Shadow over the Atlantic Read online

  Aside, of course, from the veterans of Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5, four individuals played a key role in the gestation of the story that follows. In this regard, I would like to mention Hellmut Hetz, Bob Hanes and Eddie J. Creek who, many years ago, brought to my attention the work of Oskar H. Schmidt, without which, this book would never have been written.

  Shadow over the Atlantic is dedicated to those four gentlemen.

  CONTENTS

  Introduction and Acknowledgements

  Author’s Note

  Glossary

  Map

  CHAPTER 1 Dark Waters

  CHAPTER 2 Junkers’ Colossus: the Ju 290

  CHAPTER 3 Eyes over the Eastern Front

  CHAPTER 4 Formation:

  Achmer, March–November 1943

  CHAPTER 5 ‘Now it’s serious’:

  Atlantic Operations, November–December 1943

  CHAPTER 6 The Kommandeur’s Report

  CHAPTER 7 A Burning Question:

  Atlantic Operations, December 1943

  CHAPTER 8 To see, or not to see:

  Atlantic Operations, January 1944

  CHAPTER 9 Black February:

  Atlantic Operations, February 1944

  CHAPTER 10 Fading Shadows:

  March–May 1944

  CHAPTER 11 Flight and Fight:

  June–August 1944

  CHAPTER 12 4./FAGr 5, by Nick Beale

  CHAPTER 13 Return to the Reich: August–September 1944

  CHAPTER 14 ‘Special Tasks’:

  KG 200 and Metallbau Offingen/Sonderkommando Nebel, July 1944 to February 1945

  CHAPTER 15 Divide and Fall:

  The Final Months, January–May 1945

  CHAPTER 16 ‘Genieße den Krieg, der Friede wird furchtbar!’:

  May 1945

  APPENDICES

  APPENDIX 1: Ju 290A-2–A-7 Technical Specifications

  APPENDIX 2: List of Known Aircraft and Losses (FAGr 5)

  APPENDIX 3: List of Officers

  APPENDIX 4: Aircraft Strength, July 1943 to March 1945

  APPENDIX 5: Navigational Methods employed by FAGr 5

  Endnotes

  Bibliography and Sources

  INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ‘I’ve got something for you.’

  So announced my good friend, Eddie Creek, upon his return from a holiday in the United States. It was 13 years ago. Eddie was visiting our office at the time and, with a wry smile, dropped onto my desk a slender, softcover volume in an untitled, wine red cover.

  I raised an eyebrow and glanced at him quizzically before picking it up and flicking through it. There were 145 pages and they were covered in typewritten German text. There was the occasional, pencilled annotation in the margin. It looked like a typed draft or a manuscript.

  I went to the first page where there was a title: Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5 Atlantik – Eine Aufzeichnung von Oskar H. Schmidt.

  To say my jaw dropped or my heart missed a beat would be untrue, but my eyes did widen a little in surprise. I seem to recall that I simply looked at Eddie and murmered ‘How…?’

  It was a rare history of a little-known but most interesting Luftwaffe unit – one that I knew had flown Junkers Ju 290s from western France in 1943/44 on long-range reconnaissance and convoy-shadowing operations in support of the U-boats. As far as I was aware, in the English language at least, there was very little known about its activities. But here was an account written by the former chief of the Stabskompanie of the Gruppe based partly on his memory and the memories of his former comrades, partly on private records and partly on official reports.

  It transpired that, while in America, Eddie had visited his good friend and fellow aviation enthusiast, Bob Hanes. Bob, in turn, had known the late Hellmut Hetz, a former pilot in 1./Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5 (FAGr 5), well from when they had both worked for Eastern Airlines. Bob recalls:

  I met Hellmut when I was working for Eastern Airlines in Houston, Texas. He was the Chief Check-Out Pilot for Eastern Airlines at JFK Airport. We spent a number of evenings talking about his experiences flying in the Luftwaffe, as he had flown so many different types of aircraft, including the Ju 88, Ju 188 and the Ju 290. He was also a test pilot on the Me 262 and went operational on the Ar 234 towards the end of the war. He used to kid that he was one of the first American war brides, as he had married an American in Germany after the war. He was a real gentleman and a hell of a pilot. I had told Hellmut that I was very interested in the Ju 290, as I had never read too much about the aircraft, and his wife, Romaine, was kind enough to send this package to me after his death.

