Our ground attack aircraft attacked tank assembly areas in the area south east of Cassino to good effect.

(Ob. Südwest Daily Report for 14 May 1944)

Despite the numbers transferred south the day before, I. and II./SG 4 could only put up six and three Fw 190s respectively for operations on the 14th. This small force started at 06.45 hours against tank concentrations near Cassino.

No. 145 Squadron had taken off from Nettuno at dawn to sweep north of Rome. Returning along the Frosinone Valley, they were warned of hostiles approaching Cassino. South of Arce, they saw flying above them eight Bf 109s and Fw 190s, bombed up. When the Germans sighted the Spitfires they split up and dropped their bombs. Squadron Leader Duke shot down a Bf 109; Lt. Green damaged another and Lt. Beisiegel ("on his first completed op. with the Squadron") got strikes on a third, its pilot baling out. Flight Sergeants Lorimer and McKernan also claimed damage to Bf 109s.

While his colleagues engaged the escorts, F/S Newman blew the tail unit off one of a pair of Fw 190s near Frosinone, its pilot taking to his parachute. Newman was going after a second Focke-Wulf when its pilot too baled out, the result (as it transpired) of shots taken by a Spitfire of 324 Wing.

Meanwhile, 417 Squadron was patrolling over Cassino, spotted 20+ Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs and dived on them out of the sun. Flying Officer Doyle achieved hits on one Fw 190 which went out control and crashed on Monastery Hill. Finding himself amidst a group of Fw 190s, he chased one to Frosinone, breaking off when he ran out of ammunition. Doyle’s No. 2, W/O Hart was attacked by what he identified as a Fw 190 and hit in the engine. Baling out, he was fired at by Polish troops who mistook him for a German but fortunately came through unscathed. Hart may have been shot down by Hptm. Wilhelm Steinmann of 1./JG 4, who claimed a “Spitfire XII”, 8 km. north west of Cassino at 06.46 hours. F/O Everitt shot down a Bf 109 which crashed into a hillside near Arce and he and F/Lt Turvey claimed damage on two more.

It is worth noting that the Spitfires had the benefit of a running commentary on the attackers' progress, "all the way down Highway No. 6." One pilot noted that the Germans plot was "repeatedly reported coming south" and 417's patrol was able to gain 6,000 feet of altitude before the hostiles arrived.

SG 4 reported three of its aircraft lost (two from the I. Gruppe and one from the II.) although the only known casualty is Oblt. Heinrich Karras of 1./SG 4, killed in combat with Spitfires south of Cassino (Fw 190 A-6 W.Nr. 470637, white 3). Among the Bf 109-equipped units, III./JG 53 lost three aircraft (one pilot killed, two baled out) in action with Spitfires over Cassino; 2./NAG 11 lost an aircraft in combat 60 km east north east of Tivoli, its pilot being wounded; and a pilot of 3./JG 4 baled out at Calascio during a fight with Spitfires.

Jafü Oberitalien ordered the serviceable elements of I./JG 77 to transfer immediately from Ferrara and Poggio Renatico to Tuscania. Twenty-five Bf 109s duly took off from 17.00 hours. Critical ground staff were due to follow on overland. This seems to have been an exchange of assignments with 1./JG 4 which seems to have been pulled back from the front line in the latter part of the month.

B-17s and B-24s raided a number of North Italian targets including Piacenza, which was hit by the 99th Bombardment Group at 15.04 hours. The routing of the various bomber formations was thought to have confused German controllers so few accurate plots were passed and only 18 defending aircraft were detected. For the Allies "results were excellent", they claimed 17 aircraft destroyed on the ground at Piacenza and Reggio Emilia (home of the ANR's Iº Gruppo Caccia). At 16.00 hours, Luftgau XXVIII reported Reggio Emilia and Piacenza airfields closed to all aircraft owing to craters. Also there were unexploded bombs at Piacenza.

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