II./TG 1
II./TG 1
Formation. (May 43)
Formed 1 May 1943 at Beauvais/65 km NNW of Paris with a Gruppenstab and 5. – 8. Staffel by renaming II./KG z.b.V. 1. Equipped with Ju 52 transports.[1]
France. (May 43 - Jul 43)
May 43: flew troop carrier flights for practice jumps for paratroops belonging to the 1. Fallschirmjägerdivision, which was on standby for employment in the Mediterranean. At the same time, 5. Staffel was detached at Fp. Rocquancourt near Caen.
24 May 43: Ju 52 struck the ground and crashed near Alençon/Normandy, 40%.
30 May 43: transferred to Avignon-East and Aix-les-Milles in South France - continued paratroop training and transported ground reinforcements to Sardinia.
30 Jun 43: 2 Ju 52s collided while taxiing at Fp. Avignon-East, 40% and 20%.
Italy. (Jul 43 - Sep 43)
11 Jul 43: transferred from South France to Rome-Ciampino the day after the Allies began the invasion of Sicily - dropped paratroops from the 1. Fallschirmjägerdivision on Sicily during July and transported elements of the 2. Fallschirmjägerdivision from South France to the Rome area during August.
12 Jul 43: Ju 52 force landed at Eboli/SE of Salerno, 25%.
1 Aug 43: Ju 52 bombed on the ground at Naples-Capodichino, 100%.
6 Aug 43: Ju 52 ditched in the sea off Grosseto/NW Italy, 100%, 5 killed.
7 Aug 43: transferred to Cervere (Fossano)/58 km SSE of Torino in NW Italy - flew a battalion of paratroops from Rome to the island of Elba on 17 September to disarm the Italian garrison; during the operation, 4 Ju 52s and a Fi 156 were destroyed on the ground when Allied formations struck the airfield at Cervere.
18 Sep 43: Ju 52 bombed on the ground at Pratica di Mare/28 km SSW of Rome, 100%.
19 Sep 43: transferred from Cervere to Firenze (Florence) with 50 Ju 52s and then to Pisa - evacuated German troops from Corsica to the end of September, losing 3 Ju 52s to Allied fighters on 24 September.
Germany. (Oct 43 - Mar 44)
2 Oct 43: transferred from Pisa to Firenze (Florence)/C Italy and then a few days later to Jena-Rödigen in Germany to rest and re-equip with Savoia-Marchetti SM 82s, which was carried out at Goslar beginning in January 1944.[2]
22 Nov 43: Ju 52 crashed and burned NW of Lvov/SE Poland after getting lost, 100%, 3 killed and 1 injured.
Italy and Germany. (Apr 44 - Sep 44)
2 Apr 44: transferred to Gallarate/37 km NW of Milano (Milan) in N Italy - continued work-up on the SM 82s and transported fighter and bomber units from North Italy to other fronts, particularly France and Belgium following Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June.
15 Aug 44: 6. Staffel (with 9 x SM 82s) transported the ground servicing personnel of II./JG 77 from Ghedi/N Italy to Orange/South France to counter the Allied invasion of South France this date.[3]
10-19 Aug 44: transferred to Niedermendig, Niederbreisig and Ferschweiler, all of which were dispersal fields in the Bonn-Koblenz-Trier area, following four low-level attacks on Gallarate by U.S. P-47 fighter-bombers during the first 10 days of August. No further operations were flown due to the fuel shortage and tactical situation. II./TG 1 was ordered disbanded at Goslar on 26 September 1944. The pilots were sent to the fighter schools and the remaining personnel were reassigned to the paratroops. During the 5 years of its existence, the Gruppe (first as II./KG z.b.V. 1 and then as II./TG 1) lost around 200 officers and men and 100 Ju 52s and SM 82s.[4]
FpNs:Gruppenstab (L 38592)
Kommandeur:
Maj. Franz Stipschitsch (1 May 43 - 17 May 43)
Maj. Gerhard Dudeck (DKG) (18 May 43 - c. 8 Dec 43)
Maj. Heinz Klamke (c. 9 Dec 43 - 26 Sep 44)
Hptm.d.R. Horst Harold (acting) (10 Aug 44 - ? )
Also see:
BLATTMANN, Werner, Oblt.
DÖRRIE, Hans, Oblt. Tech.Offz.
HAROLD, Horst, Hptm.d.R. Staka 5./TG 1 then acting Kdr. II./TG 1.
KERL, Heinz, Oblt.
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress, 2022).
(1st Draft 2022)
References
- ↑ W.Dierich-Verbände der Luftwaffe; G.Tessin-Verbände und Truppen der Deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS 1939-1945 - Teil 14: Die Luftstreitkräfte; [Kameradschaft Ehemaliger Transportflieger], Geschichte einer Transportflieger-Gruppe im II.Weltkrieg (this is the principal source for this unit and will not be cited again); PRO London: DEFE 3 ULTRA signal HP726; BA-MA Freiburg: RL 2 III Meldungen über Flugzeugunfälle…..(Loss Reports – LRs); PRO London: AIR 40 Air Ministry intelligence documents based on ULTRA and “Y” Service intercepts.
- ↑ BNA HW 5/371.
- ↑ J.Prien-JG 77:1996.
- ↑ ULTRA signal in BNA HW 5.
Return to Transportverbände