Unternehmen Bodenplatte, the Luftwaffe's New Year's Day attack on Allied airfields in the West, was subject to huge post-war criticism and historical revisionism, especially from the German side including Adolf Galland. What many have not understood is that Bodenplatte ­ "Base" or "Ground Plate" ­ was just one part of the German December offensive in the West.

What is often referred to regarding the Bodenplatte operation was the Luftwaffe's high loses in planes and personnel. These losses amounted to 280 aircraft (of which 15% were shot down by the Germans' own air defences) and along with them 220 pilots listed as killed or missing thereby weekend the German fighter force past of any hope of rebuilding. All this for some hundreds Allied planes that was said to have been destroyed and severely damaged on the ground.

How large the Allied losses actually were on this this day no one will know for certain as the Americans erased their files after the war, just as they did for their tank losses during the Ardennes Offensive. Participating with a total of 75 aircraft the JG 4 aircraft tasked with attacking various airfields, I, II and IV Gruppe were hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire and the massed formation became scattered and therefore impossible to co-ordinate an effective attack, with only in Staffel strenght locating or attacking any intended objective. Overall, some 26 fighters were lost and another six damaged, with nearly half the participating aircraft lost, JG 4 suffered the highest percentage losses of all the units taking part in the operation.

One of the losses experienced by the JG 4 was Gefr. Walter Wagner's Fw 190A-8/R2 "White 11" that was hit by Anti-aircraft fire while he was attacking St. Trond airfield. Wounded and with a dead engine Wagner was forced to make an emergency landing, subsequently making a perfect belly landing at the edge of the airfield at St. Trond, the home to the 404th FG and was promptly captured by the Americans garrisoned there. Soon the Engineers of the 404 FG had to search in France for a new propeller and engine cowlings to repair "White 11".

The 404th's CO Colonel Leo Moonlater later wrote this about this priced war boot machine: " the aircraft was painted red by a crew who had overheard me saying that I had always wanted to own a red airplane ..the OO*L code was placed on it because we had created an 'imaginary' fourth Squadron in the Group, and as in the 508th, we used the first initial of the pilot's name as the last of the three code letters. Since I agreed that we should try and get the 190 into flying condition everyone considered it my aircraft and added the 'L' accordingly..when it was ready I taxied it at all speeds up to near takeoff speed but we had no clearance to fly it from the Anti-Aircraft. After taxiing in I found the tires soaked in hydraulic fluid and they were so deteriorated I felt that they were unsafe..we spent considerable time looking for new tires without success. Then we had to move on and left the Fw 190 at St. Trond. I regret that I wasn't able to get that 190 in the air - I had even learnt the 'offs' and 'ons' of the switch labels in German but I don't feel too bad about not flying it. I did get to fly the Bearcat which I believe was more or less a copy of the 190 -although no-one ever admits it..."

Note that this profile depict Wagerers Fw 190 when it had belly landed, before the US crews have exchange parts of the engine cowlings and removed its weapons and the R2s side amour.

Regarding Profile Book No 14. This Friday I manage to write the last of the 130 profile captions to Book No 14, two weeks befor the planned scedule. Unfortunatly I have to pospone the Profile Book about the JG 52, and instead published book No 15 as Book No 14 as my next profile book in June this year.

Includes in the Profile Book No 14, the reader would find, Four Bf 109 A and B:s, 17 Bf 109 Emils, 27 Bf 109 Fs, 23 Bf 109 Gs, and another 13 late war Bf 109 Gs including K-4s. When it comes to the Focke Wulfs: 30 Fw 190 A-1 to A-8 would be included and seven Fw 190 Doras, another late war Fw 190 prototyp, one He 162, and another Me 163, This together with a Macchi 202 flown by Marseille. Finally, four Me 262 and a captured P-51B Mustang is included.