IV./TG 4
IV./TG 4
Formation. (May 43)
Formed 1 May 1943 at Paris – Le Bourget in France with a Gruppenstab and 13. – 16. Staffel by renaming KGr.z.b.V. 700. Equipped with French LeO 451 transports.[1]
France and Germany. (May 43 - Jan 45)
May 43: the Gruppe’s main activity to the end of 1943 was transporting Luftwaffe ground personnel around to various airfields in France. It could be said that it was something of an in-country airline for Luftflotte 3 and Luftgaukommando Westfrankreich.[2]
28 May 43: LeO 451 crash landed at Fp. Romilly/85 km SSW of Reims, 30%.[3]
15 Jun 43: LeO 451 crashed while taking off from Fp. Lyon-Bron, 50%.
19 Jun 43: transferred from Paris – Le Bourget to Fp. Étampes-Mondésir/55 km SSW of Paris with a total of 61 Leo 451s on strength.[4]
24 Jun 43: LeO 451 crash landed at Fp. Étampes-Mondésir, 25%.
26-29 Jul 43: 5 LeO 451 landing and take-off accidents reported at Fp. Istres, Marseille-Marignane and Salon/40 km NW of Marseille.
31 Jul 43: LeO 451 ditched in the sea near Riva Trigoso due to technical problems, 100%, crew safe.
28 Aug 43: two landing accidents at Fp. Freiburg, both aircraft flipping over after touching down, Dewoitine 831 @ 40% and a Dewoitine 837 @ 40%, both pilots injured.
8 Sep 43: LeO 451 bombed on the ground at Fp. Lille-Vendeville, 25%.
9 Sep 43: LeO 451 bombed on the ground at Fp. Beauvais-Tillé, 25%.
21 Sep 43: LeO 451 force landed near Laon, 15%.
2 Oct 43: LeO 451 damaged landing at Fp. Salon, 25%.
7 Oct 43: LeO 451 crashed near Fp. Étampes-Mondésir due to engine failure, 100%, 4 killed.
13 Nov 43: 15. Staffel ferried the ground personnel belonging to II./SG 10 from Coulommiers/50 km E of Paris to Lvov/SE Poland.[5]
26 Nov 43: LeO 451 struck the ground near Fontainbleau while flying too low in bad weather, 100%, Oblt. Heinz Lippitz + 3 all killed.
27 Nov 43: LeO 451 crashed at Fp. Beauvais-Tillé due to technical problems, 30%.
2 Dec 43: LeO 451 crashed while landing at Fp. Twente (Twenthe) in Holland, 40%.
8 Dec 43: LeO 451 force landed near Linz/Austria due to technical problems, 100%, Hptm. Herbert Ertelt + 4 injured.
12 Dec 43: SM 82 ran out of fuel and force landed west of Uetersen/N Germany, 15%.
Dec 43: between mid-December and February 1944, the Gruppe flew frequent transport missions between France and North Italy, and France and Greece.[6]
Feb 44: 16. Staffel disbanded and its remaining assets incorporated into 13. – 15. Staffel.[7]
12 Feb 44: 2 LeO 451s from 13. Staffel shot down by RAF Typhoons while in-flight from Étampes-Mondésir to Venlo/Holland.[8]
10 Jul 44: still at Fp. Étampes-Mondésir.[9]
Jul 44: Gruppe handed over its remaining 25 LeO 451s to Transportfliegerstaffel Hansa and then the Staffeln re-equipped individually during July and August with Ju 352s, Me 323s, Piaggio P. 108s, Savoia SM 82s, SM 95s plus a few aircraft of several other types. They also incorporated components of other units and were thus significantly transformed. On 31 August, for example, 16 Staffel reported 18 x Me 323’s on strength, many or all of these coming from the disbanded TG 5. From September 1944 the reorganized Staffeln began operating quasi-independently, although they retained their original numbering and administrative ties to Stab IV./TG 4. The Gruppenstab remained intact and moved to Vietskerstrand/Pomerania, 27 WNW of Stolp, where it was located at least during September and October. Not affected by the reorganization, 13. Staffel continued to operate under Stab IV./TG 4 but the type of aircraft it was using has not been determined.[10]
30 Jan 45: IV./TG 4 was ordered disbanded by OKL this date with completion to be reported not later than 1 March 1945. In the process of disbanding, most of the Gruppenstab and 13. Staffel were reassigned and used to form Grossraumtransportgruppe at Berlin-Schönwalde during February.[11]
FpNs:Gruppenstab and 13. – 16. Staffel (L 43005)
Kommandeur:
Maj. Ferdinand Muggenthaler (1 May 43 - 18 Sep 43)
Maj. Heinrich Hans (DKG) (18 Sep 43 - Aug 44)
Maj. Günter Mauss (DKG) (Aug 44 - Feb 45)
14./TG 4 (Reorganized)
Formation. (Sep 44)
Re-established 10 September 1944 at Mühldorf/72 km ENE of Munich as a quasi-independent Staffel by merging Transportfliegerstaffel 5 with personnel from the original 14./TG 4. Equipped with Ju 90s, Ju 290A-1s, Ju 52s, a Ju 252 (briefly) and at least 1 Piaggio P. 108.[12]
Germany. (Sep 44 - May 45)
Fall 44: flew regular supply flights to Rhodes and Crete in the Aegean, departing from Wien-Aspern and Wien-Schwechat.
