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Dornier Do 217 K-3 (4701) carrying a Fritz X guided bomb was shot down and crashed into Whitsand Bay on 30th April 1944, during the last air raid on Plymouth.

Types

Dornier Do 217 K-3 (4701)

History

This WWII German aircraft loss near Plymouth was notable because of the weapon carried for the attack, a steerable, free-fall, armour piercing bomb known as Fritz X. Designed by Dr Max Kramer, the PCI1400X Fritz X was one of the world's first operational anti-shipping missiles. Built around the Standard PC 1400 armour piercing bomb, the Fritz X was steered by radio control of tail mounted spoilers onto the target. From a launch altitude of 19,680 Ft (6,000m), the weapon was capable of piercing 5 1/2 in (130mm) of ship hull plating. The aircraft that carried this new weapon was a K variant of the Dornier 217. Introduced in the autumn of 1942, the Do 217K-1 bomber had a larger glazed nose with an unstepped cockpit; two Fritz X missiles were carried beneath the wings of the Do 217K-2, and FuG 203a and FuG 230a guidance equipment was installed in the fuselage. it was a missile launched by a Do 217K-2 of 111/KG 100, operating from Marseilles that sank the Italian battleship Roma.

Twelve aircraft from 8 and 9 KG100 each carrying a single Fritz-X took off from Orleans on the night of 29th April 1944, the target being the battleship HMS King George V thought to be at anchor in Plymouth Sound. Under the command of Gruppenkommandeur Hauptmann Herbert Pfeffer, the bombers were to fly to Morlaix, pick up the blind bombing radio guidance beam called Knickebein and follow it to Plymouth, using the same guidance beam to head for Toulouse after the atack

The plan was to illuminate the targets in Plymouth using flares dropped by Ju 188s from KG66 but either they were late or the Dorniers were early, as the first bombers arrived over Plymouth at 0330 on 30th no flares were seen and mist and a smoke screen covered the port. Also in the air at the time was Sqn Ldr David Williams and F.O. C.J. Kirkpatrick in a Mosquito from 406 (Canadian) Squadron.

Leutnant Herbert Palme in Dornier 217 K-3 6N+1T approached Plymouth intent on dropping his bomb on the battleship but his ailerons jammed, the smokescreen obscured the ground so he made a guess at his target and dropped his Fritz-X. The German plane was caught in searchlight beams and became an easy target for Williams in his Mosquito, Palme lost control and the Dornier crashed near Totnes.

Pfeffer in Dornier 217 K-3 6N+AD could see nothing of the target so circled four times around hoping for a break in the smokescreen and mist, his plane too was cought in searchlights and was seen by Williams. Willams' report states that the 'attack made at 100 yards, short burst on the starboard side, the enemy bursting into flames, turning on its back and crashing into the sea'. Two of the crew of the Dornier baled out but Pfeffer and observer Feldwebel Heinrich Penz were killed when the bomber crashed. The two survivors managed to swim ashore and told interrogators that their bomber had been shot down by ground fire or pilot had lost control, not knowing that they had been shot down by Williams and Kirkpatrick. This was the last air raid on Plymouth during WWII.

Location

Whitsand Bay, 500m west of Rame Head. The remains of this aircraft has not been found.

Please note that all aircraft in UK waters that have crashed during military service are protected under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

Last updated 21 Aug 2021

Position GPS: Unknown

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