During his flight, he attempted twice to attack Allied bombers but failed to properly engage them. Just a few rounds of this cannon was enough to destroy or heavily damage an enemy target. The unit received its first operational Me 163 on the 10th of March, and seven more were to arrive by late April 1944. I have been looking all over for some 1940s era photographs of the Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg, or the Junkers factory in Dessau. Deshalb gab es in den nchsten Monaten keine weiteren Angriffe amerikanischer Bomber, bis fr die Boeing B-17-Bomber Begleitschutz verfgbar war. Heute ist das Gelnde komplett neu berbaut und an das frhere Flugzeugwerk erinnern nur noch die Namen mancher Straen, die nach Luftfahrtpionieren benannt sind. Most of the damaged aircraft were stranded in. The 1st Bombardment Wing, commanded by Brigadier General Robert B. Williams, was made up of nine B-17 groups. Glad you like it and thanks for the comment! (Left) The first bombs hitting the Messerschmitt plant at Regensburg on August 17, 1943. Once the engine consumed all the fuel reserves, the aircraft essentially became a simple glider that was vulnerable to enemy fighter cover. Consequently, the launch of the Schweinfurt force was further delayed to allow U.S. escort fighters sufficient time to return to base to rearm for a second escort mission. The Schweinfurt mission in particular foretold the failure of deep penetration raids of Germany without adequate long-range escort. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. Donald Miller states: "LeMay's force was expected to take the brunt of the German counteroffensive, allowing the Schweinfurt armada to proceed to the target with only light resistance. Finally, for the Me 163 production aircraft, the improved HWK-509 engine was chosen. Although attacking both targets simultaneously was deemed critical to success of the mission without prohibitive loss, the Regensburg force was ordered to take off, even though the 1st Bombardment Wing remained grounded at its bases by the adverse weather. The number of prisoners working for Messerschmitt increased greatly after the bombing of Messerschmitt's Regensburg plant on 17 August 1943. . [citation needed], The first German attacks began almost immediately and employed different tactics from the morning mission. Details of the company were recorded in the Commercial Register with an equity capital of RM1,000,000 on 7 March 1916. [1] The articles of association were drawn up on 19 and 20 February, and completed on 2 March 1916. Therefore the Germans worked on developing safer types of dollies. - Service animals Insgesamt wurden mit 7Flugzeugen pro Tag ca. They chose Klemms Stuttgart-Boeblingen factory, with a monthly goal of some 30 Me 163 aircraft. [18], At 14:57 approximately 40 B-17s remained of the lead wing when it dropped its bombs on the target area containing five factories and 30,000 workers, followed over a 24-minute span by the remainder of the force. The 103 CG had 11 from the 303d and 6 from the 379 BG. [27] All the factories except Kugelfischer had extensive fire damage to machinery when incendiaries ignited the machine oil used in the manufacturing process. On the 11th of September, a single Me 163 attacked and destroyed a lone B-17. For this reason, several submarines were to transport parts of a disassembled Me 163B to Japan. Thank you. The Me 163 wings were swept to the rear at a 23.3 angle. The Soviets were not idle either as they also managed to acquire unknown numbers of the Me 163 including the rare two-seater trainer version Me 163S. It also used special fuel that was specially designed for it, and thus there was no need for allocating the vital German fuel reserves to it. The title Kabinenroller means "scooter with cabin". * Firearms, to include conceal carry and other dangerous weapons, are specifically prohibited in Federal facilities in accordance with 18 USC 930 (c) At that time, and in conjunction with the Pointblank Directive to destroy the Luftwaffe in preparation for Operation Overlord, the B-17 force had expanded fourfold and was organized into the 1st and 4th Bombardment Wings (which due to their large size would soon be re-designated Bomb Divisions). The Bf-109 pilot Ren Darbois . But this situation would be rare given the fact that Me 163 was a short-range and unique interceptor that operated on its own without support from other aircraft. One of the first few Me 163B prototypes built. The plan was brutally simple: LeMay would fight his way in and Williams would fight his way out."[9]. In all the 1st Wing was delayed more than three hours behind the 4th Wing. To avoid concentrating the production in one location, given the Allied bombing campaign, Junkers dispersed it across numerous smaller companies. Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever, A Penguin is for life - not just elevenses, http://glewis.us/v7th_Recon/images/Regensbsserschmitt.jpg, http://www.geocities.com/hjunkers/ju_dessau_a1.htm, http://www.amazon.com/Nest-Eagles-Messerscd=1EK917OZ5I8RL. While the Messerschmitt name and insignia were used on the car, a separate company, incorporated as Regensburger Stahl- und Metallbau GmbH, was created to manufacture and market the . Messerschmitt officials maintained barracks at the concentration camp to oversee the work being done by the inmates. Photograph of the fighter assembly factory of Messerschmidt at Regensburg taken by an R.A.F. Five miles from Schweinfurt, German anti-aircraft guns began firing an effective flak barrage into the path of the bomber force. [note 8] While the battle resulted in a German victory, the scale and range of the American operation, along with the British-led Operation Hydra (1943) in the same day, shocked the German air command; the stress contributed to the suicide of Luftwaffe Chief of Staff Hans Jeschonnek the next day. During May, a number of unsuccessful combat flights with the Me 163 were undertaken. An official website of the United States government, National Museum of the United States Air Force, As a result, enemy fighters