2./SAGr. 126
2./Seeaufkl.Gr. 126
Unit Code: (D1 + )
Formation (May 1943)
Formed May 1943 at Kavala/NE Greece (ex-Aufkl.St. 2.(F)/126) with Arado Ar 196 floatplanes. The Staffel's mission remained unchanged from that of its predecessor. [1]
Greece - Aegean Sea (May 1943 – Oct 1944)
29.10.43: Staffel claimed it shot down a RAF twin-engined Beaufighter at 0834 hours this date, presumably over the Aegean.[2]
12/43: changed bases with 3./SAGr.126 around December, with 2.Staffel moving to Skaramanga (Salamis) near Athens and 3.Staffel to Kavala.[3]
9.10.44: Staffel ordered to transfer immediately from Skaramanga to Lochstedt near Pillau in East Prussia as part of the German withdrawal from Greece and most of the Balkans.[4]
North Germany - Baltic Sea (Nov 1944 – May 1945)
29.11.44: Pillau, with a few aircraft at a time also at Liepaja (Libau)/Latvia for short periods. [5]
1/45: 2./126 renumbered 3./126 and 1./126 renumbered 2./126 according to Feldpost number changes entered on 13 January and 11 February 1945; however, careful scrutiny of Staffel locations and equipment suggests that the renumbering was not carried out.
14.1.45: still at Pillau with Ar 196s, but transferred to Barth/25 km WNW of Stralsund on the Baltic at the end of January due to Soviet offensive penetrations into East Prussia.[6]
13.2.45: at Barth pending proposed conversion to the Messerschmitt Me 410.[7]
22.3.45: approval granted this date to re-equip the Staffel with 12 Me 410s and 4 Siebel Si 204s; new primary mission was to fly anti-submarine patrols over the Baltic and help protect refugee ships from Russian subs. It is unlikely that this conversion was completed before the end of the war, and the Staffel does not appear in any further listings of operational Luftwaffe units. [8]
19.4.45: a Siebel Si 204D-1 (D1+QK) belonging to the Staffel was flown to Bredakra/Sweden this date, probably by defectors as the war came to an end.[9]
FpN: 2./SAGr.126 (L 55146, L 55018).
Staffelkapitän
Hptm. Otto Hornig (May 43 - ) 7/43
Hptm. Kurt Kroll? ( ? - ? ) 1943-44
Oblt. Helmut Berz (Dec 44 - Apr/May 45)
Hptm. Wilhelm Gaul (Feb 45 - May 45)
Also see:
AHRENDS, Eberhard, Lt.
ARABIN, Karl
BAHE, Friedrich-Wilhelm, Hptm.
BERTRAM, ? , Hptm.
KLINDERT, Hans, Lt.z.S.
OESTMANN, Karl-Heinz, Oblt.
ROHWERDER, Peter, Oblt.
SPAAR, Friedrich-Wilhelm, Lt.
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress, 2022).
(1st Draft 2022)