KGr.z.b.V. 102
KGr. z.b.V. 102
Kampfgruppe z.b.V. 102
(Unit Code: G6+)
Formation. (Mar 40)
Formed on or about 15 March 1940 at Neumünster in Schleswig-Holstein using aircraft and crews taken from the multi-engine training schools, especially FFS C 3 at Alt-Lönnewitz. The Gruppe was intended to be a provisional formation for use in the forthcoming occupation of Denmark and Norway that commenced on 9 April 1940.[1]
Denmark, Norway and Germany. (Apr 40 - Feb 41)
9 Apr 40: at Oldenburg assigned to X. Fliegerkorps - flew infantry and paratroops from Neumünster, Aalborg (Ålborg) and other airfields to Oslo-Fornebu during the first 3 days of the occupation of Norway.
13 Apr 40: now based at Oslo, lost 11 Ju 52s while airlifting troops and equipment to Narvik in North Norway - two of these were forced to land on the ice at Gullesfjord behind enemy lines after getting lost, with both crews being taken prisoner and later sent to England; the other 9 came down on a frozen lake after running out of fuel, abandoned, and then written off on 23 April.
3 May 40: deactivated at Neumünster, with crews and some of the aircraft returned to flight training duties. Other Ju 52s were turned over to other units, particularly KGr. z.b.V. 101, for use during the attack on France and the Low Countries beginning on 10 May.
Jan - Feb 41: reactivated, with Ju52 crashes being charged to it at Neuruppin on 3 January and to 1. Staffel at Crailsheim on 20 February.
Balkan Campaign. (Mar 41 - Jun 41)
23 Mar 41: assembled at Wiener Neustadt and transported cargo to Arad, Ploeşti and Plovdiv.
19 Apr 41: assigned to Stab/KG z.b.V. 2 and transferred to Plovdiv/Bulgaria for the second phase of the Balkan campaign.
26 Apr 41: based at Plovdiv - dropped paratroops over the Corinth Canal, which opened the way for the advance of German forces from S Greece into the Peloponnesus Peninsula.
27 Apr 41: 2. Staffel renamed 1./KGr. z.b.V.105 and immediately replaced (new).
1 May 41: transferred to Zwölfaxing and Bad Vöslau in Austria to refit prior to the occupation of Crete by airborne and air-landing forces under XI. Fliegerkorps (Operation Merkur).
12 May 41: ordered to Tanagra near Athens, but only there for two days.
20 May 41: after moving to Topolia (Topolis)/75 km NW of Athens under Stab/KG z.b.V. 2 on 14 May, lost 3 Ju 52s to AA fire while dropping paratroops near Canea during the first day of the airborne invasion of Crete this date. The Crete operation cost the Gruppe 3 total and 9 damaged Ju 52s between 14 May and 3 June.
Central Russia. (Jun 41 - Sep 41)
8 Jun 41: transferred from the Aegean to Frankfurt/O. and assigned to Luftflotte 2 for the attack on the Soviet Union, moving forward to Bielice/50 km W of Warsaw on 25 June and from there transported fuel to Prusana, Biała Podlaska, Minsk and Bobruisk.
7 Jul 41: moved forward to Baranowicze/E Poland and flew bombs, fuel and replacement parts to Orsha and Shatalovka, returning with wounded.
23 Jul 41: forward again, this time to Borisov/NE of Minsk to haul bombs, personnel and replacement engines to Shatalovka, Bobruisk, Gomel and Surazh, returning with wounded.
25 Jul 41: Ju 52 force landed near Borisov, 50%.
30 Aug 41: transferred from Borisov to Seshchinskaya/40 km SE of Roslavl to ferry personnel from there to Novgorod Severski.
1 Sep 41: 2 Ju52s were shot down by Russian fighters at Seshchinskaya/NW of Bryansk, this being the only recorded loss during 3 months of operations along the central sector of the Eastern Front.
8 Sep 41: departed Seshchinskaya and returned to Borisov and for the next 10 days transported personnel to Smolensk.
14 Sep 41: 2 Ju 52s damaged in crash landings at Fp. Borisov.
18 Sep 41: transferred to Posen (Poznań)/W Poland to rest and refit.
Balkans and South Ukraine. (Oct 41 - Nov 41)
17 Oct 41: transferred to Wiener Neustadt in early October to stand by for occasional missions in support of ground operations in Yugoslavia - on 20 October, for example, 2. Staffel sent two Ju 52s to drop supplies to Croatian troops cut off in Višegrad on the Serbian/Bosnian border. While at Wiener Neustadt, 4. Staffel was disbanded and immediately replaced by renaming 4./KGr. z.b.V. 105.
