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{{short description|German air raid against Fort Lamy in Chad in 1942}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = The [[Western Desert campaign]]
| partof = [[North African Campaign]]
| image = File:Heinkel He 111H dropping bombs 1940.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Example of a Heinkel He 111H dropping bombs during the Battle of Britain in 1940
| date = 21 January 1942
| place = [[Fort Lamy]], [[French Equatorial Africa]]
| coordinates = {{coord|12.11|15.05|display=inline,title}}
| result = Axis victory
| combatant1 = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}<br />{{flagcountry|Fascist Italy (1922-1943)}}
| combatant2 = {{flag|Free French Forces}}
| commander1 = [[Theo Blaich]]
| commander2 = [[Philippe Leclerc]]
| units1 = {{lang|de|[[Fliegerführer Afrika]]}}
| units2 =
| strength1 = 3 aircraft
| strength2 =
| casualties1 = None
| casualties2 = {{cvt|80000|impgal|L}} of fuel destroyed<br />8 British [[Hawker Hurricane]] fighters destroyed
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox North Africa}}
}}
'''{{lang|de|Sonderkommando Blaich}}''' (Special Command Blaich) was a German unit consisting of s [[Heinkel He 111]]H [[medium bomber]] supported by an Italian [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.82]] ({{lang|it|Marsupiale}}) transport aircraft and a [[Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun|Messerschmitt Bf 108]] ({{lang|de|Taifun}}). In January 1942 the Heinkel raided the [[Free French Forces|Free French]]–controlled [[Fort Lamy]] in the [[Colonial Chad|Chad]] region of [[French Equatorial Africa]].{{sfn|Oliver|2013|loc=Chapter 4}}{{sfn|Moore|2011|pp=142–143}}{{sfn|Windrow|1965|p=6}} The raid against a target {{cvt|1250|mi|km}} from Axis bases in North Africa was a success but on its return flight the Heinkel ran out of fuel and had to make an emergency landing; the crew and aircraft were rescued a week later.{{sfn|Oliver|2013|loc=Chapter 4}}

==Background==

===Fort Lamy===
[[Chad]] and [[N'Djamena|Fort Lamy]] had been captured by the [[Free France|Free French]] in 1940 and was a staging post for the [[Capture of Kufra]], operations against the [[Kufra]] oasis group.{{sfn|Moore|2011|pp=142–143}} {{lang|de|Sonderkommando}} Blaich had been conducting operations from an airfield at [[Hun, Libya|Hun]] {{cvt|400|mi|km}} south of Tripoli in Libya and from [[Sabha, Libya|Sabha]], {{cvt|250|mi|km}} south of Hun, against attacks by the British [[Special Air Service]] (SAS) and the [[Long Range Desert Group]] (LRDG). The British attacked Axis ammunition dumps, fuel dumps, radio stations, airfields and other rear units. An important LRDG base was the Free French airfield at Fort Lamy on the banks of [[Lake Chad]], which was also part of the [[Royal Air Force]] delivery route from [[Takoradi Airport|RAF Takoradi]] in [[Ghana]], to Egypt.{{sfn|Oliver|2013|loc=Chapter 4}}

===Theo Blaich===

[[File:Un-chad.png|thumb|{{center|UN map of Chad; Fort Lamy (now N'Djamena) is on the Cameroon border.}}]]
[[Theo Blaich]] was a German adventurer and plantation owner who had joined the {{lang|de|[[Wehrmacht]]}} in 1939, arriving in his own [[Messerschmitt Bf 108]] {{lang|de|Taifun}} (Typhoon) KG+EM. Blaich understood the importance of Fort Lamy as a way point in the overland transport and communication route from the west coast of Africa to the Nile, as well as an assembly point for Allied operations against Libya. Blaich proposed the capture of Fort Lamy to safeguard the southern border of Libya. When his suggestions were dismissed, he proposed that he should at least carry out a bombing raid.{{sfn|Moore|2011|p=142}} General [[Erwin Rommel]] approved the idea and forwarded it to {{lang|de|[[Generalmajor]]}} [[Stefan Fröhlich (German general)|Stefan Fröhlich]] the {{lang|de|[[Fliegerführer Afrika]]}}. The date for the operation was set for 21 January 1942, to coincide with an Axis attack against the British at [[El Agheila]].{{sfn|Oliver|2013|loc=Chapter 4}}

