hey all this was an article that friend Falkeeins and I put together some years ago back in September of 2001 on Jg 301, noted the November 26, 1944 mission where this LW unit really got beat up pretty bad, my cousin Siegfried Baer was one of the KIA pilots. well some pretty wild stuff has happened since 01 in regards to information. well with Neils kind permission I post the article to get this rolling........



By the autumn of 1944, JG 301, like other former Wilde Sau night fighting Geschwader had long since converted to the daylight fighter role and its Gruppen like the Sturmgruppen were organised in 'heavy' and 'light' wings. According to Reschke I. Gruppe and II. Gruppe were to have 2 Staffeln as the light, high cover and 2 Staffeln as the heavy Staffeln to combat the bombers. During the poor autumn weather months of 1944 it was hoped that those pilots who had been trained in blind flying techniques ( Blindflugausbildung ) could form a specialist Schlechtwetterverband but losses and a lack of experienced formation leaders meant that this idea was to be still-born. ( Reschke P 158 )
Sunday 26 November 1944 was to be a black day for JG 301. Young Nachwuchs such as Unteroffizier Siegfreid Baer were to fly perhaps only their second or third mission. Baer flew a Fw 190A9/R-11 with 5./JG 301. 5th Staffel could have been a 'heavy' or schwere Staffel. Baer's 'weiße 2' WNr 206085 was built in Focke Wulf's Cottbus plant, Gruppen of JG 301 receiving the first A-9s off the Cottbus production line in September 1944. We have portrayed Baer's 'white 2' with the yellow & red Rumpfbände and a II Gruppe bar. The R-11 Rüstzustand was a 'bad weather' package featuring the PKS 12 autopilot and heated canopy glass. The A-9 featured the Schiebehaube blown canopy and an up-rated BMW 801 TU/TS engine with wide-bladed wooden prop, although these could also appear on the A-8. The A-9 variant in JG 301 service was equipped with two 2cm Kanonen and two 13mm MGs with the outer wing cannon perhaps only fitted in the schwere Staffeln. (None of the JG 301 machines pictured in Peter Rodeike's Jagdflugzeug 190 have cannon in the outboard position) It would almost certainly have been equipped with the standard ETC 501 Zusatztank carrier fitting. Pilots in the Reichsverteidigung had long complained of the absurdity of hauling 250kg reserve fuel tanks and their bulky carrier fittings around when flying missions to close to their home bases ( … " Die Aufhängung unseres 300 Ltr Zusatzbehälters an dem schweren Bomben ETC war uns jungen Jagdfliegern damals schon unverständlich.." see Schröder in Rodeike, P 198 & P 299, for more on this. The ETC 501- Einzel Träger C-Munition - had been initially conceived as a bomb carrier, it being always the intention of Luftwaffe commanders to use fighters in the Jabo role where necessary as Staffeln of IV./JG 3 had discovered to their cost over Normandy back in June. The more streamlined ETC 504 carrier was never fitted to the Fw 190 A model. Technicians from JG 26 in association with Erla in Antwerp had developed a light combined carrier/tank fitting whose use was not widely endorsed )

On Sunday 26 November 1944 the storm front that had been stationary over central north Germany for much of the previous week was clearing. Fortresses of the 1st Bomb Division and Liberators of the 2nd set out to raid the Misburg hydrogenation plants near Hannover, the Hydrierwerk Miesburg, partially destroyed only a few weeks previously. The Fortresses led the raid, followed by Squadrons of B-24s from the 389th, 445th and 491st Bomb Groups, an armada of over one thousand bombers. High and Low Squadrons all jockeying to remain in tight defensive formation. Several B-24s aborted and timings began to go awry which was bad news for the 491st flying 'tail-end charlie' . Over the North Sea the 389th and the 445th turned late, spreading the Divisions over an area stretching for forty miles instead of twenty and effectively rendering the escort ineffectual. The B-24s were on their own for some 30 minutes to Misburg. Willi Reschke takes up the story.