8 Nov 41: reassigned to Luftflotte 4 in South Russia and set to work hauling fuel to Kherson and Nikolayev. Toward the end of the month, engaged in transporting torpedoes from Mariupol/Ukraine to Martuba/Libya. On 22 November, 1. and 2. Staffel proceeded from Wiener Neustadt to Akkerman/50 km SW of Odessa and temporarily assigned to fly transport missions for Dt.Lw.Mission in Rumänien.
Mediterranean and North Africa. (Nov 41 - Jan 42)
24 Nov – 5 Dec 41: KGr. z.b.V. 102 transferred via Bucharest to Athens-Kalamaki to transport fuel, personnel and supplies to Derna/Libya via Heraklion (Iraklion)/Crete and Brindisi in S Italy, and evacuated wounded on the return flights while suffering heavy losses in the process - 2 Ju 52s were bombed on the ground and destroyed at Derna on 8 December, 2 more (G6+CR and KS) were shot down by fighters between Crete and N Africa on 12 December, and 4 were destroyed by their own crews after being forced down in the desert on 15, 17 and 23 December.
3 Jan 42: moved to Castel Benito/26 km SSW of Tripoli and from there airlifted fuel, personnel and equipment between Sicily and Libya.
14 Jan 42: departed the Mediterranean for a period of extended refitting at Braunschweig-Waggum in Germany, although some missions were flown during January and February in support of the heavy defensive fighting west of Moscow.
North and South Russia. (Feb 42 - Sep 42)
26 Feb 42: moved to Seerappen/East Prussia and transported personnel and equipment to Soltsy and Krasnogvardeisk on the Leningrad front in North Russia.
11 Mar 42: transferred to Riga/Latvia and assigned to the Demyansk airlift, which flew supplies to a pocket southeast of Lake Ilmen where nearly 100,000 German troops were surrounded.
18 Apr 42: departed Riga for Heiligenbeil/East Prussia and then on 20 April flew to Nikolayev/S Ukraine to transport personnel, general cargo, engines, salvaged airframes, replacement parts and wounded between Ukraine, Poland and Germany.
Apr 42: 3. Staffel renamed 1./KGr. z.b.V. 104 and immediately replaced with 3./KGr. z.b.V. 104.
11 Jul 42: moved from Nikolayev to Kharkov to support Luftflotte 4 in the offensive toward Stalingrad and into North Caucasia, with most operations being flown from Konstantinovka in the Donets Basin forward into airfields to the west and southwest of Stalingrad - Kotelnikovo, Oblivskaya, Tusov and others.
29 Aug 42: based at Konstantinovka.
North Africa and Tunisia. (Oct 42 - Dec 42)
1-15 Sep 42: ordered back to Germany (Berlin-Staaken?) during the first half of September to rest and refit and then ordered to Brindisi/Italy on 29 October to commence supply runs to North Africa, carrying fuel and vital supplies to Rommel’s forces that were in full retreat following the battle at El Alamein, and then to Tunisia after the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria.
4 Nov 42: Ju 52 crash landed at Malaoi/S Greece, 40%, 1 WIA.
12 Nov 42: Ju 52 crash landed at Fp. Araxos/Greece, 60%.
13 Nov 42: 2 Ju 52s (G6+AS and FN) were shot down by fighters over the sea between Tunis and Trapani/Sicily, and 3 more were bombed on the ground and destroyed at Tunis on 19 November.
Operations into Tunisia continued through the next month until 21 December, when the Gruppe was ordered to transfer to Berlin-Staaken and then onward to Tatsinskaya/E Ukraine for the Stalingrad airlift.
South Russia. (Dec 42 - Apr 43)
Jan 43: based at Sverevo/NE of Rostov under VIII. Fliegerkorps, flew supplies to German troops surrounded in Stalingrad and evacuated wounded on the return flights. The exhausting missions in snow, sleet and fog, together with intense AA fire on the approach to and over the city, took a heavy toll - at least 9 Ju 52s were lost, mostly in crashes, and many others were damaged.
Feb 43: following the surrender of 6. Armee at Stalingrad on 2 February, the Gruppe commenced airlift operations into North Caucasia, where German forces were withdrawing into the Taman Peninsula. The missions were mainly flown from Taganrog-South, Melitopol and Kherson from 21 February, and then from bases in Crimea, with crashes reported at Simferopol, Saki and Sarabus.
14 Mar 43: Ju 52 crashed at Anatasyevskaya (not located), 100%, 4 KIA.
20 Mar 43: Ju 52 crashed at Anapa/Taman Peninsula after being shot up, 70%.
Mar 43: at the end of March or beginning of April, transferred to Zaporozhye-South to rest and refit to ful1 strength, and while there KGr. z.b.V. 102 was renamed III./Transportfliegergeschwader 3 on 1 May 1943.