==Prelude==

===Plan===
{{lang|de|Sonderkommando Blaich}} was an Axis force comprising German and Italian personnel, equipped with a He 111H from II/{{lang|de|Kampfgeschwader}} 4 with all excess equipment, including the dorsal and ventral guns removed, a [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.82]] ({{lang|it|Marsupiale}}) transport aircraft carrying extra fuel for the Heinkel and Blaich's {{lang|de|Taifun}}, which were to depart from the oasis of Hun on 20 January.{{sfn|Bierman|Smith|2004|p=136}}{{sfn|Moore|2011|p=142}} The Heinkel crew and Blaich were to go on the raid, while the Italian support crew, except for the pilot, {{lang|it|Maggiore}} (Major) Roberto Count Vimercati-San Severino, stayed behind.{{sfn|Oliver|2013|loc=Chapter 4}}

==={{lang|ar|Bir Misciuro}}===
The {{lang|de|Sonderkommando}} flew to {{lang|it|Campo Uno}} (Camp 1) a remote natural airstrip in southern Libya at {{lang|ar|Bir Misciuro}}, which had been discovered by Vimercati-San Severino in 1935, when he landed there during a safari. He had surveyed and marked out the site later but it lacked facilities. The {{lang|de|Marsupiale}} was used as the supply base and the Heinkel was refuelled by hand from fuel drums.{{sfn|Oliver|2013|loc=Chapter 4}} The members of the expedition who were to fly on the operation were {{lang|de|[[Hauptmann]]}} Theo Blaich, pilot of the Bf 108B {{lang|de|Taifun}} and raid commander, {{lang|de|[[Leutnant]]}} Franz Bohnsack, pilot of the He 111, {{lang|de|[[Feldwebel]]}} Heinrich Geissler, navigator, {{lang|de|[[Unteroffizier]]}} Wolfgang Wichmann, wireless operator, {{lang|de|Leutnant}} Fritz Dettmann, [[war correspondent]] and {{lang|it|[[Major|Maggiore]]}} Roberto Count Vimercati-San Severino, desert expert and pilot of the {{lang|it|Marsupiale}}.

==Raid==

===Outward flight===
[[File:R.A. - Savoia-Marchetti SM.82.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|Example of a Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 ({{lang|it|Marsupiale)}}}}]]
The Heinkel He 111 took off from {{lang|it|Campo Uno}} at 08:00 on 21 January but experienced bad weather, contrary to the weather forecast. The aircraft had been loaded with {{cvt|1000|impgal|L}} but the weather increased fuel consumption.{{sfn|Windrow|1965|p=6}} Geissler had to use [[dead reckoning]], there being radio stations from which he could get a [[direction finding]] (D/F) fix. After hours, Geissler realised that he was more than {{cvt|100|mi|km}} off course and ordered a turn to the west to the [[Chari River]] and flew along it to Fort Lamy at the confluence of the Chari and [[Logone River|Logone]] rivers where they join Lake Chad. The Heinkel reached the lake by noon, after which navigation became easier, despite the storm intensifying. At 14:30, flying at {{cvt|1500|ft|m}}, the Heinkel reached Fort Lamy. Being so remote, the airfield and supply depot had no air defences; the Heinkel crew could not delay and made one bombing run. The sixteen {{cvt|100|kg|lb|order=flip}} bombs were dropped unhindered on the fuel dump at the edge of the airfield. The French forces were too surprised to fight back and {{cvt|80000|impgal|L}} of fuel, all of the oil and eight [[Hawker Hurricane]] fighters nearby were destroyed.{{sfn|Oliver|2013|loc=Chapter 4}}{{sfn|Bierman|Smith|2004|p=136}}

