ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 267736
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| Date: | Monday 25 December 1944 |
| Time: | 20:58 LT |
| Type: |  Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4 |
| Owner/operator: | 1./NJG 6 Luftwaffe |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Grosssachsenheim airfield, Baden-Württemberg -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Grosssachsenheim airfield |
Operation - Nachtschlacht, to attack Allied convoys in the area of Mersch, Neufchâteau, Sedan, Verdun, Metz and Diedenhofen.
Leutnant Friedrich-Wilhelm Kisker and his crew had a very narrow escape during take off at 20:58 hrs, as Kisker recalls 60 years later:
“Our sortie was planned to take us deep into France. In addition to two AB 250 bomb containers, my Bf110 was in consequence fitted with two auxiliary fuel tanks slung under the wings. Throwing the throttles open our heavily laden machine launched into its take off run, long flames darting from the exhausts. Just as we were about to claw into the air a jolt was felt through the machine. Unnoticed by ourselves, a Mosquito had opened up on us from long range and shot away one of the containers and its rack. Our rear gunner shouted that a shower of sparks had cascaded onto the runway behind us. As we were very close to the end of the strip by this stage, there could be no question of aborting the take off. Pulling hard on the stick I immediately felt that the elevator controls did not appear to be responding. Using both hands and my knees I worked the stick jerkily and succeeded in pulling up into the airfield circuit. I jettisoned the second AB 250 but wasn’t able to release the supplementary tanks. Given the situation -Mosquitoes evidently prowling in the vicinity- I decided to attempt to put back down immediately, which I managed to do reasonably successfully despite the high loaded weight. Almost as soon as the wheels touched down I realised that a bomb crater lay directly in the path of the Bf110’s landing run. I attempted to veer around it with some differential braking, increasing the effect by gunning one engine. I had no luck. All I succeeded in doing was ground looping the aircraft, the lateral forces on the undercarriage leg shearing it off, causing the fuselage to collapse onto the concrete runway. Both auxiliary tanks burst open as they hit the ground, the fuel straight away going up in huge flames. Fortunately the canopy hatches opened freely enabling the crew with one leap to vault through the fire and scramble clear. The explosion that followed bowled us over onto the grass verge that ran alongside the strip, but we survived unscathed save a few slight burns. Of course those onlookers in the command post believed that they had witnessed our certain deaths. Even the crash team failed to rush out to the scene. I’ll never forget the looks on their faces as we came through the door some ten minutes later in one piece. The female auxiliaries shed a few tears but then it was Christmas after all”.
Sources:
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 part five by Theo Boiten
Kock, KTB NJG6, page 202
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Sep-2021 10:16 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 05-Jul-2022 07:51 | TigerTimon | Updated [Departure airport] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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