2./Kü.Fl.Gr. 406

2./Kü.Fl.Gr. 406

Formation and Organization. (Jul 37 - Aug 38)

Formed 1 July 1937 at List on the island of Sylt as an (F) Staffel with Do 15s by renaming 2.(F)/Kü.Fl.Gr. 106. Shortly after formation, conversion to the Do 18 began and this had more or less been completed by August 1938.

North Germany and Norway. (Sep 39 - Jul 43)

Sep 39: at the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, the Staffel reported 12 Do 18s on hand at List. Several of these were detached to Nest on the Baltic coast at the beginning of the campaign against Poland and flew maritime reconnaissance patrols during September.

8 Oct 39: flew reconnaissance off the southwest coast of Norway.

9 Oct 39: the Staffel suffered its first operational loss when Do 18 (S4 + FK) ditched in the North Sea off Egersund/South Norway during an engagement with Royal Navy surface units.

22 Oct 39: transferred from List to Hörnum.

29 Nov 39: operating from Hörnum, three Do 18s were lost to various causes in three widely separated incidents on 29 November. The first Do 18G (K6+DK) was shot down by a Hudson off Egersund during a mine-laying sortie, the second (K6+GK), which was under the command of Oblt.z.S. Manfred Kimmel, made a forced landing in the Faroe Islands after running out of fuel, and the last (K6+FK) crashed on return to Hörnum killing the crew.

Feb 40: operations continued to mid-February 1940 when the Staffel was given two weeks rest.

7 Apr 40: three days before the invasion of Denmark and Norway on 9 April, 2.(F)/Kü.Fl.Gr. 406 began intensive reconnaissance patrols over the North Sea between Scotland and South Norway in search of Royal Navy units that might have been sent out to intercept the German invasion forces then en-route from North German ports. These long-range patrols continued during the campaign, and on 25 April Do 18 (K6+DK) was attacked by a Blenheim and forced to ditch southeast of the Shetlands, its crew later being picked up by a U-Boat.

May 40: still at Hörnum on 10 May with 10 Do 18s, the Staffel transferred to Stavanger/SW Norway for assignment to Stab/Kü.Fl.Gr. 706 on 1 June, and six weeks later began reporting its first losses in connection with the Battle of Britain.

15 Jul 40: a Do 18 shot down by fighters off the east coast of England.

25 Jul 40: two Do 18s destroyed in a collision while taking off from Stavanger.

28 Sep 40: Do 18 (K6 + JK) shot down by a Blenheim over the North Sea.

Oct 40: in late September or early October, still assigned to Stab/706, it moved north to Trondheim, while sending a detachment further north to Tromsø.

1 Dec 40: from Trondheim, flew cover for the heavy cruiser Hipper as it made way along the coast en-route to northern Norway.

31 Dec 40: at Stavanger-Sola with 7 Do 18s.

Mar 41: conversion to the BV 138 was ordered in March 1941 and by April 2.(F)/406 was back at Hörnum re-equipping and retraining.

Jun - Sep 41: conversion and re-equipping was completed at the end of May and by mid-June it was again operational from Stavanger and Tromsø, flying convoy searches under Stab/706 for Fliegerführer Nord, but transferred to Trondheim-Hommelvik in September where it remained until July 1943. From here it flew armed reconnaissance patrols for Fliegerführer Nord (West), singly or in pairs, of up to 14 hours duration in the area between Iceland, the Faroes and the Shetlands, although occasional convoy escort flights were made along the Norwegian coast. The aircraft were usually launched from the catapult ship Bussard at Trondheim, since the induced take-off speed enabled the Staffel's 10-12 BV 138s to get airborne with full fuel tanks. Operational losses from Trondheim were relatively few and often separated by long periods of time.

1 Mar 42: Staffel reported 11 x BV 138 on strength.

12 Mar 42: BV 138 (K6+AK) was forced to crash land in Trondheim Fjord in bad weather, killing Hptm. Rudolf Claus and 2 members of his crew.

27 Mar 42: one of the Staffel’s BV 138s sighted Convoy PQ 13 and reported its location which led to relentless air and U-boat attacks over the following week as the scattered ships made for the north Russian port of Murmansk.

c. 28 Mar 42: several 2. Staffel BV l38s attempted an attack on Convoy PQ 13 from North Norway, but without apparent results.

