On 29 December 1944, III./ JG 54 would suffer dearly against RAF and RCAF fighters and fighter-bombers in clashes that would later be known as "Black Friday". The day began when this Gruppen was ordered by the 3. Jagddivision "to intercept Fighter-bombers in the Münster-Rheine area". The Stab and 11th Staffel with around 20 Fw 190 Doras, led by Hauptmann Robert Weiss, took off from Varrelbusch at 10:15. The German flight leaders could not comprehend the assigned mission altitude of 2,000 meters and below, especially after the situation reports had spoken of a steady stream of enemy fighters above that height. This would result in that the Luftwaffe pilots would face the constant threat of being bounced from above.

After 35 minutes, at 10:50, enemy aircraft were sighted below and Weiss ordered an attack. They had run into the midst of a large formation of over 20 Typhoons of 439 Sqn RCAF and 168 Sqn RAF busting up some trains. Soon, the German formation was broken up by the superior forces of the 2nd TAF.

North west of Rheine, pairs and schwarms of German fighters were engaged with the Typhoons. During the dog-fight the Germans claimed a total of three Typhoons for the loss of three Dora-9s; Fw. Kreisel's Yellow 10 of 11. Staffel, and Oblt. Bellaire's Black 3 and Uffz. Rupp's Black 4 of the Stabsschwarm. All three pilots went down with their machines.
Over the town of Lengerich, Spitfires from the 331 Norwegian Squadron joined the battle by conducting a perfect bounce from above. First to be hit was Obfw. Philipp from the 11th, a Knight Cross recipient with 80 victories, however he managed to down one of the attackers before being forced to leave his stricken Yellow 6. Taking to his parachute near Nordham, the chute "bunned" up, and upon hitting the ground he suffered severe fractures and sprains that put him out of the war.

The next to fall was the highly decorated former bomber pilot, Oblt. Eugen Schreiner, who on this day was flying his second combat mission as a fighter pilot. After following Hptm. Weiss and Fw. Neersen in a hard right turn he was downed by Fenrik (2nd/Lt.) Stousland. The remaining two Dora-9's then turned into the attackers and joined the fighting. Shortly thereafter, Fw. Neersen in his Black 2 crashed to his death attempting to belly-land his Dora, having been shot down by F/Sgt. Haanes. In the following low-level dogfight, hopelessly outnumbered by the Norwegian pilots, Hauptmann Weiss was able to blow the entire tail section off of Capt. Readers' Spitfire. Readers failed to escape his spinning crate and was killed in the ensuing crash.

After downing Readers, Hptm. Weiss' Dora-9, Black 10, was hit and entered a steep dive. Weiss was able to pull up however, narrowly missing a farmhouse, but crashed into the woods 400 meters beyond it. Robert "Basi" Weiss, holder of the Knights Cross with 121 victories was thereby killed.

During this fight, the Stabsstaffeln and the 11. Staffel, lost six pilots KIA, one pilot WIA, and the total loss of seven Fw 190 D-9s. The unit filed claims for four enemy fighters shot down. In fact, seven enemy aircraft were shot down according to RAF records, including four Spitfires MK IX, all from the 331 Squadron.

The day it would get even worse for III./JG54 however, as shortly thereafter at around 12:00, the 12. Staffel under Oblt. Hans Dortenmann took off with 12 aircraft into the same area with the same orders, to engage low flying fighter-bombers. He had however heard what was going on in the area and that enemy fighters were all over the place up to 5,000 meters.

Dortenmann decided he would ignore his orders and fly his Staffel into the area at 5,500 meters to avoid the inevitable bounce by the RAF. At 12:45 he sighted 10-15 Spitfire of 401 Sqn RAF below in the area of Munster. Dortenmann nailed the first at 12:50 and two others were credited to Fw. Steinkamp for the loss of another two Fw 190 D-9s with one pilot KIA and another WIA.

The hardest hit staffel this day would be the 9th. This unit took off at around 13:00 and was led by Oblt Heilmann. As Heilmann by this time knew that Oblt. Dortenmann had refused his orders and was now facing a court martial, he led his unit into the area at the prescribed low altitude towards the Mittelland Canal. After reaching the target area they began circling over the target area, and at 13:30 they were bounced out of the sun by Spitfires of 411 Sqn RCAF. In rapid succession, six Fw 190 D-9s were shot down by the Canadians killing all six pilots for the return of just one claim, a Spitfire shot down by Lt. Prage at 13:37.

To sum up "Black Friday" for III./JG 54, the pilots filed claims for a total of eight enemy fighters; three Typhoons and five Spitfires. The Germans however lost 13 pilots KIA, three pilots WIA, and 16 Dora-9s, half of the III./JG 54 inventory.

The RAF and the RCAF lost a total of ten machines during the clashes with III./JG 54 on this day, five Spitfires MK IXs, three Typhoon MK 1bs and two Tempests MK Vs. The pilot losses amounted to six KIA, three POW, and one that managed to evade capture. This pilot was none other than Fenrik Carl Jacob Stousland, who was himself shot down after claiming Oberleutnant Eugen Schreiner's Fw 190, probably the second 331 Sqn victim of "Basi " Weiss. Stousland was saved over time by local farmers who hid him in their basements. He would eventually return to the Allied lines after a 79-days ordeal.

Its intersting to note that Stouslands Spitfire was found and has since been excavated and is currently being rebuilt in Norway.

Please note that there is no fotos of Stousland Spitfire, the profile is therefore based on other 331 Sqn. Spitfires from this period.