FpNs:Gruppenstab (L 32434, L 30537)
Kommandeur:
Oberst Wilhelm Baur de Betaz (29 Mar 40 - 21 Sep 40)
Maj. Reinhard Wenning (2 Sep 40 - 19 Dec 41)
Maj. von Zamson? (acting?) (c. Jan 41 - Apr 41?) KIA? [2]
Maj. Paul Risch ( ? - ? ) 1942
Obstlt. Walter Erdmann (DKG) ( ? - 1 Jan 43) 5/41?, 1/43
Maj. Josef Penkert. ( ? - ? ) 3/43
Also see:
ALBRECHT, Richard, Oblt. Pilot.
ALTENHEIMER, Karl, Lt. Pilot.
AMECKE-MÖNNINGHOFF, Franz-Kaspar, Oblt. Beobachter.
BAACK, Wolfgang, Oblt. Pilot.
BAUSE, Ferdinand, Lt./Oblt.
BESTLER, Hermann, Lt.
BRADEL, Walter, Oblt. Staka 3./KGr.z.b.V. 102.
BURGHART, Albert, Oblt.d.R.
DAMM, Gustav, Maj. Staka 1./KGr.z.b.V. 102.
DIESENBERG, Eduard Walter Ferdinand, Oblt. MIA.
EHRHARDT, Fridemar, Oblt.d.R.
FIRODENA, Erhard, Oblt.
FONTANA, Heinz, Lt.d.R.
FÖRSTER, Hans, Oblt.d.R.
FÖRSTER, Joachim, Oblt.d.R.
FRANK, Wilhelm, Oblt. KIA.
GRANER, Karl, Lt. Pilot.
GRONS, Josef, Oblt./Hptm. Staka 4./KGr.z.b.V. 102.
HÄBERLEN, Klaus, Oblt. Pilot.
HANS, Albert, Oblt.
HARNISCH, Kurt Karl, Hptm. Staka in KGr.z.b.V. 102.
HERBST, Emil, Maj.
HERRMANN, Ernst, Oblt. WIA or KIA.
HERRMUTH, Georg, Oblt. KIA.
HERTY, Werner Georg Hermann Michael, Oblt. Staka 1./KGr.z.b.V. 102?
HIMMLER, ? , Lt. MIA.
KLIMM (KLIMA?), Johann, Oblt. MIA.
KOCH, Hans, Lt.(Kr.O.).
KÖGL, Josef, Obstlt.
KRAMPRICH, Johannes, Oblt.(Kr.O.).
LOSSAU, Werner, Hptm. KIA.
MELGUNOFF, Hasso von, Maj. Staka 1./KGr.z.b.V. 102.
MERKELBACH, ? , Hptm.
MERKER, Werner, Lt./Oblt.
MÜLLER, Carl-Ferdinand, Hptm. Staka 3./KGr.z.b.V. 102.
MÜLLER, Werner-Karl, Oblt. Staka 1./KGr.z.b.V. 102.
NEDELA, Werner, Fw.
OELZE, Reinhold, Hptm. Staka 2./KGr.z.b.V. 102.
OHRT, Werner, Oblt.d.R.
OSEWALD, Julian, Lt. KIA.
SCHAARSCHMIDT, Herbert, Stabszahlmeister. Passenger. Killed in crash.
SCHÄFER, Rudolf, Lt. KIA.
SCHANNO, Willi, Lt.(Kr.O.).
SÖHNISCH (SÖHMISCH, Helmut?) ? , Lt.(Kr.O.). WIA.
SYDOW, Alfred, Lt. killed in crash.
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress, 2022).
(1st Draft 2022)
References
- ↑ G.Tessin-Tes; N.Kannapin-Feldpostübersicht; [Kameradschaft Ehemaliger Transportflieger], Geschichte einer Transportflieger-Gruppe im II.Weltkrieg:180, 230; F.Morzik-German Air Force Airlift Operations:116; K.Gundelach-Die deutsche Luftwaffe im Mittelmeer 1940-1945:316; C.Shores et al-Fledgling Eagles: The Complete Account of Air Operations During the ‘Phony War’ and Norwegian Campaign, 1940:188, 236, 262, 310; C.Shores et al-Air War For Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete 1940-41:337, 343; W.Green-Warplanes of the Third Reich:410; NARA WashDC: RG 242/T-315 roll 2266, frame 171; PRO London: DEFE 3 ULTRA signals QT4750, QT9164; PRO London: AIR 40/1965, 1975; PRO London: AIR 40 Air Ministry A.I.3 and A.I.4 intelligence reports; BA-MA Freiburg: RL 2 III Meldungen über Flugzeugunfälle…..(Loss Reports – LRs); AFHRA Maxwell: decimal 512.619 British AirMin CSDIC P/W Interrogation Reports in microfilm rolls A5415-18, interrogation CSDIC AFHQ A.32 (10 Jun 43); Riedel Flugbuch (flight log) via B.Rosch.
- ↑ Maj. von Zamson is an enigma: he is not found in any lists/rosters of Luftwaffe officers.
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