6 Oct 44: Ju 90 (G6+AY) blew two tires and crashed on landing at Athens-Tatoi from Iraklion/Crete. Repairs were impossible and the aircraft was set on fire by the crew to prevent capture by the British, who were about to occupy Greece. Around the same time, Piaggio 108 (G6+FY) was destroyed at Salonika during a low-level attack by Allied aircraft.
Dec 44: 2 Fw 200 Condors (G6+AY and G6+FY) were reassigned to the Staffel from Norway and on 28 January 1945 these began flying supplies to Rhodes as “Sonderkommando Condor” from Wiener-Neustadt and then in April from Hörsching near Linz. Wounded and sick personnel were flown back to Austria on the return flights.
Feb 45: most of the Staffel’s remaining aircraft were moved from Mühldorf to a dispersal strip at Neufahrn near Freising/NE of Munich. To the end of the war, few missions were flown due to the fuel situation which had reached critical proportions, except for the Fw 200 flights to Rhodes. In April “Sonderkommando Condor” appears to have been removed and re-designated Lufttransportstaffel 200 (see there).
May 45: Staffel dissolved.
FpN:(L 55285)
Staffelkapitän:
Hptm. Gerhard Wasserkampf (10 Sep 44 - May 45?)
15./TG 4 (Reorganized)
Formation. (Sep 44)
Re-established 10 September 1944 at Berlin-Schönwalde as a quasi-independent Staffel by merging 3./Ergänzungstransportgruppe and the Stab of I./TG 5 with personnel from the original 15./TG 4. Equipped with Ju 352 Herkules transports.[13]
Germany, Slovakia and Hungary. (Sep 44 - Jan 45)
Sep 44 – Jan 45: Staffel engaged in crew instruction and some training flights, but Allied air activity in the Berlin area and fuel shortages kept flight operations to a minimum.
8 Jan 45: transferred to Malacky/35 km NNW of Bratislava in Slovakia and Pápa in western Hungary - flew supply container missions over besieged Budapest until around 16 January and then returned to Berlin-Schönwalde.
30 Jan 45: Staffel ordered disbanded by OKL this date and all assets used to form the Grossraumtransportstaffel Ju 352.
FpN:(L 43683)
Staffelkapitän:
Oblt. Franz Lankenau (DKG) (c. 15 Oct 44 - 30 Jan 45)
16./TG 4 (Re-established)
Formation. (Sep 44)
Re-established on or about 10 September 1944, possibly at Leipheim or Risstissen near Ulm, as a quasi-independent Staffel using many of the remaining Me 323 transports from the disbanded I. and II./TG 5. By one account, it had 18 x Me 323’s on strength on 31 August 1944.[14]
Germany. (Sep 44 - Jan 45)
Sep – Dec 44: no evidence of activity has been found. The fuel shortage probably kept flights (if any) to an absolute minimum as this 6-engine aircraft consumed huge quantities of avgas.
30 Dec 44: Staffel still reported 12 serviceable Me 323’s on strength.
30 Jan 45: ordered disbanded by OKL this date with instructions to park all of its Me 323s at Fp. Chrudim/100 km ESE of Prague in Czechoslovakia where they remained to the end of the war.
FpN:(L 44132)
Staffelkapitän:
Hptm.d.R. Walter Ehrlich (15 Oct 44 - ? )
Also see:
AXE, Heinz, Hptm. Pilot? Staka 16./TG 4.
ERTELT, Herbert, Hptm. Pilot. Staka 13./TG 4. WIA.
FONTANA, Heinz, Hptm. Pilot. Staka 14./TG 4.
HICKES (HINKES?), Heinz, Hptm.(Kr.O.). (R, DKG). Techn.Offz. in Stab IV./TG 4.
LIPPITZ, Heinz, Oblt.(Kr.O.). Pilot. KIA.
SCHLEYER, Adolf, Oblt.
SCHLOTTE, Hans, Oblt. Pilot. Staka 15./TG 4.
STAHNKE Karl-Heinz, Oblt./Hptm. (R, DKG). Pilot.
STANGL, Josef Peter ("Sepp"), Hptm. Techn.Offz. in Stab IV./TG 4.
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress, 2022).
(1st Draft 2022)
References
- ↑ G.Tessin-Verbände und Truppen der Deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS 1939-1945 - Teil 14: Die Luftstreitkräfte; K.Kössler commentary in Jet & Prop magazine, Heft (issue) 4/2000.
- ↑ K.Kössler-op cit.
- ↑ 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; PRO London: DEFE 3 ULTRA signal ML5181.
- ↑ K.Kössler-op cit.
- ↑ K.Kössler-op cit.
- ↑ K.Kössler-op cit.
- ↑ K.Kössler-op cit.
- ↑ ULTRA signal (number not recorded); NARA WashDC: RG 242/T-971 roll 18.
- ↑ K.Kössler-op cit; F.Morzik-German Air Force Airlift Operations:404; BA-MA Freiburg: Signatur RL 2 III/66 (via letter from N.Beale to H.L.deZeng dated 14 July 1991); M.Griehl article in Flugzeug magazine, Heft (issue) 1/1994; Jet & Prop 3/1996, p.39.
- ↑ K.Kössler article in Jet & Prop 3/1996, p.39.
- ↑ K.Kössler/G.Ott-Die großen Dessauer: Junkers Ju 89, Ju 90, Ju 290, Ju 390 – Die Geschichte einer Flugzeugfamilie:172-74.
- ↑ H.Bukowski/C.Trilus- Fliegerhorst Schönwalde/Berlin: Ausbildungs-und Erprobungsstätte der Luftwaffe 1935-1945:118.
- ↑ Luftwaffe Verband Journal No. 7, p.24.
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