Sonderstaffel (G.S.) 2
Sonderstaffel (G.S.) 2
Code: (W6 +), which was carried only on the Me 321 gliders.
(From 1942 as: GS-Kommando 2)
FpN:
L 22 747 (*June 1941. +14 Sep 1944).
History
Formed June 1941 as a ferry unit to tow Me 321 gliders that had a large load capacity from Germany to users at the front. The first He 111Z/Me 321 tow-combinations (or glider trains) departed for the East in mid-January 1943 by way of Rzeszow (Reichshof)/South Poland, Zhitomir/Ukraine, Poltava/Ukraine, Donetsk (Stalino), and then to Makeyevka (13 km. NE Donetsk). One of the He 111Z pilots was Leutnant Hans Dittebrandt. By 23 January 1943, two He 111Z/ Ме 321 combinations had arrived at Makeyevka, but it was too late to use them to supply Stalingrad so they were transferred to Bagerovo/Crimea a few days later to take part in a large-scale supply operation into the Kuban bridgehead in North Caucasia operating under VIII Fliegerkorps. A strength return of 31 January 1943 shows 4 He 111Z and 3 Me 321 at Bagerovo under GS-Kdo. 2. Between 1 and 12 February, several dozen He 111Z/Me 321 and Не 111Z/Go 242 flights were made between Bagerovo and unimproved landing grounds at Timashevskaya (70 km. north of Krasnodar) and Slavyanskaya (NE Krasnodar), bringing in supplies and flying out troops and wounded. There is no record of further supply flights after this date, although GS-Kdo. 2 remained at Bagerovo until early April 1943.
A review of all Ob.d.L./Oberquartiermeister (6.Abteilung) loss reports between mid-January and the end of April 1943 revealed no entries for lost or damaged He 111Zs during this period. However, one Me 321 belonging to GS-Kdo. 2 was reported as having crashed at Zaporozhye/South on the return flight to Germany in early April, and was written off as a total loss (100%). It was probably in-tow behind a He 111Z, and it crashed after being released to land on the airfield. Once back in Germany, it refitted, and then moved to France to participate in the airlift of parachute units to Sicily. Following severe losses in the 12th Air Force B-17 attack on Istres on 17 August, it moved north to Dijon where it was disbanded in December 1943. All of its Не 111Z tug aircraft were handed over to 4 Staffel/LLG 2. [1]
Commanding Officers
Oblt. Baumann ( - )7/41
Hptm. Hans(?) Pohl ( - )7/43
Stations
Leipheim (6/41- 11/41)
Merseburg/S of Halle (11/41 – 1942)11/41
Obertraubling/SE Regensburg (1942 - 1/43)
Makeyevka/S.Russia (1/43 - 2/43)
Bagerovo/Crimea (2/43 - 4/43)
Obertraubling (4/43 - 5/43)
Reims/NE France (5/43 - 6/43)
Istres/S.France (6/43 - 9/43)
Dijon/E.France (9/43 - 12/43)
Equipment and Returns
Bf 110Cs (1941); He 111Z's and Me 321 gliders (1942-43).
Reported 5 He 111Zs and 10 Me 321s on strength 10 Jul. 1943 and 10 Nov. 1943.
Representative Losses – Sonderstaffel (G.S.) 2
9.7.41: Me 321 reported unserviceable at Günzburg/23 km ENE of Ulm due to technical problems, 10%.
2.5.43: He 111 crashed and burned at Obertraubling, 100%, 3 killed.
29.5.43: Me 321 crashed west of Ambérieux/20 km NW of Lyon, 80%.
Also see:
(no additional names found)
Markings
Distinctions and Remarks
See Also
Grossraumlastenseglergruppe Me 321
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress, 2023).
(1st Draft 2023)
References
- ↑ BA-MA Freiburg: RL 2 III Meldungen über Flugzeugunfälle…..(Loss Reports – LRs); BA-MA Freiburg: Flugzeug-Bereitstellungen (Aircraft Availability Status Reports – FzB) in: M.Holm-website (ww2.dk); AFHRA Maxwell: decimal K113 Karlsruhe Collection. AFHRA Maxwell: decimal 512.619 British AirMin P/W interrogations, ADI(K) series, microfilm rolls A5400-05, interrogation; AFHRA Maxwell: decimal 512.619 British AirMin CSDIC P/W Interrogation Reports in microfilm rolls A5415-18; British National Archives ULTRA signals; Kannapin, Norbert: Die deutsche Feldpostübersicht 1939-1945, 3 Bde (I – III) (Osnabrück, 1980-82); Schlaug, Georg: Die deutschen Lastensegler-Verbände 1937-1945: Eine Chronik aus Berichten, Tagebüchern, Dokumenten. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 1985. ISBN: 3-613-01065-8. Hb. Dj. 296p. Illus. Maps. Appendices. Glossary of abbreviations. Bibliography.
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