ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 227007
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Saturday 16 September 1944 |
| Time: | 18:10 LT |
| Type: |  Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 |
| Owner/operator: | 8./JG 26 Luftwaffe |
| Registration: | 171505 |
| MSN: | blaue 13 + – |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Remersdaal - Hombourg, Plombières, Liège -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Coesfeld airfield (G) |
Takeoff at 17:15 LT for a Jabojagd operation in Kampfraum NM - MM.
This aircraft was shot down in combat at 18.10 hours by a P-47 Thunderbolt of the 50th Fighter Group U.S.A.A.F. The pilot, Unteroffizier Ottomar Kruse, bailed out and was taken prisoner of war.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JG 26 “Top Guns of the Luftwaffe” by Donald Caldwell.
On the 16th August 1944, Uffz. Kruse shot down a P-51 Mustang of the 354th Fighter Group at Rambouillet, France. Two days later on the 18th August Uffz. Kruse landed at a race-track with combat damage, and was told by a Labour Service officer that he was in Arras.
Uffz. Ottomar Kruse 8/JG26 recalls: “Three Mustangs shot past, 400 meters (1,300 feet) above us to the left. We tore after them, I to the right of my Number 1. However, when I gained firing position, he disappeared beneath my left wing. "Stay here," I thought, "and Amis will have me." I tipped over my left wing, almost standing on my tail. I felt strikes in my left wing, and saw two holes beside the cannon; the sheet metal protruded up like roses. I had lost speed, and I greased my plane around, almost turning it on its own axis. The ground came up at great speed. Now it was time to stay calm. First I had to bring the plane under control, then check on my surroundings.
Fine- now where were the Amis? Still on my tail? I thought about the flak protecting my airfield, now just in front of me. I shot past the control tower, about 300 meters from its 20-mm flak emplacement, and saw its tracers fall behind me. "There may still be one of them back there," I thought, and banked my mill first to the left, and then to the right. No one there. My pals in the flak had done some good shooting.
I then cleared the area at minimum altitude. I passed over the first hill, and saw stretching in front of me a bank of ground fog, miles across. I made a wide turn and hunted for the field. The Mustangs were still hanging about, so there was nothing to do but clear out again. The two holes in my wing were very noticeable. Damn it, I had no maps. But there was a rail line, and alongside it somewhere would be a city with a landing field. So along the tracks at low altitude. Sure enough, after 10-15 minutes the desired city appeared”....
On the 25th August he claimed a P-38 Lightning of the 474th Fighter Group near Beauvais, the pilot was James Austin.
Unteroffizier. Ottomar Kruse. (Kruse).
Ottomar organised a trip for former Luftwaffe aircrew at Duxford "Flying Legends" air show in 1995. (Brownless).
Researched and compiled by Melvin Brownless in memory of the late Ottomar Kruse.
Sources:
Luftwaffe losses aircrewremembrancesociety3.com
PV-JG26 (285, 339); Caldwell, JG26 War Diary, II, s.349
http://ww2.dk/Airfields%20-%20Germany%20[1937%20Borders].pdf
Google Maps
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jul-2019 14:03 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 10-Jul-2019 14:05 | TigerTimon | Updated [Narrative] |
| 25-Mar-2020 09:51 | DB | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
| 30-Jun-2022 03:09 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation