Trigg’s aircraft which had bobbed to the surface ■ Flying Officer Lloyd Allan as the stricken Liberator Trigg, VC, DFC. plunged beneath the waves. 14 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ U-889 surrenders to a Canadian Fairmile (Q-117) off Shelburne, Nova Scotia, on 13 May 1945, as a Catalina circles watchfully overhead. Upon the surrender of Germany, the U-boat force were ordered to fly a black ensign on their vessels and to offer their surrender to Allied forces. (National Archives Canada) having been discovered by aircraft, U- would be sunk by Attacking U-boats from the air, and the engaging of Allied aircraft from U-boats, was a deadly business; the relative USS Fessenden off the Cape Verde Islands; Karl Albrecht and proliferation of gallantry awards evidence enough of the courage displayed by both sides in this bloody confrontation. all his crew were lost. Such awards included Knight’s Crosses and Iron Crosses, with many gallantry awards to aircrew on the Allied side. Included As seen in the accompanying table, the cost of aircraft in the latter were no less than three Victoria Crosses*. lost to U-boats was considerable and saw no less than The sting from U-boat flak defences had been painful, albeit that the intended ‘sting’ of the dedicated U-Flak boats Allied aircraft claimed as destroyed. Conversely, the losses had been rather less dramatic than Dönitz had hoped and intended. of U-boats to aircraft were grievous; in total, sunk by air attacks throughout the war. All told, it was a bloody and brutal struggle, and aside from (the focus of this article) at least five Allied aircraft were lost to U-boats in and another in . *Footnote: Apart from Flying Officer Trigg, a posthumous VC was awarded to Flight Lieutenant David Hornell after he had attacked and sunk U-1225 on ▲ 24 June 1944. Another VC was awarded to Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank after he sunk U-361 on 17 July 1944. John Cruickshank is the last surviving Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross. IRON CROSS ❙ 15

THE U-BOAT WAR ■ An RAF corporal shows off the 57 mm shell carried by the ■ Crew members man the 20 mm Flak gun on the conning tower of U-123. Tsetse Mosquito – a formidable anti U-boat weapon. This is a posed shot and a still from the 1941 propaganda film U-Boote westwärts! The low angle of elevation on the gun reflects the low-level nature of Allied aircraft attacks against U-boats. In fact, the U-123 was badly damaged by a Tsetse Mosquito on 7 November 1943 when several holes were punched in the conning tower and hull by 57 mm shells. The Formidable Tsetse As the U-boats became more heavily armed gunners during the run-in to target. Only 25 x two others were wounded in what had been a against air attack, so the RAF sought to find rounds of 57 mm ammunition were carried. very accurate attack. effective countermeasures. Illustrative of a new menace posed to U-boats during 1943 One of the problems with the gun was that The U-123, a Type IXB, had previously was the introduction of the Tsetse Mosquito it required a long steady attack run, starting ‘starred’ in the German propaganda film by the RAF. from an altitude of 5,000 ft and diving at U-Boote westwärts! (U-boats Westwards!) 30� until within range. This left the Mosquito of 1941 which told a fictitious tale of the This was a Mosquito Mk XVIII uniquely vulnerable to Flak. However, on 7 November adventures of a U-boat and her crew. fitted with a formidable 57 mm ‘Molins’ 1943, a Tsetse Mosquito of 618 Squadron, anti-shipping gun with only 18 of this type flown by Flying Officer A J L Bonnett, RCAF, Prior to the Tsetse Mosquito attack, she being constructed. The huge six-pounder gun carried out the first such attack* on U-123. had been depth-charged and damaged off replaced the 20 mm cannons usually fitted, Cap Finisterre by Allied vessels on or around although the Mk XVIII retained its battery of Firing eight rounds, Bonnet achieved 25 August 1943. four x .303 Browning machine guns. These several hits on U-123’s conning tower and served a dual purpose: to assist the pilot in hull, rendering it unable to dive because of On 19 August 1944 she was scuttled at his aim of the main weapon and to keep the an 18 x 6.5 cm hole (7.1 x 2.6 inch) hole in Lorient, but later raised by the French and heads down of any would-be anti-aircraft the boat’s pressure hull. One crew member, going on to serve in the French Navy as Bootsmaat Günther Struve, was killed and Blaison (Q165) until being decommissioned in August 1959. *Note: The first unit to use the Mosquito Mk XVIII was 248 Squadron, which added it to their complement of Beaufighters. Operations began on 24 October 1943 with the first U-boat ‘kill’ coming on 25 March 1944 when U-976 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by two Mosquito Mk XVIIIs. 16 ❙ IRON CROSS

AIRCRAFT DOWNED OR DAMAGED BY U-BOATS - ATLANTIC, 1943 Date U-Boat Captain Type Claimed Details Location Date U-Boat Captain Type Claimed Details Location 29 May 4 Feb 43 U-519 KptLt Günther Wellington HX653, 172 U-boat sunk 1943 U-662 KptLt Heinz- Catalina Possibly 190 64.20N Eppen Sqn (Plt Off J N 10 Feb 43 30 May 43 Eberhard Müller Sqn (Sgt 10.30W 4 Jun 43 Myers) 2115hrs Holmes) Undamaged 4 Mar 43 U-333 ObltzS Werner Wellington MP505, 172 45.40N 8 Jun 43 on 30 May 43. 2131hrs Schwaff Sqn (Fg Off G D 04.30W Or, FP264, 210 Lundon) 11 Jun 43 Sqn (Flt Lt D W Eadie) Badly 22 Mar 43 U-338 ObltzS Manfred Halifax BB314, 502 47.40 12 Jun 43 damaged on 30 Sqn (Plt Off L J 14.00W 0958hrs Kinzel McCulloch) 5 Apr 43 U-438 KptLt Heinrich ? 45N No losses May 43 Heinsohn 15W U-459 KptLt Georg Von 4-engined Whitley Z9440 48.15N 8 Apr 43 U-168 KptLt Helmut Sunderland W6054, 423 57.25N Wilamowitz- 10 OTU (Sgt L O 06.30W Pich Sqn (Fg Off 20.30W A A Bishop) Möllendorf Slade) Undamaged U-641 KptLt Horst Hurricane Avenger VC-9 32N Rendtel USS Bogue (Lt 43W W S Fowler) 24 Apr 43 U-602 KptLt Philipp Hampden 37N Missing since Slightly Schüler 01.30E 19 Apr 43. damaged *(see below) U-758 KptLt Helmut Carrier ac Avenger VC-9 28N 24 Apr 43 U-453 KptLt Egon Hudson AM781, 500 Manseck USS Bogue (Lt 35.30W 0020hrs Reiner Frhr Von Sqn (WO R W S Fowler) Schlippenbach Obee) Damaged 1 May 43 U-613 KptLt Helmut Wellington 172 Sqn (Sgt 0012hrs Köppe P W Phillips) U-417 ObltzS Wolfgang - Fortress FA704, 63.20N U-boat sunk Damaged Schreiner 206 Sqn 10.30W 9 May 43 U-666 KptLt Herbert Halifax HR743, 58 Sqn 45.40N (Wg Cdr R B 1028hrs Engel (Flt Sgt J A 13.40W Thomson Hoather) U-645 Lt Otto Ferro Liberator FL932, 86 Sqn 49.35N *U-602 was last heard from on 19 April. It was thought she had been lost on 23 April, but this (Fg Off C W 10.30W ‘loss’ was U-453 which was not in fact sunk. The record shows this claim on 24 April 1943. U-602 Burcher DFC) is still missing, loss details and date unknown. Damaged. Or FK226/86 Sqn (Fg Off A C I Samuel) Damaged ■ Flying Officer Neville Barson (centre seated) and his crew from ■ A Sunderland of 228 Squadron. This squadron was heavily involved in 59 Squadron had their Fortress II damaged while attacking U-223 the U-boat war over the Atlantic. (commanded by ObltzS Karl-Jürgen Wächter) on 1 March 1943, although U-223 apparently made no claim for an aircraft damaged on that date. 13 Jun 43 U-564 ObltzS Hans Sunderland DV967, 228 44.35N Also, Whitley The broken wagon wheel behind them represents the emblem on their 1900hrs Fiedler Sqn (Fg Off L 14.40W BD220, 10 squadron badge. U-223 would be finally sunk on 30 March 1944. B Lee) OTU (Sgt A J 14 Jun 43 Benson). With 9 May 43 U-666 KptLt Herbert Whitley BD278, 10 1733hrs U-185, U-358, OTU (Sgt A U-653. U-boat 1243hrs Engel J Savage) 14 Jun 43 sunk Damaged 19 Jun 43 With U-615 24 Jun 43 U-600 Krvkpt Bernhard - Fortress FK212, 45N 09W 12 May 43 U-230 KptLt Paul Swordfish 811 Sqn HMS North 3 Jul 43 Zurmühlen 220 Sqn (Fg Off With U-155, Siegmann Hampden C F Callender) U-159, U-415, Biter (Sub Lt V Azores Damaged, but U-634 then shot down W Witts) by 15/KG 40. Sunderland 12 May 43 U-180 KKpt Werner Anson 44 Off Port JM687/228 Air School Elizabeth, Sqn (Fg Off 0915hrs Musenberg Undamaged South S White) Africa Undamaged 18 May 43 U-648 ObltzS Peter- - Whitley Z9438, 47N 1424hrs 17 HJ648, 307 Sqn (Sqn Ldr 0010hrs Arthur Stahl 10 OTU (Sgt J H 09.30W May 43? S Szablowski) Damaged Casstles) 36N 18W 24 May 43 U-441 KptLt Götz Von Sunderland EJ139, 228 45.50N U-68 ObltzS Albert Mosquito Lauzemis 2050hrs Hartmann Sqn (Fg Off H J 08.30W Debnam) 27 May U-594 KptLt Friedrich Lancaster Liberator 224 46.50N U-455 KptLt Hans- Liberator 1943 Mumm Sqn (Flt Sgt 13.40W U-271 Martin Scheibe Mariner 2200hrs J S Edwards) Damaged KptLt Curt Barleben PB4Y1 VB-103 53.25N 28 May U-594 KptLt Friedrich Lancaster Halifax 502 46.50N (Lt H K Reese 37.50W 1943 Mumm Jr) 1530hrs Sqn (Fg Off 14.50W Off Brasil Mariner VP-74 A J Davey) U-199 KptLt Hans- - (Lt H C Carey) Werner Kraus Undamaged ▲ IRON CROSS ❙ 17

