This article's lead sectionmay be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(October 2023)
The air attack on the fortress of Koepenick[1] was an incident in the air war over Germany during World War II. It took place in October 1943 and was an example of target confusion.[2]
On 14 October 1943 the US 8th Air Force attacked the ball-bearing factories at Schweinfurt in central Germany, an industry which was seen as a bottleneck in the German industrial manufacturing system. The raid had led to the German air defences inflicting many losses on the bombers, but the city and the industry were severely hit.[1][2]
Attackedit
On 20 October 1943, just a week later, the 8th Air Force sent 119 bombers to attack the town of Düren, near the border city of Aachen. The Americans reached their target and bombed it, after which they turned for home. At this point German observers reported a large formation of aircraft heading south. In 1973, Alfred Price wrote that this was based on the noise of aircraft, though they were not seen; Adolf Galland attributes this to chaff dropped by the bombers drifting on the wind and registering on German radar.[2] When it was reported to Hermann Göring, the Luftwaffe leader, the attack on Düren was seen as a ruse and another devastating attack on central Germany was assumed to be underway. The Reichmarschall took command of the air defence and ordered all available fighter aircraft to intercept. As these fighters became airborne and could be heard from the ground or reported by radar, the impression of a huge force of attackers heading south became more pronounced. As they were on the same course as the force that attacked Schweinfurt less than a week before, Göring inferred that this was the target and ordered the fighters to intercept there. As the phantom bombers passed over Schweinfurt without any ill effect, Göring decided that they were heading for Leuna, the synthetic fuel refinery near Leipzig, another sensitive target. When again there was no bombing, Göring suspected an attack on the Skoda Works at Pilsen and diverted the fighters there. By this time, the fighters were running out of fuel and, as the defence system dictated, started to land at the nearest available airfield. As the fighters landed, the attacking force began to melt away.[2] Galland wrote that the sky was clear over Pilsen and ground observers could see there were no bombers, only German fighters.[1] With this, the phantom raid evaporated.
Aftermathedit
With the disappearance of the threat, Göring freely admitted that the joke was on him, that he had sent the Luftwaffe on a tour of their own airspace and sent an ironic telegram to all concerned congratulating them and himself on "the successful defence of the fortress of Koepenick", a reference to the Captain of Köpenick, a hoax of the early 20th century. Price and Galland pointed out the difficulties of discriminating between friend and foe in confused circumstances; both observed that neither side managed to resolve the problem during the air war.[1][2]
attack, fortress, koepenick, this, article, lead, section, short, adequately, summarize, points, please, consider, expanding, lead, provide, accessible, overview, important, aspects, article, october, 2023, attack, fortress, koepenick, incident, over, germany,. This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article October 2023 The air attack on the fortress of Koepenick 1 was an incident in the air war over Germany during World War II It took place in October 1943 and was an example of target confusion 2 Contents 1 Background 2 Attack 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 ReferencesBackground editOn 14 October 1943 the US 8th Air Force attacked the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt in central Germany an industry which was seen as a bottleneck in the German industrial manufacturing system The raid had led to the German air defences inflicting many losses on the bombers but the city and the industry were severely hit 1 2 Attack editOn 20 October 1943 just a week later the 8th Air Force sent 119 bombers to attack the town of Duren near the border city of Aachen The Americans reached their target and bombed it after which they turned for home At this point German observers reported a large formation of aircraft heading south In 1973 Alfred Price wrote that this was based on the noise of aircraft though they were not seen Adolf Galland attributes this to chaff dropped by the bombers drifting on the wind and registering on German radar 2 When it was reported to Hermann Goring the Luftwaffe leader the attack on Duren was seen as a ruse and another devastating attack on central Germany was assumed to be underway The Reichmarschall took command of the air defence and ordered all available fighter aircraft to intercept As these fighters became airborne and could be heard from the ground or reported by radar the impression of a huge force of attackers heading south became more pronounced As they were on the same course as the force that attacked Schweinfurt less than a week before Goring inferred that this was the target and ordered the fighters to intercept there As the phantom bombers passed over Schweinfurt without any ill effect Goring decided that they were heading for Leuna the synthetic fuel refinery near Leipzig another sensitive target When again there was no bombing Goring suspected an attack on the Skoda Works at Pilsen and diverted the fighters there By this time the fighters were running out of fuel and as the defence system dictated started to land at the nearest available airfield As the fighters landed the attacking force began to melt away 2 Galland wrote that the sky was clear over Pilsen and ground observers could see there were no bombers only German fighters 1 With this the phantom raid evaporated Aftermath editWith the disappearance of the threat Goring freely admitted that the joke was on him that he had sent the Luftwaffe on a tour of their own airspace and sent an ironic telegram to all concerned congratulating them and himself on the successful defence of the fortress of Koepenick a reference to the Captain of Kopenick a hoax of the early 20th century Price and Galland pointed out the difficulties of discriminating between friend and foe in confused circumstances both observed that neither side managed to resolve the problem during the air war 1 2 See also editBattle of Barking CreekReferences edit a b c d Galland Adolf The First and the Last p 101 1954 repr ISBN 978 80 87888 92 6 a b c d e Price Alfred Battle Over the Reich pp 95 6 1973 ISBN 0 7110 0481 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Air attack on the fortress of Koepenick amp oldid 1181488811, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
