Description

In 1941-1942, if we do not take into account the night operations of Bomber Command, the air war ultimately affected Belgium only slightly. 1943, the pivotal year of the Second World War, was however marked for this country by the increasing intrusion of the ‘Viermots’ of the American VIIIth Airforce which, until then, had made little representation in its airspace. As early as April 6, 1943, the population discovered the deadly power of the ‘Flying Fortresses’ during the bloody bombardment of Mortsel. On this occasion, we were able to apprehend the local weakness of the Tagjagd (day hunting). Despite a regular call for fighters based nearby or temporary transfers of portions of Jagdeschwader, the German fighters (supported by the Flak) could only with difficulty contain the assaults of the Usaaf. During the first quarter of 1944, when the American fighters now had an autonomy allowing them to fly over the territory of the Reich, the daytime defense of the Belgian defensive glacis collapsed and the dogfights in the Belgian sky turned most often to bloody setbacks for a Tagjagd still present but numerically dominated.

Despite its major successes and the strengthening of its structures (such as the entry into service of the Florennes airfield at the beginning of 1943), the Nachtjagd in turn suffered from the law of numbers and it was probably during the last quarter of 1943 that his devices lost the game. Although fighting step by step, the Nachtjäger were no longer able to seriously block the British four-engined fleets setting out to bomb the Reich.

The ordeal of the Luftwaffe in Belgium continued in 1944 until the evacuation of the country in September 1944.
Aerial combat continued sporadically in the east of the country, however, culminating in December 1944 with the outbreak of the ‘Battle of the Bulge’. But, despite the efforts and sacrifices made, the Luftwaffe was no longer able to make the slightest decision (as was the case on January 1, 1945 during Operation Bodenplatte).

In 1945, pushed back to the east, the German planes only very rarely appeared in Belgium, the last of them seeming to have been lost on March 30 at Saint-Géry.

About 250 pages, enriched by more than 550 photos.