B-17 CC Additional Material by Robert M Stitt

Pair of Junkers Ju 88 R-2s
of 13/KG 40, led by Oblt
Hermann Horstmann (via
Kelvin Youngs, Aircrew
Remembered)
13./KG 40 pilots, left
to right: Ltn Gerhard
Blankenberg, Oblt Hermann
Horstmann and Oblt Dieter
Meister. (via Kelvin Youngs,
Aircrew Remembered)
Hermann Horstmann
The air war over the Bay of Biscay, fought
mostly over the passage of German U-boats and
Allied aircraft transiting to and from the Atlantic
from 1942 to 1944, was among the most unforgiving
of the Second World War. Encounters between
Luftwaffe and Allied airmen tended to be
intense and, for those unlucky enough to be shot
down over the cruel waters of the Bay, final.
V Group/Kampfgeschwader 40 (V/KG 40) was
the Luftwaffe’s only long range maritime fighter
unit. Equipped with the formidable Junkers
Ju 88C and latterly the Ju 88 R-2 twin-engined
heavy fighter, or Zerstörer, it was tasked with protecting
U-boats from the attentions of attacking
Allied aircraft which, until mid-1942, had experienced
little opposition. Success came quickly with a Wellington of 311 Squadron shot down on July
15 and two more from 15 OTU on July 20, although the attacking Ju 88 was in turn shot down during
the latter engagement.
Twenty-four-year-old Oblt Hermann Horstmann joined 13/KG 40 on January 20, 1943. He had no
previous fighter experience but quickly achieved his first aerial combat success on February 5, shooting
down a Bell P-39 Airacobra from a flight of 346 th Fighter Squadron, 350 th Fighter Group aircraft that had
become lost en route from Cornwall to Gibraltar. His next two victims came a day apart. On March 23,
Horstmann shot down Fortress IIA FK209 ‘J’ of 59 Sqn (see profile for Richard John Weatherhead and
main text) while on the following day he brought down Halifax II BB277 ‘H’ of 58 Sqn – in each case,
all on board were lost. Horstmann was promoted to Staffel Kapitän of 13/KG 40 the same day after just
two months with KG 40.
Air activity over the Bay continued to increase with the Ju 88s attempting to intercept Coastal Command’s
Liberators, Fortresses, Wellingtons, Whitleys and Sunderlands as well as aircraft of the USAAF
and USN. They in turn were hounded by superior but nonetheless vulnerable Beaufighters of Coastal
Command. On June 3, 1943, Grossadmiral Dönitz announced that U-boats transiting the Bay of Biscay
would now do so in daylight in groups of two or three and, in the event of an attack by Allied aircraft,
stay on the surface and fight back. Starting June 1, V/KG 40 ramped up its missions in support of this
change, resulting in a greater number of encounters with Allied aircraft. In one of several combats that
day, Horstmann shot down a Wellington of 420 Sqn.
His next two victories took place less than a week apart. On August 18, he dispatched Wellington
HZ407 ‘K’ of 547 Sqn while on August 24 he was credited with the destruction of Halifax DT636 ‘J’ of
58 Sqn during an attack by no fewer than 14 Ju 88s. On November 29 he shared with three other pilots
in the demise of Sunderland JM676 ‘P’ of 461 Sqn.
By the end of 1943, Allied combat strength over the Bay of Biscay was in the ascendancy with Mosquitos
starting to take an increasingly heavy toll on the German long-range fighters. On December 12,
the respected and popular Hermann Horstmann was part of a six-aircraft group tasked with protecting
aircraft returning from a reconnaissance operation. Less than 30 minutes into the sortie, one Ju 88 suffered
an engine failure and had to be escorted back to base by a second. Ninety minutes later the four
remaining Junkers ran into eight Beaufighters
from 143 Sqn led by Wg Cdr Edric H McHardy.
Outnumbered two to one, they nevertheless
attacked, shooting down two Beaufighters, including
one by Horstmann. The Allied pilots
then regained the upper hand, sending three of
the Ju 88s plunging into the water. Like so many
other Luftwaffe and Allied airmen, Hermann
Horstmann was lost forever in the Bay of Biscay.
With special thanks to Chris Goss.
10