Fliegergeschwader z.b.V. 7

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The Luftwaffes Anti-Partisan Air Support Unit
By: Larry deZeng


Fliegergeschwader z.b.V. 7

(Unit Code 9Q+)


Formation. (Jul 42)

Formed at the beginning of July 1942 at Berlin-Tempelhof as Fliegergruppe z.b.V. 7 with Stab and 1.-4.Staffel. The 5. and 6. Staffel were added at the end of 1942 and beginning of 1943, a 7. Staffel was formed during the second half of 1944, and there was also an Ergänzungsstaffel, which was set up in April 1943. Re-designated as Fliegergeschwader z.b.V. 7 on 29 February 1944. At about the same time, an Einsatzgruppe I./Fliegergeschwader z.b.V. 7 was set up with two Staffeln to carry out the Geschwader's operational mission. The Einsatzgruppe had a Gruppenstab, an Aufklärungsstaffel equipped with Fw 189s and a Schlachtstaffel equipped with Ju 87 Stukas. It was used to attack partisan camps and villages in support of the larger anti-partisan operations run by the SS in the rear areas of Russia, the Baltic States, eastern Poland and later Czechoslovakia, Slovenia and northeastern Italy.


Fliegergruppe z.b.V. 7 was an expansion and reorganization of the Polizeifliegerabteilung of the Ordnungspolizei which had existed in various forms since the World War I period to patrol Germany's borders, regulate highway and river traffic, spot and fight forest fires and other natural disasters, courier documents and mail, and to transport senior police officials. The Abteilung was very small by any measure, only consisting of 9 aircraft on 28 May 1940, nearly all of which were in Berlin or Poland. The personnel were police who had received training at Luftwaffe schools, and for administrative and pay purposes belonged to the Luftwaffe from July 1942. The KStN (TO&E) for each Staffel of Fliegergruppe z.b.V. 7 called for 1 multi-engine courier/liaison plane (Ju 52, Si 104/204, Fw 58, etc.), 7 Fi 156 (one of which was outfitted for medical-evacuation work) and 1 glider. The Fw 189 appears to have been used also, mainly in Russia.


As stated, the overriding mission of the Gruppe/Geschwader was to provide support for the many anti-partisan operations carried out by the SS in the rear areas of German-occupied eastern and southeastern Europe. The missions that were flown included direct attacks on partisan concentrations, camps and supply dumps, reconnaissance, medical-evacuation, and courier/liaison flights. The Fi 156 Staffeln were mainly used for the last three tasks, although there are reports of some of them being used occasionally to drop small bombs and hand grenades on partisan targets. Over the course of the Gruppe/Geschwader's existence, the individual Staffeln operated independently in different theaters as shown below.[1]


East, Balkans, Czechoslovakia and Reich. (Jul 42 - Apr 45)

Jan 43: 6. Staffel fomed at Tallinn-Ulemiste/Estonia with He 60s and Ar 95s by renaming 15./Aufklärungsgruppe 127 (a.k.a. Sonderstaffel Buschmann). It was later reorganized and re-equipped with Fi 156s.[2]

Jan 43: Fliegergruppe z.b.V. 7 directly subordinated to Kdo.Stab Reichsführer-SS for operations.[3]

26 Jan 43: 2. Staffel at Daugavpils-West in Latvia and 6. Staffel at Tallinn-Ulemiste in Estonia.[4]

9 Feb 43: an Fw 189A-2 belonging to the Gruppe crashed west of Radom/Poland (75%), 3 injured.[5]

26 Mar 43: 2. Staffel now at Riga-Spilve/Latvia while 6. Staffel had departed Tallinn, but destination not given (but probably in transfer to Norway).[6]

12 May 43: 4. Staffel departed Kiev-Post Volinski, but destination not given.[7]

Jun 43: Erg.St./Fliegergruppe.z.b.V. 7 at Berlin-Tempelhof.[8]

26 Jun 43: 2. Staffel at Riga-Spilve.[9]

Jul 43: 3. Staffel based at Minsk-South, but by Oct 1943 had moved to Minsk-East, where it was still based in Mar 1944.[10]

20 Aug 43: 5. Staffel at Rovno/Ukraine.[11]

1 Oct 43: a 5. Staffel Fi 156C-3/trop identified at Minsk-East.[12]

5 Oct 43: a Fi 156 belonging to 6. Staffel received 10% damage due to engine failure near Bergen/Norway.[13]

11 Oct 43: 6. Staffel at Oslo-Fornebu with 6 x Fi 156.

Oct 43: Gruppe in support of anti-partisan operations in the Nevel-Idritsa area near the Russian-Latvian border.[14]

