Black
Friday - 9 February 1945
Introduction
Coastal
Command's Strike wings performed many memorable shipping strikes during
the last war, many of which are classic examples of this kind of warfare.
This attack on the vital supply lines of the German forces was deeply
felt within the German Supreme headquarters, especially after the invasion
of continental Europe had begun. But as can be expected, the scarce
German naval resources were heavily defended, both by anti-aircraft
guns and the aggressive Fighters of the Luftwaffe. This is the story
of one of the blackest day in the Strike wings' history, the appropriately
named "Black Friday", 9. February 1945.
The last two years of the war saw the Strike Wings flying almost daily
against targets on Norway's long western coast. The German army in Norway
numbered Almost 300 000, and these men and their war machinery had to
be supplied. Vessels carrying supplies and soldiers were thus frequently
encountered, targets were plentiful. And not only freighters and transports
used this route, the Kriegsmarine's few remaining major warships were
also encountered on this Weather-beaten coastline, providing escort
for the convoys or just seeking refuge from the ever-increasing allied
raids on German naval bases in Germany. These Vessels were considered
prime targets.
Z-33
| Discovered | Planning
the Attack | Attack Mode
Prelude
to Disaster | Alarm at Herdla | The
battle of fordefjord
Endgame
| Results and Consequences
Z33
One such vessel was the
destroyer Z-33, of the famous Narvik-class. Having seen action at Barentsburg
in September 1943, it had subsequently served in northern waters. It's
presence here and subsequent discovery was to be the direct cause of
the events of the "Black Friday". On 7. February Z-33 grounded whilst
enroute to Bergen from Trondheim, but managed to reach the capital of
Western Norway. The next day it was decided to return the vessel to
Trondheim and during the night of 8/9. February the destroyer and its
escort lay at anchor by Ålen in the Vevringefjord. Early the next morning,
9. February, Z-33 enters the Fordefjord and takes up residence between
Mula and Heilevang.
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Discovered
Meanwhile, two Beaufighters
from 489 Sqdn. piloted by F/Sgt. Priest and W/O Brightwell had been
on a Recce-mission since 08.50. At 10.30 they reached the Norwegian
coastline south of Utvær Lighthouse and quickly sighted their first
vessel of the day "similar to R/boat" to quote the original report.
More was to come. At the entrance to Vevringefjord they sighted a Narvik
destroyer with heavy escort; this was the Z-33. After encountering heavy
Flak from the destroyer, the two Beaufighters continued their patrol
in and out of the numerous fjords. No less than 5 transports were seen
in Nord-Gulen, the largest between 4000-5000 tons, very attractive targets
indeed. After almost an hour of recce they set course for base at 11.20
and reached their home base at Dallachy on 13.24.
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Planning
the Attack
Even before the two Beaufighters
had landed, the planning of the attack had begun. The 5 merchant ships
were an obvious target but the Admiralty had other priorities. They
were more interested in destroying the few remaining warships of the
Kriegsmarine. Coastal Command was still under the control of the Admiralty,
so the decision was easily taken; the destroyer was the main target.
During the subsequent interrogation the pilots reported that the destroyer
in Fordefjord and the transports could not be attacked by more than
2-3 aircraft at the same time. It was obviously going to be a tough
mission! The nearby Strike Wing base at Banff was alerted, as was Peterhead,
home of 65. Sqdn flying Mustang Mk IIIs . They would act as escort.
A large
strike Force was assembled and consisted of the following forces (se
also list of participating crew);
Unit Type and number
of aircraft Armament
144 (RAF) Squadron 9
Beaufighters TFX Cannon and MGs only
404
(RCAF) Squadron 11 Beaufighters TFX Cannon/MGs and rockets
455. (RAAF) Squadron
11 Beaufighters TFX Cannon/MGs and rockets
65. (RAF) Squadron 12
Mustang MK IIIs MGs
279. (RAF) Squadron 2
Warwick MK Is
144. Squadron was in
the process of converting from torpedoes to RPs (Rocket Projectiles)
and this was the reason for their cannon-only armament. The two Warwicks
would perform the very important sea-rescue missions that often were
the only way to save a downed crew from a cold and watery grave. Each
Warwick carried a small boat under their fuselages. Two "Beaufighters"
from 144 and 489 Sqdn. would act as outriders. Another force consisting
of Mosquitoes from various squadrons was to patrol the area between
Ytteroyane and Stord, with special orders to attack the large transports.