===Return journey===
The Heinkel was undamaged and turned northwards but the crew knew that the detour made it impossible to reach {{lang|it|Campo Uno}} with the fuel remaining. The engines were run at the leanest mixture possible at {{nowrap|1,950 [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]]}} to fly as far as possible. Wireless contact with the Italian support crew had been lost on the outbound leg and could not be re-established. At 18:00, towards sunset, {{cvt|160|mi|km}} short of {{lang|it|Campo Uno}} Bohnsack made an emergency landing on a high plateau. The six men had {{cvt|20|L|imppt|order=flip|adj=on}} of water. Wichmann, the wireless operator, set up his 3-Watt wireless aerial, laying it out on tent poles. On 6,197 kHz, Wichmann managed to contact a wireless operator at the headquarters of {{lang|de|Fliegerführer Afrika}} in Benghazi, {{cvt|650|mi|km}} to the north. The Italian support crew was still out of contact and three days later, Benghazi sent a message that the Italians had been contacted and that they were searching for the Heinkel. On the fifth day, the crew transmitted a D/F signal with the Heinkel wireless, running one engine, with the little fuel that remained, to power the wireless generator. Within the hour an Italian [[Caproni Ca.309]] ({{lang|it|Ghibli}}) landed and delivered water and melons to the Heinkel crew. On the next day a [[Junkers Ju 52]] arrived with more water and fuel. The crew took off for the short journey to {{lang|de|Campo Uno}}, where the Heinkel was refuelled and then the crew flew on to Hun.{{sfn|Oliver|2013|loc=Chapter 4}}

==Aftermath==
[[File:Map of traditional provinces of Libye-en.svg|thumb|upright=.75|{{center|Map of the traditional provinces of Libya, showing [[Fezzan]] in the south}}]]
The attack on Fort Lamy caused minor damage to installations and few casualties but destroyed fuel supplies, despite strenuous efforts to save them, reducing the supply of the Free French and the RAF in the region by half. The raid caused General [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque|Philippe Leclerc]] to strengthen the anti-aircraft defences at Fort Lamy and to start hit-and-run operations against the Italian forces in the [[Fezzan]] region of Libya.{{sfn|Moore|2011|pp=142–143}} {{lang|de|Sonderkommando Blaich}} continued operations against the LRDG during the first half of 1942. In June 1942 the Heinkel bomber crashed near Kufra after an engine failure. The crew was rescued four days later but had to set the Heinkel on fire and this ended the {{lang|de|Sonderkommando}}{{'s}} operations.{{sfn|Oliver|2013|loc=Chapter 4}}

==References==
{{Reflist|20em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bierman |first1=J. |last2=Smith |first2=C. |title=Alamein. War without Hate: The Dersert Campaign of 1940–1943 |year=2004 |orig-year=2002 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |edition=prev. pub. The Battle of Alamein by Viking Penguin, New York |isbn=978-0-14-200394-7}}
* {{cite book |first=William Mortimer |last=Moore |year=2011 |title=Free France's Lion: The Life of Philippe Leclerc, de Gaulle's Greatest General |publisher=[[Casemate Publishers]] |location=Newbury |isbn=978-1-61200-080-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wo7UAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA142}}
* {{cite book |last=Oliver |first=David |year=2013 |orig-year=2005 |title=Airborne Espionage: International Special Duty Operations in the World Wars |publisher=[[The History Press]] |location=Stroud |edition=e-book |isbn=978-0-7524-9552-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Windrow |first=M. C. |series=Profile Publications (No. 15) |title=The Heinkel He 111H |year=1965 |publisher=Profile Publications |location=Leatherhead |oclc=705834365}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |first=Wolfgang |last=Wichmann |language=de |title=Husarenstreich gegen Fort Lamy |trans-title=Hussar's Prank against Fort Lamy |work=Flugzeug Magazin |issue=5 |publication-date=November 1986}}

{{World War II}}

[[Category:Conflicts in 1942]]
[[Category:1942 in Africa]]
[[Category:Military operations of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:Battles and operations of World War II involving France]]
[[Category:North African campaign]]
[[Category:N'Djamena]]
[[Category:1940s in Chad]]
[[Category:Airstrikes conducted by Germany]]

Sonderkommando Blaich - Revision history

YvonneTran476: minor cleanup

Bot: robot: Create/upgrade articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.