White 1 History

Operational History of W.Nr. 931 862

Assembly and flight testing

Focke Wulf Fw 190F-8 W.Nr. 931 862 was constructed at the Norddeutsche Dormier Werke at Wismar in early June 1944 (BAMA RL 3). It was part of a large block of F-8s beginning with W.Nr. 931 004 and ending with 931 920. This block was not consecutive however and comprised a total of 324 F-8s. Assembly of the first machine was begun on 24th May 1944 which was delivered on 10th June. The last machine of this block was delivered on 20th July. The specific details regarding the construction of White 1 (and its companion survivor at NASM) is as follows:

Table 1. Production details of White 1, W. Nr. 931 862 and White 7, W. Nr. 931 884, the machine restored by NASM.

The figure below shows a small portion of the original document upon which the above table is based.

Figure 1. Production details of Dornier-built F-8s, including the entry for W. Nr. 931 862.
© Luftwaffe SIG Norway.

As the table shows W. Nr. 931 862 was assembled and ready for flight-testing by 8th July. The next five days were spent undergoing various tests, such as firing- and range-tests. The machine was then officially handed over to the Luftwaffe on 13th July and collected the same day when it was flown to the Luftwaffe aircraft depot at Anklam.

Early service history

The early service history of W. Nr. 931 862 has not been presented in detail before. German records and the logbooks of Uffz. Heinz Orlowski and Lt. Werner Gayko provide interesting insight into the operational life of W. Nr. 931 862.

W. Nr. 931 862 was one 6 Fw 190F-8s delivered to IV./JG 5 in mid-August 1944, along with 13 Fw 190A-8s. It is highly unlikely that 931 862 served with another unit prior to to being allocated to JG 5 and it thus spent a considerable time at Anklam awaiting it allocation to an operational unit.

The A-8s and F-8s were all allocated to 13./JG 5 (no Fw 190 losses are known from other units within JG 5 at this time), stationed at Nautsi in Finland and led by Oblt. Schneider (Orlowski pers. Comm.). The Staffel soon moved to Petsamo and the F-8s were quickly thrown into combat supporting the German ground forces that were under heavy attack by the Soviet Army. Two F-8s (W.Nr. 581 665 and 581 668) were lost on 26th September in combat with large Russian formations outside Vardø, Uffz. Thonemann and Uffz. Hagemeyer losing their lives. Another was lost in an accident on 29th September (W. Nr. unknown).

Figure 2. A Fw 190F-8 from 13./JG 5 in Northern Norway, fall 1944. Several interesting features are visible, including the wavy band of IV. Gruppe in white, the lack of Staffel colour to the aroured cooler ring, the spinner spiral, the type of national insignia on the underside of the wing, the flat canopy, the apllication of camouflage and the very dirty apperance of the engine, suggesting some heavy use. © Ulf Larsstuvold

Yet another F-8, White 3 (W. Nr. 580 694), was lost on 24th Oktober over Tanahorn, near Bærlevåg, in combat with P-40s and Il-2s. The pilot, Fw. Gustav Scharwächter, was posted missing. The next day, Kirkenes and the nearby airfield at Høybuktmoen were captured by the Russians. Shortly thereafter, IV.Gruppe transferred to bases well behind the frontline. On 6. November the pilots left Finnmark for good, leaving their remaining Fw 190s at Banak. The Gruppe had a total of 24 A-8s and 2 F-8s on strength by 1st November. W. Nr. 931 862 was one of the two F-8s.

The Focke-Wulfs at Banak were subsequently taken over by the newly formed 9. and 12. Staffel (III. Gruppe) on 9th November, the former also receiving some pilots from 13./JG 5, including Uffz. Heinz Orlowski. III./JG 5 reported 12 A-8s and the two F-8s (one of which was W. Nr. 931 862) on strength on 1. December 1944. It is also clear that 6 refurbished A-3s (probably ex-I. or IV. Gruppe machines repaired at Kjeller) were transferred to the Gruppe sometime in November, most of which were taken on strength by 9./JG 5. One of these, White 17, was assigned to Uffz. Heinz Orlowski. The other two Staffeln of III. Gruppe (10. and 11./JG 5) continued to use the Messershcmitt Bf 109G-6 (and a few G-2s). The next day Orlowski and the others took their crates to their new base at Bardufoss. W. Nr. 931 862 was now assigned to Staffelkapitän Werner Gayko and it probably received its call sign during this time.