.." that morning had been like other recent mornings for the pilots of the III Gruppe in Stendal….dickes QBI....even the birds were on foot and it wasn't long before the pilots had settled down to games of chess and skat. But weather conditions were improving and gradually communication between the operations room and Central Fighter control at Döberitz became more intense. Games were soon put aside as pilots moved to readiness . Everyone was gripped by mission fever. There was a hive of activity around the planes as the 'black men' helped their pilots into the machines. The order to scramble was not long in coming. At around 11h40 all three Gruppen took off setting course to the west. The enemy was heading directly towards us. None of the pilots knew that they were about to face the biggest air battle in the short history of the Geschwader ….." ( Reschke, Jagdgeschwader JG 301/302 Wilde Sau )
All three Gruppen of JG 301 converged on the bombers as the lead elements were approaching Hannover. Visibility was good and the contrails from the bomber streams stretched out into the far distance.
".. Zusatzbehälter ab ! .."
The following is extracted from the official 8th AF report.
"… As the two Liberator Groups left the IP and headed for the target of Misburg, with the squadron of 9/10 enemy a/c in trail, the escort fighters atacked a large concentration of 190's and 109's east of the I.P….. The middle squadron (491st), of the second group released its bombs early.......
Instead of staying in the column this squadron went ? toward the R.P.? point, leaving a gap between the first and the third squadrons…. (Jerry), probably spotted this opening, and if on signal, the heavy flak stopped abruptly. Just after the isolated third squadron released it's bombs and turned toward the I.P. 50-70 109's and 190's launched a company front attack in mass of 7-10 abreast. Some fighters hit from 5 o'clock, others from 7 o'clock. The entire squadron of 9 B-24's were shot down…... Enemy aircraft went after the middle squadron catching it just before the rallying point. They attacked singly from 4 o'clock high and low and from 8 o'clock high and low. Enemy fighters broke off early when gunners opened fire at long range, but resumed their attacks to within 100 yards if they were not fired on…."
Six of the ten B-24's in this squadron were lost. Research indicates that this is the squadron that Siegfried Baer attacked.
As the Geschwader pressed home attacks on the bomber formation, the escort having let its screen be penetrated, made frantic efforts to intercept. The ensuing combats were some of the most intense in the history of home defence or Reichsverteidigung. "...it worked again for the Americans as we'd seen so often before , radio communications between the bombers and their escorts brought the P-51s to the battle from all directions. A few of our fighters were still able to press home their attacks on the bombers but as the battle progressed pilots of JG 301 were left fighting for their lives against the escorts..." ( Reschke )
Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 301 Oberleutnant Alfred Vollert flying Fw 190 A-9 'weiße 1' was killed in combat, shot down over Rethen as he was pursuing a B-24. Siegfried Baer was also shot down and killed, possibly shot down by 339th FG P-51's while attacking the 491st BG south east or so of Hannover around Peine. Plotting the demise of Baer and his Staffelkapitän and their crash locations reveals that they fell along the B-24's route. This tends to confirm that Siegfried Baer attacked the B-24's in a pass and possibly scored hits if not an Abschüß and in so doing was hit by the devastating fire of the B-24 boxes crashing to his death. Eye witnesses on the ground reported that each attacking Focke Wulf was set upon by several P-51's after diving through the Pulks. The bomber escorts had a tremendous tactical advantage and their numerical superiority was overwhelming.
JG 301 did have some notable success. Oberfeldwebel Hans Müller of 2. Staffel claimed three B-24 Liberators shot down. Jupp Keil in 10 Staffel claimed two B-24s. 12 Staffel suffered no losses at all but were comparatively experienced. As I./JG 302 12 Staffel had flown escort missions with IV./JG3 back in July.
The first part of the official account quoted above concerns the 491st BG. The 445th lost 5 bombers. Again quoting from the 8th AF report..
"… In a ? from this battle, some aircraft made single attacks on the lead squadron at this same group shorlty before the R.P. But this squadron which was in tight formation and only 20 seconds behind the Group(445th) ahead, suffered no losses……The low squadron of the preceding group (445th) however, lost 5 of it's 11 bombers to a series of single attacks, apparently made by some of the same fighters. Here again the enemy aircraft hit from 4 and 8 o'clock high and low, making numerous belly attacks. Enemy fighters which made individual attacks frequently broke away to the side without losing altitude, pulled ahead of the bomber formation, then turned to make a new attack, flying across the bombers path without attempting a pursuit curve..".
It may be that JG 301 accounted for these B-24's as well. However Willi Reschke makes no mention in his book of the extra victories. In total some forty bombers were lost that day along with eleven P-51s. Over 40 JG 301 pilots were either killed or wounded on 26 November 1944 alone, more than a third of JG 301's pilot complement, a terrible blood-letting in defence of the homeland….' die Luftschlacht über Deutschland war jetzt in einem Stadium, daß man 'Ausbluten der Jagdfliegerei' nennen mußte'…( Reschke )
JG 301 would be unable to make good its enormous losses in trained pilots. Siegfried Baer is buried in the cemetery at Holtensen near Hannover. ( see below )

