Rudolf Altendorf
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2. Staffel I./NJG 4
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Pilot Oberleutnant Rudolf Altendorf
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Bordfunker Wilfried Arndt
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Wnr. 6150 - code 3C+DK
The dogfight
The 17th of august 1943 was a turning point in the aerial warfare in Western Europe. That day, the American 8th Airforce attacked the ball bearing factories of Schweinfurt and the Messerschmitt plants of Regensburg. The U.S Airforce suffered heavy losses due to a well organized Luftwaffe. About sixty bombers failed to fulfill their mission.
A less known fact is that the Luftwaffe threw about anything they had into battle that day, including the Messerschmitt Bf 110 Nachtjäger (night fighter). A dangerous move, because the twin-engine Messerschmitt Bf 110 was no match to the far more maneuverable Thunderbolts.
Veteran Norbert Pietrek, pilot in the Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 of Florennes recalls :
Messerschmitt Bf 110
"That 17th of august 1943, we were ordered to fly a daytime mission. An assignment that we, nightfighters, considered as suicide.
I took off at Florennes airbase together with six comrads, heading north. But we were intercepted by enemy airplanes, and we immediately formed a defensive circle. Nevertheless the enemy managed to bring down three of our planes. I myself sought shelter in the clouds."
Pietrek was member of the 2. Staffel, a unit led by Oberleutnant Rudolf Altendorf, a man of great distinction within his unit, thanks to his outstanding record of service. By consulting the U.S. Air Force archives, we can conclude that the rivals of the Florennes-staffel probably were Thunderbolts of the 63 Fighter Squadron/56 Group. 1st Lieutenant Edgard D. Whitley claimed a Bf 110, 1st Lieutenant Glen D. Schiltz Jr. and 2nd Lieutenant John H. Truluck each reported having "damaged a Me 210"
The dogfight was, according to US reports, situated between Ans and Sint-Niklaas about 16.25-16.40 British time.
Two of the damaged Messerschmitts managed to escape by swerving to the Sint-Denijs-Westrem airfield.
Staffelkapitän Altendorf and his Bordfunker, Feldwebel Wilfried Arndt, were less fortunate. The Bf 110 (Werknummer 6150, Code 3C+DK) became uncontrollable, and Aussteigen (bale out) was the only option. According to German records, this event occurred near Assenede. The pilot landed safely, his companion was slightly injured.
The pilot : Rudolf Altendorf
Rudolf Altendorf already had a succesful career as Zerstörer before his transfer to the Nachtjagd. He scored four victories at daytime.
After a short stay in the Nachtjagdgeschwader 3, he was transferred again in the summer of 1942 as Oberleutnant of the 1. Gruppe of the Nachtjagdgeschwader 4, based in Laon-Athies, France. This unit moved in March/April 1943, to the new built Fliegerhorst (airbase) Florennes.
Altendorf became commanding officer of the 2. Staffel within the 1./NJG 4 -it was in this function that he was shot down that 17th of August 1943. After the summer of 1943 Altendorf and his Staffel were transferred to Germany, were the 2./NJG 4 was converted into the 12./NJG 5. On January 1st, Altendorf -meanwhile promoted to Hauptmann became the commanding officer of the 4. Gruppe NJG 5 stationed at Brandis.
Altendorf survived the war with a total score of 25 victories, for which he was awarded with the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold.
The Messerschmitt Bf 110
Initially, the Bf 110 was designed as an heavy armed airplane dedicated for ground attacks as well as air combat. This type of Messerschmitt flew for the first time in May 1936.
During the Polish and Scandinavian campaigns, it served very well, but over Western Europe, and in the Battle of England, it became clear that the Bf 110 could not compete with the Hurricanes and Spitfires. At the end of 1940, when the Royal Air Force started bombing the German industries at night, the Luftwaffe developed in great haste a night fighter. The Messerschmitt Bf 110 would play a major role in this development. Thanks to its range of action, armament, and use of radar, the Nachtjagd was able to trace and intercept the British bombers.
When the U.S. 8th Air Force started to bomb Germany also at daytime, the night fighters were put into action several times at daytime. But too many losses, like this Bf 110, forced the Luftwaffe to give up this kind of action.
The airplane with the Werknummer 6150 was a G-2 type, the successor (from early 1943 onwards) of the E model. The main differences between the E and G-2 were the more powerful engines and armament.
Engines :
2 x Daimler Benz DB605, 1475 pk each, water-cooled
Armament :
2 x MG 151 (20mm cannons) underneath the nose section
4 x MG 17 (7.9 mm) in the nose section
1 x MG 81 Z (two 7.9 mm guns) at the rear end of the cockpit, firing backwards
Unearthing the Messerschmitt
The impact was clearly visible .
The Flemish Heritage Institute (VIOE) took the initiative of unearthing the Bf 110, in close collaboration with BAHAAT. This dig was meant as a test case to see how an airplane can be excavated on a scientific base. It was also a test case to investigate how professional archaeologists and experienced amateurs can work together in this matter.
This makes the project unique, and the case is followed closely in Belgium and abroad.
The perimeter was outlined by our detection team, and the excavator operator could start immediately with his work.
After scraping off the topsoil, the impact of the crash soon became clearly visible, and the first aluminum fragments were spotted. All was documented and measured by the Heritage Institute’s archaeologist and topographer, while BAHAAT identified and sorted out the artifacts.
The soil in Assenede would turn out to be very generous that day. As the machine was getting deeper, more and more parts of the plane showed up. After the traditional smaller bits and pieces, the oleo struts, tires, tail wheel, armament, part of the cockpit, armor plates, oxygen bottles, propeller blades, both Daimler-Benz engines, and lots more were brought to the surface. Among the more “subtle” artifacts, we found an almost complete first aid kit, and the Bordfunkers map.
The picture page tells the story…
BAHAAT wishes to thank Marc Dewilde (www.vioe.be) and his team for the enjoyable collaboration, our sponsors, the firms Monshouwer (www.monshouwer.nl), Saricon (www.saricon.nl), Bom-Be (www.bom-be.be), and ABN transport (www.abntransport.be) for supplying the necessary logistics, and the landowner, mr. Roger De Nys.