  Although this intriguing piece of Luftwaffe history subsequently fell into my hands, and I could see its significance, I was also aware from information on the Internet that a book project on FAGr 5 was, apparently, already under way in Germany, though there were no details. So I put the Schmidt volume on my shelf – where it would remain for a long time – and waited eagerly for the book’s publication.

  The following year, 2004, and with no further news, I decided to write to Oskar H. Schmidt telling him I had a copy of his work and asking whether it would be possible to meet him in Germany to discuss the possibility of my writing a history of FAGr 5. Herr Schmidt replied:

  In the confusion of the last days of the war, together with my friend and Kommandeur, Hermann Fischer, I left some cases containing important documents (logbooks and war diaries) with a farmer in central Germany. We believed they would be safe there. But with the division of Germany, this area – the DDR (German Democratic Republic) – fell under Soviet control. It was only after the reunification of Germany that I was able to get in contact with the farmer’s surviving children. However, I was informed that the cases were taken off by the Russians and have never been seen since.

  As such, Herr Schmidt regretted that he was unable to help further but wished me ‘all the best for your further investigations and much success.’

  Over the coming years, as I visited archives in the UK and Germany to undertake research on other writing projects, I would use any spare time I had to locate information, no matter how inconsequential, on the history of FAGr 5. I also mentioned to a few fellow aviation researchers that I was interested in the unit. Very gradually, I began to build up a file of documentary information and, with the aid of Schmidt’s work, a more complete picture of the unit’s activities began to emerge.

  Beyond Oskar H. Schmidt’s account, the most detailed coverage of FAGr 5’s history can be found in Karl Kössler’s and Günther Ott’s excellent 1993 book Die großen Dessauer: Junkers Ju 89, Ju 90, Ju 290, Ju 390 (Aviatic Verlag). To this day, this book forms an essential and unrivalled study of the Ju 290 and the units with which it served. It proved a key aid to my research. These authors had access to many surviving logbooks of former FAGr 5 aircrew.

  A more recently available and invaluable resource, which shines light on the operations of the Gruppe, are the HW 13 files held at the UK National Archives, comprising records of the Government Code and Cypher School. These files contain a detailed summary of British radio intercepts and intelligence on Luftwaffe operations over the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic. To this can be added various British Air Ministry translations of German reports, British interrogation reports and, assisting with ‘the view from the other side’, RAF combat reports and diaries. In Germany, the Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv yielded a fascinating report compiled by the Kommandeur of FAGr 5 on his unit’s activities in late 1943.

  After absorbing all the information I had amassed and read, I was left with an impression of ‘heroic failure’; the crews of FAGr 5 had a thankless, tiring and, unlike their fighter pilot comrades, an inglorioius task. They would spend many hours in t
heir big Ju 290s, flying over endless stretches of grey sea, more often than not in dreadful weather, using technology that was often faulty, to try to locate enemy convoys, which against the vastness of the ocean, really did equate to needles in haystacks. They had to undertake these missions often in a lone aircraft against the prospect of ever-increasing enemy air opposition. And crucially, despite continual demands from Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz for air reconnaissance support for his U-boats, they did it with woefully inadequate numbers of aircraft. Yet, to execute such missions required very skilled pilots, highly trained navigators and radio operators, and sharp-eyed gunners, all with plenty of stamina.

  Ultimately, however, FAGr 5 was unable to render sufficient assistance to the U-boats, but that was no fault of its crews. To the contrary, they proved themselves equal to their task time and again.

  Meanwhile, several years passed, but still no book on the Gruppe appeared from anywhere else. Then, in early 2015, I received an offer to publish the story and so, after 12 years of inaction, it became a case of carpe diem.

  In writing this book, I must acknowledge, first and foremost, Oskar H. Schmidt, upon whose endeavours, together with those of his comrades, it is largely based. However, during my research and preparation I received assistance from several colleagues and fellow researchers and in this regard I would like to express my foremost thanks to ‘my Old Texas Friend’, Bob Hanes, and to Eddie J. Creek, for introducing me to Oskar Schmidt’s history of the Gruppe. My thanks also to Nick Beale for kindly contributing the fruits of his research into the little-known 4./FAGr 5; his chapter on this Staffel serves to enhance and complete the story. At the time of writing, Nick runs a fascinating and extensive website at www.ghostbombers.com which shines a light on many aspects of Luftwaffe history that may otherwise lie undiscovered. It is thoroughly recommended.

