BODENPLATTE LAST STAND OF THE LUFTWAFFE
At 9.00am on 1 January 1945, a formation of around 60 fighters of the German Luftwaffe arrived at low level over the town of Eindhoven in southern Holland. Roughly evenly split between Focke Wulf Fw 190s and Messerschmitt Bf 109s, their target was British airfield B-78, just west of the town. The airfield was crowded with aircraft from the 2nd Tactical Air Force (2TAF), the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) units supporting the Allied advance into Holland and Germany.
No. 124 Wing with four squadrons of Hawker Typhoons, No. 39 (Recce) Wing with three squadrons of North American Mustangs and Supermarine Spitfires, and a host of support and communications aircraft were packed close together due to lack of space. Three squadrons had already taken off on operations, and several more were taxying into position on the runway when the Germans arrived. “Even if they had fired with their eyes closed,” recalled Flight Lieutenant Robby Bergmann of No. 181 Squadron RAF, “they would have hit something. Next to about 300 aircraft, most of them parked in line, the airfield was filled with vehicles of every type, fuel and ammo dumps, and stocks of all sorts of equipment.”
Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Desmond Shepherd was just heading for his duties when he heard aircraft approaching, “After breakfast I was crossing the runway, going towards the armoury and keeping a sharp look out for our aircraft, as some were already out on ops and others were taking off. At that moment I heard gunfire … This was closely followed by several FW 190s, and coming almost in the opposite direction were several Me 109s.
“I threw myself down onto the grass … I saw what I think were the lead planes of each German section collide with each other. They burst into flames and locked together they came spinning down a few feet above my head, giving off tremendous heat.
“Many [taxying] pilots were jumping out of their aircraft and I saw a German aircraft crash in a row of parked Spitfires, causing more fires. Lorries were being shot up … Many aircraft were burning, a
