The Luftwaffe response to the Dieppe raid was robust, with the resolve of the defending German pilots not found wanting as Chris Goss describes.
FW 190’S FIRST BIG BATTLE
Fighter-bomber pilot Lt Leopold ‘Poldi’ Wenger of 10/JG 2 and the other pilots of his unit were asleep at their billet near Caen when news of the Dieppe raid came through. Immediately, he and two other pilots were ordered to carry out an armed reconnaissance. However, what happened on take-off he had reason to remember well:
“I had lousy luck and at the same time a lot of good luck. Whilst opening the throttle, the undercarriage collapsed and I slid along the grass on my 500kg bomb. It was not a very cheering experience, especially when you know about the explosive effect of the bomb or when you have been able to watch its effect during an attack. So, I missed the first mission. With a Me 108, I flew from Caen to Ste André to get a new 190 and then back to Caen again. Valuable time was lost, and I was afraid I would be too late and the whole fuss would be over!”
The two other pilots managed to attack an unidentified warship, but one FW 190 suffered flak damage whilst damage to the other resulted in a forcedlanding west of Dieppe. But …