  Eddie J. Creek, Dave Wadman, J. Richard Smith, Edgar Brooks, Andrew Arthy, Chris Goss, Martin Pegg, Steven Coates, Andy Thomas, Adam Thompson, Edwin ‘Ted’ Oliver, Juan Carlos Salgado Rodríguez, Gordon Williamson, Jochen Mahnke, Dr. James H. Kitchens III, Dennis Davison and Ian Burgham have all kindly helped with documents, photographs, opinions and general goodwill over the years, for which I am most grateful.

  Dr. Konrad Knirim was good enough to allow me to reproduce the recollections of Hellmut Nagel. For those wishing to learn more about Luftwaffe navigational methods and timekeeping, Dr. Knirim is a leading authority on historic military watches and clocks. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Militäruhren: 150 Jahre Zeitmessung beim deutschen Militär (2002) and British Military Timepieces (2009). He runs a detailed website on military timepieces at www.knirim.de.

  I would also like to acknowledge my editor, Tony Holmes, as well as Marcus Cowper, Kate Moore and Gemma Gardner at Osprey Publishing for their belief and support in this project.

  My thanks too must go to Sally-Kate – as always. Her love and support have been immeasurable.

  Robert Forsyth

  November 2016

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  TIMES AND TIMING

  All times in this book are as taken from original documents. However, the interpretation and understanding of the complexities of UK and Continental European time variations can be challenging, to say the least.

  I can only recommend the late Roy Conyers Nesbit’s illuminating overview in RAF Records in the PRO1 from which I take the liberty of quoting an extract:

  … the times of take-off and landing of aircraft based in the UK can vary from local time to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and … it is sometimes difficult to distinguish which were entered in the records. Generally times were recorded in local time, but where they were taken from navigators’ logs in Squadrons based in the UK, they were usually in GMT.

  During the war, local time varied from GMT to British Summer Time (BST, 1 hour in advance of GMT) to British Double Summer Time (BDST, 2 hours in advance of GMT). An example of this difference in times is:

  GMT BST BDST

  14.00 hrs = 15.00 hrs = 16.00 hrs

  Local time in the UK varied as follows:

  From 02.00 hrs Sunday 15 Aug 1943 BST

  02.00 hrs Sunday 2 Apr 1944 BDST

  02.00 hrs Sunday 17 Sep 1944 BST

  02.00 hrs Monday 2 Apr 1945 BDST

  On the other hand, the Germans used Central European Time (CET, 1 hour in advance of GMT) and German Summer Time (GST, 2 hours in advance of GMT), so that for example:

  GMT CET GST

  14.00 hrs = 15.00 hrs = 16.00 hrs

  Local time in Germany varied as follows:

  From 02.00 hrs Monday 4 Oct 1943 CET

  02.00 hrs Monday 3 Apr 1944 GST

  02.00 hrs Monday 2 Oct 1944 CET

  02.00 hrs Monday 2 Apr 1945 GST

  LUFTWAFFE NAVIGATIONAL LOCATION SYSTEM

  Readers in this book will notice that many German navigational fix/position references follow a four-digit suffix after the line of longitude. For example ‘25° West 4546’: this four-digit number was a reference to a map grid system comprised of larger (‘Großtrapez’), medium (‘Mitteltrapez’) and small (‘Kleintrapez’) positional squares based on the Gradnetzmeldeverfahren (‘grid method’). The size of a Großtrapeze was approximately 70 x 111 kilometres, while a Mitteltrapez had an area of approximately 35 x 28 kilometres and the Kleintrapez of approximately 9 x 11 kilometres. Each Mitteltrapez was, in turn, sub-divided into 8 numbered squares, and the Kleintrapez into numbered 9 squares, with the square reference numbers running sequentially in columns, from top to bottom, left to right as one looked at the map.

  The above example of ‘25° West 4546’ refers to a position in the Atlantic in ‘Großtrapez’ 45 and then ‘Mitteltrapez’ 4 (of 8 squares) and ‘Kleintrapez’ 6 (of 9 squares).

