The attack on the "Ems -> Elbe" convoy on August 13, 1944 in grid square AN 9594 north of Spiekeroog, which was accompanied by vehicles from the 5th/Security Division, shows how an Allied air strike on a German convoy took place. On this day, a squadron of Bistroll Beaufighter MK-X from Coastal Command attacked the well-protected convoy with around 40 - 50 aircraft. The convoy, consisting of 6 steamers, was protected by the outpost boats V 1011, V 1104, V 1105, the anti-aircraft fighter FLJ 23 and the minesweepers M324 and M 383. The tug Ursus also accompanied the convoy, which had already set sail on August 12, 1944. The aircraft of the mixed squadron of the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) and Royal Air Force attacked the German naval unit extremely successfully despite their own losses. The aircraft belonged to the RAF-144 Sqn., RAF-254 Sqn., RAAF-455 Sqn., RNZAF-489 Sqn. from Langham Air Base/GB. During the heavy battle they sank the security vehicles V 1101 and M 383, and other ships of the unit were partly very badly damaged. After the battle, rescue operations were immediately launched with ships and a Do 24 from the North Sea Rescue Center to rescue missing sailors and aircraft crews. 13 German marines died in the operation, and there were 38 seriously wounded and 40 slightly injured. On the Allied side, 5 ANZAC Beaufighter bombers were shot down, but nothing is known about the whereabouts of the aircraft crews. Presumably no one survived. Source: KTB of the 5th Security Division/ KTB Commander of the North Sea Security

The Ems - Elbe escort shortly before the attack.Source: IWM-HU81250

The first salvos of missiles and rockets hit a steamer.Source: IWM-4451

Minesweeper 383 under smoke after heavy fire. It sank after the battle.Source: IWM-C4448

Outpost boat V 1101 under fire, this one also sank after the attack.

Like a swarm of wild hornets, a large group of Allied fighter planes attacks the German convoy in daring flight maneuvers.

Bistrol Typ 156 / Beaufighter der NZAF

Attack on a mine clearing unit in the Elbe estuary on 29 August 1944

Ein weiterer schwerer Luftangriff mit ca. 60 - 80 britischen Beaufightern, traf wenige Tage später einen Minenräumverband mit den Sperrbrechern 26 >Moostrand< und 176 >Valeria<, sowie dem Vorpostenboot 802 >Sagitta< und dem Flakjäger 22 in der Elbmündung. Dabei sanken die beiden Sperrbrecher 26  und 176, viele Tote und schwer Verletzte. Zwei britische Beaufighter wurden bei dem Gefecht abgeschossen, über den Verbleib der Besatzungen ist nichts bekannt.

Extracts from the combat reports of the German unit:First of all: During the course of the war the British naval command succeeded in extremely effectively mining all of the German coastal waters in order to prevent convoys from sailing to the Netherlands in particular. Despite the great success of the Kriegsmarine units in clearing mines, ships were repeatedly lost due to mine hits. While the German minesweepers cleared the various routes during the day, the British dropped further blocking agents from aircraft, especially at night. In addition, attacks on ships, especially by the Bristol Beaufighter bombers, steadily increased. These twin-engine, highly maneuverable and fast fighter planes caused German ships a great deal of damage due to their heavy armament. In the last two years of the war there were repeated surprise attacks by swarms of up to 60 - 80 aircraft of this type. Despite strong air defenses, ships such as the minesweepers and outpost boats were unable to combat the mass of aircraft effectively. Requests for fighter protection by the German Air Force were also categorically rejected on the grounds that they would be subject to constant air raids on Reich territory. The few aircraft available were already fully tied up elsewhere. The naval command had hoped that this measure would encourage the now frightened ship crews. Since most of the vessels were primarily converted merchant ships and fishing boats, they were not adequately armored. The massive hail of projectiles from the aircraft's on-board cannons passed right through and penetrated into the engine rooms, even underwater. Furthermore, the use of rockets and aerial torpedoes caused enormous destruction, not to mention the impact on the crews. One such operation by a large mixed unit of Australian, New Zealand and British Beaufighter fighter aircraft attacked a German mine clearing unit in the mouth of the Elbe between the Westertill light buoy and Elbe 1 on August 29, 1944, under the protection of American Mustang fighters. These were Sperrbrecher 26 'Moostrand', Sperrbrecher 176 'Valeria', Vorpostenboot V 802 and Flakjäger 22 on search missions.Excerpts from the combat report of V 802 'Sagitta' The German formation left Cuxhaven on 29 August 1944 at 13:00 and passed lightship 'Elbe 1' at around 16:20. At 18:00 a search strip had been set off and the ships set off on a counter course.At 20:25 the lookout then spotted the Allied combat formation of an estimated 60 - 80 aircraft on the starboard side, and an air raid alarm was immediately sounded. First, two waves of "destroyer aircraft" (Beaufighters) attacked the German ships with their on-board weapons and rockets, the third and final wave (also Beaufighters) then used torpedoes.20:25 / Right at the start of the battle, the outpost boat V 802 received numerous hits from on-board weapons fire in the hull and superstructure in the first attack. Due to the massive hail of projectiles, the entire ship's crew was seriously injured right at the start of the battle, as were the rear gun crews and their weapons. Only the helmsman on the bridge remained unharmed so far. The magnetic compass, the gyro system and the MES. were destroyed, the engine failed due to three bullet holes, there were also various serious water ingresses through several holes in the underwater area, and heavy steam escaped from a destroyed pipe. The helmsman immediately turned the ship in the direction of the torpedoes and thereby prevented them from being hit. After 15 minutes, the entire engine crew under the command of Chief Engineer Jacobi was able to makeshift repairs to the damage to the engine. Water ingresses were sealed with leak plugs, bilge pumps were running, steam leaks were eliminated, and the ship started moving again at around 55 rpm. Around 100 men on the other ships were on boats, rafts and in the water. The radio personnel were able to quickly repair the destroyed transmitting antenna and independently make the first emergency call. 10 p.m. / Sperrbrecher 26 - burning and sinking. Dead and wounded, crew leaves the ship and is rescued. Flakjäger 22 - unable to maneuver. 22:37 / Sperrbrecher 176 - after torpedo hit, the bow is broken off, the stern drives away burning. 79 crew members and commander rescued on VP 802, including several wounded. Commander SP. 176 takes over VP 802. At around 23:00 / they begin their march back to Cuxhaven. Radio report to Marine Signal Station Cuxhaven, they have 13 seriously wounded, 15 slightly wounded, another 100 rescued crew members and several dead on board. 04:20 a.m. entering Cuxhaven Two aircraft shot down were observed during the attack. Source: KTB-8.VP-Flotilla