The sinking of the Tirpitz

On 12th November, the fateful day when Tirpitz finally succumbed to the RAF, White 1 was in the air in a vain attempt to catch the intruders. Heinz Orlowski was also active, flying his Fw 190A-3, White 17. Orlowski was in the air by 09.25 and landed just an hour later, at 10.30. He flew a second alarmstart at 11.50, but the flight only lasted til 12.15. This second flight was probably a chase after the Mosquito sent to photograph the upturned Tirpitz but the interception was unsuccessful.

The next week was obviously one of high alert and tension. An alarmstart was flown on 14th November and in the days following the sinking of the Tirpitz, 9. Staffel flew several training missions. The following list provides details regarding White 1 's flights during this period:

14.November 1944; W.Gayko - Weiße 1 - Alarmstart Bardufoss, Ohne Feindberührung
16.November 1944; W.Gayko - Weiße 1 - F.T. Flug Bardufoss
18.November 1944; W.Gayko - Weiße 1 - Übungs-Alarmstart Bardufoss
18.November 1944; W.Gayko - Weiße 1 - Übungs-Alarmstart Bardufoss
19.November 1944; W.Gayko - Weiße 1 - Übungs-Alarmstart Bardufoss
20.November 1944; W.Gayko - Weiße 1 - Übungs-Alarmstart Bardufoss
23.November 1944; W.Gayko - Weiße 1 - Übungs-Alarmstart Bardufoss

On 27th November 1944 9. Staffel transferred to Bodø. The stay there was short however, for on the 30th the unit returned to Bardufoss. Heinz Orlowski, however, developed engine problems with his White 17 and had to make a forced landing at Bodø, during which his trusty Focke-Wulf was destroyed. Upon return to Bardufoss, Heinz Orlowski was assigned White 1. At this time the unit still had the two F-8s on strength.

The Luftwaffe's response on this faterful day has been the subject of much debate, especially since the Kommandeur of JG 5, Major H. Ehrler was courtmartialled and found guilty of cowardice. Although sentenced to imprisonment and loss of rank, he was later retruned to active duty and eventually transferred to JG 7 to fly Me 262 jets. His fighting spirit was broken, however, and he was KIA 4th April 1945. The exact events that took place on 12th of November and which affected to many human fates is currently the subject of study and will be presented in detail at a later date.

A few more flights were carried out from Bardufoss, including a Werkstattflug by Orlowski in White 1 on 2nd December. On the 12th 9./JG 5 finally left Bardufoss, taking up station at Bodø again. Two days later they flew further south, landing at Værnes near Trondheim. Orlowski flew White 1 on both of these occations. The Staffel was supposed to transfer to Herdla outside Bergen in Western Norway, but the lousy winter weather so prevalent at this time of year in Norway delayed the transfer. Not until 10th January 1945 could the unit finally touch down at the small island airbase at Herdla, which was to become their permanent residence for the rest of the war.

Map 1. Einsatzorte of White 1 in Norway and Finland 1944-45. N.B. Pre-war Finnish border only shown in the far north. © Kjetil Aakra

White 1 vs the RAF - 12th January 1945

It did no last long before White 1 again had to face the enemy. This time it it was able to inteercept the Lancasters of IX. and 617. Squaron which had eluded them during the sinking of the Tirpitz. On January 12th Lancasters from these units, again loaded with Tallboys, had set course for the uboat pens in Bergen. Also attacking this vital target was Mosquoitos from 617. and 627. squadron. Escort was provided by 12 Mustang IIIs from 315. (Polish) Sqd. Little damage was done to the pens, although a few ships were sunk and damaged.

As the Lancasters turned for home they became aware of a formation of single-engined fighters approaching them. At first they believed this was the Mustang fighter escort which had failed to rendevouz with the bombers. As the fighters turned into them and attacked it became clear what was going on. These were the Focke-Wulfs from 9. and 12./JG5 stationed at Herdla.

White 1 was one of these Focke-Wulfs. This time it was flown by its first owner, Werner Gayko. The formation had taken off approximately at 12.50. Gayko attacked and claimed one Lancaster shot down at 13.18. According to Orlowski this was done during the initial attack phase at a relatively high altitude and Orlowski witnessed Gayko's attack. Gayko landed at Herdla with White 1 at 13:45. The Lancaster was later confirmed and was Gayko's 13th victory.

