Sonderkommando Blaich The " Sonderkommando " Blaich was a German air raid carried out by a lone Heinkel He 111 medium bomber against Free French – controlled Fort Lamy in the Chad region of French Equatorial Africa . The raid against a target located from the German bases in North Africa was a success . On its return flight , the German plane ran out of fuel and had to make an emergency landing ; both crew and plane were rescued a week later . Background . The Chad and Fort Lamy came under control of the Free French Forces in 1940 and was a major staging post for the operations against the Kufra oasis group . Theo Blaich — a German adventurer and plantation owner who had joined the " Wehrmacht " in 1939 , arriving in his own Messerschmitt Bf 108 " Taifun " — recognised the importance of Fort Lamy as a way point in the overland transport and communication route from the west coast of Africa to the Nile , as well as an assembly point for Allied operations . Blaich proposed the capture of Fort Lamy to safeguard the southern border of Libya . When his suggestions weren ' t taken seriously in Berlin , he proposed that he should at least carry out a bombing mission . Blaich found a more interested audience in Erwin Rommel , who approved the idea and forwarded it to the " Fliegerführer Afrika " . The date for the operation was set as 21 January 1942 , to coincide with Rommel ′ s offensive against the British defences at El Agheila . Blaich ′ s commando left the oasis of Hun on 20 January , and consisted of German and Italian soldiers and three aircraft , an He 111 , a " Savoia " and Blaich ′ s " Taifun " . The following six of the group were to go on the air raid , while the Italian crew , minus their pilot , stayed behind : The small group flew to a remote natural airstrip in southern Libya , called " Campo Uno " , discovered by Roberto Count Vimercati - San Severino in 1935 when he landed there during a safari . The later had surveyed and marked out the site after discovering it , but it lacked any facilities . For the purpose of supplies , the small group used the " Savoia " as their supply base . Operation . The Heinkel He 111 took off from " Campo Uno " at 08 : 00 on 21 January but experienced , contrary to the weather forecast , bad weather . The plane had been loaded with 1 , 000 gallons of fuel , but the supply had been carefully calculated and the weather caused the plane to use more fuel than expected . The plane reached Lake Chad by midday , after which navigation became easier despite the storm intensifying . At 14 : 30 , the plane reached Fort Lamy . To the crew ′ s surprise , no air defence was organised at Fort Lamy and they were able to drop their 16 bombs , of explosives , unhindered . The French forces were too surprised to organise any air defence and 80 , 000 gallons of fuel and the complete oil supply were destroyed and , possibly , as many as ten aircraft . Undamaged , the plane returned northward but the crew found it hard to navigate . As darkness approached , the plane was almost out of fuel and the crew was aware that it would not be able to find its way back to " Campo Uno " . As the plane possessed a trailing antenna , which it could unfold if needed , it released the aerial and sent an SOS ; however , no reply was received . Eventually , the plane had to make an emergency landing . Bohnsack was able to land the plane without damage and the crew attempted to contact the Luftwaffe headquarters at Agedabia at the arranged time , without success . The crew had provisions for six days . After two days at their landing location , presumed to be from " Campo Uno " , the crew was able to make contact with the German headquarters . On 27 January , almost out of water , the stranded crew was discovered by an Italian reconnaissance plane , which re - supplied them with food and water . The following day , a Junkers 52 transport aircraft brought fuel from Agedabia , having left for an unauthorised search of Blaich ′ s missing commando , and plane and crew were able to return to " Campo Uno " .