Hi Graham,
Here are some extracts from my research into the air fighting over Italy. Each paragraph is an entry from a different source.
Night 8/9 September 1943At 21:12 there was Axis air action against the Northern Attack Force.
Between 21:20 and 21:40 eight aircraft of K.G. 76 attacked ships in the Naples area.
From 20:15 to 22:05 all convoys in the Northern Attack Force were well illuminated by enemy flares, and were subjected to repeat attacks by torpedo bombers. The bombers flew high enough to be invisible to the ships. In the Northern Area the torpedo aircraft made repeated low level attacks in small groups from the down-moon side of convoys. Smoke was used to harass the approach of the German aircraft. Five or six Ju 88s were claimed shot down, with the Ledbury claiming one Ju 88. A torpedo passed astern of Prince Charles. USS LST 375 was hit by a bomb, which passed through the ship without exploding, and LST 375 also suffered two near misses. Biscayne, HMS Mendip, and several landing ships and craft reported near misses. Friendly aircraft appeared at 22:05 over the convoys and the attack ceased. HMS Mendip was damaged.
At 21:00 Convoy TSF-1, which was HMS Hilary and an LSI, was attacked by Axis aircraft. The convoy was well illuminated by flares, and a few bombs were dropped.
From 21:09 to 22:30 Prince Charles reported that FSS-2 was attacked by aircraft.
At 21:12 convoy FSS-2(Y) was attacked by enemy aircraft, and the convoy was screened by smoke laid by escorts.
From 21:30 to 22:00 Princess Astrid reported bombing attacks on convoy TSF-1.
Captain H.A. ‘Bertie’ Packer, commander of the Warspite, reported on this raid:
“At 21:30 it started. We were relentlessly attacked by German aircraft with bombs and torpedoes – intensively until midnight and then sporadically. The moonlight is a gift for determined aircraft. They attack up moon. They can see us and we can’t see them ... I had one moment as bad as any this war. I heard, above the sound of our pom-poms, Oerlikons, 4-inch and 6-inch guns, an aircraft roaring in. It skimmed down the safe edge of our barrage about 40 degrees on the port bow ... I saw this Ju 88 drop his torpedo and I saw it splash, and down the voice pipe to the Quartermaster I roared ‘Port 35!’ I didn’t think we had a hope of it missing us and it seemed about a thousand years before I saw the electric repeat from the rudder-head showing that the rudder was 35 degrees to port. The torpedo – they travel 40 knots or so – had been dropped about 600 yards away and we were steaming eighteen knots ... I can honestly say that I was holding on to things waiting for the bump and so was everyone else on the bridge. I steadied up with my course parallel to the track of the [p.121 now] torpedo and it literally missed the stern by feet. The parallel track was so close that I had to climb up on the side of the bridge and look over the edge to see it. Just then Admiral Bisset roared up the voice pipe, ‘Good God! What are you doing? Can’t you see you are broadside on to the moon?’ ‘Look over the port side!’ I sang out. ‘You will see a torpedo track parallel to us. Can you see it?’ ‘Yes I can’, he said. ‘Well done!’ So that was okay.”
HMS Mauritius, which had been escorting Convoy TSF-1 until 17:10, reported enemy aircraft overhead at 21:40, with the sea lit up by numerous flares. Bombs were dropped at 21:40 close on the front bow. The enemy aircraft were engaged with heavy barrage fire. At 22:30 the bombers were driven off.
At 22:03 convoy FSS-2(Y) was attacked by enemy aircraft, and British LST 417 was hit by a bomb or torpedo.
At 22:50 three Ju 88s were destroyed, one Ju 88 was probably destroyed, and one He 111 was probably destroyed.
SourcesGoldman,
Attack Transport, p.125
K.G. 76 KTB
NA ADM 53/117902
NA AIR 23/7606, Action Report Western Naval Task Force
Tarrant,
Battleship Warspite, pp.119, 121
Night 9/10 September 1943No information on German air activities around 02:30.
Night 23/24 October 1943A raid was carried out on Naples by German bombers, beginning at 18:30. Around 30 bombers were involved, according to the Allies, and they tried to avoid the barrage put up. A harbour barrage was put up for an hour and fifteen minutes. 24 Battery of the 9th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment claimed one probable victory, after firing 213 and 320 rounds from A and B [now p.146] Troops. 25 Battery put up 201 and 193 rounds from A and B Troops, and 26 Battery put up 308 and 328 rounds from A and B Troops. The raid ended at 19:40, and one ship was set on fire in the harbour, but no other major damage was caused.
At dusk Naples was attacked by German bombers from northern Italy. Heavy fog meant that Ju 88s were directed to land as far afield as Munich.
A Ju 88 A-4 of I./K.G. 30 was shot down by a nightfighter at Naples, with the pilot killed and the three other members of the crew wounded.
A I./K.G. 30 Ju 88 was lost at Naples, cause unknown, with the crew all posted missing.
A second Ju 88 of I./K.G. 30 was lost at Naples on a mission with the crew missing, cause unknown.
A II./K.G. 54 Ju 88 A-4 Trop was lost at Naples harbour, cause unknown, with three of the crew missing and one wounded.
A crew from II./K.G. 54 was posted missing at Naples harbour, cause unknown.
A Ju 88 A-4 of II./K.G. 76 was lost at Naples, with the crew all killed.
SourcesDoherty, Wall of Steel, p.146
NA AIR 40/2253, No. 329 Wing Monthly Report No. 14, October 1943
Genst.Gen.Qu.6.Abt. Luftwaffe loss list
Sorry I can't be more specific at the moment - there are still lots of sources I have to include in my research.
Cheers,
Andrew A.
Air War Publications -
http://www.facebook.com/airwarpublications