3./Kü.Fl.Gr. 406

3./Kü.Fl.Gr. 406

Formation and Organization. (Jul 37)

Formed 1 July 1937 at List on the island of Sylt as an (Mz) Staffel with He 59s by renaming 3.(Mz)/Kü..Fl.Gr. 106.

North Germany, Norway and Western France. (Sep 39 - Jul 43)

Sep 39: the Staffel began World War II on 1 September 1939 at List with 9 He 59s, and experienced its first brush with action on 26 September when it helped search for a major naval force from the British Home Fleet near the Great Fisher Bank in the North Sea.

25 Oct 39: as part of the reorganization of 25 October, 3.(Mz)/406 became 3.(Mz)/506 and was replaced by renaming 2.(F)/Kü.Fl.Gr. 306 at Hörnum with Do 18s.

10 Nov 39: it suffered its first combat loss when Do 18 (K6+DL) was attacked by two RAF Hudsons and

forced to ditch 40 kilometers off the English coast near Scarborough, killing the pilot, Oblt. zur See Wilhelm Lütjens.

Dec 39 – Apr 40: routine patrols and occasional encounters continued through the winter, but no further losses were reported until 9Apri11940, the opening day of the German attack on Denmark and Norway when Do 18 (K6+ HL) was shot down off the Norwegian coast by a RAF Wellington returning from a bombing mission. Oblt. de Vieger + 2 were listed as MIA and 1 crew member was KIA.

May - Jun 40: still at Hörnum 10 May with 10 Do 18s, 3.(F)/406 was ordered to Stavanger/SW Norway on 1 June and remained there until 22 July when it returned to Hörnum for several weeks of rest and refit.

Aug 40: on 12 August the Staffel moved to Norderney and then on 18 August it transferred to the seaplane base at Vlissingen/Holland to begin operations in the Battle of Britain, primarily to reinforce the air-sea rescue services deployed along the English Channel.

2 Sep 40: on 2 September, the Staffel transferred again, this time to Amsterdam-Schellingwoude, where it remained without further losses until 15 February 1941. Shortly after arriving at Schellingwoude three losses then occurred in rapid succession.

3 Sep 40: Do 18 (K6 +DL) was shot down killing two.

5 Sep 40: Do 18 (K6 +KL) was shot up by a RAF Blenheim and crash landed at Calais with two men wounded.

15 Sep 40: Do 18 (K6 + FL) crashed on take-off from the waters off the south coast of Ireland, probably while picking up downed aircrew.

15 Feb 41: ordered from Amsterdam-Schellingwoude to Trondheim-Hommelvik in Central Norway and assigned to Stab/Kü.Fl.Gr. 706.

Mar 41: for the next year, 3.(F)/406 carried out routine patrols from Trondheim and occasionally sent a few Do18s further north to Banak to operate for periods. There were no engagements or losses until May.

14 May 41: one of the Dornier flying boats received minor damage in a forced landing in Trondheim Fjord in bad weather.

25 Aug 41: at Trondheim and Banak with Do 18s.

Nov 41: in November 1941, as one of the last Do 18-equipped units in the Luftwaffe to do so, it returned to Germany and began converting to the BV 138 at List. This process was substantially completed by 15 February 1942 and the Staffel returned to Norway and initially based at Tromsø.

1 Mar 42: Staffel reported 10 x BV 138 on strength.

May 42: around 10 May 1942, it is said to have received the V-3 prototype of the 6-engine BV 222 flying boat and began flying this from Biscarosse in southwest France. This cannot be confirmed in the available documents, and May 1942 is believed to be an error for May 1943.

Jun 42: be this as it may, 3.(F)/406 remained operational at Tromsø under Fliegerführer Lofoten and reported 4 BV 138s destroyed there in crash landings and take-off accidents on 30 June 1942, 15 November 1942, 16 January 1943 and 23 February 1943, taking the lives of 8 crew members in all.

Mar 43: in March, three BV 138s were sent from Tromsø to Biscarosse, and on 30 March a BV 138 failed to return from an Arctic patrol, with Oblt. Ullrich Gutteck and his crew of four reported missing.

3 Apr 43: meanwhile, the detachment at Biscarosse assigned to Luftflotte 3 reported BV 138 (NA+PO) missing on this date together with its crew of 5.

May 43: the Biscarosse detachment was combined with 4 BV 222s to become Aufklärungsstaffel 222 in May, this being renamed 1.(F)/Seeaufklärungsgruppe 129 a few weeks later.

1 Jun 43: Staffel reported 8 x BV 138 on strength.

Jun 43: back in Norway, 3.(F)/406 lost a BV138 in a crash on 29 June that killed the crew, and another struck the ground and was destroyed at Billefjord on 14 July.

15 Jul 43: the Staffel was renamed 1.(F)/Seeaufklärungsgruppe 131 at Tromsø.

FpNs:(L 04310, L 20554, L 35396)

Staffelkapitän:

Hptm. Ernst-Wilhelm Bergemann (1939) 9/39

Hptm. Gert von Roth (1939 - 1940) 12/39, 3/40, 5/40

Hptm. Walter Holte (1940 - c. Jan 41) 8/40

© H.L. deZeng IV, 2024

References

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