Air battle over the Ore Mountains
On 11 September 1944, a major air battle took place over the Ore Mountains near Oberwiesenthal and Schmiedeberg (now Kovářská, Czech Republic). Allied bombers and fighters faced German defenders in a lengthy fight as the Allies attacked Germany’s synthetic fuel plants.
The Americans led Mission 623, with about 1,131 bombers and 440 fighters. The target included the Schwarzheide synthesis plant at Ruhland-Schwarzheide. The B-17s of the 100th Bomber Group flew from RAF Thorpe Abbotts, while P-51 fighters from the 55th and 339th Groups joined to escort them.
The German defense, launching from Alteno and Welzow, surprised the bombers and engaged them over Schmiedeberg. By 11:40 a.m., heavy dogfighting raged south of Oberhof and then east of the Fichtelberg. In the battles, German forces shot down around 14 US bombers and damaged several more, while the US fighters faced many young, inexperienced German pilots.
When the American fighters arrived, they helped the bombers escape. In total, four US bombers were destroyed and four US pilots were killed, while about 37 German fighter aircraft were shot down. The remaining US bombers reached their target and dropped 53 tons of bombs on the Schwarzheide plant.
The day left many crash sites scattered across the region, including near Schmiedeberg, Crottendorf, Kretscham-Rothensehma, and other towns. One widely noted incident saw the bomber Boss Lady break up in the air, with its tail landing on the roof of a girls’ school in Schmiedeberg and remaining there.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:05 (CET).