Stab/NAGr. 14
Nahaufklärungsgruppe 14
(Unit Code M9+)?
Stab/NAGr. 14
Formation and Background. (April 1942)
Ordered formed on or about 19 April 1942, probably in Germany or at Kursk on the central sector of the Russian Front (ex-Gruppenfliegerstab 21). The Stabskompanie and the Ln.-Betriebskompanie were formed at approximately the same time from various assets. The Stab had no aircraft until April 1944 when 1 Bf 109 G-6/U3 and 2 Bf 109 G-8s were delivered, with another G-8 arriving in early May for a total of 4 machines.[1]
Staffeln (Aufklärungsstaffeln known to have been subordinated to NAGr. 14 with the approximate dates):
3.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 11 (5/42, 3/43); 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 11 (11/42, 6/43 to 9/43); 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 12 (1/43?); 2.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 32 (5/42 to 2/43); 7.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 32 (c.6/44 to 11/44)]?; 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 41 (5/42 to c.8/43); 2./NAGr. 16 (c.7/43 to c.2/44, 7/44 to 5/45); 1./NAGr. 14; 2./NAGr. 14; 3./NAGr. 14.
[Note: unless otherwise stated, the aircraft losses noted below (if any) are those of the independently designated Aufklärungsstaffeln that were subordinated to NAGr. 14 at the time of the loss.]
South Russia. (May 1942 - January 1944)
May – June 1942: flew reconnaissance in the Kursk area where the Germans were holding defensive positions pending the opening of the summer campaign in late June.
17 May 1942: man from the Stab WIA during an enemy bombing of Fliegerhorst Kursk.
23 May 1942: at Kursk in support of Pz.AOK 4 (4th Panzer Army) with 3.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 11, 2.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 32 and 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 41.
30 June 1942: provided tactical reconnaissance for Pz.AOK 4 as it broke through Soviet positions east of Kursk and advanced toward Voronezh and the central Don (to 25 July).
26 July 1942: 3 men from Ln.-Betr.Kp./NAGr. 14 WIA by a mine at Fliegerhorst Morosovskaya to the west of Stalingrad. Still in support of 4th Panzer Army as it began moving south-east along the Don toward the Stalingrad area via Kalach – Ostrovskiy – Kletskaya (to early August).
August 1942: the Gruppe was reassigned to Pz.AOK 1/Heeresgruppe A to support the drive south by XL. and LII. Panzerkorps toward the Terek River and Grozny where the Germans hoped to seize the oil fields.
13 August 1942: man from the Stab WIA during Russian air attack on Mineralnyye Vody airstrip in North Caucasia.
26 August 1942: man from the Stab WIA in enemy bombing at Gonshtakovka, a village on the Terek River in North Caucasia.
9 September 1942: man from the Stab WIA in enemy bombing at Zaytsev airstrip (95 km east of Pyatigorsk or 47 km east of Krasnodar, most likely the former, both in N Caucasia).
30 September 1942: North Caucasia with 2.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 32 and 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 41 - had 11(4) aircraft.
10 November 1942: 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 11 assigned to the Gruppe early in November bringing the number of Staffeln to three.
19 November 1942: Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad - the Axis forces quickly thrown onto the defensive and many Luftwaffe units ordered to redeploy from North Caucasia to the front west of Stalingrad.
30 November 1942: Gruppenkommandeur Maj. von Oppen + 1 WIA while flying in an aircraft shot down over Stalingrad.
11 Dec 42: NAGr. 14 ordered to provide tactical reconnaissance support for LVII. Pz.Korps that was to spearhead the breakthrough attempt to relieve AOK 6 surrounded in Stalingrad (Operation Wintergewitter).
7 January 1943: Fw 189 (C2+GN) belonging to 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 41 failed to return from a mission over the Gigant area to the south of Rostov, 100%, 3 MIA.
January 1943: NAGr. 14 subordinated 3.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 11, 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 11 and 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 41.
2 February 1943: German 6th Army surrendered at Stalingrad and the front forced back into the Donets Basin and the Mius River to the south.
