Date:	Friday 25 February 1944
Time:	10:40 LT
Type:	Gotha Go 145
Owner/operator:	IV./JG 3 Luftwaffe
Registration:
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Venlo Airfield, Limburg -   Netherlands
Phase:	Standing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Venlo airfield (NL)
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Between February 20–25, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign, the United States Strategic Air Forces launched Operation Argument, a series of missions against the Third Reich that became known as Big Week. The planners intended to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle by launching massive attacks on the German aircraft industry. By defeating the Luftwaffe, the Allies would achieve air superiority and the invasion of Europe could proceed. The daylight bombing campaign was also supported by RAF Bomber Command, operating against the same targets at night.

On 25 February 1944, in the final "Big Week" mission, 823 bombers and 899 fighttrs of the Eight Air Force attacked avaiation industry targets at Augsburg, Stuttgart, Fürth, and Regensburg, the later target being also attacked from the south by B-17s of the Fifthenth Air Force.

Before the Eight Air Force formation crossed the Channel, 191 B-26s (five bomber group) were sent to attack airdromes in France, Belgium, and Holland. The purpose of these missions was to assist the heavies in their deep penetration by raising enemy fighters and engaging them. This would cause them to land for refueling and reaming at the time the heavies were crossing this section of occupied territory. 8th Air Force bombers were scheduled to leave Beachy Head at 1100 hours, their route over to Le Touquet for enemy landfall then flew in an easterly direction. All B-26 raids were planned to take place between 1045 and 1051 hours.

The 386th and 322nd BG were dipatched attack St. Trond airfield, Belgium, with Woensdrecht, Holland, as secondary target. The 323rd and 387th BG attacked Venlo airfield, Holland, and the 391st BG Cambrai / Epinoy airfield, France. These formations were escorted by RAF Spitfires, Mustangs and Typhoons.

The Venlo force bombed its objective, destroying three German aircraft on the ground: a Bf 109 G-6 and a Go 145 of IV./JG 3 and the Fw 190 A-6 WNr 470205 of Erprob.Kdo. 25. All were total losses (100% damage).

On the German side, controllers expected another large-scale deep penetration. At 1050 hrs, I./JG 26 and 4./JG 26 were scrambled but were not sent towards the heavy bombers over the Channel but were vectored north, towards the B-26 formations. The JG 26 pilots were heading for the St Trond force when the Venlo formation was spotted heading west, south of Walcheren.

The Allied crew reported being attacked by approximately twenty enemy aircraft just off the Dutch Coast at approximately 1124 hours. They attacked the last box of bombers, the 558th BS of the 387th BG. They were mostly FW-190’s along with three or four Me-109’s. The air battle lasted five to six minutes. The attacks were pressed home as close as 50 yards, from six, nine, and twelve o’clock positions simultaneously shooting down four of the Marauders, the B-26B 41-31648, 41-31660, 41-31671 and 41-32013. Many of the 387th crews stated their escort was adequate until they reached the enemy coast on the way out - no fighter escort observed at that time, the enemy planes jumped the last formation! The RAF escort was unable to intercept the German fighters. An He 177 was shot down by four pilots of 331 (Norwegian) Sqn near St Trond, which was protected by intense Flak who shot down and killed one of the victorious pilots. The Spitfire escort then reported nine Marauders of the Venlo force were attacked before the RAF could engage the enemy. One Spitfire opened fire without results. According to one report six German planes were destroyed during this raid, so it is probable that B-26 gunners claimed five (or six) victories.

Lt Karl Willius, the Staffelkapitän of 2./JG 26, led his Staffel in a quick attack before the escort could react and claimed himself two B-26 shot down as his 43rd and 44th victories. A third was claimed by Ofw. Hans Heitmann of 4./JG 26 as his 10th victory. Lt Georg Kiefner of 1./JG 26 claimed another damaged, but was hit in one wing by return fire. His ammunition exploded but he put his Fw 190 safely down at Maldegem. At roughly the same time, between 1125 and 1130 hrs, four pilots of III./JG 2, Lt Johannes Wiethoff of Gruppenstab, Oblt Josef Wurmheller of 9./JG 2 and Fhj.Uffz. Hans-Joachim Voormann of 12./JG 2 claimed four B-26 shot down (two by Wurmheller) and they attacked the same formation, each German unit probably counting the falling B-26s as his own victims.

http://www.b26.com/historian/chester_klier/113.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Week
http://paul.rutgers.edu/~mcgrew/wwii/usaf/html/Feb.44.html
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmdate.asp?thedate=440225&Submit2=Go
"Fighter Command War Diaries Volume Four: July 1943 to June 1944", by John Foreman. ISBN 1-871187-43-5
"The JG 26 War Diary, volume 2: 1943-1945", by Donald L Caldwell. ISBN 1-898697-86-8
Luftwaffe claim lists by Tony Wood and Jim Perry (http://lesbutler.co.uk/claims/tonywood.htm)
https://verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/rs.php?aircraft=&sglo=T3480&date=&location=&pn=&unit=&name=&cemetry=&airforce=&target=&area=&airfield=
book 'Vliegvelden in Oorlogstijd'
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=23180
http://www.ronaldv.nl/abandoned/airfields/nl/Airfields_NL_limburg.html#Venlo
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=fr&lat=51.368611&lon=6.212222&z=11&m=w

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Dec-2008 11:45	ASN archive	Added
01-Mar-2016 16:41	Laurent Rizzotti	Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Phase, Source, Narrative]
22-Feb-2019 20:43	TigerTimon	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source]
26-Mar-2020 15:28	DB	Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator]
13-Jun-2022 10:27	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]