Profile, Rainer Kliemann,
Research & inspiration, Erich Brown. Thanks to Al Blue for the Microfiche
Text, Neil Page

the mission would be my cousins second and his last, but let me take you to his first mission and that of 21 November 1944 seen through one of the US Mustang pilots of the 352nd fighter group. Report courtesy from Mike Williams. Friends note details in the beginning of the Fw 190A formations and the in-experience of these kids flying these crates in battle with the Blue nosed P-51D's. Whisner and the 352nd plus two pilots in the US 359th fg claimed 36.5 kills against LW JG 301. JG 301 reported the loss of 25 Fw 190A's..............

reports from one of the 352nd fg pilots

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Capt. Whisners rather large report on this 21 November 44 successful day....sorry it is not going to enlarge any further

looking over the 352nd fg scores which were 18 Fw 190's and several Bf 109G's in another area. here is N. Jesup's report who is still alive and on my list to interview. His Mustang was named " Peanuts ".

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Merseburg, November 21, 1944 by Pilot Staver Hyndman of the 603 squadron, 39th bomb group as he remembers.........

The German city of Merseberg lies about 100 air miles SW of Berlin. In 1944, this city was the home of one of the most sinister targets in Nazi Germany, as far as US 8th A/F bomber crews were concerned. The Leuna synthetic oil refinery was located here, and US bomber crews were pounding German oil production wherever it copuld be found. But a mission to Merseberg often spelled disasteer to the attacking US forces, as this was one of the most heavily defended targets in all of the Recih. Hundreds of AA gunse ringed the refinery, and some of the Luftwaffe's best piston-engined fighter units were nearby. It was into this mael;storm that First Lt. Hyndman and crew aboard the B-17G "Ole Blood N Guts", N7*U would find themselves on the afternoon of 11-21-44.

Thirteen a/c made up the high squadron, B Group. Of these 13 a/c that departed England 3 would return.

As the B-17 formation approached Osnabruck the lead a/c VHF radio went out, limiting the groups contact with wing and division. Weather was also becoming a factor, as clouds and contrails were becoming thick and persistent. And it was here that the German AA claimed it's first victim. One B-17 was hit in the engines and damaged, feathering the prop the B-17 turned and struggled for home.....

Wingmen were now finding it impossible to see not finding the lead squadron. Orders from major R. Templeman (lead ship) said to keep climbing. Some daylight found at 28,000ft. But unknownst to the 603sq the rest of the wing had been ordered to approach the target at low altitude. Now the low squadron of the 398th, the 601st was completely scattered. All opportunity was lost for this squadron and they bombed individually with three B-17's making forced landing in Belgium.

As the squadron/ group approached the IP at Nordhausen, the lead planes were at 29,500ft. One more B-17 departed, and this a/c joined the 601st heading for home. German AA fire reamined fierce, Iz Rovinsky tried to attract some friendly fighter support while pilot Stevens tried to keep his flak hit B-17 in the air. What fighter support in the area was invloved with a large group of Fw 190's(JG 301), soon to meet head-to-head with Hyndman and the rest of the squadron/group.
Fortunately for Stevens he was able to jettison anything extra including the belly turret and he was able to belly in on a field 30 miles SE of Paris.

Barely within sight of the lead squadron at the IP, the 603rd was soon to be on it's own. Ready to turn for the taarget at the IP, there suddenly appeared out of the cloud an of-course group of B-17's flying at the same altitude. Banking hard the B-17's turned with the lead squadron leader blowing his radar fuse, so PPF was now impossible.

The decision now was to abandon Merseberg as the 603rd was well above the other three squadrons of B-17's so the bombs were dropped well off course.

Fighter activity had been reported off and on for about 30 minutes, first at 8 o'clock low and now at 2 o'clock high. The sky, murky as it was at 30,000ft, was filled with criss-cross vapor trails, the unique signature of high-altitude combat: _-51's had tangled with a group of Fw 190's.........