Orlowski was flying an A-8 this day, with the callsign White 11. He had taken off from Herdla at 12.49 together with Uffz. Kirchner. Kirchner's Fw 190A-8, White 5 (W.Nr. 350188) developed gun stoppage during his attack and chose to return to Herdla. As reports came in of a low-flying enemy aircraft, Kirchner and Fw. Georg Lieber in Fw 190A-2 White 12 (W.Nr. 125 357) took off again shortly thereafter but neither returned. Lieber attempted to return but ran out of fuel and was forced to land in the sea where he died of exposure. What exactly transpired with Kirchner is not known; more details are forthcomming in a soon-to-be published book by Halvor Sperbund.

Orlowski on the other hand, successfully attacked a Lancaster and shot it down. The exact position of this attack is unknow but it was during the first phase of the batttle and from quite some altiitude. Several pilots from 9. Staffel witnessed the incident. Thereafter Orlwoski pursued and attacked another Lancaster several times, following it out over the sea, both planes eventually decending to sea level. This Lancaster executed several corksrew manouvres during the fight, the standard evasive manouvre when attacked by enemy fighters. Orlowski eventually expended all his ammunition in attacking this Lancaster and had to break off his attacked. Making a final flypast giving the Lancaster crew an honourary salute he turned around and headed for home. Orlwoski landed at 13:45 with damaged oil cooler and claimed two Lancasters shot down. As he did not have a witness for the last claim and had not seenit go down he was only awared the first.

Today we have a little more knowledge regarding the claims and losses of this fateful day. Two lossesd were suffered by the Luftwaffe, Fw. Lieber and Uffz. Kirchner (se above) while the RAF lost three machines:

Lancaster Mk I NG257 IX. Sqd. F/O E. C. Redfern
Lancaster Mk I NF992 617. Sqd. F/O I. S. Ross
Lancaster Mk I PD233 617 Sqd. F/H H. J. Pryor

Gayko and Orlwoski shot down the first two. Exactly which one was claimed by whom is uncertain, expecially as the two kills were claimed at approximately the same time and place.

The second Lancaster attacked by Orlowski was Lancaster Mk I PD198 WS-W, christened "Willing Winnie" and flown by F/LT. Ray Harris. An account of the events of 12th January can be found in Lancaster at War 3 in the chapter "Corckscrew Starboard - Go!". What is interesting is that Harris' account is almost entirely congruent with that of Heinz Orlwoski. It is therefore very likely that the German fighter which "flew alongside his port wingtip and the German pilot grinned across" actually refers to Orlowski's flypast just before he turned away. Harris' and his men reported being followed and attacked by four Fw 190s out over the sea, although Orlowski's account leaves the impression that he was the only one attacking it.

Be that as it may, PD198 was attacked no less that 15 times and suffered severe damage. With the hydraulics out and the trim tab controls shot out, it took two men to pull it out of the final dive that had turned the German fighters away. The crew eventually managed to nurse their strciken bomber back across the unforgivning North Sea to make an excellent wheels-down landing at their base. PD198 itself never flew an operational mission again, but served with 103. and 57 Sqds. before being finally borken up in 1947. But there can be no doubt, especially after reading Harri' account in Lancaster at war, that orlowski came very close to actually scora a double kil against the RAF on 12th January 1945.

The third Lancaster destroyed was hit by Flak over Bergen and was seen on a northerly course. This was the plane later intercepted by Kirchner and Lieber.

Incidentally, the German Flak-batteries claimed 11 Lancasters shot down, not really surprising when you have 11 Flak batteries hitting one Lancaster!

The Black Monday - 15th January 1945

After the eventful battle with the RAF elite bomber Squadrons, there was a short lull in the fighting for White 1. This lasted only two days, however. Gayko took White 1 up again on the 14th but did not encounter any enemy aircraft.

The next day was another story. At approximately 11.18 the Alarmstart sounded at Herdla. Only two minutes later nine Fw 190s are airborne, heading for a reported formation of enemy aircraft at Leirvik, Stord, to the south. In the lead is Oblt. Gayko in White 1.

This formation consists of six Mosquitos from 143 Sqd. Led by the famous French Wing Commander Max Guedj, four Mosquitos from 235. Sqd. and four "TseTse" Mosuitos from 248. Sqd armed with 57 mm cannon. Two Mosquitos from 333 (Norwegian) Sqd. are flying as outriders. This was a formation with highly experienced crewmembers. Their target is the already damaged cargo vessel Claus Rickmers that has taken refuge in Leirvik harbour.