THE U-BOAT WA R Date U-Boat Captain Type Claimed Details Location Date U-Boat Captain Type Claimed Details Location 8 Aug 43 ■ Damage U-262 KptLt Rudolf Carrier ac TBF-1 VC-1 USS 41N With U-664 caused to 8 Aug 43 Heinz Franke Card (Lt A H 38W Squadron Sallenger) With U-604 Leader Peter 11 Aug 43 U-boat sunk U-262 KptLt Rudolf Carrier ac Wildcat “ and Cundy’s 11 Aug 43 No recorded Liberator in Heinz Franke VC-1 (Ens J F combats the sinking 6 Sep 43 of U-628 on 3 7 Sep 43 Sprague) U-boat sunk 2213hrs July 1943. U-185 KptLt August PB4Y-1 VB-107 Off Brasil U-boat sunk 25 Sep 43 by 59 Sqn 2218hrs Maus (Lt Cdr B J (Fg Off W 27 Sep 43 Prueher) J Thomas) 1713hrs which was 4 Oct 43 U-468 ObltzS Klemens Liberator 12.20N also damaged 1138hrs Schamong BZ832, 200 20.07W 13 Oct 43 Sqn (Fg Off L A 16 Oct 43 Trigg) U-617 KptLt Albrecht Off Brandi Alboran U-402 KptLt Siegfried Wellington MP509, 172 Frhr Von Sqn (Fg Off Forstner C J Payne) MP791/172 Sqn (Fg Off T Armstrong) 3 Jul 43 U-628 ObltzS Heinrich - Liberator 44.11N U-boat sunk Damaged Hasenschar FL963, 224 08.45W With U-359 U-667 ObltzS Heinrich Wellington 179 Sqn (Flt Sqn (Sqn Ldr P U-boat sunk Schroeteler Lt R W Dix) J Cundy DFC) U-boat sunk Damaged shortly Damaged afterwards by U-221 ObltzS Hans- Halifax HR982, 58 Sqn 3 Jul 43 U-466 ObltzS Gerhard Mariner B-24 1st AS/ 41N 16W U-boat sunk Hartwig Trojer 58 Sqn (Fg Off Crashed onto E L Hartley) 1826hrs Thäter 480th ASG (Lt U-boat’s deck; U-boat sunk U-539 ObltzS Lancaster Liberator 63.30N H W Fraser) Off Brasil Hans-Jürgen Lauterbach- FK923, 120 Sqn 31W 9 Jul 43 U-642 KptLt Herbert Catalina FP155, 210 Landed Sqn (Flt Lt D M Portugal. With (Wg Cdr R M 1340hrs Brünning Ryan) U-461, U-504 U-boat sunk Emden Longmore) 13 Jul 43 U-487 ObltzS Helmut F4F VC-13 USS 27.15N U-608 KptLt Rolf Martlet Avenger VC-9 50.20N Metz Core (Lt E H 34.18W Struckmeier (Lt H Fryatt) 27.20W Steiger) Damaged 19 Jul 43 U-43 ObltzS Liberator BZ772, 86 47N 15W U-844 ObltzS Günther Liberator FL952, 86 Hans-Joachim Möller Sqn (Flt Lt E A Schwantke Sqn (Flt Lt W Bland) Roxburgh DFC) Damaged 20 Jul 43 U-558 ObltzS Günther Liberator B-24 19th AS/479th 1030hrs Krech ASG (1/Lt H E Dyment) ■ A well-worn 20 Jul 43 U-558 “ - B-24 19th 45.10N Sunderland of 1159hrs 461 Squadron AS/479th 09.42W on patrol over the North ASG (Lt C F Atlantic. Several Gallmeier) aircraft of this type were Damaged lost to U-boat anti-aircraft 23 Jul 43 U-598 ObltzS Gottfried Liberator PB4Y1 VB-107 04.05N fire. 24 Jul 43 U-459 Holtorf (Lt G E Waugh) 332.23W KptLt Georg Von Wellington 45.53N Wilamowitz- MP514, 172 10.38W Möllendorf Sqn (Fg Off W H T Jennings) 30 Jul 43 U-604 KptLt Horst Ventura Höltring VB-129 Undamaged 30 Jul 43 U-462 ObltzS Bruno Liberator 53 45.08N Vowe Sqn (Fg Off W J 10.57W Irving) 30 Jul 43 U-462 ObltzS Bruno Halifax 502 “ 17 Oct 43 U-281 KptLt Heinz Von Sunderland JM712, 422 With U-448 Vowe 1248hrs Davidson Sqn (Flt Lt P T U-boat sunk Sqn (Fg Off Sargent) 30 Oct 43 See below W S Biggar) 0542hrs Shared with minesweeper Damaged 12 Nov 43 U-415 KptLt Kurt Wellington HF205, 612 M-489 0116hrs Neide Sqn (Fg Off R S 1 Aug 43 U-454 KptLt Burckhard Sunderland 45.36N U-boat sunk 20 Nov 43 Yeadon) 1925hrs 1440hrs Hackländer W4020, 10 Sqn 10.23W U-boat sunk U-508 ObltzS Georg PB4Y-1 VB- 46.00N (Flt Lt K G Fry) 20 Nov 43 Staats U-boat sunk 1901hrs 103 (Lt R B 07.30W U-boat sunk 1 Aug 43 U-383 ObltzS Horst Sunderland 47.24N later same 21 Nov 43 Brownell) JM678, 228 12.10W day 0412hrs 2002hrs Kremser Sqn (Flt Lt U-618 ObltzS Kurt Liberator BZ816, 53 Sqn 44N 28 Nov 43 Baberg (Sqn Ldr K A 18.30W S White) Aldridge) 27 Nov 43 Damaged 2130hrs U-648 ObltzS Peter- 4 engined Sunderland 44N 18W Arthur Stahl W6031, 422 3 Aug 43 U-572 ObltzS Heinz PBM3C VP-205 11.35N 22 Dec 43 0025hrs U-489 Kummetat (Lt C C Cox) 54.05W Sqn (Fg Off J D 3 Aug 43 ObltzS Adalbert 0811hrs Schmandt Catalina FP280, B Ulrichson) 190 Sqn (Flt ““ Liberator BZ819, 53 Sqn Lt B Crosland) Damaged (Wg Cdr H R A Edwards) 4 Aug 43 “ “ Sunderland 61.11N U-262 KptLt Rudolf 40.10N U-764 Heinz Franke 16.50W DD859, 423 14.38W ObltzS Hanskurt Sqn (Fg Off A A Von Bremen Wellington 38.50N Bishop) HF153, 172 17.10W 6 Aug 43 U-615 ObltzS Ralph PBM3C VP-205 12.57N Sqn (Plt Off T B Kapitzky (Lt A R Matuski) 64.34W Wilkin) 7 Aug 43 U-566 KptLt Hans Ventura PV-1 29916 37.55N U-1062 ObltzS Karl Beaufighter LZ452, 404 Off Lister Mitchell VB-128 (Lt C F 71.30W Albrecht 1322hrs Hornkohl Cross) Sqn (Fg Off VP-128 (Lt J M I Gillespie or George) NE323, 404 7 Aug 43 “ “ Sqn (Flt Lt R 1815hrs Munro) 18 ❙ IRON CROSS

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PHOTO ALBUM Zeppelin Down! When a Zeppelin was downed over Essex in 1916, it became the focus of attention for British investigators. Ian Castle takes us through some of the official photographs taken of the wrecked airship and its equipment. ■ The framework of Zeppelin L 33 lies in a field at Little Wigborough. Wooden poles have been erected to support the framework to prevent collapse during the investigation. The occupants of the cottages hid inside when the Zeppelin came down, refusing to answer the door after the crew tried to warn them that they were going to set fire to their ship. n the early hours of Sunday der Reserve Alois Böcker. more bombs to counter the loss of September , a Zeppelin L appeared over East hydrogen escaping from the damaged gas cells. Once free of the London guns, ‘r-class’ Zeppelin, L , a London just after midnight on L was not free of danger. A pilot of new type dubbed the ‘Super September, coming under intense anti- Zeppelins’ by the British, made aircraft fire as it commenced bombing. (Home Defence) Squadron, Second its first raid over England. It was With shells now bursting all around her, Lieutenant Alfred de Bathe Brandon, the fourth model of this type and one passed through an internal gas cell closed on L and first opened fire had been commissioned into the but did not ignite the hydrogen. It did, with his machine gun, until it jammed. Marineluftschiffabteilung (Naval however, fracture one of the main ring Brandon then tried to use his explosive Airship Division) just three girders, while shell fragments slashed Ranken darts, but lost L in the clouds weeks earlier under the into other gas cells and one damaged a as he attempted to climb above the command of Kapitänleutnant propeller. Böcker turned away, dropping ailing airship. Finally free from attack, 20 ❙ IRON CROSS