26 Nov 43: 2. Staffel at Idritsa/NW of Nevel, and still there 26 Dec 43.

26 Nov 43: a Fi 156 belonging to 6. Staffel received 20% damage due to engine failure northeast of Stavanger/Norway.[15]

Feb - Apr 44 (at least): 3. Staffel assigned to Kampfgruppe von dem Bach (from 16 Mar 44 Kampfgruppe von dem Bach - Gille). This was actually a detachment of 3. Staffel, and it was in support of Waffen-SS units surrounded in Kowel. The handful of Fi 156s belonging to the detachment flew low-level reconnaissance over Russian positions, transported high ranking officers and flew wounded from Kowel to Lublin and Chelm in eastern Poland.[16]

29 Feb 44: 2. Staffel at Riga-Spilve administratively under Feldluftgaukdo.XXVI.[17]

Mar 44: 7. Staffel formed for employment in the Balkans.

1 Apr 44: all or elements of 5. Staffel still at Minsk-East.[18]

Jun 44: 7. Staffel, which had just completed formation (possibly at Welzow), based at Ljubljana (Laibach) in support of HSSPF Alpenland and the Führungstab für Bandenbekämpfung responsible for anti-partisan operations in Slovenia.

28 Jun 44: Einsatzgruppe z.b.V. 7 with 1. and 2. Staffel at Prusana/120 km WNW Pinsk in E Poland under Fliegerführer l/Luftflotte 6.[19]

23 Aug 44: 3. Staffel at Bad Aibling. This marks the departure of Geschwader elements (except for 1. Staffel) from the East following the Soviet Belorussian offensive that opened on 22 June and by mid-August had driven German forces westward into central Poland.[20]

Sep 44: I./Einsatzgruppe z.b.V. 7 engaged against the Slovak uprising from Bratislava and Piestany/72 km NE of Bratislava.[21]

17 Sep 44: 1. Staffel at Kraków/S Poland.[22]

12 Dec 44: Stab at Salzburg-Gnigl (3.6 km SE of Salzburg) under RFSS (Heinrich Himmler) with several Ju 52, Fw 58 and Fi 156C-3/trop based at nearby Salzburg-Ainring, - the Geschwader filed a strength return this date giving a total of 90 aircraft of various types, 24 officers, 3 Beamte (civilian officials), 254 NCOs and 115 men. The operational group and Staffeln were located as follows:[23]

Einsatzgruppe I./Fliegergeschwader z.b.V. 7 (Hptm. Paill) with Gruppenstab in Laibach (Ljubljana) under HSSPF Alpenland (SS-Obergruppenführer Erwin Rosener) and its Aufklärungsstaffel (Oblt. Glieses?) at Pistian (Piestany)/71 km NE of Bratislava in Slovakia with 1 x Fw 58, 4 x Fw 189 and 1 x Fi 156, and its Schlachtstaffel (Oblt. Müller) at Pistian (Piestany) with 11 x Ju 87 (with operations against the Czech resistance virtually concluded, the Gruppe was preparing to transfer the majority of its assets to Laibach and Graz);

1. Staffel (Lt. Dudde) at Kraków attached to HSSPF Ost (SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Koppe) with 2 x Fw 58 and 10 x Fi 156;

2. Staffel (Hptm. Zimmermann) at Tschenstochau (Czestochowa)/108 km NW of Kraków attached to HSSPF Ost (SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Koppe) with 9 x Fi 156 and 1 x Fw 58 (this detached at Windau (Ventspils) in Latvia;

3. Staffel (Oblt. Kunz) at Pressburg (Bratislava) - Weinern attached to Deutsche Befehlshaber Slowakei (SS-Obergruppenführer Hermann Hofle) with 7 x Fi 156 and another detached at Klagenfurt/Austria;

4. Staffel - not listed but still in existence and probably in Slovakia on the basis of circumstantial evidence (grave markers) (FpN not deleted until 4 Apr 45);

5. Staffel (Oblt. Sandner) at Zagreb attached to HSSPF Kroatien (SS-Obergruppenführer Konstantin Kammerhofer) with 2 x Fw 58 and 8 x Fi 156, but the aircraft were widely distributed in other locations in Hungary and Italy, including Budapest, Deutsche Brod, Gorz, Gardone and Monza;

6. Staffel (Oblt. Hinke) at Oslo-Fornebu attached to HSSPF Nord (SS-Obergruppenführer Wihhelm Rediess) with 1 x Fw 58 and 6 x Fi 156 plus another detached at Gol in north-central Norway;

7. Staffel (Oblt. Weirich) at Laibach (Ljubljana) attached to HSSPF Alpenland (SS-Obergruppenführer Erwin Rosener) with 1 x Fw 58, 7 x Fi 156 and 1 x Saiman 202.