In the event this strike proved abortive as the vessels were all placed
as to make an aerial attack impossible.
The large formation numbering
43 planes are led by Wing Commander Colin Wilson, an experienced Australian
who have fought in the Mediterranean and the Norwegian theatres. His
navigator, F/O Ralph E. Jones, was the oldest member of the strike force
with his 35 years, and just as experienced as Milson. He was in charge
of navigation.
Take-off was just before
1400 hours; we formed up and set course at low level in loose formation
Vics of three. The weather was not bad; there were rain squalls here
and there, but visibility was reasonably good. Everything was going
according to plan.
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Attack
Mode
At this time in the war,
Coastal Command had a great deal of experience with shipping strikes,
having perfected them during three intense years of operations. Butler
explains; "In these fjord attacks, it was usual to fly inland for a
while after making a landfall, and then approach the fjord at right
angles. You would then turn down the fjord at a height that would allow
you both to clear the high ground and to dive in to attack the target
when spotted. The aircraft could then break away to seaward on completion
of the attack and get a good start for the journey back to base. This
type of attack could usually be completed with a minimum amount of time
being spent over enemy territory; there was a good chance you’d be on
your way home before enemy fighters could reach the target area."
And enemy fighters were
still to be reckoned with. On 10. January 1945 the Luftwaffe had only
about 45 single-engined fighters in Norway south of Trondheim, barely
more than the total number of planes in the strike force! But they were
flying high-performance Focke-wulfs or Messerschmitts and most of the
pilots were battle-hardened veterans from the northern front, having
fought the Russian’s for over three years. More specifically, 9.and
12. Staffel of the famous "Eismeergechwader" J.G. 5, was stationed at
Herdla just outside Bergen. As the only Staffels in Norway at this time,
they flew both late and early variants of the FW 190. And at Gossen
near Molde 10. And 11. Staffel had their BF 109G-6s and G-14s ready.
Planes from both bases could reach Fordefjord and effect an interception
if alerted in time. There was no way a heavily loaded Beaufighter could
stand a chance against those small and nimble German fighters. Good
thing the Mustangs were there!
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Prelude
to Disaster
Shortly after take-off
one of the Mustang had to return to Peterhead because of engine-trouble.
Another joined in as an escort, just in case of a forced bailout. Now
they had only 10 escort fighters, but hopefully that would suffice.
At 15.40 the formation reached the Norwegian coastline west of Sognefjord.
At this time the outriders started their search north and south looking
for other vessels or even the destroyer. It might just be that the destroyer
was heading in one of these directions and if so the outriders would
report back to the main force. A German fighter was sighted to the north,
but it quickly disappeared. A small convoy was seen to the south, but
no trace of the destroyer. It must still be at Fordefjord. The outriders
turned back and headed for base after completion of their missions.
The formation headed towards Fordefjord from the south. The German fortress
at Furuneset fired a few rounds at the allied aircraft without inflicting
any damage. Milson led his planes over Bygstad just south of the fjord.
If the boats were still situated at Heilevang they could attack out
of the fjord and head for the relative safety of the North Sea. The
time was just past 16.00. The formation turned north expecting to see
the enemy at the entrance of Fordefjord. The Beaufighters suddenly found
themselves under fire from the ships, which were almost underneath them.
The German sailors are
quite familiar with the dangers of the Norwegian Coast. They know exactly
what the two Beaufighters did, they known they have been spotted and
that the probability of an attack is high, very high. Wisely, the German
commander decides to take up residence elsewhere. Further into the fjord,
near a place called Bjorkedal, the mountains rise almost vertically
from the fjord and this is a near-perfect place to situate some of the
ships. It will be very difficult for a 400 km/h plane to hit the vessels
with cannon and rockets, that is if he can actually spot them! Two vessels
seek the protective cover of these mountains, the others, including
the Z-33, place themselves at the other side of the fjord, near Frammarsvik.