  Those readers wishing to know more details are recommended to consult the following websites available at the time of writing:

  •The Luftwaffe Map Reference System (Gradnetzmeldeverfahren) by Andreas Brekken at: www.stormbirds.com/eagles/research/gradnetz/gradnetz.html

  •Info for LUMA [Luftwaffe Grid Map Converter] at: http://www.gyges.dk/LUMA%20Guide%20v2007%2005.pdf

  GLOSSARY

  Abwehr

  German Military Intelligence Service

  Aufklärungsgruppe

  Reconnaissance Group (flying)

  B-Dienst (Beobachtungsdienst)

  Interception and recording, decoding and analysis section of Marinenachrichtendienst (Naval Intelligence Service)

  Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote (BdU)

  Commander of Submarines

  Bildoffizier

  Photographic Officer

  Deutsche Kreuz (DK)

  German Cross

  Deutsche Kreuz in Gold (DKG)

  German Cross in Gold

  Ehrenpokal

  Honour Goblet awarded to Luftwaffe aircrews for ‘For Special Achievement in the Air War’

  Einsatzkommando

  Operational Detachment

  Erprobungsstelle

  Test Centre

  (F)/Aufkl.Gr Long-Range Reconnaissance Group

  Fernaufklärungsgruppe (FAGr)

  Long-Range Reconnaissance Group

  Fernerkunder

  Long-range reconnaissance aircraft

  Ferngerichtete Drehringlafetten (FDL)

  remotely controlled gun mounts

  Fliegerführer

  Air Commander (usually a regional or functional tactical appointment)

  Fliegerverbindungsoffizier (Flivo)

  Air Liaison Officer

  FuG (Funk-Gerät) Radio set/apparatus/equipment

  General der Aufklärungsflieger

  Commanding General of the

  Reconnaissance Arm

  Generalluftzeugmeister

  Inspector-General of the Luftwaffe

  Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT)

  The volume of space on a ship available for cargo

  Gruppe

  Luftwaffe ‘group’ (usually comprising three or four Staffeln)<
br />
  Gruppenstab

  Group Staff

  Hiwi (Hilfswilliger)

  Foreign volunteer worker

  Hydraulische Drehringlafetten (HDL)

  hydraulically operated gun mounts

  Instep RAF term for patrol intended to shield Coastal Command units from enemy fighter attack while on operations in the Bay of Biscay

  Kampfgeschwader (KG)

  Bomber Wing

  Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen Verwendung (KGr.z.b.V)

  Battle Wing for Special Purposes

  Koluft (Kommandeur der Luftwaffe bei einem Armeeoberkommando)

  Luftwaffe Commander assigned to an Army command

  Kommando der Erprobungsstellen (KdE)

  Commander of Luftwaffe Test Centres

  Kriegsmarine

  German Navy

  Küstenfernaufklärungsstaffel

  Long-Range Coastal Reconnaissance Squadron

  Küstenfliegergruppe (Kü.Fl.Gr.)

  Coastal Air Group

  Lufttransportstaffel (LTS)

  Air Transport Squadron

  Luftwaffenführungsstab

  Luftwaffe Command Staff

  MAC Merchant Aircraft Carrier

  Nachrichtenoffizier

  Signals Officer

  Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (Ob.d.L. later OKL)

  High Command of the Luftwaffe

  Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW)

  Supreme Command of the Armed Forces

  Offizier zur besonderen Verwendung (Offz.z.b.V.)

  Officer assigned for special duties

  Organisation Todt

  Nazi civil and military engineering group

  Pulk

  Slang given to a formation of enemy aircraft

  Reichsluftministerium (RLM)

  Reich Air Ministry

  Reichsverkehrsministerium (RVM)

  State Transport Ministry

  Ritterkreuz

  Knight's Cross

  Schwan (or Schwan-See)

  FuG 302 C ‘Swan’/’Swan Lake’ droppable radio buoy

  Seeaufklärungsgruppe (SAGr)

  Maritime Reconnaissance Group

  Seekriegsleitung (SKL)

  Maritime Warfare Command

  Spiess

  A title given to the Senior Sergeant or NCO of a unit