Suddenly two waves of 5-6 Fw 190's each roared head-on through the B-17 formation (III./JG 301). Staver recalls that the fighter and bomber wings almost overlapped in the split-second attack. he recalls seeing the faces of the Luftwaffe pilots as they reaced through the unit.

All three panes in the leaad element were hit by 20mm(30mm) fire. Lt. Buzza, his plane falling off to the right with one engine afire and Lt. Hastings fatally wounded beside him, ordered his crew to jump. Hastings was found in the plane where it crashed near Eisenach. the rest of the crew was captured and sent to POW camps. The deputy lead a/c took cannon shell hits in the right wing, sending the B-17 into a tight spin and ultimate explosion. the third a/c of the lead element, flown by Lt. charles Howell, also went into a violent spin with his left wing on fire. Three men managed to bail out from the sticken Fort.
The second wave of Fw's took out three engines on Fred Wismers B-17, the only remaining one in Hyndman's flight. With no chance of survival in the air, a;; 9 men took to their parachutes and were captured.

Lt. Hyndman's B-17 got more than her fair share of attention from the German fighters too. An exploding cannon shell ripped into navigator Lt. Ken Carlson's groin, injuring him severly. Other cannon hits shot out # 1 and # 2 engines completely, and did some minor damage to # 4. The Forts entire hydraulic sysstem was shredded, and the electrical system had been hit as well. 2nd Lt. E.D. Ebbeson, bombardier, and top turret gunner/engineer C.F. Gray immediately treated Carlson with first aid and tended to him as the wounded B-17 limped westward. Carlson never lost consciousness from his wounds, and lay on the catwalk below the pilot on the trip home. Hyndman said that his oxygen mask had a longer than normal hose, and that Carlson would tug on it once and awhile to let him know that he was still with them........

Realizing that he was never going to make England, Staver crash-landed at an RAF field at Bruges, Belgium. He attempted a wheels-down landing with no brakes but once the Fort settled down on the muddy field, her landing gear folded. Staver had to spin the a/c around to bring it to a stop before he would crash into a pillared and cordoned off area at the far end of the runway where there was a construction sight. No one was injured in the landing, and Lt. Carlsonwas taken to a British hospital. later he was sent to a US hospital in Great Britain and fully recovered. He would, however, never fly combat again.

Staver Hyndman received the Distinguished Flying Cross for the disasterous Merseberg mission. He was also awarded the US Air Medal with 6 clusters, and the WW2 Victory and European Theateer of Ops medals.

Discharged in October of 1945 after 35 missions, Hyndman returned to his pre-war job at Caswell's. Shortly thereafter, he began working for the US postal service, a job from which he retired in 1984..........

what goes around comes around. the cross removed and replaced.....

an article from the local Holtensen newspaper and with the help of B. Moß

This story never ceases to amaze me, Erich. Keeps making me think about what Siegfried went through. Not just his entry in the LW, his months, if not years of training and than the excitement and, I am sure, sheer fright and chaos of battle.

I am glad you are writing his story. I am sure mor eis to follow???? ( )

__________________
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

thanks my friend, it has been long without info for many yeyars, and then all of sudden offers to visit, take pics, place flowers and then this right out of the skies, a local chap checking through WASt listings and inquiries on his home town veteran graves and presto a big hit. As it stands now he is going to interview whom he can find who was present during the huge air battle over the Hannover/Misburg and southern countryside as the skies were full of a/c from both the LW and the US, flying, diving and crashing even into the hills to the west. Have heard from several German as well as US historian authorities that the air engagement on the 26 November 1944 was one of the most violent of the war ............. as i said JG 301 this was a very black day for the Geschwader alone not to mention the other LW units that took part.

more later ~

a map of the ground near Holtensen



Siegfried was not found with his crashed Fw 190A-9 nearly a year after the war by the field owners son who had his remains interned at Holtensen Friedhof. just exactly which field is still unknown to me.

several poses of the fields surround the countryside today

one of the many Kameraden of Siegfried who paid the ultimate price to the west of Holtensen in the hills crashing in the above (second photo) on the last post. buried at Wünstorf



and a friends representation of my cousin Fw 190A-9 white 2 of 5./JG 301