A 1945 air battle over a Norwegian fjord became the deadliest day for the Allied Strike Wing
The skies over Norway became a graveyard for Allied pilots in 1945 during 'Black Friday,' a disastrous air mission that resulted in the heaviest losses ever sustained by the Strike Wing.
On February 9, 1945, a force of over 30 Allied Bristol Beaufighters launched an attack on the German destroyer Z33, which was hidden deep within the Førdefjorden fjord. The mission turned into a nightmare when the Allied planes were ambushed by a superior force of German Focke-Wulf 190 fighters. The confined geography of the fjord left the Allied pilots with almost no room to maneuver.
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