17 February 1943: Stab/NAGr. 14 ordered to transfer to Zaporozhye-East.
22 February 1943: Stab ordered to Dnepropetrovsk instead for operations under IV. Fliegerkorps.
12 March 1943: Fw 189 A-2 shot down in air battle over Vasil’yevka, 100%, 2 KIA, 1 WIA.
24 March 1943: crew member WIA by AA fire near Stalino in the Donets Basin.
4 July 1943: Fw 189 A-2 shot up by fighters in Pl.Qu.7076 (near Izyum, about halfway between Stalino and Kharkov), 10%, 1 WIA.
5 July 1943: Kursk Offensive - while this huge battle erupted around the Kursk salient between Orel and Belgorod to the north of Kharkov, the Gruppe remained in the Donets to support the forces holding defensive positions there (Pz.AOK 1 and the rebuilt AOK 6).
10 July 1943: NAGr. 14 reported a total of 18(11) Fw 189s and Bf 110s on strength.
20 July 1943: Fw 58 destroyed in enemy bombing at Kramatorskaya airfield/80 km north of Stalino, 100%.
29 July 1943: Bf 110 G-2 crash landed at Kramatorskaya, 25%, 2 injured.
31 July 1943: photographed Izyum area.
2 August 1943: Fi 156 belonging to the Stab struck an obstacle while taking off from a field in Pl.Qu.60531 (Lozovaya-Barvenkovo area), 75%, Oblt. Heinz Wesskalnies injured.
17 August 1943: Fw 189 A-2 damaged in enemy bombing raid on Kramatorskaya, 80%. 7 September 1943: 2 air crew WIA during an air battle in Pl.Qu.7948 (south-east of Kramatorskaya).
8 September 1943: Fw 189 A-2 shot down in air battle over Pagornyy (Donets area but probably misspelled), 100%, Oblt. Horst Fischer (observer) + 1 WIA.
9 September 1943: Russian forces retake Stalino and the German beat a hasty retreat toward the line Dnepropetrovsk – Zaporozhye – Melitopol. By October the new front was generally west of the Dnieper River in central Ukraine.
10 September 1943: Fw 189 A-2 blown up by the Gruppe at Bliznetsy airfield/130 km south of Kharkov to prevent capture by the enemy, 100%.
September 1943: NAGr. 14 subordinated 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 11, 5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 41 and 2./NAGr. 16.
15 September 1943: Stab ordered to transfer to Lyubomirovka, a field strip 35 km north-east of Zaporozhye.
12 October 1943: Fw 189 A-2 strafed on ground and destroyed at Devladovo field strip/36 km north-east of Krivoy Rog, 100%.
20 October 1943: pilot WIA in air battle over Pl.Qu.3962 (west of Dnepropetrovsk).
23 October 1943: man WIA in enemy bombing of Apostolovo airfield/42 km south-east of Krivoy Rog.
24 October 1843: photographed the Dnepropetrovsk area.
26 October 1943: Fw 189 A-2 shot up by a fighter over Letvoka, 35%, 2 WIA.
28 November 1943: Fw 189 A-3 damaged in enemy bombing at Apostolovo, 10%.
18 December 1943: Fw 189 A-2 damaged taking off from Apostolovo, 15%.
January 1944: Stab/NAGr. 14 withdrawn from operations and transferred to Bayreuth-Bindlach in Bavaria to reorganize as a Messerschmitt Bf 109G single-seat reconnaissance Gruppe, and remained there until April 1944.
Romania, Hungary and Austria. (April 1944 - May 1945)
April 1944: rested and refitted, the Stab transferred to Romania in late April or early May 1944 for assignment to I. Fliegerkorps.
26 June 1944: Stab at Komrat/90 km south of Kishinev in Bessarabia under I. Fliegerkorps.
11 July 1944: same as for 26 June 1944.
31 July 1944: photographed the Jassy (Iasi) area.
19 August 1944: Stab now at Galati in south-east Romania as the Russians commenced a powerful offensive this date that drove the Germans out of Romania, Bulgaria, eastern Hungary, Greece, Albania much of Yugoslavia by November.
September 1944: Stab at Nowy Targ (Neumarkt)/69 km south of Krakow in South Poland following the rapid retreat from Romania that began on 23 August when the Romanians switched sides.