Böcker hoped to nurse L back to Germany. But it was not to be. LOOMING METAL SKELETON As well as losing hydrogen, which forced him lower and lower, it was discovered that Brandon’s bullets had pierced fuel tanks and the precious liquid was draining away. With no alternative, Böcker brought L down in a field in Essex, near the hamlet of Little Wigborough, about six miles from Colchester. Attempts to destroy the Zeppelin by fire to prevent it falling into British hands failed; with so much of the hydrogen already lost, the flames only burnt off the Zeppelin’s outer covering. It left the looming metal skeleton largely intact. After an entertaining encounter with a local special constable, Böcker and the crew of ■ A view from inside the wreckage looking towards the bow of L 33. Zeppelin girders were L were eventually arrested and handed made of Duralumin, an aluminium alloy. Many of the girders have already fallen but the over to the military. supporting poles have maintained the basic shape. For the British, this was an unbelievable opportunity: open access to the very latest German Zeppelin. Until largely based on pre-war knowledge. The Zeppelin framework to pore L came down at sea about miles tangled wreckage of L gave up some over, inch-by-inch. north of Margate on April , British design secrets before she was finally The investigative work understanding of Zeppelin design was lost at sea, but now they had a complete over the next few months by the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, combined with information gleaned from the interrogation of the crew of L , led to a greater understanding of Germany’s impressive progress in rigid airship design. This information resulted in the launch of the two British rigid airships of the R. Class in the spring of . One of these, R. , made the historic first transatlantic round trip in July . This collection of photographs comprise just some of the vast number of pictures taken while the investigation of the wreck of L was underway at Little Wigborough, and also includes images of a few of the ■ The intact nature of L 33’s girders and their layout provided invaluable information on latest items recovered from the crash ▲ Zeppelin design. Here, the main longitudinal and transverse girders are clear, and in the gaps sites of L and SL while on between the girders can be seen the fine tracery of wire that provided bracing and support. At the exhibition in London in October wreckage of another airship, SL 11, it was estimated that around three miles of wire was recovered. . IRON CROSS ❙ 21

PHOTO ALBUM ■ This image shows a man standing on the walkway which ran the ■ This rather confusing looking structure is on its side and is actually length of the airship to allow the crew to move to different areas. It a bomb stowage frame. The section just right of centre, that looks was extremely narrow – about 30cms – and had no safety rail. The like a frame for three windows, is one of the sliding shutters that walkway is made of 3-ply wood and is covered in cotton fabric. opened to enable bombs to be dropped through the opening in the airship’s outer cover. ■ A view from inside the wreckage looking back towards the tail of L 33. Right of centre one can just make out a dark-clad member of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors making notes. The structure to the right of him appears to be one of the bomb stowage frames as shown in the image top right. 22 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ On the right of this image is a machine gun tripod from the upper gun platform. This would have carried a 7.92mm Maxim-Nordenfelt. Although there was space for three guns, generally only two were located in this very exposed position. On the left is one of five ventilation shafts designed to allow any leaking hydrogen to escape, its wooden hood visible at the top. This one is of the midships type. ■ The port midships gondola with the bow to the left. The upper ■ The Port midships gondola again, with the engine radiator that covering has been ripped off during the landing; remains of the was on the ground in the previous photograph now standing in the supporting girders can be seen to the right. The tube attached to foreground. A small radiator for cooling lubricating oil is displayed on the side is the silencer, and part of the grab rail at the bottom, used top. The aluminium tank on the left supplies water to the radiator. by landing crews, has broken off. ▲ IRON CROSS ❙ 23

PHOTO ALBUM ■ One of the aluminium petrol tanks. The investigation team estimated that each held about 74 gallons (about 335 litres) and most could be jettisoned when empty to reduce weight. The amount of fuel carried had to be carefully balanced as weight was crucial on a Zeppelin flight. More fuel meant less bombs and vice versa. This weight issue also affected the number of crew on each mission. ■ This tangled mass of wreckage appears to show the rear half of ■ One of six Maybach HSLu 240hp six-cylinder engines that provided L 33’s rear gondola along with a single Maybach engine. The other Zeppelin L 33’s power. This one is situated in a midships gondola. two engines would have been side-by-side behind the photographer. There was one in a separate engine section at the rear of the control gondola, an engine in each of the two midships gondolas and three in the rear gondola. Conditions were extremely cramped for the mechanics, although they derived a little benefit from the engine heat in an otherwise extremely cold environment. ■ Left: One of the elevator or rudder sections that controlled steering. Both the elevators and upper rudder measured 4.2 m by 6.3 m, while the lower rudder was slightly smaller, at 4.2 m by 4.08 m. 24 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ The mass of wreckage at the rear of L 33. Nearest to the photographer, and on top of the piled girders, is one of the large elevator assemblies ▲ which assisted the Zeppelin in climb and descent. ■ The tail section of L 33 held up by one of the team analysing and evaluating the wreckage. The platform to the left is the rear machine gun position, made of plywood and covered with cotton fabric. It appears unlikely that the position was occupied during the raid. IRON CROSS ❙ 25

PHOTO ALBUM ■ It is not entirely clear as to what this item is, although it is possibly one of the Zeppelin’s mooring points for the attachment of landing ropes. ■ A view inside one of the marquees at the Honourable Artillery Company grounds, London, where relics from the wrecks of L 32 and SL 11 went on display. This is the tail section from L 32, with stern cap and wooden flagstaff still in place. These are missing from the photos of L 33. ■ Above: A mysterious image. Here is a propeller box, propeller shaft (to right of propeller box) and propeller, apparently from a rear outrigger propeller. However, the official report into L 33 states that all propellers measured 5.3 m (17.3 ft) and this example appears to be much shorter. In addition, the propeller box has just been pushed against the propeller, whereas there should be part of the outrigger assembly between these two components. It is therefore unclear what this propeller is. ■ Right: Two more items from L 32 on display in London. On the left is an engine telegraph dial through which the engine mechanics received their instructions from the command gondola, while on the right is an electrical bomb release switchboard which was located in the command gondola. The switches opened the hooks holding individual or groups of bombs, thus allowing them to drop. 26 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ Two machine guns on display in London. The upper gun is a 7.92mm Maxim- Nordenfelt and could have come from the wreckage of L 32 or SL 11. The lower gun is the water-cooled 7.92 mm Parabellum MG14. It is missing the stock and pistol grip. The Parabellum came from the wreck of the SL 11. ■ Below: A drawing of L 33 prepared from the analysis of the wreckage at Little Wigborough. The numbers along the envelope represent the individual gas bags inside. The dimensions are slightly out because the crushing of the framework in places confused the issue. The official length of L 33 was measured at 644 ft 8 inches, while its diameter was described as being some 78 ft 5 inches. IRON CROSS ❙ 27

WAR IN THE AIR Red Bands and Swastikas One Luftwaffe fighter unit in 1940 wore red bands around the noses of their aircraft, while some of its fighters carried no swastikas on their tail units. Chris Goss delves into a fascinating enigma. The Luftwaffe often allowed distinctive unit badges Loerzer, the Geschwader then being equipped with Arado to be carried on their fighter aircraft - the red biplane fighters. ‘R’ for Richthofen on aircraft of Jagdgeschwader The first delivery of the new Messerschmitt Bf ( JG ), the letter ‘S’ for JG Schlageter or the buzzard’s head for JG all being good examples. However, came in early , and then in April of that year Loerzer handed over command to Oberstleutnant Werner for a four-month period during , one unit – JG - Junck, another First World War fighter pilot - albeit not as successful as Loerzer. At the same time, several had its own distinctive Ace of Spades badge deliberately Geschwader pilots were flying with the Legion Condor in Spain and most of them made a name for themselves obscured by a red band around the nose of all its aircraft. there, especially Oberleutnant Werner Mölders who, prior to service in Spain, had commanded /JG . He The story behind this strange marking obliterating the unit went on to claim confirmed and three unconfirmed victories in Spain. emblem is truly extraordinary. In November , JG was re-designated JG The story of the Pik As (Ace of Spades) Geschwader and then, in May , it became JG . When war was declared, JG comprised only I and II Gruppe and began on March with the formation of the Stab, I and II/JG at Mannheim-Sandhofen after which all elements of JG moved to Frankfurt -Rebstock, and then on to Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. The first Kommodore was the victory First World War ‘ace’, Oberst Bruno ■ Top: The Messerschmitt Bf 109 E aircraft of Stab.III/JG53 taxi out for another sortie during November 1940. The aircraft in the foreground is that flown by the Gruppe Adjutant, Leutnant Erich Schmidt, while the further aircraft is the machine flown by the CO of III/JG53, Hauptmann Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke. Notable is the absence of any swastikas, along with the bold Ace of Spades emblem on the cowling of Wilcke’s aircraft. 28 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ Werner Mölders had commanded III/JG53 but was captured on 5 ■ Generalmajor Hans Klein was a 22-victory ‘ace’ of the First World June 1940. After release, he was posted to command JG51 in July War (as photographed here) but went on to command JG53 on its 1940, although this postcard from November 1940 displays the JG53 formation and was the originator of the Ace of Spades emblem for badge, the Ace of Spades. However, he had long since left that unit. the unit. was ready for action at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. Despite three of its French crew and wounding the fourth. Three ▲ operating in the Saarbrücken/Trier area (bounded by hours later, Leutnant Wilhelm Hoffmann of 3/JG53 shot neutral Luxembourg and by Germany and France) it took down a Bloch 200 (believed to have been from Groupe a few days before anything happened. And when it did, de Bombardment I/31) which crashed near Zweibrücken the first casualty was almost Werner Mölders. with five crew, including GB I/31’s Commandant, Lt Col Enselem, being captured. Some reports say that his Messerschmitt Bf 109 was damaged in combat with Curtiss H-75s of Groupe de ACE OF SPADES Chasse II/4 (GC II/4) on the morning of 8 September 1939, this resulting in his forced landing behind German It was around this time that the distinctive Pik As (Ace lines near Birkenfeld. However, despite his logbook of Spades) badge appeared on the cowlings of JG53’s confirming that he took off from Wiesbaden at 09.30 hrs fighters, an emblem which is believed to have been on a flight over the front, it does not mention meeting suggested by Generalmajor Hans Klein (another First any enemy aircraft before his forced landing. Apparently, World War ‘ace’) who succeeded Werner Junck on 1 the aircraft overturned, and he suffered minor injuries October 1939. The following month, III/JG 53 was formed which would keep him off flying until 15 September 1939. under the command of Hauptmann Werner Mölders, with Klein eventually posted away on 21 December 1939 While recuperating, his 1 Staffel would score the to be replaced on 1 January 1940 by 38-year-old Major Geschwader’s first kill of the war when a former Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel. His appointment Legion Condor pilot, Oberfeldwebel Heinz Grimmling, would have repercussions that almost certainly led to the shot down a Bloch 131 of Groupes Aériennes de Reconnaissance 14 at 11.36 hrs on 9 September, killing IRON CROSS ❙ 29

