Luftbildstaffel 1
Luftbildstaffel 1
(Unit Code: none found)
Formation and History. (1941 - 1944)
Formed approximately spring 1941 at Hildesheim/28 km SSE of Hannover in Lower Saxony from assets provided by the Fliegerbildschule (Air Force Photography School) Hildesheim. Equipped with about 12 aircraft of various types. Used to produce aerial maps and mosaics for military-economic requirements, initially in North Africa and then in northern Italy. Mention of the Staffel in the surviving documentation is rare, but two examples are cited as representative of the Staffel's duties. On 8 May 1944 several aircraft of the Staffel were based at Salonika/Greece. Heeresgruppe E asked the Oberbefehlshaber Südost (Commander-in-Chief Southeast) in Belgrade/Yugoslavia to ask the Luftwaffe General Staff (Genst.d.Lw.) in Berlin for permission to have these planes produce 1:500,000 mosaics of northern Greece and Thrace, which Army Group E then intended to use for planning countermeasures in the event of an Allied invasion in that area. A short time later, on 18 July 1944, another detachment from the Staffel, this consisting of 3 Ju 88s and 1 He 111, was en-route to photo-map terrain in northern Finland so Gebirgs-AOK 20 (20th Mountain Army) could plan the construction of fortifications. Within a few months after this most of the territory occupied by Germany had been retaken by the Allies and the Staffel became redundant. The Staffel is believed to have been disbanded on or about 15 October 1944.
FpN: (none found)
Staffelkapitän
Maj. Dr. Ulrich Heidelauf (DKG) (15.10.43 - 15.10.44)
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress, 2022).
(1st Draft 2022)
Additional Notes and Losses
For those interested in more information about Luftbildstaffel 1 please refer to BA/MA RL 10/392 KTB Luftbildstaffel 1, this is free to download and contains detailed information regarding dates, flights, crews and operations for the following subordinate elements of Luftbildstaffel 1.
Kdo. Ferdinand
Period covered - 9.2.44 – 30.6.44
Kdo. Attila
Period covered - 19.4.44 – 31.8.44
Kdo. Hildebrand
Period covered - 7.5.44 – 18.9.44
Kdo. Leopold
Period covered - 30.5.44 – 3.7.44
Kdo. Südwind
Period covered – 27.7.44 – 20.10.44
Kdo. Alberich
Period covered – 20.9.44 – 22.10.44
Kdo. Hagen
Period covered – 2.9.44 – 27.12.44