hit the first force, landed, rearmed, refueled, and then engaged the delayed second force. In Regensburg, all six main workshops of the Messerschmitt factory were destroyed or severely damaged, as were many supporting structures including the final assembly shop. As you know, this was one of the targets of the Schweinfurt- Regensburg mission on the 17th of Aug 1943, and it was so because an important Messerschmitt factory that was established there. Otherwise, Nada. 84 was a strike by 376 bombers of 16 bomb groups against German heavy industry well beyond the range of escorting fighters. [militaryimages.net]Following the successful testing of the previous Me 163A series, the Germans began developing a new improved version that was intended for operational use. The same thing had happened with the aircraft from the predecessor company run by Gustav Otto. On landing, the Me 163 were to use a simple retractable landing skid, placed beneath the fuselage. The Germans lost one Me 163 during this engagement being hit by an Allied P-51. I could simply freelance a building, but I would like to be somewhat realistic and have a structure (or series of structures) that would be reminiscent of the original. Mai 1937 gefeiert. This was certainly a strength if we take into account the huge shortage of resources and materials that the Germans endured during the later stages of the war. The end of the war hit BFW hard, since military demand for aircraft collapsed. In mid-August 1944, the airfield was once again attacked by Allied bombers. While the Mosquito pilot managed to fly back to France, he was forced to crash land. These units were renamed in November or December 1944 to 5. and 6./JG 400. In 1942, 800 prisoners worked in the "Messerschmitt squad 2004" and by 1944 it had risen . DISCONTINUED. The Schweinfurt force lost a total of 36 bombers.[20][21]. For example, while the Me 163 was cheap, due to many reasons it was never produced in any sufficient numbers to cause any serious threat to the Allies. This involved getting the Me 163 high above the Allied bombers and then plunging down at them with a dive speed of 885-930 km/h (550-580 mph). Das Regensburger Unternehmen Messerschmitt GmbH wurde am 24. Milch still prevented Messerschmitt's takeover of the BFW until 1938, hence the designation "Bf" of early Messerschmitt designs. These were still prototype aircraft of the B pre-production version. Due to the volatile nature of the fuel, any harsh landing with fuel still onboard offered a great chance of explosion as well, which led to a number of pilots being lost. In reality, this backfired, as it caused huge confusion and chaos with the delivery of parts, and poor quality in production. From this point on Messerschmitt became a favorite of the Nazi party, as much for his designs as his political abilities and the factory location in southern Germany away from the "clumping" of aviation firms on the northern coast. - Knives The German force had not been prepared for this contingency, but they were also in the process of re-arming to meet the Schweinfurt force, then forming over East Anglia. Also crucial was the remote location of the village, its rail connection and its proximity to Czechoslovakia, which had been defeated in 1938. . These included the Me 262 and the He 280. May 6, 2009 (Edited by Moderator) Hi David, as you model aircraft I'm sure you're aware of the fateful raid on Augsburg/Regensburg by the US 8th AF. Die in Regensburg herrschende groe Wohnungsnot hatte bereits nach 1933 zum Bau der eigenfinanzierten Wohnsiedlungen Westheim und Konradsiedlung gefhrt. Messerschmitt sold the Regensburg works to Fend who, with brake and hub supplier Valentin Knott, formed Fahrzeug- und Maschinenbau GmbH Regensburg (FMR) to continue production of the KR200 and his other vehicles. 20 Bomber ihr Ziel nicht und viele weitere waren nach der Landung in Nordafrika irreparabel beschdigt. 84", was flown on the anniversary of the first daylight raid by the Eighth Air Force.[5]. Ende 1944 war der Einsatz von 4000 KZ-Hftlingen und 400 Zivilarbeitern fr diese Fertigung geplant. In Sddeutschland waren die Messerschmitt-Flugzeugwerke in Regensburg und Obertraubling von Angriffen nicht betroffen und konnten bis 1943 die Jahresproduktion von Me-109-Jagdflugzeugen unter Einsatz von KZ-Hftlingen auf weit ber 2.000 Stck pro Jahr steigern. Then, in May of the same year, when the Italian-born investor was able to acquire BMW's engine business from Knorr-Bremse AG, nothing more stood in the way of a merger between the aircraft company BFW and the engine builders BMW. - Firearms* The reason for this was the lack of sufficient water supply which was essential for flushing the Me 163 fuel tanks in order to avoid any accidental explosion. Bis zum Jahresende 1937 wurden in den Bau der Werksanlagen 11 Millionen Reichsmark investiert. As a result, the Eighth Air Force was unable to follow up immediately with a second attack that might have seriously crippled German industry. It was known in Japan as J8M1 Shuri (Rigorous Sword). On the 21st of April Olejnik had an accident during a forced landing where he spent some time in hospital thereafter. However, major quality problems were encountered at the start. While evading the fighter cover, they managed to heavily damage at least one bomber, killing two crew members. Caption: "Results of B-17 attack on Messerschmidt [Messerschmitt] factory at Regensburg - 17 August 1943. The 101 CG was made up of B-17s from the 381st (7), 351st (6), and 91st (6) BG. The first Chairman of the Board of Management was Peter Eberwein, who had previously been employed at Albatros Flugzeugwerke. Due to a steadily increasing threat from Allied bombers, the Messerschmitt aircraft company moved parts of the factory from Regensburg in October 1943. As a consequence, deep penetration strategic bombing was curtailed for five months. Not all built aircraft would be delivered to the operational units, given the great confusion and chaos that the Germans were surrounded with from 1944 on. 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