WAR IN THE AIR ■ Men of the Arbeitsdienst are shown around one of the Heinkel 51 biplanes at Döberitz - presumably aircraft of Jagdgruppe/Fliegergruppe Döberitz. At around this time, Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel was serving at Döberitz. (Chris Goss) red band markings being applied to the unit’s fighters ■ Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel. (Chris Goss) later that year. Von Cramon-Taubadel was born in Roschkowtiz on 4 November 1901 and joined the Army in April 1919, but in 1924 underwent pilot training. He then trained in secret at Lipetszk, Russia, before becoming an instructor there and later an instructor at the Italian fighter school in Grottaglie. In October 1933, von Cramon-Taubadel transferred to the Luftwaffe where he was promoted to Hauptmann the following year. Soon after, he was given command of 3/JG132 who were then flying the Heinkel 51 at Döberitz. At the outbreak of war, von Cramon-Taubadel was commanding 2/JG70, but on 13 September 1939 was given command of I/JG54 before going on to command JG53 in the January of the following year. On 21 December 1939, he was credited with two Morane MS 406s near Colmar, although in the same combat his Messerschmitt Bf 109 was damaged. It appears he shot down two aircraft from GC II/7: Sous/Lt Gabriel Gauthier crash-landing near Artzenheim badly wounded while Sgt René Panhard, unwounded in the action, crash-landed east of Colmar. Von Cramon-Taubadel himself had probably been attacked by Sous/Lt Robert de Fraville and Sgt Jacques Lamblin, also of GC II/7. Still active in the months up to May 1940, and then during the Battle of France, JG53 achieved success in air combat with the first Luftwaffe fighter pilot awarded the Knight’s Cross being Werner Mölders. However, no such award would come Cramon-Taubadel’s way and he was 30 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ The Stolpersteine projects across Germany and other lands formerly occupied by the Nazis has placed inscribed plaques into streets and pavements outside the homes or workplaces of victims of the Nazi regime or of those who had been persecuted. This plaque in Berlin commemorates Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel’s father-in-law. ■ Right: Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was greatly displeased to learn of Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel’s marriage to a part- Jewish woman. (Colour by RJM) very soon to fall from favour. However, it has been suggested that Reichsmarschall ▲ His marriage in November 1933 to Viola von Hermann Göring was not best pleased that the Kommodore of one of his premier Jagdgeschwader was Kauffmann-Asser, and his own perceived lack of combat married to a part-Jewish woman. success, apparently explains why, in July 1940, the Pik As badge disappeared to be replaced instead by a red band. Reportedly, the pilots of JG53 were informed that their Pik As badge had to be removed so as not to give the RAF LACK OF VICTORIES information on such a formidable opponent. However, none of the pilots believed this story and were convinced Viola von Kaufmann-Asser was born in Berlin in August instead the reason to have been that their Kommodore 1912, the daughter of Dr Heinrich Ritter and Erika (nee had married a so-called ‘non-Aryan’ woman. Thus, the Breitenbach) von Kaufmann-Asser. She had three other unit was deprived of any pride or honour in its allocated siblings, but exactly how she met and later married emblem. Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel is unknown. She was, though, aged 21 at the time, her husband being 11 years Despite high-level official displeasure with his marital older. situation, von Cramon-Taubadel flatly refused to divorce Viola, and Göring was further infuriated when JG53’s At the time of the marriage, Viola’s father was a pilots stood behind their Kommodore. The red band, senior diplomat and serving as German ambassador to then, was almost certainly a mark of shame imposed on Argentina, taking up his post in Beuenos Aires in January the unit because of von Cramon-Taubadel’s marriage. But 1933. However, when the Nazi Party came to power whether the red band had any other specific meaning is a it soon came to their attention that Heinrich was of matter of conjecture. Jewish descent. In the same month as Viola’s marriage to von Cramon-Taubadel (November 1933), Heinrich In respect of its particular significance as anything was recalled from Argentina and effectively sacked. Von other than simply a red band (apart from its purpose to Cramon-Taubadel’s marriage into a Jewish family was blank out the Pik As emblem), it is tempting to consider thus held against him, albeit that this appears not to the colours applied to the uniforms worn by inmates of have greatly affected his career for another seven years. the Third Reich’s concentration camps and prisons. In this context, the yellow Star of David, chillingly worn by IRON CROSS ❙ 31

WAR IN THE AIR Jewish prisoners is universally familiar. Perhaps less well known are the pink triangles which classified a prisoner as homosexual, the purple marking signifying Jehovah’s Witnesses and green for common convicts – these being just a few among myriad colour codes for different prisoner classes. Significant, perhaps, is that a red triangle denoted a political enemy with a single red stripe or band indicating a repeat offender in that category. Could JG53’s red band, then, be linked to this classification and imposed as a tenuous ‘message’ from high command? Whilst there is no evidence to support this, and the suggestion must only be speculative, it is nevertheless an interesting coincidence. Indeed, it would not be unreasonable to ask the question: why a wide red band right around the cowling to blank out the badge when simply over- spraying it would have sufficed? Another reason for the application of the red band has been suggested, though. The lack of victories in the Battle of France achieved by von Cramon-Taubadel is said to have further annoyed Göring. However, if this was the case then the Kommodore of JG2, JG3, JG26, JG27, JG52 and JG54 also all failed to shoot down a single aircraft in May and June 1940. It is thus difficult to consider this as a credible ■ Hauptmann Rolf Pingel, one of the successful ‘young bloods’ of ■ A Wehrmacht soldier watches ground personnel of JG53 working JG53 in early 1940, achieved ten victories while serving in the unit. on one of the unit’s aircraft in mid August 1940. Clearly visible is the He is photographed here when serving with I/JG26. (Colour by RJM) broad red band painted around the engine cowling. (Chris Goss) explanation. In fact, only Oberst Theo Osterkamp of JG51 was credited with one confirmed and three unconfirmed victories. However, the younger pilots within the Jagdgeschwader were meeting with success and it was likely that age played an important part in the quite limited success of the older Kommodore. In JG53, the top scorers in I Gruppe were Oblt Hans- Karl Mayer (9), Oberleutnant Wolfgang Lippert (8) and Hauptmann Rolf Pingel (6 with another two in III/JG53). In the II Gruppe, it was Oberleutnant Heinz Bretnütz (9), while in III/JG53 it was Hauptmann Werner Mölders (25), Leutnant Friedrich-Karl Müller (8), Feldwebel Hermann Neuhoff (8), Leutnant Hans Kunert (7) and Feldwebel Hans Galubinski (9). Nearly all these pilots were promoted in the next few months and nearly all of them awarded the Knight’s Cross. BOLD AND SUBVERSIVE PROTEST Irrespective of the reason for the red bands, photographs taken at Rennes in July 1940 still show the Pik As badge on the nose with the first British confirmation of the red band coming on 16 August 1940 when Feldwebel Christian Hansen of 2/JG53 crash-landed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 at Godshill on the Isle of Wight 32 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ Left: On 16 August 1940 Feldwebel Christian Hansen of 2/JG53 crash- ▲ landed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 at Godshill on the Isle of Wight. His aircraft was the first noted by the RAF as carrying the red band marking. (Andy Saunders) ■ Above: To mark the crash of Hansen’s aircraft, a locally produced ‘In Memoriam’ card was printed and copies sold for 3d each to raise money for the Spitfire Fund. (Andy Saunders) ■ Below: Oberleutnant Walter Rupp of 3/JG53 crash-landed his aircraft at RAF Manston on 17 October 1940, the aircraft marked with JG53’s distinctive red ring. (Colour by RJM) IRON CROSS ❙ 33

