Fortresses Engaged
$75.00
Fortresses Engaged by Keith Ferris
Lithographic print, 20″ x 24″ open edition
Signed by the artist
Two German Messerschmitt 109Gs attack head-on through a formation of B-17s from the Bloody 100th Bomb Group over Germany.
The 6 March 1944 Eighth Air Force inaugural mission to Berlin put 730 bomber and 832 fighter sorties over enemy territory. This was to be the worst day of the war for the 100th Bomb Group which had 14 B-17s destroyed. 69 U.S. bombers and 11 fighters were lost on this mission. More than one hundred German fighters made a series of devastating head-on attacks on the 100th Bomb Group enroute to Berlin. The mission was incredibly costly, with 69 heavy bombers lost and a total of over 700 American airmen killed, missing, evaded, or taken prisoner.
This painting depicts the action around the 351st Bomb Squadron as III./JG 54 Messerschmitt 109 pilots, Feldwebel Friedrich Unger in “6”, and Unteroffizier Erwin Muller in “4”, pass close aboard Lt. Richard Hemlmick’s undamaged B-17, letter “M”, and the mortally wounded B-17s of Lt. George Brannon, letter “D”, and Lt. Merril Rish, letter “R”. Both B-17s went down. The two Messerschmitts were also hit and made forced landings below the action. The Germans had put up 528 fighter sorties against the bomber force and lost 68 aircraft destroyed and 16 damaged.
Known as “Black Monday,” the mission was the Eighth Air Force’s first major daylight raid against Berlin. The presence of long-range fighters, such as the P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt, allowed the Eighth Air Force to engage the Luftwaffe in the skies over Germany, a significant change from earlier tactics.
The Eighth Air Force’s ability to reach Berlin in daylight and the accompanying air combat forced the Luftwaffe to commit its air power, leading to heavy losses for the Germans. This ultimately shifted control of the European skies to the Allies, marking a Turning Point in the war.
