Wilde Sau
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Wilde Sau (German for "wild boar") was the term given by the Luftwaffe, during World War II, to the technique by which British night bombers were mainly engaged by single-seat fighter planes.
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[edit] Origins
The originator of this procedure was the Luftwaffe officer Hajo Herrmann. After the Bombing of Hamburg, disastrous for the Luftwaffe after the first use of Window effectively knocked out the Himmelbett radar defence system, every promising measure of preventing such recurrence was considered.
[edit] Implementation
The usual implementation of Wilde Sau nightfighter tactics involved day fighter planes (and to a lesser extent night fighters) at night. Fighter planes were not directed as in the "Himmelbett" (four-poster bed) technique using the tactical guidance of ground stations to the target, rather interception was based on vision and the pilot's own judgement, "wild boar" as opposed to the "Zahme Sau "tame boar" method wherein an interceptor was guided by ground control. To this end - without AI radar - fighter pilots wherever possible, had to identify enemy planes by sight. This was to be achieved by acting against the principle of the blackout and instead the attacked city was to produce as much light as possible. Being contrary to orthodoxy, this method was resisted by the Gauleiter and not enforced, so as a substitute, searchlights were used to illuminate the sky. Ideal conditions were when a certain (not too thick) lower level cloud cover prevailed, since then the bomber was silhouetted against the lit clouds and the high-flying German fighters could then dive onto their target. Since the Wilde Sau technique only worked if there was adequate lighting, its application was limited to the immediate metropolitan area, as in most cases this was the only place where an assembly of sufficient searchlights was in place. It was therefore essential that the correct city which was being attacked was determined quickly. This was made more difficult by the allies by the fact that the bomber stream flew in a zigzag course across Reich territory. In order to remove the threat from their own Flak, aircraft were limited to certain altitudes. This "ceasefire" was initially only practiced in the Berlin airspace, and it showed that co-ordination of fire breaks was problematic. As night flight in a day fighter was rudimentary, an accordingly very elaborate system of visual aids to navigation was established, encompassing light beacons, searchlight patterns, Flak firing combinations of various tracer colours through the clouds and parachute flares.
The employment of this procedure was most successful in the night of 23 to 24 August 1943, when Berlin was attacked by the RAF. The "Wilde Sau" fighter squadron, under the Geschwaderkommodore Hajo Herrmann, brought down 57 aircraft. Herrmann received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross for this action.
[edit] Limitations of this method of attack
If the cloud ceiling at the time of the attack too high, restricting the lighting effect, the optical conditions were insufficient to apply Wilde Sau. The success of the attacks was also lost with the onset of bad weather in late autumn 1943. German pilots were at risk from their own anti-aircraft fire. Even if "Wilde Sau" were partly accomplished by twin-engine night fighters, the bulk of the action was carried nevertheless by conventional day fighters, that were lent by day fighter units. This double load of daily and night operations and the resulting often skipped maintenance intervals caused the machines to wear out faster.
[edit] Participating Wings
The specially established 30. Jagddivision consisting of Jagdgeschwader 300, 301 and 302, all named "Wild Sau", applied this technique. Also attached to 30. JD was III./KG 3 which was tasked to fly above the Bomber Stream and illuminate it with flares.