WAR IN THE AIR ■ An unidentified pilot of JG53 bravely painted an enigmatic question ■ Hauptmann Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke who commanded III/JG53 in 1940. mark in the outline of the Ace of Spades emblem where it had been (Chris Goss) obliterated by the red band. The camouflage schemes and colours used by many aircraft of JG53 differed considerably from the more after combat. The RAF intelligence report noted: usual schemes applied to other Luftwaffe fighter aircraft of the “Markings: 2 is outlined in white only. Red spinner and period. (Chris Goss, Colour by RJM) ■ Below: Unteroffizier Hans-Georg Schulte’s Messerschmitt Bf 109 E six-inch-wide band around the engine.” photographed in France at some point prior to August 1940 and still This red band was noted in further aircraft forced wearing its Ace of Spades badge. This is the same aircraft in which he was shot down on 6 September 1940. (Andy Saunders) landings over England during the Battle of Britain (and immediately thereafter), namely: Unteroffizier Werner Karl of 1/JG53 (2 September 1940); Hauptmann Wilhelm Meyerweissflog of the Stab/JG53 (5 September 1940); Oberleutnant Walter Rupp of 3/JG53 (17 October 1940); Oberleutnant Walter Fiel of 8/JG53 (2 October 1940); Feldwebel Xavier Ray* of 8/JG53 (2 November 1940). But how did the pilots of JG53 feel about this ‘punishment’ marking which had been imposed on them because of who their Kommodore was married to? Some pilots were certainly deeply unhappy about the removal of the Pik As badge, and one photograph *See article relating to the aircraft flown by Feldwebel Xavier Ray in Iron Cross magazine #3, pages 6 -10. 34 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ When Oberleutnant Walter Fiel, Staffelkapitän of 8/JG53, ■ When Unteroffizier Hans-Georg Schulte of 7/JG53 was shot down on 6 was shot down and captured on 2 October 1940 his aircraft September 1940, his aircraft showed evidence of a red band that had been carried both a red band and an intact tail swastika. (Chris Goss) obscured when the cowling had been re-painted white. The tail has clearly had its swastika deliberately painted out. (Andy Saunders) of a Messerschmitt Bf of /JG shows a white the matter in post-war years, he was clear about Wilcke’s order: question mark where the Pik As badge had been painted “After the war, it was popular to say that so-and-so was over. Meanwhile, the pilots of III/JG expressed their not a Nazi, but Wilcke really was hostile to the Nazis. He stood up for our Geschwaderkommodore to the utmost. unhappiness in what can only be seen as a bold and After the order to paint over our Ace of Spades, Wilcke’s response was to have the swastikas on the tail fins on all courageous move which displayed yet more evidence of aircraft in our Gruppe painted over.” subversive protest. Neuhoff was very clear about the background to the deletion of the swastikas, but the political message being The unit had been commanded by Hauptmann Wolf- sent by the brazen act of removing them can only be described as exceptionally brave. Dietrich Wilcke from August , and it has been Photographic evidence certainly shows clearly that claimed that he personally ordered the tail swastika to be the swastikas were obliterated on III Gruppe aircraft, an example being Unteroffizier Hans-Georg Schulte’s painted out and refused to have aircraft of the III Gruppe aircraft of /JG shot down on September . This painted with a red band. Nevertheless, there is evidence of III Gruppe aircraft bearing the red rings. The assertion as regards to the swastikas was later confirmed by Hermann Neuhoff who had served as a Feldwebel with III/JG in and who achieved eight victories during the Battle of France. When asked about RAF Intelligence Summary No.60 Various sources, both printed and online, have [sic] with the ‘Ace of Spades’ or ‘Card of Death’ emphatically stated that the RAF became as their device. Both the uniform and device aware of the issues arising from Hans-Jürgen were supressed by Göring, and the Geschwader von Cramon-Taubadel’s marriage to a woman of is now known as the Red Ring Geschwader Jewish ancestry during 1940, with this detail from the red circle painted around the engine allegedly being specifically confirmed and cowling.” published in the RAF’s Air Intelligence Summary No.60 published on 23 October 1940. However, Thus, the implementation of the red ring that supposed absolute conformation of ‘facts’ on Göring’s instruction was referenced but confirming the Viola von Cramon-Taubadel no mention is made of the link to the Jewish Jewish status must be dispelled. heritage of von Cramon-Taubadel’s wife as has sometimes been suggested. And neither does it While the report confirms the implementation name von Cramon-Taubadel himself. of the red bands, it is silent on the issue of von Cramon-Taubadel or his wife. Instead, it reads: It should also be pointed out that JG53 was never established as a ‘crack Geschwader’ and “JG53: Originally formed by General Klein as neither did its personnel ever wear ‘special a crack Geschwader, [it] had special unforms uniforms’. ▲ IRON CROSS ❙ 35

WAR IN THE AIR ■ Personnel of JG53 re-apply the previously banned Ace of Spades badge to their aircraft in November 1940 and enthusiastically celebrate its reinstatement. The life-jacketed pilot is Major Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, by then the CO of JG53. (Andy Saunders) ■ Two horses haul Leutnant Otto Zauner’s aircraft of 5/JG53 out of the field where it had landed at Aldington, Kent, on 23 November 1940. The RAF noted that this wore the Ace of Spades badge on the cowling, which had been newly restored to the unit just three days earlier. (Andy Saunders) 36 ❙ IRON CROSS

aircraft showed evidence of a red band that had been painted over when the cowling had been re-painted white, although the tail had had its swastika painted out. Photographic evidence also exists of this aircraft in France earlier in with its Pik As emblem on the cowling. On the other hand, the Messerschmitt Bf flown by Oberleutnant Walter Fiel, Staffelkapitän of / JG , who was captured on October , had both the red band and tail swastika intact. However, von Cramon-Taubadel was posted away from the unit on September (although his Wehrpass shows his effective date of leaving JG as October ) and although this was almost certainly due to his age, his marital status may well have been an ‘aggravating factor’ in his removal from operations. Nevertheless, his ■ Leutnant Gerhard Michalski poses by the aircraft of Günther von Maltzhan. The red ring is clearly in evidence. (Chris Goss) removal as Kommandeur of JG certainly triggered the reinstatement of the Pik As emblem and removal of the hated red bands of shame. Thus, on November , the Pik As badge was allowed to adorn the cowlings of Josef Volk’s Messerschmitt Bf E- of /JG (shot JG ’s Messerschmitt Bf s once again - albeit that III/ down on November ) was recovered from its crash JG was very quick to have the badge restored but not so site at Peasmarsh, East Sussex, during the s traces of quick in restoring the swastikas. (Editor: see photograph a red band were found. However, this appeared to have at the head of this feature) been roughly overpainted. The reinstatement of the Pik As emblem was a joyous By this time, though, JG was commanded by Maj event for the personnel of JG , as Gefreiter Karl Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, the former Kommandeur Löffelmann of Stab./JG noted in his logbook on of II/JG and nine years younger than his predecessor. November : By the end of the Battle of Britain, von Maltzahn had “We were named in the Wehrmacht communique for the shot down aircraft and would be awarded the Knight’s first time today. The Geschwader is having great success: Cross on December . aircraft shot down, barrage balloons and , Despite surviving a forced landing at Rennes on kg of bombs dropped. To mark our th victory, an order August and shooting down a Hurricane north was issued to put the Pik As emblem back on our aircraft.” of Dungeness on September , von Cramon- Proof of the badge restoration for the British came Taubadel’s career as a fighter pilot was over, and when he when Leutnant Otto Zauner of /JG force-landed at left JG he was first posted to the Luftkriegsakademie at Aldington in Kent on November , the RAF noting Berlin Gatow where he was promoted to Oberstleutnant. that his Messerschmitt Bf wore the Pik As badge on A series of staff appointments followed, and during this the cowling. time he was further promoted to Oberst. On the other hand, when wreckage of Oberleutnant In , von Cramon-Taubadel finally divorced his The Ace of Spades As an emblem, the Ace of Spades symbol during the Second World War, the unit having from a deck of playing cards has long the badge painted on their steel helmets. been associated with military units and Similarly, it became a much-used symbol by formations. American forces during the Vietnam War. Often known as ‘the death card’, its use In the context of its use by by the military presents a powerful symbol Jagdgeschwader 53 during the Second World of prowess and of that unit’s ability to deliver War, the badge was thought to have been death as well as their fearlessness of death introduced by Generalmajor Hans Klein in itself. As such, it has often been used as October 1939. an official and unofficial symbol on aircraft from the First World War through to the Its deletion on JG53 aircraft would have present day. Additionally, it was adopted by been sorely felt by unit personnel. As with the US 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment any military formation, great pride is always associated with its unique badge or emblem. ▲ IRON CROSS ❙ 37

WAR IN THE AIR ■ An original colour photograph of of III/JG53 aircraft taken after the restoration of the ‘Ace of Spades’ badge in November 1940. Several official photographs were taken at this time, but the photographer seems to have been always careful to have avoided taking images which included the tail unit – presumably because III/JG53’s aircraft were still devoid of swastikas. (Andy Saunders) wife, Viola, and in January was decorated with the passing away in . With the deaths of Hans-Jürgen and Viola, it is likely German Cross in Gold, his divorce apparently clearing that the only possible means of discovering the truth the way for this high award although we do not know if behind the red stripes was lost. the divorce was the result of political pressure. By this Although the hypothesis set out in this feature is the most likely and credible explanation, there can be no time, though, von Cramon-Taubadel was Chief of Staff absolute certainty as to what those enigmatic red bands really represented. for all Luftwaffe forces in Finland. In , Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel remarried but he died in Hamburg in , with Viola eventually ■ Another image from the same series of photographs depicts pilots ■ Leutnant Werner Stumpf of III/JG53 looks pleased that his aircraft of III/JG53 walking across their airfield. Conveniently, the pilot on is now displaying a brand-new ‘Ace of Spades’ emblem repainted onto the right obscures the tail of the Messerschmitt in the background. the cowling. Again, this photograph was taken officially, along with Other images from this photo shoot also have personnel obliterating several others, during November 1940. That the tail unit - probably where the swastika should have been, or else the photographs have devoid of its swastika - cannot be seen is likely due to it being deliberately ‘cropped’ that part of the aircraft. (Andy Saunders) deliberated ‘cropped’ from the photograph. (Andy Saunders) 38 ❙ IRON CROSS

