Sonderkommando "Elbe" was the name of a World War II Luftwaffe task force assigned to bring down heavy bombers by ramming them in mid-air.

Its sole mission took place on 7 April 1945, when a force of 180 Bf 109s managed to ram 15 Allied bombers, downing eight of them.

[1][2][3] The task force was created to cause losses sufficient to halt or at least reduce the Western Allies' bombing of Germany.

Stripped of most armor and armament, the planes had one synchronized machine gun (usually a single MG 131 in the upper engine cowling) instead of up to four automatic weapons (usually including a pair of 20mm or 30mm underwing-mount autocannon) on fully equipped Bf 109G interceptors, and were only allotted 60 rounds each, a normally insufficient amount for bomber-interception missions.

Sonderkommando Elbe pilots were trained to ram one of three sensitive areas on the bombers: the empennage with its relatively delicate control surfaces, the engine nacelles which were connected to the highly explosive fuel system, or the cockpit itself.