8 Jun 42: one of the Staffel's BV 138s was shot down by a Beaufighter northeast of the Shetlands.

1 Oct 42: BV 138 damaged in accident in Trondheim Fjord due to pilot error, 25%.

11 Oct 42: BV 138 ditched at sea due to engine failure, 100%, crew rescued.

20 Oct 42: BV 138 (K6+IK) piloted by Oblt. Emil Mannen failed to return from a reconnaissance sortie to the Faroes, crew MIA.

4 Nov 42: BV 138 (K6+GK) failed to return from a recce flight east of Iceland, crew of 5 missing.

1 Dec 42: Staffel reported 9 x BV 138 on strength.

10 Jan 43: BV 138 damaged at Trondheim due to technical problems, 25%.

15 Jan 43: BV 138C crash landed in Trondheim Fjord and sank, 100%, 3 WIA and 1 MIA.

27 Jan 43: BV 138 (K6+HK) shot down by intruders during an air battle north of Trondheim, crew missing.

1 Jun 43: Staffel reported 9 x BV 138 on strength.

13 Jun 43: BV 138 flipped on landing in Trondheim Fjord, 100%, Oblt. Ludwig Schönherr + 1 WIA, 1 KIA.

8 Jul 43: BV 138 (K6+IK) piloted by Oblt. Rudolf Schumacher lost to unknown causes while shadowing an aircraft carrier near the Shetlands, crew missing.

15 Jul 43: 2.(F)/Kü.Fl.Gr. 406 was renamed 3.(F)/Seeaufklärungsgruppe 130.

FpNs:(L 05865, L 34591)

Staffelkapitän:

Maj. Adolf(?) Bartels (1939) 9/39, 12/39

Hptm. Hans-Joachim Tantzen (1940) 3/40, 5/40, 8/40

Hptm. Gustav Nagel (DKG) (1942 - 1943) 3/43

© H.L. deZeng IV, 2024

Additional Notes and Losses

Staffelkapitän:

Maj. Adolf(?) Bartels (1939) 9/39, 12/39, 20 Jan 1940

Hptm. Hans-Joachim Tantzen (1940) 21 Jan 1940, 2/40, 3/40, 5/40, 8/40

4 Dec – 17 Dec 1939 – by order of F.d. Luft the staffel moved to Kiel-Holtenau for this period.

17 Dec 1939 – Located at Hörnum/Sylt. At 09.00 hrs the staffel was ordered to provide to aircraft as replacements for aircraft lost by 1./Kü.Fl.Gr. 406 and 2./Kü.Fl.Gr. 906. These were K6+EK and K6+IK and they departed at 10.21 and 10.33 hrs respectively, landing at 14.52 and 15.02 hrs.

At 20.00 hrs the staffel was given operational orders for 4 aircraft to operate reconnaissance sorties the following day.

18 Dec 1939 – 4 aircraft performed the requested reconnaissance patrol:-

Aircraft	Take-off Time	Landing Time	Flight time
K6+EK	10.15 hrs	14.25 hrs	4 hrs 30 mins
K6+LK	10.27 hrs	15.15 hrs	4 hrs 40 mins
K6+IK	10.33 hrs	15.55 hrs	5 hrs 18 mins
K6+DK	10.25 hrs	17.47 hrs	7 hrs 22 mins

19 Dec 1939 – Order from Kü.Fl.Gr. 406 – 5 aircraft at readiness from 08.30 hrs. Orders from Gruppe at 11.45 hrs that 3 aircraft to be ready for air/sea rescue tasks at 15.00 hrs.

23 Dec 1939 – At 21.30 hrs operational orders for 24 Dec 1939 were that 4 aircraft were to be available at 09.00 hrs for reconnaissance operations.

24 Dec 1939 – At 08.10 hrs Gruppe cancelled the reconnaissance orders for the day. Staffel at rest.

Orders for 25 Dec 1939 were a repeat of the original orders for 24 Dec 1939.

3.4.1943 – Three Bv 138s (K6+BK, K6+FK and K6+KK) took off at 04.30 hrs Z for a reconnaissance sortie between Jan Mayen and Iceland. The three aircraft were due to have returned by 15.00 hrs Z (this was announced before departure.) However, the operation was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

References

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