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EASTERN FRONT: 1941 - 1944 ■ Hitler, Göring, Keitel and Bormann at the Wolfsschanze the afternoon after the failed bomb attempt of 20 July 1944. (Polish National Archives) The Führer’s Wolf’s Lair The Wolfsschanze was built as the command headquarters for the German invasion of the Soviet Union. However, as John Grehan explains, the fighting seemed very far away from everyday life in the Wolfsschanze. On September , two days after German eastern Germany, and even into re-occupied Danzig, in the forces had attacked across the Polish border, Hitler boarded his personal train at Berlin’s Führersonderzug as the campaign unfolded. Meanwhile, Anhalt railway station. Over the coming days, Hitler monitored the progress of his troops in Poland from the staff of Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, the chief of the his train, the Führersonderzug, which had been specifically designed as his mobile headquarters. Operations Staff of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, Over the days that followed, Hitler travelled around remained in Berlin throughout the campaign, as did the senior staff of the Heer and the Luftwaffe in their own respective headquarters. It was a clumsy arrangement, but for the campaign it made sense. 40 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ Adolf Hitler with the Finnish military leader and statesman, Gustav ■ Above: Benito Mussolini, Mannerheim, in the grounds of the Wolf’s Lair complex at Rastenburg Hermann Göring, and Hitler on 27 June 1942. (SA-Kuva) on the platform of the station at the Wolfsschanze When Britain and France declared war on Germany on 30 August 1941. Walking on 3 September, there was a distinct possibility that immediately behind them French forces on the Franco-German border would attack is Generalfeldmarschall Germany. By using a train as his headquarters, Hitler would Wilhelm Keitel. (Polish be able to shuttle quickly between battlefronts. The French National Archives) Army did indeed undertake a very limited offensive, crossing the River Saar into Germany on 7 September, but ■ Left: Hitler pictured withdrew after little more than a week. shaking hands with Grossadmiral Admiral However, it was clear to Hitler that he would have to deal Karl Dönitz in front of with France and Britain, and against such powerful allies one of the bunkers at the he would need a more permanent forward headquarters Wolfsschanze. (Polish for what, it was believed, would be a far more protracted National Archives) struggle than against Poland. the invasion of France and the Low Countries. This In May 1940, Hitler used an established static base for Führerhauptquartiere, the Felsennest (Rocky Nest), was small and cramped, with just four rooms. But the ■ A view of astonishingly rapid success of his armed forces meant Hitler’s personal that he only had to suffer the confines of the Felsennest bunker at the for four weeks. Wolfsschanze. It survived the It would be quite different for the campaign in the subsequent east. Hitler knew that his battle with the Soviet Union demolition efforts would determine the outcome of the war – and it would in surprisingly have to be fought to its conclusion, however long that good order, might take. So, in anticipation of the struggle to come, possibly helped he ordered Dr Fritz Todt to find a site for what would by the fact that be the most extensive and complex headquarters for the foundations both himself and the key persons and offices of the of the building Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. Almost all the entire reached some operations staff of the Heer were to be based just seven metres over ten miles away at the similar, but smaller, OKH into the ground. Mauerwald complex. (Historic Military Press) ▲ IRON CROSS ❙ 41

EASTERN FRONT: 1941 - 1944 ■ The remains of a passageway in Hitler’s ■ Visitors came from far afield to the Wolfsschanze, and nearly always arrived by train. Here, the personal bunker. (Historic Military Press) King of Bulgaria, Boris III, is greeted at Wolfsschanze station during an official visit to Hitler, 26 March 1942. The latter can just be seen on the left. (Polish National Archives) WOLFSSCHANZE the momentous Battle of Tannenberg against the Russians in the First World War. There were also barracks and Todt duly set off for East Prussia, taking with him his army garrison towns in the general vicinity. adjutant, Hauptmann (later Generalleutnant) Gerhard Engel, and other headquarters staff and construction One-third of the area was woodland, and it was only specialists. After a prolonged search, a site was found just sparsely populated - both of which helped with security 50 miles from the Soviet border and deep inside the forest and concealment. Located far from roads and any sizeable of Görlitz, five miles to the east of the town of Rastenburg urban area, the site was only easily accessible by a single railway or nearby via a small grass airstrip. - today the Polish town of Kętrzyn. Most of the buildings constructed by Todt’s personnel There were several reasons why the Görlitz forest was at what was named the Wolfsschanze, or Wolf’s Lair, chosen by Todt. To the east lies the great Mazurian Lakes had flat roofs with large lips round the edges; in effect, system, forming a 50-mile-long natural water obstacle small walls 10 to 30 cm high, which were infilled with against ground-based troops. Also to the east, between soil. Seidenspinner, a specialist gardening company from two of the larger lakes, is the Boyen fortress. Situated in an Stuttgart, was then employed to plant shrubs and to lay important strategic position, the fortress played a part in ■ Left: The ruins of the Bahnhof buildings and platform can still be found lurking in the undergrowth in the forest of Görlitz today. The track is just visible in the background. (Historic Military Press) ■ Right: When in use by Hitler, the daily courier service which passed through the station at the Wolfsschanze was listed on the German railway timetables. The original track was destroyed in 1945, but after the war the Poles replaced the single track and for a period ran a service to Angerburg, which is the track that can be seen today. (Historic Military Press) 42 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ A picture taken during Marshal Gustav ■ Hitler greets Nazi Gauleiters at the Wolfsschanze on 7 February 1943. He is seen here shaking Mannerheim’s visit to the Wolf’s Lair on 27 June 1942. hands with the former head of the Hitler Youth, Baldur von Schirach, who by this stage of the Here Hitler is seen waiting for the Finnish leader to war was Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter of Vienna, a post he took up on 8 August 1940. (NARA) emerge from one of the bunkers at the site. (SA-Kuva) grass, and even place artificial trees on the top of buildings the Wolf’s Lair, Oberstleutnant Gustav Streve, and his staff. ▲ to give the impression from the air of an unbroken leafy This was a self-contained area with its own dining and canopy. accommodation blocks. The roads and paths throughout the site were also Commanded by General der Artillerie Walter Warlimont, hidden with green camouflage nets hung on eyelets that deputy chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the had been built into the sides of the buildings. At night, main function of the personnel in this area was to deliver lighting along the roads was provided by navy blue electric pre-processed daily news and reports from all the theatres lamps mounted on concrete posts and shaded from above. of war. These were then analysed by Hitler at his daily The roads through the complex were based on the existing situation briefings. network of paths in the forest and, generally speaking, buildings were not placed in parallel nor at right angles to The heart of the Wolf’s Lair was Sperrkreis I. Predictably, each other to cleverly maintain the natural appearance of this was the most secure part of the site and ringed by the forest from the air. steel fencing and guarded by the Reichssicherheitsdienst, the RSD or Reich Security Service, which had overall HIGH SECURITY responsibility for Hitler’s security, and the SS- Begleitkommando des Führers, Hitler’s personal bodyguard. The Wolfsschanze site was constructed with three security Within it were 11 buildings, including the Führerbunker and zones. The outermost was Sperrkreis III, or Security Zone bunkers for Hitler’s closest associates, III. This outer perimeter was surrounded by land and fencing and defended by troops of the Führer-Begleit- Those entitled to enter the facility who did not Bataillion (FBB). With a strength of 1,277 in 1941, the FBB permanently reside or work there had to be thoroughly manned slit trenches, guard houses, watchtowers, and vetted before being granted passes. There were two checkpoints. Beyond the perimeter of the complex was types of passes – a permanent pass and a temporary an extensive number of concrete gun emplacements pass, the latter being for either a day, week, or month. strategically placed at road junctions and covering access Intriguingly, Göring and von Ribbentrop, Hitler’s Minister roads. Armoured vehicles as well as troops on foot also of Foreign Affairs, both of whom who also had their own made regular daily inspection trips along these roads. headquarters sites constructed near the Wolfsschanze and spent little time at the Wolf’s Lair, were only ever granted Sperrkreis II was inside the outer security zone, but with day passes. its buildings situated to the south of the railway line that serviced the whole complex. There could be found the Any visitors to Sperrkreis I were escorted to the buildings of the Wehrmachtführugsstab, the Armed Forces building they were attending by members of the FBB or Joint Staff, and the headquarters of the Commandant of RSD. According to Hauptmann Guam of the 3rd Panzer Grenadier Battalion of the FBB, the guards were frequently tested for their alertness by bogus officers and generals. IRON CROSS ❙ 43