Yet three others lie in the middle of the fjord, possibly to give their
Flak guns a wider arch of fire. These vessels include several converted
trawlers used for anti-aircraft duties.
This was indeed an unwelcome
surprise. Having been outmanoeuvred like this, Milson had no other choice
but to initiate another attack run. Abandoning the attack was simply
not an option. Because of the placement of the enemy vessels, Milson
probably decided that it was impossible to launch an attack in the normal
way out to sea. They had to get further east to make the attack run
out the fjord. As the 40-plane formation turned east, the German sailors
prepared for the forthcoming attack; some continued firing their guns,
the officers shouted their quick orders, one vessel ran aground near
Frammarsvik and the crew hurriedly evacuated as did some from Z-33 itself.
This was no place to be when the allies struck! Fortunately, civilians
around the fjord were also warned in time to evacuate into their cellars.
After having turned east, Wilson led his strike force south toward Forde
and then west just south of the fjord. Wilson now realised that an attack
out the fjord was virtually impossible if they were to have any chance
of success. They would have to continue on a westerly direction and
then make a 180-degree turn Northeast again to attack into the fjord
just the opposite of the usual practise. The map shows the course the
formation took during this careful manoeuvring. Wilson ordered the Beaufighters
into echolon port just before the wing turned into the final attack
run. Finally they were ready.
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Alarm
at Herdla!
The alarm had sounded
at Herdla shortly before 15.50. On this fateful day 9. Staffel had 9
Focke-Wulfs on readiness, 12. Staffel had three. The grey and blue painted
fighters had white and blue identification numbers painted on their
fuselage sides, white signifying 9. Staffel, blue 12. Staffel. The nose
rings were also painted in the appropriate Staffelcolour. Feldwebel
Rudolf Artner, a very experienced pilot from the Eismeerfront is leading
the 9. Staffel in his Focke-Wulf FW 190A-8, "White 10". Having been
the favourite wingman of famous Eismeer aces such as Heinrich Erhler
and Walter Shuck, he was credited with 17 victories up to this date.
Leutnant Rudolf Linz uses his faithful "Blue 4", an A-8 with close to
70 black victory bars on its white rudder, most of them from his time
on the northern front.
A few minutes later the
Focke-Wulfs are in the air. Now they hear of their mission interception
of a large enemy formation in Fordefjord. They know this is going to
be tough, surely there are allied fighters in the area. 12. Staffel's
three fighters are thus placed above and behind the other 9 to provide
top cover.
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The
battle of Fordefjord
Milson made the first
attack, behind him others were queuing up to make theirs. It was simply
not room in the fjord for more than two or three beaufighters to attack
at the same time. Projectiles of all calibres were streaming towards
the planes, making the entire fjord look a very dangerous place to be!
It is certain that the Flak was very heavy this day as the ships had
been placed with the intention of giving such effective cover. The German
gun crew was also highly skilled in their profession after more than
5 years of war. This speaks volumes of the courage and bravery of the
young men who were to press their attack home, regardless of considerations
to chance of survival and other trivial matters! But it was not a one-sided
battle. The Beaufighters singled out their targets and according to
one of the eyewitnesses "it seemed to us as if it was the boats in the
middle of the fjord, which got the worst of it". Some planes attacked
from southwest, others from a more western direction, the latter used
cannon and rockets against the Z-33. If not hit, there were certainly
near misses as the boat "rocked and shook in the sea".
