Air Battle over the Ore Mountains (Sept 11, 1944) Memorial
Details:
In front of the building by the sidewalk.
A field stone with an attached inscribed marble plaque. At the time of ceremonies, a small propeller is added to the monument.
The memorial remembers the September 11, 1944 Air Battle over the nearby Ore Mountains which border Czechia and Germany. US units from the 8th Air Force were involved to include the 100th "Bloody Hundredth" Bomber Group and the 55th and 339th Fighter Groups providing bomber escort. Many bombers were shot down in the vicinity of this town.
Courtesy of The Museum of Air Battle over the Ore Mountains in the Czech Republic:
Museum of Air battle over the Ore Mountains on September 11th 1944
What went on to be known as “Black Monday over the Ore Mountains” began as a regular mission. In the morning, a formation of B-17s took off heading South to their main target, the Schwarzheide Synthetic Oil Factory in Ruhland, Germany as well as a fuel factory in the mountains of the Czech Republic. Initially everything seemed quiet. The formation was supposed to proceed unnoticed deep into enemy territory and then rendezvous with a group of supporting P-51s over the crest of the Ore Mountains before descending on their main target. However, the Germans noticed the approaching group of U.S. planes and quickly dispatched a fleet of 60 Fw 190s and Bf 109s. Their timing was perfect, striking before the scheduled rendezvous and catching the defenseless bombers in the midst of their long-distance approach.
The German fighters made contact with the B-17’s right above the German village, Schmiedeberg (Kovářská) and attacked with full force. A total of 19 U.S. bombers were shot down, some crashing over the area and others a little further off in the Ore Mountains at the Czech border. The losses would have been even greater if it hadn’t been for the P-51s who arrived allowing the remaining bombers to escape. Although the Bf 109s could have been more than an even match for the incoming Mustang P-51s many of their pilots were inexperienced in battle and were flying their first operational mission. This allowed the U.S. fighters to cause heavy damage on the Germans and let the heavy bombers carry out the rest of their mission successfully. This mission took its toll. 19 U.S. aircraft were lost as well as 32 German fighters, leading to almost 80 casualties and an equal amount of imprisoned American airmen who were captured at the crash sites.
A nearby museum, “The Museum of the Air Battle over the Ore Mountains” describes this battle in detail. See site Kovarska - JC Kluttz School
Sources:
http://www.new.museum119.cz/en/
https://www.vets.cz
Monument Text:
The text on the plaque is in Czech:
Oběť je dar sebe sama. Podstatě,
které se Človek bude snažit dovolat.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery
NA PAMÁTKU LETCŮM
KTEŘÍ ZAHYNULI V LETECKÉ BITVĚ
11.9.1944 V KRUŠNÝCH HORÁCH
The translation in English:
Sacrifice is a gift of self. Essentially,
which Man will try to invoke.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
IN MEMORY OF AIRMEN
WHO DIED IN AIR BATTLE
SEPTEMBER 11, 1944 IN THE ORE MOUNTAINS