EASTERN FRONT: 1941 - 1944 ■ Hitler, with Keitel and von Rundstedt, in the ■ The badly damaged remains of Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel’s bunker. (Historic Military map room at the Wolfsschanze in April 1942. Press) (Polish National Archives) THE FÜHRER IN RESIDENCE a simple country inn, in normal times a visiting spot for the people of Rastenburg … the regulations governing Hitler arrived at the Wolfsschanze for the first time on the Berlin Ministries had been followed as regards size of Führersonderzug ‘Amerika’ in the early hours of 24 June 1941, rooms, numbers of windows and furnishings. Even more to spend the first of more than 800 days in his East Prussian remarkable was a semi-underground construction looking headquarters. like a long railway sleeping car with a row of doors side by side; this proved to contain additional offices and sleeping It was at 01.30 hours that the Führer and elements of his accommodation for the officers.’ staff first set foot inside the Wolfsschanze, having been driven by a fleet of vehicles the short distance from the station little As a senior officer, Warlimont had a double room. He more than a day after the start of Operation Barbarossa. described how inside the rooms the concrete walls were covered with wooden panelling which was painted in At this early stage of the war on the Eastern Front, the ‘cheerful’ colours, and that there were baths and wash basins Wolfsschanze was far from complete, as Warlimont explained: with running water, built-in cupboards, heating, and every type of electrical gadget. As he remarked, it was hardly the ‘The majority of the officers were in wooden huts around normal picture of a ‘spartan field headquarters.’ ■ A photograph of the interior of Keitel’s bunker. Keitel was the most Despite the severity of the security measures, there were a senior military officer at the Wolfsschanze. (Historic Military Press) number of unfortunate lapses. Onesuch incident occurred on 9 July 1943, when a Polish peasant called Jozef Frazewski was shot dead by the guards. Somehow, Frazewski had managed to get into the Wolfsschanze without reporting at any checkpoint. He was seen only as he was heading directly for Sperrkreis I and was gunned down. Hit in the head and thigh, he died on the spot. Frazewski was carrying a haversack when shot, but according to a report by the Geheime Feldpolizei, all that was inside the haversack were several pounds of bread and some cold meat. In his pockets were 93 Reichsmarks, an old knife, a matchstick and some tobacco. What Frazewski’s intentions were remains a mystery. In the same year, another security breach involved a senior army officer. He was on his way by train to OKH Mauerwald and, never having travelled to the area before, got out of the 44 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ Situated at the eastern extremity of Sperrkreis I is the Luftwaffe’s ■ Much of the command bunker, the Luftschutzbunker. This is an anti-aircraft interior of the position that can be seen on its roof. Göring’s first visit to the Luftschutzbunker Wolfsschanze, a few days after Hitler had arrived, was a momentous is still surprisingly one. This was because the following day, the Führer signed a secret intact. In October decree confirming Göring as his exclusive successor in the event of 1944, Göring had his own death, and as his ‘deputy in all offices’. Note the railway line to abandon his that can be seen in the background. The Wolfsschanze railway station separate Robinson is off to the right of this picture. Sperrkreis II lies beyond the track. complex as Soviet (Historic Military Press) forces advanced on East Prussia. He transferred to the Wolfsschanze and remained there until the site was abandoned in November of that year. (Historic Military Press) ■ Below left: Albert Speer in conversation with Hitler at the Wolfsschanze on 18 May 1942. (Polish National Archives) train when it stopped at the Wolfsschanze. Unfazed by his LIFE IN THE ▲ unfamiliar surroundings, he wandered into the dining room WOLFSSCHANZE in Sperrkreis I, where he was innocently enjoying breakfast with Hitler’s naval adjutant, Konteradmiral Karl-Jesco von One of the largest Puttkamer, when he saw Hitler walking by. Only then was it bunkers in the realised that the officer was somewhere he was not supposed Wolfsschanze was the to be. Gästebunker – the Guest Bunker. One of the duties On another occasion, one evening in August 1943, a Polish of the soldiers acting woman walked along the railway track past the guard at the as orderlies involved east entrance just as the changeover of the sentries between taking drinks to guests shifts was taking place. She walked all the way along the track in the guest bunker. One through the Wolfsschanze and it was only when she reached of these men, Eduard the Wache West entrance that she was stopped and arrested. Krenz, was the proud owner of a bicycle and There was also the remarkable story of the Polish woman, he set up a fast drinks Jaroslawa Mirowska. Following the invasion of Poland, service, balancing the Mirowska became friendly with SS-Gruppenführer Hermann drinks on a tray. This went very well until, one day, he almost Fegelein who, in turn, was close to Himmler – and later collided with a group of officers. Krenz, the bike, the tray, married Eva Braun’s sister, Gretl. Though considered one and of course the drinks, all flew spectacularly through the of the Third Reich’s most prominent women, Mirowska air. Apparently, accounts of this kept everyone in Sperrkreis I was in fact working as an agent for the Polish Underground amused for days. resistance under the codename Erika II. She also became It is said that Hitler initially disliked his East Prussian acquainted with SS-Gruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich, who headquarters: invited her to join him on a trip to East Prussia in July 1942 “Here in the Wolfsschanze, I feel like a prisoner in these when Bittrich also visited the Wolfsschanze, taking Mirowska dugouts, and my spirit can’t escape. In my youth, I dreamed with him. constantly of vast spaces, and life has enabled me to give the dream reality. Ah, if we were at least in Berlin! Space lends In a camp composed predominantly of men, the attractive wings to my imagination.” woman was not just invited to eat with the officers but she But the longer Hitler stayed at the Wolfsschanze, the was escorted all over the site. Carefully observing the layout more he seemingly came to feel at home there. Indeed, as of the Wolfsschanze, upon return to Warsaw, Mirowska was news from the war fronts became increasingly bleak, Hitler able to compile an accurate a report on Hitler’s headquarters and it is said that this was forwarded to London. IRON CROSS ❙ 45

EASTERN FRONT: 1941 - 1944 ■ The Nachrichtenbunker, or news centre bunker, today known as ■ Above: The wood Building No.21, housed the telephone and teleprinter exchange. panelling described by many of those developed something of a ‘bunker mentality’. The Führer’s who served at the personal physician, Theodor Morell, once recalled that the Wolf’s Lair can Wolf’s Lair “…was the only place he [Hitler] felt at home: clearly be seen in the only place he got the climate he liked (thanks to an air this photograph. It conditioning system) and the only place he could think and shows the Italian work”. Foreign Minister, Galeazzo Ciano, The working day and leisure time of those based at the being greeted by Wolfsschanze were uncompromisingly subordinated to Hitler during an the Führer’s needs and habits. Hitler’s daily routine usually official visit to the started in the morning around 10.00 hours after he had Wolfsschanze on been woken by his valet, Heinz Linge. After breakfast, 18 December 1942. which consisted mostly of a glass of warm milk, rye or (Polish National crispbread, and later oatmeal or muesli, all of which Archives) was conveyed by dumb waiter to Hitler’s bedroom, he was given excerpts to read from newspapers previously ■ The scant remains of Dining Room I (Kasino) can be seen directly selected by Ribbentrop. He received his mail at 10.30 opposite Hitler’s bunker. Note the colour of the tiles that covered hours. the floor or walls. The kitchen was run by head chef Otto Günter, who was recruited for the task from the Kaiserhof Hotel, Berlin. There was a daily air courier service between the Reich Chancellery in Berlin and the Wolfsschanze, and ■ The Indian independence politician and campaigner Subhas Chandra all documents that were presented to him were on one Bose is greeted by Hitler at the Wolfsschanze. One source dates this special typewriter that had extra-large letters. Since Hitler image as 29 May 1942. (Polish National Archives) was near-sighted, everything had to be capitalized so that he could read it without glasses. He used a magnifying glass or glasses to look at maps. After accepting the morning reports from all battle fronts, Hitler would take a walk around the grounds, usually with his German Shepherd dog, ‘Blondi’, who would be taken to the Führerbunker by Hitler’s dog-handler. No one dared address Hitler during his morning stroll without a compelling reason; the area around the bunker where he walked being kept clear of any other persons. His doctors insisted that the Führer undertook this daily walk undisturbed for his health and stressed the importance of interacting with ‘Blondi’ during these walks to help him relax. According to Albert Speer, Hitler was usually more interested in playing with ‘Blondi’ than any persons who might have been asked to accompany him. 46 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ One of the passageways inside the Gästebunker. (Historic Military Press) ■ This imposing structure is the Gästebunker (or guest bunker) at the Wolfsschanze. MONOTONOUS LIFE All the Führer consumed on those occasions when he took ▲ breakfast in the dining room was a glass of milk and a peeled Christa Schroeder, one of Hitler’s personal secretaries, apple. His secretaries on the other hand would eat as much later recalled her daily routine at the Wolfsschanze. In the food as they could get, even deftly swapping their soiled morning, the secretaries had to wait in Dining Room I cutlery for unused utensils to gain a second helping of the (Kasino) for Hitler to emerge from the conference room (what sparse allowance. she termed the map room) after receiving the latest report on the situation at the front. Then, Hitler would sometimes join In an annexe to the right of Hitler’s bunker was his personal his secretaries for breakfast. kitchen. Hitler was a strict vegetarian and used to mock those who did not share this conviction as being ‘corpse eaters’. He Schroeder described the dining room, which had seats for had a persistent fear of being poisoned, and all vegetables 20 people at one of the two tables and chairs for six at the and fruits prepared for the Führer were, where practicable, second table, as “…an elongated, white-painted room set quite grown under close supervision on the Berghof estate close to deep in the ground so that the small gauze-covered windows Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. are quite high up. The walls are decorated with marquetry … A few days after moving in, a captured Soviet flag was fixed to When Hitler was at the Wolfsschanze, these foodstuffs were the wall … The boss [Hitler] seats himself so that he can gaze at flown into Rastenburg and with bread and similar products the map of Russia on the opposite wall, which naturally spurs coming from Himmler’s SS bakeries. Some products were him into new monologues about Soviet Russia and the dangers purchased locally, but as this was both a security nightmare of Bolshevism.” and meant breaching the strict rationing regulations enforced throughout the Reich, Hitler, with his frugal lifestyle, would ■ Such was the strength of the Gästebunker after its final stages of not countenance such steps. construction that the attempts to destroy it in January 1945 made little impression on parts of the massive walls. (Historic Military Press) Alfons Schulz, who spent three years at the Wolfsschanze, worked in the press centre. He recalled how most found life in the Wolfsschanze dull and the rules and procedures monotonous: “All the inhabitants of Wolfsschanze tried in one way or another to escape the monotony of this life. For many, especially those who are not of the higher rank, this was mostly only possible with the beginning of spring on an expanded scale. They could again walk through the beautiful forests around Rastenburg, or ride horses that they borrowed from the neighbouring country estates. The many lakes in the immediate vicinity, especially the Moy and Tauchel lakes, offered opportunities for boat trips, but also for fishing.” IRON CROSS ❙ 47