By 16.10 another factor
is about to be brought into the battle. Beaufighter PL-Y of 144. Sqdn.
piloted by P/O Smith and P/O "Spike" Holly acting as navigator, was
one of the first into the attack. This crew was amongst the most experienced
of the squadron, having more than 35 operations behind them. This was
going to be their last, they reckoned, though it happened not they way
they had imagined! As they dived into the fjord, Smith noticed about
8 small planes coming from the southwest. "Mustangs?" he wondered before
he concentrated on his attack again. Having successfully attacked and
evaded the enemy ships, they headed up the valley of Naustdal barely
50 m over the landscape. Holly photographed the chaotic scene behind
him and as he looked over the tail, he saw a fighter a couple of hundred
yards behind them. He also wondered if this was a Mustang, but his hopes
were shattered as he noticed the characteristic broad cowling of a radial-engined
Focke-Wulf. It was a Focke-Wulf! A quick message to Smith over the intercom,
and then things happened frightfully quickly. The German fighter attacked
and he and Holly fired almost simultaneously. A cannon shell exploded
near Holly, and splinters wounded him in the belly, knocking him unconscious.
The cockpit and port Hercules was also hit, destroying the intercom
and any hopes of regaining base. At very low level they cut off some
treetops and headed west, just north of Fordefjord. Smith had trouble
controlling the Beau' and understood that a crash-landing was the only
option. But where? This part of Norway is not noted for its flat areas.
PL-Y continued to fly some time westwards, and Smith managed to effect
a crash-landing on the sea in Hoydalsfjord. Here civilians rescued them,
but as Holly's wound needed professional attention, the Norwegians had
no option but to contact a doctor. That was equal to contacting the
Germans. Smith and Holly were thus captured later that evening, and
eventually transported to Bergen. But they had survived.
Others were not so fortunate.
9. Staffel had attacked directly into the swarm of Beaufighters waiting
to attack the ships. Artner wrote the following report after:-
The
battle:
"About 50 km north of
Sogne-Fjord, we saw the enemy formation which consisted of approximately
30 Beaufighters and 10 Mustang escort fighters. During a combined attack
with my Staffel, I managed to gain hits on a Beaufighter, which I attacked
from behind, and above. The Beaufighter crashed burning in a flat angle.
The crash was noted at 16.10 about 10 km north-west of Forde (Quadrat
06 East LM 1.5) The crew did not leave the plane."
This Beaufighter was
seen to loose it's tail and exploded shortly afterwards. A member of
the crew, identified as a French-Canadian, was later found in the sea.
This indicates that this
Beau, possibly the first casualty of the day, was EE-V of 404 (RCAF)
Sqdn. P/O Blunderfield and P/O Jackson were both killed. At about this
time, FD/L Foster in YT-Q, leader of the 10 Mustang MK III of 65. Sqdn.
discovered the German fighters too. He could see how they attacked The
Beaufighters over Vevring, diving out of the skies from about 4000 feet.
Foster alerted his comrades over the radio. Then he saw three more fighters,
Heading directly for him. He fired a short burst at one of them, obtaining
hits in the BMW-engine. Pursuing the Focke-Wulf, he observes how the
enemy A fighter is trailing black smoke; this is at least a "probable".
The German fighter finally crashed into the sea near Heilevang. The
pilot, Lt. Karl-Heinz "Charly" Koch took to his parachute and like his
plane he ended up in the cold fjord. Norwegians eventually rescued him.
Koch was flying a FW 190A-8 coded "Blue 9". These events indicate that
the three Focke-Wulfs of 12. Staffel flying top cover attacked some
of the Mustangs, whilst the 9. Staffel dealt with the Beaufighters,
at least initially.
Another Mustang managed
to pick off Fj.Ofw. Otto Leibfried's "White 22", actually an F-8 fighter-bomber,
near Gjesneset just opposite to where Z-33 lay. Leibfried managed to
bail out despite being wounded, but he landed in very difficult terrain.
In the nights following the battle, people could see his flares calling
for assistance. There was however, little the Norwegian and German patrols
could do. In summer 1945 leibfried's dead body was finally located lying
on a small bed of pine branches. The battle soon spread over a large
area in all directions. The Beaufighters suffers heavily at the hands
of the Focke-Wulfs. Near Gaular terrified civilian’s witness how a Beaufighter
is pursued by a Focke-Wulf and is hit several times. The Beaufighter
tries to land on an elevation, but the terrain makes this impossibility.