Erg.Staffel at Deutsch Brod (Havličků Brod)/96 km SE of Prague with 1 x Si 202.

Additionally, the Geschwader had 2 x Fw 58, 2 x Fw 189 and 6 x Fi 156 under repair at various locations on 12 December 1944.

Jan 45: 5. Staffel maintained an outstation of liaison aircraft at Verona for use by HSSPF Italien.[24]

9 Jan 45: Fliegergeschwader z.b.V. 7 ordered disbanded this date, but it appears that this was only partially carried out.[25]

10 Jan 45: 5. Staffel still at Zagreb, now with 1 x Fw 58 and 3 x Fi 156; the remainder of its aircraft had been taken over by 7. Staffel at Laibach.[26]

11 Jan 45: 1. Staffel still at Kraków - strength 1 officer and 28 men.[27]

4 Feb 45: Geschw.Stab at Salzburg - it took its tactical orders from Kdo.Stab RF-SS.[28]

5 Feb 45: .7. Staffel appears to have been ordered from Ljubljana (Laibach) to Klagenfurt on this date and disbanded there.[29]

Apr 45: all FpNs deleted in late March and early April, except for the Stab, 1. and 2. Staffel, which apparently continued to the end of the war.[30]


FpNs

Stab (L 49001)

1. Staffel (L 49251)

2. Staffel (L 49660)

3. Staffel (L 50322)

4. Staffel (L 49030)

5. Staffel (L 50469)

6. Staffel (L 52565)

7. Staffel (L 63165)


Kommandeur/Kommodore

Hptm.i.G. Rudolf Jenett (Jul 42 - 2 Dec 43)

Obstlt. Heinz Heinsius (2 Dec 43 - 10 Jan 45)[31])


© H.L. deZeng IV, 2004



References

  1. ↑ G.Tessin-Verbände und Truppen der Deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS 1939-1945. Teil 14: Die Luftstreitkräfte; N.Kannapin-Feldpostübersicht; [Flugzeug Magazine-Flugzeug-Dokumentation Nr. 4 (Polizeiflieger), 1995; B.Hafsten-Fliegergeschwader zbV 7 - “ The Air Force of the Waffen-SS", in Luftwaffe Verband Journal, 2004.
  2. ↑ Jet & Prop magazine, Heft (issue) 2/1992:19.
  3. ↑ BA-MA Freiburg: Signatur RL 20/300-02.
  4. ↑ NARA WashDC: RG 242 (T-311 H.Gr.Nord microfilm).
  5. ↑ BA-MA Freiburg: RL 2 III Meldungen über Flugzeugunfälle..(Loss Reports - LRs).
  6. ↑ T-311 H.Gr.Nord microfilm.
  7. ↑ BA-MA RL 20/300-02.
  8. ↑ Uffz. Fritz Schulze Flugbuch (flight log).
  9. ↑ Luftflotte 1 Kriegsgliederung, Stand: 26.6.1943.
  10. ↑ Schulze.
  11. ↑ Schulze.
  12. ↑ Hafsten.
  13. ↑ LRs.
  14. ↑ T-311 H.Gr.Nord microfilm.
  15. ↑ LRs.
  16. ↑ Schulze.
  17. ↑ BA-MA Freiburg: Signatur RL 40/Kart ("Aufmarsch die fliegende Verbände" order of battle map for this date).
  18. ↑ Hafsten.
  19. ↑ T-311:228/491.
  20. ↑ T-79:14.
  21. ↑ T-971:1/058.
  22. ↑ T-50l:222/954.
  23. ↑ Hafsten.
  24. ↑ N.Beale-AWI:144.
  25. ↑ Tessin.
  26. ↑ Hafsten.
  27. ↑ T-50l:218/1276; Hafsten.
  28. ↑ T-971:33/1013.
  29. ↑ Schulze.
  30. ↑ Kannapin.
  31. ↑ ex-Staka of l.(H)/23 and former Kdr. NAGr. 2.
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