When the German fighters arrive on the scene the Mosquitos have been badly mauled by the heavy Flak protecting the German vessels in the harbour. Guided by Gayko's commanding voice the nine 190s split into three Kettes and dive in to intercept the crippled Mosquitos. Over Selbjørnsfjordseveral small aerial duels develop.

One of the Mosquitos being targeted by three Fw 190s in Guedj's K-King and his wingman, Sdd. Ldr. Fitch. Fitch attempts to thrown off his attacker with a quick turn to the port but the Fw 190 is more manouvreable and hits Fitch's U-Uncle severely. The Mosquito flicks into two rolls before Fitch with the help of his navigator, Fg. Off. Parker manages to regain control of the plane. They are even able to fire a short burst at an Fw 190 attacking Guedj's Mosquito, unfortunately without effect as Guedjis shortly seen to crash into the fjord with his navigator, Flt. Lt. Langley.

Another Mosquito, flown by Flt. Sgt. Chew is fortced to ditch in the sea west of Slåtterøy Lighthouse. Further noprth one of the "TseTSe" Mosuitos actually fires his 57 mm cannon at a Fw 190 and apprently he scores a hit. The Fw 190A-3 of Uffz. Helbing, White 14, W. Nr 2127, is badly damaged and losing height rapidly. Jettisoning his canopy he desperatly looks for a place to make an emergency landing. Before he can attempt one, the smkoing BMW 801 quits and the Fw 190 plunges out of the sky to impact hard againts the ground. Helbing is killed instantly when his forehead is smashed against the Revi sight.

Two other Fw 190s are also lost. They were Fw 190A-8, White 4, W. Nr. 737 410, flown by Uffz. W. Zeuner and Fw 190A-8, White 16, W. Nr. 350 183, flown by Uffz. R. Lehnert. The exact cirumstance surrounding their loss is not clear but they proibably engaged two Mosquitos from 143. Sqd. in a fierce dogfight, which ended with all four planes going down and none of the crewmembers surviving. Eyewitnesses later related about a combat between twin-engined planes and smaller single-engined fighters shooting each other down.

Altogether 5 Mosquitoes were lost this day and sadly, only one cremember survived to become a POW for the remainder of the war. Their target, the Claus Rickmers not only survived the attack but also the war, only to be broken up in Spain in 1964.

More details of this combat are avilable in the article "Black Monday" by H. Sperbund, published in the March 2001 edition of Flypast.

The Black Friday - 9th February 1945 - White 1s final combat

The Black Friday was very similar to the Black Monday of the preceeding month. It began when two Beaufighter Mk Xs from 489. Sqd. discovered a Narvik-class destroyer at the entrance to vevringfjord in Western Norway on the morning of 9th February 1945. This was the Z-33. After encountering heavy flak the two beaufighters preceeded with their patrol and discovered 5 transports in Nord-Gulen, the largets being between 4-5000 tonnes. All of these were attractive targets but the Admirality's new target priority list put the destroyer first on the list, even if this was better defended by small escort vessels and the naturalk terrain.

Even so an attack force was assembled, consisting of no less than 9 Beaufighters from 144. Sqd., 11 beaus from 404. (RCAF) Sqd. and 11 from 455. (RAAF) Sqd. Escort was provided by 12 Mustangh Mk IIIs from 65. Sqd while 2 warwicks from 2790. Sqd. would fly as support. Two additional Beaus144. and 489. Sqd would act as outriders.

Even from the start the attack force got into trouble. Normally an attack such as this would be conducted so that the formation would exit out the narrow fjords in Western Norway but as the large formation prepared to turn "out to sea" they suddenly discovered that the enenmy vessels were placed directly beneath them! The German commander obviously knew what would be coming and had moved their ships further into the fjord, where the very steep mountain sides would protect the ships from enemy aircraft with hostile intentions.

This unfortunate move on part of the Germans necessitated regrouping and the mission commander, Wing Commander Colin Milson, had to make a difficult decition. Should they riks valuable time realigning themselves on the target or should they abort it altogether? The latter was not realy an option and deciding not to vast an opportunity to attack such an important ship as the Z-33, Milson ordered the formation to turn east to prepare for an attack "out to sea".

