Risky is lucky 

In Operation Bodenplatte, the Luftwaffe strafed (fired machine guns/bombs from low-flying aircraft) Allied airfields in the southern Netherlands and Belgium, to regain the upper hand in the air. On the ground, rows of Allied aircraft were bombed, whilst in the air German fighter aircraft were vulnerable. The Axis air forces lost a large group of highly skilled pilots, which impacted them the most for the remainder of the war. 

“As pilots, wishing each other 'viel Glück' (good luck) just before every flight has become a regular habit, and yet on this day it sounded more like an incantation or hope against our better judgement. We have fought many battles with the British, but now we have to get past a flight of bombers. At the briefing, we learned that - despite all the air traffic - we will fly low over Twente from Nordhorn to Evere airbase near Brussels. There we will release bombs on the stationed Handley Pages and then hit the Douglas Dakotas parked further away. 

In our first wave of attacks, we gave the British a good wake-up call: we managed to set a whole line of bombers ablaze. In doing so, we disturbed the hornet's nest: people came running from all sides. 

When we launched the second attack, the sky was lit up by stripes and stars from the repeating anti-aircraft guns. Still, we pressed on and recorded another round of hits, but I got very little of that. I had to take a hit myself and saw damn little because of oil on the glass of my cockpit. 

On the return flight, I kept faith in my Focke Wulf: it has already proved it can land on rough terrain with its wide undercarriage and strong back. Should it come to an emergency landing, it is built for that: this day I will survive.” 

Norbert Risky came down in a field near Dalfsen at around 10 AM His plane may be one of 300 German aircraft lost that day, but he himself made it out alive. After being found wounded, he was transported on a ladder to the nearest farm on Smalleweg: Risky survived the war.

Text Hugo van den Ende 
Research Stefan Hendriks