The plane brakes in half during the ensuing crash and the cockpit-section
slides down the hillside for more than 500 meters. Sadly, the crew perished
in the crash. This was EE-C of the ill-fated 404 Sqdn. The crew, F/O
Knight and F/O Lynch was on their first strike.
A single Mustang tried
to help out, and attacked the German fighter. A long aerial duel developed.
The Mustang finally caught fire, and made a wide turn out the fjord.
Perhaps he will try to get away and make a crash-landing. But then the
British pilot turned back. According to eyewitnesses the pilot must
have been badly wounded, but instead of bailing out he continued the
fight. But to no avail. The Mustang crashed in the green pine Forrest
being the only Mustang loss of this battle. W/O Cecil Claude Caesar
was dead.
The German fighter was
in trouble also. The engine had been damaged and this forced the pilot
to bail out. A small charge dispensed with the canopy and a small figure
detached itself from the plane. But he was to close to the ground for
the chute to open. Fortunately, the snowy hillside enabled the pilot
to survive, a small avalanche carried him to the bottom of the valley.
During the journey down, the flare gun accidentally went off, causing
severe burns on one leg. Still, he can walk, and he found his way into
a small barn. After a little while some Norwegians contacted him and
made sure he got to hospital. This pilot was Heinz Orlowski. He spent
the rest of the war in hospital and reconvalence at Herdla, and did
not see further combat. In 1994 he and his newly restored "Weisse 1"
was actually reunited in Texas, survivors of a fierce battle some 49
years before.
Further north, in Naustdal,
three fighters followed closely in the tracks of Smith and Holly's damaged
Beaufighter. The leading plane had an in-line engine noticed the civilian
witnesses, a British Mustang. The other two were clearly Germans as
the Mustang suddenly dived into the valley to emerge below one of the
Focke-Wulfs and then fired a short burst of fire at hit. It was a certain
"kill" as the Focke-Wulf quickly flicked over and spiralled down with
black smoke trailing behind to crash in a ball of flames near Solheimsstolen.
The occupant, Leutnant Rudi Linz was probably killed before impact,
as he made no attempt to evacuate the plane. 28 years of age, he was
the most successful German pilot in Norway at this time, having been
credited with 70 victories, most of them against Russians.
Beaufighters were shot
down over a wide area. The Beaufighter of F/O Savard and P/O Middleton
bellied in on the ice, but turned over and trapped to crew. Norwegians
tried to help them but turned around as German soldiers fired at them.
Middleton was severely wounded and died when he was being transported
to land, but Savard survived to spend the rest of the war as a POW.
Another Beaufighter fell
at the entrance to Fordefjord. F/L McColl and W/O MacDonald from 455
(RAAF) Sqdn. survived the crash-landing only to be taken in arrest by
German soldiers in a nearby civilian house. Much to the German’s intense
irritation, Norwegians supplied McColl and MacDonald with food rarely
seen at this stage of the war.
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Endgame
The last Beaufighters
to attack the vessels was PL-O with F/S Stan Butler at the controls.
He had just attacked a small vessel with cannon fire and was trying
to escape the inferno when a small calibre projectile pierced the cockpit
and destroyed a distribution manifold in the hydraulic system at the
base of his control column. As Butler was manoeuvring wildly to put
the Flak gunners off their aim, the liquid splashed all over him and
his canopy, making it very difficult to see out. At that moment the
navigator F/S Nicholl discovered " the unmistakable front silhouette
of an FW 190 with little lights sparkling along its wings". Butler used
a special trick he had learned during his training by a Canadian instructor
in Calgary, Alberta. By careful control of the rudder and banking port
and starboard, he was giving the impression that he was weaving from
side to side. This would make it difficult for any attacker to get a
good shot at his target, especially since Butler was constantly changing
his altitude. Before the German pilot could figure out what to do about
this elusive Englishman, Nicholl had fired a red Varey cartridge, which
thankfully alerted a Mustang to their problems. The Mustang successfully
chased the offending Focke-Wulf away.