During the manouvering to position themselves it became clear toMWilson that an attack "out to sea" was impossible and again ordered the formation to change position. Now they would attack into the fjord, contrary to any normal practice. All this regrouping and positioning had taken a lot of time and just as they aligned themselves for attack distaster struck in the form of Fw 190s from Herdla.

The Alarmstart had sounded at Herdla shortly before 15.50. At least 16 Fw 190s had taken off, 9 from 9./JG 5 and 7 from 12. Staffel (the exact number of planes participating is open to conjecture, but 16 is most likely). The former were led by Fw. Rudi Artner in his "White 10" while Lt. Rudi Linz is leading his Staffel in his faithful Blue 4, an Fw 190A-8 marked with almost 70 black victory bars on its white rudder. The Kette from 12. Staffel is placed above and to the rear of 9. Staffel's formation, to provide cover in case allied escorts fighters intervene. This day Heinz Orlwoski is flying White 1.

Wing Commander Milson made the first attack, behind him others were queing up to make theirs. It was simply not room in the fjord for more than two or three beaus to attack at the same time. Projectiles of all calibres were streaming towards the planes, making the entire fjord look a very dangerous place to be! It is certain that the Flak was very heavy this day as the ships had been placed with the intention of giving such effective cover. The German gun crew were also highly skilled in their profession after more than 5 years of war. This speaks volumes of the courage and bravery of the young men who were to press their attack home, regardless of considerations to chance of survival and other trivial matters! But it was not a one-sided battle. The Beaufighters singled out their targets and according to one of the eyewitnesses "it seemed to us as if it was the boats in the middle of the fjord which got the worst of it". Some planes attacked from southwest, others from a more western direction, the latter used cannon and rockets against the Z-33. If not hit, there were certainly near-misses as the boat "rocked and shaked in the sea".

By 16.10 another factor is about to be brought into the battle. Beaufighter PL-Y of 144. Sqdn. piloted by P/O Smith and P/O "Spike" Holly acting as navigator, was one of the first into the attack. This crew was amongst the most experienced of the squadron, having more than 35 operations behind them. This was going to be their last, they reckoned, though it happened not they way they had imagined! As they dived into the fjord, Smith noticed about 8 small planes coming from the southwest. "Mustangs?" he wondered before he consentrated on his attack again. Having succesfully attacked and evaded the enemy ships, they headed up the vally of Naustdal barely 50 m over the landscape. Holly photograped the chaotic scene behind him and as he looked over the tail, he saw a fighter a couple of hundred yards behind them. He also wondered if this was a Mustang, but his hopes were shattered as he noticed the characteristic broad cowling of a radial-engined Focke-Wulf. It was a Focke-Wulf! A quick message to Smith over the intercom, and then things happended frightfully quickly. The German fighter attacked and he and Holly fired almost simultanously. A cannon shell exploded near Holly, and splinters wounded him in the belly, knocking him unconsiouss. The cockpit and port Hercules was also hit, destroying the intercom and any hopes of regaining base. At very low level they cut off some treetops and headed west, just north of Fordefjord. Smith had trouble comntroling the Beau' and understood that a crashlanding was the only option. But where? This part of Norway is not noted for its flat areas. PL-Y continued to fly some time westwards, and Smith managed to effect a crash-landing on the sea in Hoydalsfjord. Here they were resqued by civilians, but as Holly's wound needed proffesional attention, the Norwegians had no option but to contact a doctor. That was equal to contacting the Germans. Smith and Holly were thus captured later that evening, and eventually transported to Bergen. But they had survived.

Others were not so fortunate. 9. Staffel had attacked directly into the swarm of Beaufighters waiting to attack the ships. Artner wrote the following report after the battle:

"About 50 km north of Sogne-Fjord, we saw the enemy formation which consisted of approximately 30 Beaufighters and 10 Mustang escort fighters. During a combined attack with my Staffel, I managed to gain hits on a Beaufighter, which I attacked from behind and above. The beaufighter crashed burning in a flat angle. The crash was noted at 16.10 about 10 km north-west of Forde (Quadrat 06 East LM 1.5) The crew did not leave the plane."

This Beaufighter was seen to loose its tail and exploded shortly afterwards. A member of the crew, identified as a French-Canadian, was later found in the sea. This indicates that this Beau, possibly the first casualty of the day, was EE-V of 404 (RCAF) Sqdn. P/O Blunderfield and P/O Jackson were both killed.

