Galland's Gambit: Operation Donnerkeil
http://ahevents.net/index.php/fso-setups/85-western-european-theatre/1370-galland-s-gambit-operation-donnerkeilThe German Kriegsmarine’s surface fleet suffered a disastrous 1941. Bismarck was sunk and the other capital ships were all laid up in ports for repairs or refitting by the end of the year. This made them easy targets for the RAF’s Bomber Command. At the port of Brest, on the west coast of France, the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as well as the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen had all suffered bombing damage.
As the calendar turned to 1942, it was clear that those ships needed to return to the relative safety of the German home ports. The obvious route around the British Isles and through the North Sea was well defended by the Royal Navy. So a more daring plan was hatched intending to catch the English off-guard; sail the ships directly between England and France. Luftwaffe fighter arm general Adolf Galland convinced the Kriegsmarine planners that the best timing would have the fleet set out under the cover of darkness and arrive at the narrowest point of the English Channel at midday, allowing the Luftwaffe to cover the ships against air attack. The three available fighter wings of JG 1, JG 2, and JG 26 along with the night fighters of NJG 1 would provide the escort from before dawn until after dusk on February 12th. The Luftwaffe’s portion of this operation was codenamed “Donnerkeil”(Thunderbolt).
In England, preparations were made for the German ships to attempt a return sortie to German waters. That action was just one contingency of a broader plan of action against the German ships deploying from Brest. A coordinated effort by the RAF, Fleet Air Arm, and Coastal Command was expected to engage the German vessels and sink them in the Channel. Spitfires and Hurricane fighters would cover attacks by Hampden and Wellington bombers and also torpedo attacks by Beauforts and Swordfish. The English operation was codenamed “Fuller”.
This FSO will recreate the combat over the German flotilla in a battle that will be forever known as The Channel Dash.
FRAME 1: 06 February 2026
FRAME 2: 13 February 2026
FRAME 3: 20 February 2026
