Unternehmen Bodenplatte (Operation Baseplate or Operation Ground Plate), launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries during Second World War. The Germans husbanded their resources in the preceding months at the expense of the Defence of the Reich units in what was a last-ditch effort to keep up the momentum of the German Army () during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge ().

The following is an order of battle of Allied and German forces.

German order of battle On 31 December 1944, the Luftwaffe had the following available for Bodenplatte under Luftwaffenkommando West (Air Command West) (Joseph Schmid):

II Jagdkorps (Dietrich Peltz)

3rd Jagddivision (3rd Fighter Division) (Walter Grabmann) at Wiedenbrück

Parent unit Geschwader Base Unit (Gruppe) Aircraft type Commanding officer Jagdgeschwader 1 Twente/Drope/Rheine Stab and I./II./III. Gruppe Fw 190 and Bf 109 Herbert Ihlefeld Jagdgeschwader 3 Sennelager/Paderborn/Bad Lippspringe/Gutersloh Stab/I./II./III./IV. Fw 190 and Bf 109 Heinrich Bär Jagdgeschwader 6 Quakenbruck/Delmenhorst/Vechta/Bissel Stab/I./II./III. Fw 190 and Bf 109 Johann Kogler Jagdgeschwader 26 Furstenau/Furstenau/Nordhorn/Plantlunne Stab/I./II./III. Fw 190 and Bf 109 Josef Priller Jagdgeschwader 27 Rheine/Rheine/Hopsten/Hesepe/Achmer Stab/I./II./III./IV. Bf 109 Ludwig Franzisket Jagdgeschwader 54 Furstenau/Vorden III./IV. Fw 190 and Bf 109 N/A - only III and IV Gruppen took part. Jagdgeschwader 77 Dortmund/Dortmund/Bonninghardt/Düsseldorf Stab/I./II./III. Bf 109 Siegfried Freytag

Jagdabschnittsführer Mittelrhein (Fighter Sector Leader Middle Rhine)

Parent unit Geschwader Base Unit (Gruppe) Aircraft type Commanding officer Jagdgeschwader 2 Nidda/Merzhausen/Nidda/Altenstadt Stab/I./II./III. Fw 190 and Bf 109 Kurt Bühligen Jagdgeschwader 4 Rhein-Main/Darmstadt-Griesheim/Rhein-Main Stab/I./II./III./IV. Gerhard Michalski Jagdgeschwader 11 Biblis/Biblis/Zellhausen/Gross-Ostheim Stab/I./II./III. Fw 190 and Bf 109 Günther Specht Schlachtgeschwader 4 Bonn-Hangelar/Bonn-Hangelar/Koln-Butzweilerhof/Koln-Wahn Stab/I./II./III. Fw 190 Alfred Druschel

5th Jagddivision (5th Fighter Division) (Karl Hentschell) at Karlsruhe

Parent unit Geschwader Base Unit (Gruppe) Aircraft type Commanding officerJagdgeschwader 53 Stuttgart-Echterdingen/Malmsheim/Kirrlach/Stuggart-Echterdingen Stab/II./III./IV. Bf 109 Helmut Bennemann

3rd Fliegerdivision (3rd Air Division) Parent unit Geschwader Base Unit (Gruppe) Aircraft type Commanding officerKampfgeschwader 51 Rheine/Hopsten/Hesepe/Munster-Handorf Stab/II./III./IV. Me 262 Wolfgang Schenck

Allied order of battle

RAF No. 83 Group The Allies had the following forces: No. 83 Group RAF: Wing number Squadron numbers Aircraft type Airfield 121 174/175/184 Hawker Typhoon Volkel 122 3/56/80/274/486 Hawker Tempest Volkel 124 137/181/182/247 Typhoon Eindhoven 126 401/402/411/412/442 Supermarine Spitfire Ophoven 127 403/416 Spitfire Evere 143 168/438/439/440 Typhoon Eindhoven 39 Recce Wing 400/414/430 Spitfire Gilze-Rijen

RAF No. 84 Group No. 84 Group RAF: Wing number Squadrons Aircraft type Airfield 131 302/308/317 Spitfire St. Denis Westrem 132 66/127/322/331/332 Spitfire Woensdrecht 135 349/485 Spitfire Maldegem 145 341/74/329/345 Spitfire Deurne 146 193/197/257/263/266 Typhoon Deurne 35 Recce Wing 2/4/268 P-51 Mustang/Spitfire Gilze-Rijen

RAF No. 2 Group No. 2 Group RAF: Wing number Squadrons Aircraft type Airfield 139 98/180/320 B-25 Mitchell Melsbroek 34 Recce Wing 16/69/140 Spitfire/Vickers Wellington/de Havilland Mosquito Melsbroek

American Tactical Air Forces Ninth Air Force: Fighter Group Squadrons Aircraft type Commanding officer 366 389/390/391 P-47 Thunderbolt Colonel Norman Holt 352 486/487/328 P-51 Mustang Colonel James Mayden 48 492/493/494 P-47 Colonel James Johnson 36 22/23/53 P-47 Lt Colonel Van H. Slayden 363 33 F-5 Lightning Colonel James Smelley 373 410/411/412 P-47 Colonel James McGehee 365 386/387/388 P-47 Colonel Ray Stecker 362 377/378/379 P-51 Colonel Joseph Laughlin 50 10/81/313 P-47 Colonel Harvey Case 358 365/366/367 P-47 Colonel James Tipton Laughlin

American Strategic Air Forces Although some of its units were present, the Eighth Air Force is not listed on the Allied order of battle.

See also Luftwaffe Organization German Air Fleets in World War II

References

Citations

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