Butler and Nicholl continued
into Fordefjord for a while before they found a suitable place to climb
into the skies. This was not done without some risk, though, as the
Beaufighter was damaged and they did not know the extent of these damages.
They managed to find the correct course to Dallachy and after a 3000
ft crossing of the North Sea, they finally put down at Dallachy making
a perfect wheels-up landing. Butler still recalls how he pressed hard
on his non-efficient brakes during the landing! A ground crew later
found a bullet in one of PL-Os self-sealing fuel tanks.
Photos of the damaged
NE 831, PL-O indicates the extent of the damages from Z-33 and the Focke-Wulf.
Mark Postlethwaites excellent painting depicts PL-O just after the shell
has hit it from Z-33, heading into Fordefjord with an aggressive FW
190 in pursuit.
The battle lasted only
about 15 minutes. Thus at about 16.30 the last combatants withdrew from
the battle and set course for home. The remaining Beaufighters and Mustangs,
many of which were damaged, flew singly or in small groups all the way
to Dallachy. Not only the planes had suffered aboard Beaufighter UB-X
of 455. Sqdn. F/O
Spink, the pilot, was severely wounded. The navigator, F/O Clifford,
had suffered a wound in his arm, but still he was able to assist his
pilot. It did not help that the starboard engine had been damaged and
was running out of control. At Dallachy they made a wheels-up landing
in the dark, quite remarkable in view of the damages on both men and
machine. Both received the "Distinguished Flying Cross" for this considerable
feat.
F/O Thompson from 455
Sqdn. also made a belly landing with his Beaufighter UB-Q at Dallachy.
Many of those that did manage to land in the normal mode had shot up
fuel tanks, missing parts of the control surfaces and other damages.
The ground crews were obviously in for a lengthy period of repairs.
At 18.45 the last Beaufighter
landed at Dallachy. Artner had led his Staffel into combat and landed
at Herdla on 16.55, barely more than an hour after take-off.
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Results
and Consequences
As can be gathered from
the crew tables, the allied Strike Wings suffered heavily during this
battle. 1 Mustang and 9 Beaufighters were shot down, no less than 6
of the Beaufighters from the hard-hit 404(RCAF) Squadron. This squadron
lost 11 men killed on this day, with another one taken prisoner. Altogether
14 young lives were lost on the allied side, and at this stage of the
war with the end clearly in sight, it must have seemed a heavy price
to pay.
The Germans suffered
losses also, tough not so appalling. As related above, Otto Leibfried
died after the battle was over, and Rudi Linz was probably dead before
his Focke-Wulf hit the ground. The two other Germans shot down survived.
Thus only two Germans fell in aerial combat.
In view of the enormous
effort and terrible losses, the result of the attack were very disappointing.
Z-33 was not prevented from continuing to Trondheim, even if 4 sailors
were killed. Another attack some days later did nothing to stop it either.
On VP-6808, one of the escorts, 3 men were killed and several wounded.
It has not proved possible to verify losses aboard the other vessels
present, but most probably there were casualties here as well. It is
known that wounded sailors were committed to the hospital in Floro on
the night of 9/10. February. Damages to the ships were light as well.
Z-33 had suffered an explosion after an attack by F/L Powers from 144.
Sqdn and a minesweeper were set afire amidships. But no vessels were
sunk, as was the general intention behind the attack.
Remarkably, there were
no casualties amongst the civilians during the attacks, despite the
fact that some had experienced some frightful near misses. The long
preparation of the attack was in all probability the reason for this,
giving the civilians time to hide I suitable places. Some time after
the battle when a civilian tried to salvage a Hercules-engine from a
Beaufighter wreck, his skin was penetrated by the sharp metal pieces.
The man tragically died of blood poisoning a week after the battle.
The battle was to have
important consequences for the conduct of future shipping strikes. It
was suggested to alter the target priority, giving surfaced submarines
top priority instead of surface warships, as had been the practice up
to now. Tankers and troop transports were also to have a high priority.
But whatever the priority, the strike of 9. February 1945 was the last
in which heavy attack planes were sent against well-defended warships
of the Kriegsmarine.
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