His foresight in having the 487th squadron preflighted and ready to take off on 1 January averted a major disaster when the field was attacked by fighters of Jagdgeschwader 11 in the massive aerial assault known as Operation Bodenplatte.
Jagdgeschwader 26 | Jagdgeschwader 54 | Jagdgeschwader 5 | Jagdgeschwader 3 | Jagdgeschwader 7 | Jagdgeschwader 53 | Jagdgeschwader 51 | Jagdgeschwader 300 | Jagdgeschwader 11 |