EASTERN FRONT: 1941 - 1944 ■ One of the entrances to what is now ■ Unlike the Gästebunker or Bormann’s bunker, many of the buildings at the Wolf’s Lair were of a numbered as Building No.11 – this being the simpler brick construction – such as the Stenographenbarake, or stenographers’ barracks, seen here. imposing bunker that was allocated to Martin It is marked today as Building No.7. Stenographers wrote and transcribed shorthand and typed it up – Bormann. (Historic Military Press) often the notes from situation conferences regarding the fighting in the East. (Historic Military Press) Oberscharführer Rochus Misch was one of Hitler’s being disturbed by us. We took car trips ever further afield into bodyguards and his principal duty was to be within range of the glorious countryside. The lakes of the Masurian plateau Hitler at all times and available for any tasks the Führer might and the beauty of the scenery enchanted me. require. He left the following description of his time at the Wolfsschanze which gives the impression of a surprisingly “In the evening, we sat in our barrack hut and played cards relaxed atmosphere at what was a field headquarters during … the room hazy with the cigarette smoke of my colleagues … the height of the most destructive and barbaric military when off-duty, nearly all my colleagues would puff away for all campaign in history: they were worth. “Nothing exciting happened, and the mood became “Besides Hitler, we also had time to look after a young roe generally more informal. To put it another way, we lazed fawn which came to us one day. We fed it peanuts, and the around. Soon, we sought to overcome our boredom by crafty animal soon knew exactly where we kept these and was swimming in the nearby Moysee Lake. Civilians came there soon helping itself. It would also come up the steps to the hut, from the nearby villages to bathe. They had no worries about push open the door with its snout and lick up the peanuts from the floor. We would leave the door open intentionally, and ■ The Stenographenbarake was some 50 metres long by 14 metres wide. ■ A staircase leads to two below ground level and still well-preserved Because of the highly sensitive nature of material handled by stenographers, food storage rooms – one of the few structures built below ground at there was added security in the form of a fence which surrounded the the Wolfsschanze due to the swampy nature of the terrain in the area. building. The entrance into the stenographers’ compound was through a Known as the Vorratsraum, or Building No.10 today, it had a total area gate which was under guard. Only authorised personnel were permitted of 80 square metres. (Historic Military Press) access. (Historic Military Press) 48 ❙ IRON CROSS

■ Another view of Hitler, Göring, Keitel and Bormann at the Wolfsschanze the afternoon ■ The ruins of the conference room at the Wolfsschanze. after the failed bomb attempt on 20 July 1944. (Polish National Archives) It was in this building that von Stauffenberg planted the bomb that nearly killed Hitler on 20 July 1944. Seen here is the top side of the roof which collapsed down when the building was intentionally destroyed before the Germans withdrew in the face of the Soviet Army at the end of 1944. (Historic Military Press) often the fawn would come up to our beds for assistance if it bomb, had finally broken his spirit and they felt that Hitler failed to find what it was looking for.” would never recover. AFTER VALKYRIE By this stage, Hitler’s daily situation reports had to be given in his bunker where they were read to him by von Puttkamer. After the failed July assassination attempt, life in The latter was also still suffering from the effects of the the Wolfsschanze changed markedly. As well as increased explosion on July, and he had to limp across on crutches security, there was a noticeable change in Hitler. He from the conference room. Hitler’s time at the Wolfsschanze increasingly secluded himself in his quarters, becoming more was soon to end, however, with the Red Army pushing into and more withdrawn. He shuffled around his bunker, and eastern Germany. occasionally around the Führer’s Restricted Area, like an old man – the injury to Hitler’s inner ear, caused by the bomb’s On November , Hitler turned his back on the Wolf’s blast, had affected his balance. He believed that he was falling Lair and boarded the Führersonderzug to make his final to the right, and when he was walking outside his bunker at journey to Berlin. night he would stumble to the right and off the path into the darkness. Gradually, however, the damage to his ear became Notes: less pronounced. 1. Ian Baxter: Hitler’s Military Headquarters 1939-1945 (Pen & Sword, Hitler was also wracked with stomach cramps which Barnsley, 2011), pp.49-50 became so severe that one morning he could not get out 2. The National Archives: FO 1020/3471 (Interrogation report of of bed, would not eat, and showed no interest in the war situation. His stomach pains continued remorselessly. Often, Hauptmann Guam) he struggled to stand upright and suffered severe and painful 3. Hugh Trevor-Roper: Hitler’s Table Talk 1941-1944 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson flatulence. Ltd, London, 1953), p.340 It also became noticeable to those close to Hitler that 4. Christa Schroeder: He was My Chief, The Memoirs of Adolf Hitler’s the booming voice which had thrilled thousands at the great rallies of the past was now reduced to merely a weak Secretary (Frontline, Barnsley, 2012), p.88 whisper. In fact, there was a medical reason for the weakened 5. Rochus Misch: Hitler’s Last Witness: The Memoirs of Hitler’s Bodyguard condition of his voice. Otorhinolaryngologist Dr Carl Otto von Eicken examined Hitler on November and (Frontline, Barnsley, 2014), p.86 conducted an X-ray on the Führer two days later. This showed a shadowing of the left maxillary sinus and a small polyp on HITLER’S WOLFSSCHANZE his vocal cords. Some of those around him believed that the pressure of a failing war against the Soviets, coupled with THE WOLF’S LAIR the shock of almost being killed by Claus von Stauffenberg’s Hitler’s Headquarters on the Eastern Front John Grehan Read the full story in John Grehan’s recently published book by Frontline Books: - ISBN: 978-1-526-75311-3 RRP: £25.00 • Website: www.frontline-books-com IRON CROSS ❙ 49

UNLOCKING HISTORY A Question of Provenance We investigate the origins of an Imperial German war ensign associated with the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow in June 1919. It is naturally the case that ■ The SMS Nürnberg was launched in 1916 and replaced the SMS Nürnberg of 1906 which was artefacts associated with sunk in the Battle of the Falklands on 8 December 1914. Here, the SMS Nürnberg (1916) is significant historical events can pictured whilst interned at Scapa Flow. command high prices if the provenance is verifiable. Even if the all 74 German warships were inspected, As deliberations continued, Admirals owner is not inclined towards any effectively disarmed with the firing Beatty and Madden secretly approved monetary value, but question marks mechanisms of the guns disabled, all plans to seize the ships in case a hang over the exact provenance, then ammunition removed, and the vessels scuttling was attempted. But Reuter doubts remain: is the object really escorted to Scapa Flow. had already recognised this risk and linked to that historic event? And how? drew up plans to scuttle his own fleet. By 27 November, the process was Such is the case with the object complete and Admiral Beatty duly On 18 May, guarding of the fleet examined here: an Imperial German instructed Admiral von Reuter: passed to the First Battle Squadron Navy flag apparently removed from under command of Vice-Admiral Sir a German warship at Scapa Flow and “The German flag will be hauled down Sydney Fremantle who prepared plans turned over to Lieutenant Commander today and is not to be hoisted again to board the ships in force to check for Charles Granville Naylor, captain without permission”. signs that the fleet was preparing to of the destroyer HMS Walpole, scuttle. and retained by his family across Meanwhile, peace talks dragged subsequent decades. on and saw several extensions to the Eventually, the Treaty of Versailles Armistice being signed. And whilst was scheduled for signing on 21 June, For many years, the flag served as the treaty involved the surrender and on the 16th, Fremantle submitted a wall hanging in a family member’s of interned ships, the Allies were a scheme to Admiral Madden to seize home. However, the passage of time divided over their fate. Many countries the ships at midnight on 21/22 June meant its precise story became wanted a share, but the British (the after the treaty was signed. Madden blurred. That it originated with Charles major naval power) were not keen on approved the plan, but after learning Granville Naylor, had remained in his boosting the strength of rival navies. family, and was linked to Scapa Flow was the only certainty. A question mark, however, hung over which ship it came from. EFFECTIVELY DISARMED The subject flag is a battle flag as flown by ships of the German High Seas Fleet of the First World War. In 20 years, this fleet had grown rapidly enough to challenge Great Britain, the greatest naval power in the world, and in 1916 fought the Royal Navy to a standstill in the Battle of Jutland. The German High Seas Fleet was, at that point, undefeated. However, by the end of November 1918, and under the command of Admiral David Beatty, Commander-in- Chief of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet, 50 ❙ IRON CROSS