At about this time, FD/L Foster in YT-Q, leader of the 10 Mustang MK III of 65. Sqdn. discovered the German fighters too. He could see how they attacked the Beaufighters over Vevring, diving out of the skies from about 4000 feet. Foster alerted his comrades over the radio. Then he saw three more fighters, heading directly for him. He fired a short burst at one of them, obtaining hits in the BMW-engine. Pursuing the Focke-Wulf, he observes how the enemy fighter was trailing black smoke; this is at least a "probable". The German fighter finally crashed into the sea near Heilevang. The pilot, Lt. Karl-Heinz "Charly" Koch took to his parachute and like his plane he ended up in the cold fjord. Norwegians eventually rescued him. Koch was flying a Fw 190A-8 coded "Blue 9". These events indicate that the three Focke-Wulfs of 12. Staffel flying top cover attacked some of the Mustangs, whilst the 9. Staffel dealt with the Beaufighters, at least initially.

Another Mustang managed to pick off Fj.Ofw. Otto Leibfried's "White 22", actually an F-8 fighter-bomber, near Gjesneset just opposite to where Z-33 lay. Leibfried managed to bail out despite being wounded, but he landed in very difficult terrain. In the nights following the battle, people could see his flares calling for assisance. There was however, little the Norwegian and German patrols could do. In summer 1945 leibfried's dead body was finally located lying on a small bed of pine branches.

The battle soon spread over a large area in all directions. The Beaufighters suffers heavily at the hands of the Focke-Wulfs. Near Gaular terrified civilians witness how a Beaufighter is pursued by a Focke-Wulf and is hit several times. The Beaufighter tries to land on an elevation, but the terrain makes this an impossibillity. The plane brakes in half during the ensuing crash and the cockpit-section slides down the hillside for more than 500 meters. Sadly, the crew perished in the crash. This was EE-C of the ill-fated 404 Sqdn. The crew, F/O Knight and F/O Lynch was on their first strike.

A single Mustang tried to help out, and attacked the German fighter. A long aerial duel developed. The Mustang finally caught fire, and made a wide turn out the fjord. Perhaps he will try to get away and make a crashlanding. But then the British pilot turned back. According to eyewitnesses the pilot must have been badly wounded, but instead of bailing out he continued the fight. But to no avail. The Mustang crashed in the green pine forest as the only Mustang loss of this battle. W/O Cecil Claude Caesar perished in the crash.

The German fighter was in trouble also. The engine had been damaged and this forced the pilot to bail out. A small charge dispensed with the canopy and a small figure detatched itself from the plane. But he was to close to the ground for the chute to open fully. Fortunately, the snowy hillside enabled the pilot to survive; a small avalanche carried him to the bottom of the valley. During the journy down, the flare gun accidentily went off, causing severe burns on one leg. Still, he could walk, and he found his way into a small barn. After a little while some Norwegians contacted him and made sure he got to hospital. The pilot was Heinz Orlowski and some distance above him was the final resting place of White 1, a very battle-experienced combat aircraft that had finally met its fate.

Further north, in Naustdal, three fighters followed closely in the tracks of Smith and Holly's damaged Beaufighter. The leading plane had an in-line engine, noticed the civilian witnesses, a British Mustang. The other two were clearly Germans as the Mustang suddenly dived into the valley to emerge below one of the Focke-Wulfs and then fired a short burst of fire at hit. It was a certain "kill" as the Focke-Wulf quickly flicked over and spiralled down with black smoke trailing behind to crash in a ball of flames near Solheimsstolen. The occupant, Leutnant Rudi Linz was probably killed before impact, as he made no attempt to evacuate the plane. 28 years of age, he was one of the most successful German pilots in Norway at this time, having been credited with 70 victories, most of them against Russians.

Artner got his second victory of the day not far from where Linz fell. Coming barely three minutes after the first, Artner wrote the following report detailing his 19. victory of the war:

"As the battle developed I manged to hit another Beaufighter twice during a low-level tailchase. The plane finally turned and crashed straight into the ground after yet another salvo. The crash was noted at 16.13 about 5 km nort-northwest of Naustdal (Quadrat 06 East KM 8,5)."

Beaufighters were shot down over a wide area. The Beaufighter of F/O Savard and P/O Middleton bellied in on the ice, but turned over and trapped to crew. Norwegians tried to help them but turned around as German soldiers fired at them. Middleton was severly wounded and died when he was being transported to land, but Savard survived to spend the rest of the war as a POW.

