Kurier-u.Verb.Verbände Unit Histories
Kurierstaffeln (Courier Squadrons)
General Background
The Luftwaffe’s mobilization plan of 1 July 1939 called for 14 Kurierstaffeln to be operational by 1 September 1939. This number changed dramatically over the course of the war as new Kurierstaffeln were formed, others reorganized and still others disbanded. These squadrons were mainly used to transport high ranking officers, war plans and other important documents from one headquarters to another by the quickest means possible. Courier Staffeln were also used to evacuate sick and wounded. They were almost always equipped with a variety of transport and second line aircraft, such as the Ju 52, W 34, He 111, Fw 58 (Weihe), Si 204, Me 108, Ar 66, Fi 156, Kl 32, as well as others. Regrettably, the Kurierstaffeln are not well documented in the surviving records, and in many cases there is little to go on other than the loss reports that were filed. Accordingly, the summarized unit histories for these Staffeln are woefully incomplete.[1]
Tables of Organization
Not all KStN tables (tables of organization and equipment or Kriegsstärkenachweisungen – KStN) survived the mass destruction of Luftwaffe records during the last year of the war, but what is known of the main ones for courier formations follows:[2]
5111 (L)Führer Kurierstaffel (the Führer’s Courier Staffel)
5118 (L)Kurierstaffel beim O.K.W. (Courier Staffel with the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces)
5119 (L)Kurierstaffel des Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe (Courier Staffel of the Commander-in-Chief of the German Air Force)
5120 (L)Kurierstaffel bei einem Armeeoberkommando (Courier Staffel attached to the Headquarters of an Army)
5121 (L)Kurierstaffel beim Oberkommando des Heeres (Courier Staffel attached to the Supreme Command of the Army)
5122 (L)Kurierstaffel beim Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine (Courier Staffel attached to the Supreme Command of the Navy)
5123 (L)Kurierstaffel bei einer Heeresgruppe (Courier Staffel attached an Army Group)
5124 (L)Kurierstaffel F (Courier Staffel - Long Distance)
5125 t (L)Kurierstaffel (Trop) (Courier Staffel (Tropical))
5127 (L)Kurierstaffel der Fliegerverbindungsgruppe des Luftflottenkommando 6 (Courier Staffel of the Air Liaison Group of Headquarters Luftflotte 6)
Unit Histories
This section provides links to all of the Kurierverbände Unit Histories held on this wiki.
Verbindungsverbände (Liaison Formations)
General Background
Verbindungs (liaison) units transported military commanders, staff officers, critical cargo, plans, orders and other documents between Luftflotten (air fleets), Fliegerkorps (air corps), Heeresgruppen (army groups), AOKs (armies) and other higher commands in the field. Where Kurierstaffeln were organized mainly for the longer multi-engine flights from the front back to the Reich and vice versa, Verbindungsstaffeln were predominantly comprised of single-engine aircraft for flights between commands and units at the front. This distinction began to blur by 1943. The great majority of the liaison Staffeln, especially those that were formed in spring 1941 for the campaign in Russia and then disbanded in late fall 1941, were raised using aircraft and personnel belonging to the various flight schools, particularly the A/B schools. These Staffeln were deactivated or disbanded in November and December 1941 with the onset of poor winter flying weather and airfield conditions in the East, and their assets returned to their respective schools. In spring 1942 an entirely new batch of reorganized and renumbered Verbindungsstaffel were raised for the summer campaign in Russia that began toward the end of June 1942. Finally, on 1 October 1943, a third large-scale reorganization was ordered that brought into existence a single Geschwader (Fliegerverbindungsgeschwader 2) for all of the liaison Staffeln that were assigned to Army (Heer) field commands. In most cases these formations, re-designations and disbandings among the Verbindungs units are only traceable through the changes made to their Feldpost numbers since few documents concerning them survived the war.[3]
Tables of Organization and Representative Strengths
Not all KStN tables (tables of organization and equipment or Kriegsstärkenachweisungen – KStN) survived the mass destruction of Luftwaffe records during the last year of the war, but what is known of the main ones for liaison formations follows:[4]
5125 (L)Stab des Fliegerverbindungsgruppe Ost (Staff of the Air Liaison Group East)
5128 (L)Stab des Fliegerverbindungsgruppe beim O.K.H. (Staff of the Air Liaison Group with the Supreme Command of the Army)
5129 (L)1. bis 3. Staffel des Fliegerverbindungsgruppe beim O.K.H. (1. to 3. Staffel of the Air Liaison Group with the Supreme Command of the Army)
5133 (L)Verbindungsstaffel (Liaison Staffel)
5134 (L)Stab des Fliegerverbindungsgruppe beim O.K.H. (Staff of the Air Liaison Group with the Supreme Command of the Army)
5135 (L)1. Staffel (Stabsstaffel) des Fliegerverbindungsgruppe beim O.K.H. (1. Staffel (Stabsstaffel) of the Air Liaison Group with the Supreme Command of the Army)
5136 (L)2. und 3. Staffel des Fliegerverbindungsgruppe beim O.K.H. (2. and 3. Staffel of the Air Liaison Group with the Supreme Command of the Army)
Unit Histories
This section provides links to all of the Verbindungsverbände Unit Histories held on this wiki.
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress).
(1st Draft 2024)
References
- ↑ NARA WashDC: RG 242/T-321 roll 104, frames 530-38.
- ↑ Air Ministry A.I.12 Post Hostilities Report Y/29, “G.A.F. Establishment Schedule Numbers” (n.d.), 87 pages.
- ↑ K.Ries-Deutsche Flugzeugführerschulen und ihre Maschinen 1919-1945:115; Flugzeug magazine, Extra Nr. 1 (1988), p.15.
- ↑ Air Ministry A.I.12 Post Hostilities Report Y/29, “G.A.F. Establishment Schedule Numbers” (n.d.), 87 pages.