What did the Germans do with...

[Jessie The Jeep]

I'm not starting this with "I may be stupid but...", because I don't think I am (?), instead...

 

I may be less well read than others, but.......

 

What did the Germans do with all the flying equipment which arrived with captured fliers??

 

There must have been loads of gear such as parachutes & harnesses, bail out oxygen bottles and masks, heavy winter flying clothing and boots, survival rations and equipment, perhaps maps. What happened to it all?

 

The crash damaged airframes were all recycled by the Luftwaffe Scrap Commandos, unless they were repairable for evaluation, 'though a lack of unbent US propellors kept many captured US aircraft grounded.

 

Steve

[Rlangham]

I heard that the Germans used a captured B17, in US markings, to fly above US bomber formations and drop bombs on them, not quite sure how that one worked especially if one missed, even if they were just bomb shaped blocks of concrete they would have left a big hole in the fatherland

[Jessie The Jeep]

There were many cases of 'Supposed' Enemy operated bombers, but most were put down to stragglers from other formations seeking protection from other groups. The gunners didn't recognise the aircraft codes as belonging to their usual groups, so they "Had to be Enemy". The 8th even tested a "Marking of the Day" applied to aircraft each mission, but this soon proved to be impractical. Crews were however briefed to keep a watch out for aircraft acting suspiciously.

 

The late Roger Freeman, THE authority on the 8th AF said that he found no evidence of German operated B-17's and B-24 mixing with allied bomber stream, mainly due to the chance of being shot down by there own fighters. There wasn't time and it just wasn't practical for German fighter pilots to make note of "Friendly" codes carried by one B-17 out of 1000. There are one or two tales of "Enemy Operated" Bombers reported by allied crews, but nothing that is documented or that can be proved.

 

The German fighter tactics were to fly head on, fire probably no more than a one second burst, and dive away. They only had a 2 second window of fire in a head on attack before they would have to take action to avoid a collision. They would then climb parallel to the formation, out of range, and repeat. As ammo became low, they would bring up the rear of a formation, picking off stragglers. With these tactics, it would be impossible to look out for one "Friendly" bomber.

 

A familiar tactic was to use one of their own aircraft to shadow a formation, just out of range, radioing course and speed to assist the German fighter controllers. This was used to great effect following the bomber stream after one of the Russia Shuttle missions, and after the bombers landed in Russia, the Germans launched a bombing raid on the airfield, destroying more bombers on the ground than they could ever hope to in the air.

 

They did use captured aircraft for attack evaluation with their own fighters, and also for agent dropping or other duties in allied controlled airspace, where a familiar silouette over allied territory wouldn't arouse suspicion.

 

Again using their own aircraft, the Germans attempted to drop many different weapons on the bomber stream, including time-fused bombs, nets and steel cable. None were particularly effective due to aiming difficulties.

 

Steve

[rapier rob]

From some of the combat footage I've seen, the americans were quite good at dropping bombs on their own aircraft.

Saw one film of a bomb going through the port wing of a B-17, frightening, no time at all to get out before the plane started spinning.

Can't even imagine what that felt like, especially if you were only 19...

[schliesser92]

A friend of mine, sadly now passed away, used to be Luftwaffe during the war. He was working in a maintenance depot where a lot of captured stuff was held, subsequently evaluated by the relevant departments, and sometimes incorporated into Luftwaffe aircraft. The rest was just junked. He managed to retain some "souveniers".

[mark m uk]

KG 200, were the luftwaffe unit dedicated to use and maintain captured allied aircraft.

 

Seen here with a captured '17, - 'Punchboard' was damaged and forced down over Denmark.

 

[Enigma]

They used a B24 landing gear on their experimental Jetbomber with wings pointing forward. (Can't remember the designation).

[25 pounder]

All that could be re-used by the German troops(except helmets , uniforms- with the exception of what has happened in the Ardennes , Comando Skorzeny with US uniforms ) , has been used , as the war went to its end , we see more and more pictures of German troops with Us or British equipment , weapons , vehicles ...

[Enigma]

tHE gERMANS RE-USED THE dUTCH UNIFORMS.

cOLOUR WAS SIMILAR, THEY ONLY NEEDED TO ADD A NORMAL COLLAR INSTEAD OF THE dUTCH STANDING COLLAR.

tHINK Dutch HELMETS WERE GIVEN TO THEIR bULGARIAN OR rUMANIAN ALLIES/