German and Allied aircraft losses during Unternehmen Bodenplatte Unternehmen Bodenplatte ( ) , launched on 1 January 1945 , was an attempt by the " Luftwaffe " to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the Second World War . The Germans husbanded their resources in the preceding months at the expense of the units defending against the Allied strategic bombing in what was a last - ditch effort to keep up the momentum of the German Army ( " Heer " ) during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge ( codenamed " Operation Watch on the Rhine " ) . This is a list of all known casualties during the course of the operation . Background . Despite the passage of time , there is still controversy regarding the extent of Allied losses . One author , Norman Franks , has pointed to what " some " historians call a " conspiracy to hide the true , unacceptable , total of aircraft destroyed " . This theory has been aided in the conflicting totals quoted in official records and the apparent lack of detailed surviving reports . For example , some authors claim the Eindhoven airfield attack may have destroyed 141 Hawker Typhoon s . RAF loss records refute this claim . Total figures give only 107 operational Typhoons ; 17 were destroyed outright , nine damaged beyond repair , 10 badly damaged but repaired and 24 slightly damaged . In a more recent study , " Fighter Command Losses of the Second World War : Volume 3 , Operational Losses , Aircraft and Crews 1944 - 1945 " , the same author states that a report made by No . 85 Group RAF gave 127 operational aircraft destroyed and 133 damaged , while British personnel casualties were said to be 40 killed ( 11 pilots ; six were killed in the air ) and 145 wounded . In another report , dated 3 January 1945 , losses were given as 120 destroyed and 73 damaged . 24 non - operational aircraft were also lost with 11 damaged . This included aircraft outside of RAF Second Tactical Air Force ' s control . The Air Force ' s losses were 73 destroyed and the same figure damaged , 12 non - operational aircraft destroyed and 11 damaged . Werner Girbig in his book , " Six Months to Oblivion : The Eclipse of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force " , gives German losses , from their sources , as 137 destroyed ( 98 in the British sector and 39 in the American ) . Some 57 were shot down by Allied fighters and 80 by Allied anti - aircraft defences . Girbig notes a further 48 were lost to unknown causes making a total of around 200 fighters . The rest , the author attributes to German anti - aircraft fire ( " flak " ) . His final total is given as 300 . Girbig gives personnel losses as 151 pilots killed and 63 captured . Girbig gives Allied losses as roughly 500 , including quoted figures according to Allied sources of 144 destroyed and 84 damaged for the RAF and 134 destroyed and 62 damaged for the USAAF . Girbig asserts that 65 — 75 were shot down in combat . In recent years other authors have offered more detail on the losses of each side . John Manrho and Ronald Pütz , published their findings in " Bodenplatte : The Luftwaffe ' s Last Hope " . According to their figures , taken from German and Allied sources , which include the remains of German airmen found up until 2003 , German casualties were 271 fighters destroyed , 65 single - engine fighters damaged and 9 twin - engine aircraft destroyed , and four damaged . Some 143 pilots were killed in action , 70 became prisoners of war and 21 were wounded in action . The Allies lost 305 aircraft destroyed and 190 aircraft damaged . A further 15 Allied aircraft were shot down and ten damaged . A further six were downed by other causes . Manrho and Pütz have also deduced that only 17 German aircraft are certain to have been shot down by German " Flak " . Even if aircraft with unknown fates are added , it still gives a figure of only 30 — 35 . They state that the notion one — third of the German aircraft were shot down by friendly fire is " myth " . Jochen Prien and Gerhard Stemmer in their book , " Jageschwader 3 " Udet " in World War II " , quoted Allied losses as being 340 destroyed with 84 heavily damaged from Allied records . Tertiary histories give varying figures ; anywhere between 250 to 500 Allied aircraft destroyed . Steven Zaloga gives figures of 214 German aircrew killed or captured and 304 aircraft destroyed . In return , Allied losses are put at 144 lost on the ground , 62 damaged and 70 lost in aerial combat . Loss statistics . Total Allied aerial losses . Allied aerial casualties directly related to " Bodenplatte " : Total German losses . German casualties related directly to " Bodenplatte " : Jagdgeschwader 27 losses on 1 January 1945 numbered 18 pilots overall . Fifteen pilots were lost as a direct result of " Bodenplatte " .