Flak or Fighter
Gordon Nicol’s
post-POW report mentioned the crew was shot down by flak (ground fire) and one
of Doug Hick’s narratives indicate there was some question as to whether they
were shot down by a German fighter pilot or flak. However, several sources indicate it most
likely they were shot down by Luftwaffe night fighter pilot Heinz-Wolfgang
Schnaufer, using a ‘Schräge Musik’ upward-firing cannon.
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| Diagram of an upward firing canon. Image source: forum.warthunder.com |
Schräge Musik, roughly translated as oblique music, were fixed, upward-angled cannons developed by the
Luftwaffe to be carried behind the cockpit on night fighters. An attack by a
Schräge Musik-equipped fighter was typically a surprise to the bomber crew, as
the tactic was to approach from the rear and up to the blind spot beneath the
bomber, then open up with their upward-firing cannons. Crews might only realize a fighter was close
by when they came under fire and crews often attributed sudden fire from below
to ground fire.[1]
A book
published in 2011 by German researchers Jörg Helbig and Jörg Andree presented evidence that ME428 was the 121st, and
last, aircraft downed by Luftwaffe night fighter pilot Heinz-Wolfgang
Schnaufer. The book is titled: "...und brennend abgestürzt..."
(...and goes down in flames...). Their
research indicates that ME428 was downed at 21.56 hrs combat time next to a
village named Colbitz 23 km N of Magdeburg en route to the target of Dessau. An
eyewitness was found who was able to point out the location of the crashed
aircraft.
The book
“Schnaufer Ace of Diamonds” by Peter Hinchcliffe also notes Schnaufer’s last
downed plane of the war was at 21.56 hrs which is consistent with Allied
records of the downing of the crew’s aircraft ME428.
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