Einsatzkampf Gruppe Ju88/Gen.d.Fl.Ausb.

Diary

April-May 1943 - Formed in Germany (possibly in the Cottbus area) as a provisional unit with a Gruppenstab and 1. – 3.Staffel using assets taken from the bomber training schools and initially named Einsatz-Kampfgruppe Ju 88/General d. Fliegerausbildungs.

c. 18 May to 11 Jul 1943 - Operated over Yugoslavia from , mainly from Belgrade-Zemun, Sarajevo-Butmir and Mostar-Sud. It provided bomber support for Unternehmen "Schwarz".

3 Jul 1943 - 2 Ju 88A-4s collided while taking off from Sarajevo-Butmir, 100% and 80%, Staffelkapitän Maj. Helmut Wendel + 1 KIA and 2 WIA.

Jul 1943 - after finishing anti-partisan operations in Yugoslavia it moved to Greece and flew attacks on Italian garrisons around Greece that refused to surrender following the capitulation.

13 Sep 1943 - bombed targets on Corfu.

18 Sep 1943 - sorties over the Kalino Islands.

30 Sep 1943 - based at Athens-Tatoi under the tactical control of X. Fl.Korps.

3 Oct – 22 Nov 1943 - supported operations to replace Italian troops formerly garrisoning the Greek islands and to recapture the Dodecanese Islands from the British.

9 Oct 1943 - Ju 88A-4 (K5+JL) failed to return from a flight over the Adriatic, Staffelkapitän Hptm. Helmut Schüler + 3 MIA; another Ju 88A-4 crashed into the sea south of Kos in the Dodecanese Islands/Aegean – engine failure.

10 Oct 1943 - Ju 88A-4 crashed and burned at Athens-Tatoi, 100%, Oblt. Georg Denkmann + 2 KIA and 1 WIA.

24 Oct 1943 - sorties in the Samos - Leros area.

30 Oct 43 - 2 Ju 88A-4s shot down by fighters west of Kastellorizon Is./4 km off the SE coast of Turkey in the Aegean, 8 MIA.(W.Nr 0231 K5+AB and W.Nr 3932 K5+BL.)

20 Nov 1943 - On or around this date the Gruppe was dissolved at Athens-Eleusis and its assets returned to bomber schools or reassigned to other units.

Kommandeur

Hptm. Karl-August von der Fecht (DKG, RK) (May 1943? - 19Nov 43)

Staffelkapitäne

Maj. Helmut Wendel

Hptm. Helmut Schüler

Unit Code

K5

References

Postings by Steve W, Rabe Anton, Dave Pausey etc to TOCH and then reposted to LWAG Jul 2004.