1./NAGr. 13
1./NAGr. 13
(Unit Code: none known – used large single and double digit numbers on side of fuselage in Staffel colour)
Formation. (October 1942)
Formed on or about 1 October 1942, possibly at St-Brieuc in Brittany, by renaming 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 23, which was then in the process of converting from the Hs 126 to the Fw 189. This process was brought to a halt during October and the Staffel was completely outfitted with 14 Fw 190 A-4 single engine fighters modified for use as reconnaissance aircraft, these all being received by 1 November. Some sources state that 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 23 was at Jüterbog in Germany on 1 October and did not move to St-Brieuc until November or December.[1]
France. (November 1942 - August 1944)
15 November 1942: moved to Avignon-West in south France with Stab/NAGr.13 as part of the German air and ground assets brought up in occupy Vichy France following the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria on 8 November.
15 December 1942: ordered to (or to return to?) St-Brieuc on or about this date.
17 July 1943: Fw 190 A-4 slightly damaged at St-Brieuc due to technical problems.
August 1943: moved from St-Brieuc to Dinard with Stab and 2./NAGr. 13. In addition to Fw 190s, some Bf 109 G-4s began to be received in late 1943.
25 August 1943: Fw 190 A-4 crash landed at Dinard, 40%.
1 October 1943: at Dinard - Staffel reported 6 Fw 190 A-4 and 3 Fw 190 A-3/U4 on strength.
30 November 1943: Fi 156 belonging to the Staffel damaged at Cherbourg-Théville (a.k.a. Cherbourg-Maupertus, Cherbourg-East), 35%.
11 December 1943: Bf 109 G-4 crashed while taking off from Dinard, 50%.
6 January 1944: recce sorties were flown over the English Channel, although this was routine fare for the Staffel while based in northern France, especially from the second half of 1943. During the month of January, the Staffel lost a Bf 109 G-6 and a Bf 109 G-8 to the enemy.
May 1944: Staffel engaged in a mix of operational flights and training flights, the latter mostly over Normandy and the Channel Islands.
1 June 1944: Dinard with 9 Bf 109 G-6, 2 Bf 109 G-5 and 2 Fw 190 F-1 on strength.
c.7 June 1944: transferred from Dinard to Chartres shortly after the D-Day landings, and from there reported a mixed complement of 11 Fw 190s and Bf 109s or hand on 26 June. During June operations, the Staffel lost a Bf 109 G-5 and 3 Bf 109 G-6s.
15 Jun 44: Chartres - effective immediately, ordered to collaborate directly with I. SS-Pz.Korps and it subordinate units. (CX/MSS/T217/2)
18 August 1944: moved from Chartres to Creil around this date via Charleville and Belgium and then to Lachen-Speyerdorf near the Rhine west of Speyer. August cost the Staffel an incredible total of 18 Bf 109 G-8s either destroyed in the air or on the ground by enemy action. All or elements of the Staffel may have been at Köln-Wahn from 4 to 25 September, but has not been confirmed.
Germany. (September 1944 - May 1945)
September – November 1944: flew 4 to 8 Bf 109 recce sorties a day in the Luxembourg-Thionville-Nancy-Luneville area under 5. Jagddivision, later 16. F1iegerdivision.
27 November 1944: transferred to Oedheim/near Heilbronn, flying recce for Heeresgruppe G (Army Group G). The Staffel reported the operational loss of 1 Bf 109 G-6 and 7 Bf 109 G-8s during November and 3 more Bf 109s during December.
February – March 1945: moved to Gochsen/16 km north-east of Heilbronn.
26 March 1945: transferred to Lechfeld to begin conversion to the Me 262 jet.
9 April 1945: Lechfeld and listed as still having 10(6) Bf 109s on strength; evidently, the conversion had not yet started.
21 April 1945: as U.S. forces approached Lechfeld, the Staffel withdrew to Hörsching/12 km south-west of Linz in Austria where it was in the process of being incorporated into 1.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. 100 on 3 May.
FpN:1./NAGr. 13 (L 16202).
Staffelkapitän:
Hptm. Günther Nell (c.1 October 1942 - December 1942)
Hptm. Karl Dominicus (January 1943 - June 1944)
Oblt. Friedrich Geiger (June 1944 - August 1944)
Oblt. Friedrich Gundel (August 1944 - 8 May 1945?)[2]
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress).
(1st Draft 2022)
References
- ↑ W.Dierich - Die Verbände der Luftwaffe 1935-1945: Gliederungen und Kurzchroniken – Eine Dokumentation; G.Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945, Teil 14: Die Luftstreitkräfte (Osnabrück, 1980); N.Kannapin - Die deutsche Feldpostübersicht 1939-1945, 3 Bde (I – III) (Osnabrück, 1980-82); PRO London: AIR 40 Air Ministry intelligence reports and lists based on ULTRA, “Y” Service intercepts, captured documents and PoW interrogations; BA-MA Freiburg: RL 2 III Meldungen über Flugzeugunfälle…..(Loss Reports – LRs); BA-MA Freiburg: Signatur RL 40/Kart; M.Holm-website ww2.dk.
- ↑ The awards documentation lists Oblt. Helmut Kaeber as the Staka of “1.(N)/Aufkl.Gr. 13” during late 1944 and possibly 1945 in connection with his award of the Ritterkreuz on 28 January 1945. Since there was no Staffel with this designation, it undoubtedly is referring to 1./NAGr. 13. The exact dates of Kaeber’s command of the Staffel are not known. BA doc seen by Junker (TOCH) indicates he was Staka on 6 Mar 1945, Luftwaffe Career Summaries also indicate that he was possibly Staka in April 1945.