3 October 1944: Stab now at Szilágynagyfalu/87 km south-east of Debrecen in Hungary under I. Fliegerkorps; the Stab itself had 4(2) aircraft assigned to it on this date.
2 November 1944: Stab at Fliegerhorst Ferihegy on the south-east outskirts of Budapest.
29 November 1944: Stab now at Csákvár/46 km west-south-west of Budapest under I. Fliegerkorps; Stab had 9(5) aircraft on strength, but during December 1 Bf 109 G-14 was lost in action and 4 Bf 109 G-8s were turned over to other units leaving the Stab with 1 Bf 109 G-6/R2, 2 Bf 109 G-14s and 1 Bf 110 G-3.
10 January 1945: NAGr. 14 reported a total of 46(35) Bf 109Gs and Fw 189s on strength.
February 1945: Stab moved to Györ (Raab)/110 km north-west of Budapest around early February. Budapest, which had been under siege since December, fell to the Red Army on 13 February. German forces had now been forced back into western Hungary.
20 February 1945: Bf 109 G-6 assigned to the Stab crashed due to engine failure, but location not reported, 50%.
6 March 1945: supported the last major German offensive of the war, an attempt by 6. SS-Pz.Armee to retake territory previously lost between Lake Balaton and the Danube. The tanks ground to a halt by 10 March due to heavy mud and fierce resistance by Soviet 3d Ukrainian Front. The Russians then took the offensive and drove the Germans and their Hungarian allies out of Hungary and into Austria by the end of March.
26 March 1945: Stab at Györ (Raab) in north-west Hungary.
9 April 1945: NAGr. 14 reported a total of 42(19) Bf 109Gs and Bf 110s on strength.
3 May 1945: Stab at Budweis (České Budĕjovice)/120 km south of Prague under 18. Fliegerdivision. Most Gruppe personnel were able to surrender to U.S. forces on 8 and 9 May and thus avoid capture by the Russians.
FpNs:Stab/NAGr. 14 (L 39895), Stabskp./NAGr. 14 (L 44600), Ln.-Betr.Kp./NAGr. 14 (L 45553).
Kommandeur:
Maj. Joachim Gerndt (April 1942 - 1 July 1942)
Maj. Heinrich von Oppen (July 1942 - 30 November 1942) WIA
Hptm. Rolf Kröber (December 1942 - May 1943?)
Maj. Horst Barsickow (c.June 1943 - 17 January 1944?)
Maj.i.G. Herbert Pinnow (28 December 1944 - 8 May 1945)
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress).
(1st Draft 2022)
References
- ↑ W.Dierich - Die Verbände der Luftwaffe 1935-1945: Gliederungen und Kurzchroniken – Eine Dokumentation; G.Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945, Teil 14: Die Luftstreitkräfte (Osnabrück, 1980); N.Kannapin - Die deutsche Feldpostübersicht 1939-1945, 3 Bde (I – III) (Osnabrück, 1980-82); NARA WashDC: RG 242 (Microcopy T-312 roll 568/314-19 document Genst.d.Heeres/Org.Abt.(II) Nr.1483/42g.Kdos., 19 Apr 1942 detailing the creation of the Nahaufklärungsgruppen); T-312 roll 1660/066; T-321 roll 10; NARA WashDC aerial photo data via M.Abicht; AFHRA Maxwell: decimal K113 Karlsruhe Collection; AFHRA Maxwell: decimal 512.619 British AirMin CSDIC P/W Interrogation Reports in microfilm rolls A5415-18, interrogation CSDIC/CMF A.446; PRO (British National Archives): AIR 40/1968, 1976, 1988; BA-MA Freiburg: RL 2 III Meldungen über Flugzeugunfälle…..(Loss Reports – LRs); BA-MA Freiburg: Signatur RL 40/Kart; Luftwaffen-Revue journal, Heft (issue) 1/1985; Archiv Gruppe 66 magazine, No. 6/vol. 2 and 7/vol. 2; M.Kehrig - Stalingrad: Analyse und Dokumentation einer Schlacht. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1974), p.660; M.Rauchensteiner - Der Krieg in Österreich, 1945. (Wien, 1984), pp.330, 358; M.Holm-website ww2.dk.