In March of 1944 Axis Sally promised the boys of the 340th Bombardment Group stationed on Corsica a 'visit.'
During the night of May 13-14, 1944 the Luftwaffe made good on the promise.
A daring raid was executed with incredible precision. Actually it was a double raid. Part one consisted of an attack on the fighter air base at Borgo-Poretta. With the fighters neutralized they had free range to return the same night to take out the B-25 bomber base at Alesani, Corsica.
The attack was devastating, 24 dead, 115 wounded and 65 of the 80 or so aircraft in the Group destroyed on the ground. We have many accounts of the attack by the men on the ground who suffered through it (including my father who was there that night).
It has been called the last large-scale success of the Luftwaffe in the war.
Recently Peter Taghon published “Die Geschichte des Lehrgeschwaders1” and included some first-person accounts from the German crews who flew those missions.
I have received permission to publish a translation of the pages describing the attack from the point of view of the German flyers.
I find the differences between the American and the German accounts to be fascinating.
If interested, please stop by the website at:
http://home.comcast.net/~dhsetzer/tagho ... _index.htm
.