Extract from the report of the 455th Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force, which took part in the combat mission

In the evening hours of Tuesday, 29 August 1944, the RAAF aircraft took off on another attack. Thirteen Beaufighters from the 455th Squadron supported a group of forty-six fighters. They were escorted by seven American Mustang fighters. The aircraft were taken over by the ground crew, started up and took off in echelons every minute from 6.20 p.m. They were led by Sykes, Whishaw and Milson. Milson had now flown twenty-seven combat missions with the 455th Squadron, which equates to over seventy-five hours of operation. He was very aware of the dangers of this work.

Nach dem Start formierten sich alle Flugzeuge über Langham. Dieser kombinierte Verband wurde von Geschwader Kommodore Paddy Burns von der 254./ RAF aus North Coates angeführt. Die Maschinen flogen anfangs in zweihundert Fuß Höhe entlang der niederländischen Küste mit Nordost Kurs auf die Helgoländer Bucht zu. Nach Erreichen der Operationszone drehten alle auf die Wesermündung ein. Etwa zwanzig Minuten später begannen die Anti-Flak-Beaufighters zu steigen und ließen die Torpedoflugzeug auf zweihundert Fuß zurück. 
Einige Zeit später entdeckten sie dann in etwa zwölf Kilometer entfernt einen Konvoi. Vor ihnen standen fünf Schiffe, darunter zwei große Sperrbrecher.

Burns swept straight in. The anti-aircraft Beaufighters began their attack in a low dive from 1500 meters, firing first with their onboard guns at range and then with rockets at 800 meters. About 100 meters from the target they switched back to guns before withdrawing. Six Australian pilots took on the third escort ship in the line, a barrage breaker, which was then hit by a torpedo from a "Kiwi" Beaufighter and blazed at the stern and settled. The pilots came in low to reduce the threat of flak. When they took off all five ships were fully ablaze. On our side the Beaufighters were damaged, some heavily, by the ships' onboard flak, which seemed to increase as the battle progressed. A New Zealand crew splashed down right near the fighting. Another Beaufighter is heading for the German coast with its propellers torn to shreds. Sykes's machine from the 455th/ had sustained minor flak damage. Milson's Beaufighter was also badly damaged, with both engines and the cockpit hit. He was still a good 480 kilometers from his home base at Langham and his port engine was burning badly. He fought against it with the starboard engine and managed to keep it running. Despite the severe damage to the machine, he was able to reach the base happily, flying the last hour in the dark. For this courage, the high level of responsibility and other successful missions, Colin Milson was awarded the Order of "Outstanding Military Services". His father sent a congratulatory telegram and Milson later wrote back:

"Your telegram about the engine failure incident in August was quite a shock, as I didn't know that the story had spread so much at home. They shouldn't have, as it only worries the parents. But it was one of those things that happened and that you always have to expect at such times. It didn't worry me in the least, though. The next day and the day after that we were back in action, and the days after that too. You become pretty hardened to things like that, and a missed shot is as good as a mile anyway. I was very lucky and had a lot of experience with my type of work. The routine made me very careless and negligent at times, and I got a good slap in the face for that."Source: 455./ Squadron RAAF - KTB.AIR27/1938

Excerpt: German newsreel

Excerpt: British newsreel