Another Beaufighter fell at the entrance to Fordefjord. F/L McColl and W/O MacDonald from 455 (RAAF) Sqdn. survived the crashlanding only to be taken in arrest by German soldiers in a nearby civilian house. Much to the german's intence irritation, Norwegians supplied McColl and MacDonald with food rarely seen at this stage of the war.

The last Beaufighters to attack the vessels was PL-O with F/S Stan Butler at the controls. He had just attacked a small vessel with cannon fire and was trying to escape the inferno when a small calibre projectile pierced the cockpit and destroyed a distribution manifold in the hydraulic system at the base of his control column. As Butler was manoeuvering wildly to put the Flak gunners off their aim, the liquid splashed all over him and his canopy, making it very difficult to see out. At that moment the navigator F/S Nicholl discovered " the unmistakable front silhouette of an Fw 190 with little lights sparkling along its wings". Butler used a spesial trick he had learned during his training by a Canadian instructor in Calgary, Alberta. By careful control of the rudder and banking port and starboard, he was giving the impression that he was weaving from side to side. This would make it difficult for any attacker to get a good shot at his target, especially since Butler was constantly changing his altitude. Before the German pilot could figure out what to do about this elusive Englishman, Nicholl had fired a red Verey cartridge, which thankfully alerted a Mustang to their problems. The Mustang successfully chased the offending Focke-Wulf away.

Butler and Nicholl continued into Fordefjord for a while before they found a suitable place to climb into the skies. This was not done without some risk, though, as the Beaufighter was damaged and they did not know the extent of these damages. They managed to find the correct cource to Dallachy and after a 3000 ft croissing of the North Sea, they finally put down at Dallachy making a perfect wheels-up landing. Butler still recalls how he prerssed hard on his non-efficient brakes during the landing! A ground crew later found a bullet in one of PL-Os self-sealing fuel tanks.

The battle lasted only about 15 minutes. Thus at about 16.30 the last combatants withdrew from the battle and set cource for home. The remaining Beaufighters and Mustangs, many of which were damaged, flew singly or in small groups all the way to Dallachy. Not only the planes had suffered; aboard Beaufighter UB-X of 455. Sqdn. F/O Spink, the pilot, was severely wounded. The navigator, F/O Clifford, had suffered a wound in his arm, but still he was able to assist his pilot. It did not help that the starboard engine had been damaged and was running out of control. At Dallachy they made a wheels-up landing in the dark, quite remarkable in view of the damages on both men and machine. Both received the "Distinguished Flying Cross" for this considerable feat.

F/O Thompson from 455 Sqdn. also made a belly landing with his Beaufighter UB-Q at Dallachy. Many of those that did manage to land in the normal mode had shot up fuel tanks, missing parts of the control surfaces and other damages. The ground crew were obviously in for a lenghty period of repairs. At 18.45 the last beaufighter landed at Dallachy.

Alltogether 9 Beaufighters and one Mustang had been lost, aloincluding no less than six from 404. (RCAF) Sqd. This Sqadron lost 11 men, a high percentage of the 14 allied crewmmbers killed this day.

The Luftwaffe also suffered heavily. Four planes went down, and two pilots were killed.
Artner had led his Staffel into combat and landed at Herdla on 16.55, barely more than an hour after take-off.

Full details of this aerial battle, surely one of the largest and fiercest ever fought over Norwegian soil, can be seen in Kjell ove Nordeide and Halvor sperbund's new book, "Den Svarte Fredagen" (only available in Norwegian at the time of writing).

This was not the end of Orlowski flying career however. Although he was hospitalized he managed to fly to further alarmstarts from Herdla. On 4th and 5th May 1945 he flew on some of the very last interception missions flown by JG 5. On both of these occations Orlowski flew an Fw 190 marked White 8.

Interestingly, there were two further White 1s in 9. Staffel after the demise of 931 862. The "second" White 1 did not last long as it was destroyed on its very first mission on 25th March when Gayko made a forced landing on the sea after having developed engine trouble (caused by hits from a P-51 Mustang. This incident is related in some details in Girbig's book on JG 5. The plane was an Fw 190A-8, either W. Nr 732 217 or W. Nr. 737 935. The "third" White 1 was flown on at least two occations by Gayko in April, including one combat mission.