Luftwaffe Support Units 1933-1945

8/6/2019 Luftwaffe Support Units 1933-1945

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5 ITS

T ypical of any major air force, the Luftwaffe had a very large and diverse number ofsupport units involved in command and coordination, administration,communications, courier duties, logistics, training, research and development,ambulance services, search and rescue, weather reconnaissance, aircraft retrieval and salvageoperations, field repair, aircraft and tactics development, airfield maintenance and security,propaganda, photo-mapping, mine-clearing, target-towing, aircraft ferrying service,intelligence gathering and the evaluation and monitoring of enemy forces. Over 60 percent of the Luftwaffe's manpower was assigned to the Flak branch with the bulk of theremainder in the support, command and administrative groups mentioned above. Only afairly small fraction were actually in the more well known operational fighter, bomber,reconnaissance, transport and ground-attack units that have been documented in so manyof the books on the Luftwaffe. This book covers many of the units in these functional areasas well as some combination support and operational units. Only selected units aredocumented because it would be impossible to thoroughly cover all the thousands ofsupport unit, many of which have very little known information and with others onlyknown by their name. The book concentrates on the units that existed during the war yearsand does not include those from the 1930s.The training schools were a huge and multifaceted organisation and were assigned alarge proportion of Luftwaffe manpower and aircraft. They provided training and evaluationfor pilots, radio operators, flight mechanics, aircraft gunners and all the other ilight crew andsupport personnel. The schools had the primary mission of training but also had personneland aircraft devoted to communications, courier, parts supply and other support ilights.Many of the schools also had a small Bergekommando to retrieve and salvage their aircraftthat came down in their immediate area. Aircraft made emergency landings due to fuelshortage, engine problems and other factors and could often be made ready to fly back bysimply bringing fuel to the site, doing minor field repairs or towing the aircraft back. TheBergekommando would also salvage and clean up the sites of more extensive crash-landingsand other aircraft crashes.The training schools often had a repair facility at their main basesto do small to moderate repairs with the aircraft later being test flown by a Prufflieger,usually one of their instructors or other staff pilots. The Luftwaffe training organisationhas been thoroughly covered in a two-volume set called Die F lu g ze ug [a h re r - A u sb il du ng .d er D e ut sc he n L ~ if tw a ff e 1935-1945 by Sven Carlsen and Michael Meyer and will not beincluded in this book. However, the training function was conducted as a subordinate dutyin many of the units discussed in this book. Operational units were also responsible for thisfunction with some having fairly extensive training duties in their Stabe, Einsatzkommando,Einsatzstaffeln and Einsatzgruppen. Finally,some of the more obscure and less documentedoperational units will be covered to round out the book.

Barry Rosch2009


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LUFTWAFFE SUPPORT UN ITS

StabeAStab was a headquarters unit, which was usually responsible for a wide variety offunctions including both operations and support.While it is true that many of the Stabewere in operational units and planned, controlled and evaluated combat missions, theywere also responsible for support of the men and the administration of their subordinate units.This could include continued training, communications, courier duties, record keeping,discipline, mail proces ing, promotions/ demotions, and requesting and providing replacements,new equipment, ammunition, aircraft, vehicles, maintenance, repair, radio support services,gasoline and the basics such as food, clothing and shelter. The Stab or headquarters staffrequired some second-line aircraft in a Stabskette or Stabsschwarm to carry out thesecommunications and other support functions. Usually, if the number of assigned aircraft was inthe one to four range they would be in a Stabskette or Stabsschwarm although if it was a largeor important headquarters the required aircraft could range anywhere from 5 to 40. In the latercase, a separate Flugbereitschaft was normally established and attached to the Stab. The mixbetween operational and purely administrative, logistical and other support functions couldvary greatly from Stab to Stab with units such as Luftparks, Fliegerhorstkommandanturen andLuftgau-Kommandos being almost purely administration and support while at the other endof the spectrum a Stab from a ]agdgeschwader or Kampfgeschwader would be heavilyweighted to the operational side.As an interesting sidelight of an example of a Stab at the extreme side of operations is theStab/]G 26 starting with Adolf Galland when he was Kommodore and reaching its peakunder the command of Major ]osef'Pips' Priller. The practice of bolstering the strength of the

]G 26 Geschwaderstab began during the Battle of Britain. Soon after Adolf Galland assumedcommand of]G 26 in August 1940 he began rotating the Staffeln of the Geschwader throughAudembert, his headquarters airfield. The Staffel so chosen was called the Piihrungsstaffel, orleader's Staffel, and together with the Stabsschwarm was known as the Fuhrungsverband,or leader's formation. Documentation is lacking, but Galland probably wanted a close-up lookat his Staffelkapitane, several of whom were quickly transferred from the Geschwader. Thepractice was resum.ed when the Geschwader returned to the Channel coast in mid-1941.Galland has stated that he wanted a personal look at the new replacement pilots, but two otherreasons for maintaining the Fiihrungsverband can be posted:The RAF was just beginning its non-stop offensive.Their formations were initially small,penetrations were shallow, and the new Luftwaffe ground control system had very little timeto put its fighters into contact with them. A small formation such as the Fuhrungsverbandcould scramble, gain altitude, and reach the intruders quickly. In the ]agdwaffe tactical system,the leaders scored most of the victories. The ambitious Galland was one of the top-scoringExperten, and with a dozen Messerschmitts guarding his back could attack formations of anysize with impunity.The Fuhrungsverband lasted through Galland's tenure as Kornmodore, but may have beenabandoned by his successor,Major Gerhard Schopfel. When Major ]osef'Pips' Priller took over

the Geschwader in January 1943, he quickly named it a Piihrungsstaffel. But far more drasticchanges in Geschwader organisation were coming. It had been decided in Berlin to send all of]G 26 to the Eastern Front, in exchange for]G 54.The exchange was to be made by Gruppenand Staffeln to ensure continuity of defensive coverage in the West. The first units to head eastwere I./]G 26, with l./]G 26, 2./]G 26, and 3./]G 26. Next went 7./]G 26, nominally part ofIII./]G 26. All were operational on the northern sector of the Eastern Front by the end ofFebruary. Their replacements were III./]G 54, with 7./]G 54, 8./]G 54, and 9./]G 54; and4./]G 54, nominally part of II./]G 54.The units had arrived on the Channel Front by mid-February. The 4./]G 54 was merged smoothly into III./]G 26. But III./]G 54, a majorcommand, had to enter combat as a whole unit, and after six weeks of training Prillerconcluded that it was still not up to the strenuous conditions on the Western Front.On 27 March, therefore, III/]G 54 left the Channel Front for northern Germany. MajorPriller's pessimistic reports to Berlin caused a reversal of the decision to bring the rest of]G 54to the west. The Geschwader exchange was at first postponed, and then cancelled with plansfor I./]G 26 and 7./]G 26 to return to their home Geschwader at the appropriate time.Priller's Geschwader now contained five experienced]G 26 Staffeln, 4./]G 54, and threenew Staffeln just in the process of forming, but only two Gruppenstabe to command this


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UN ITS , A IRCRAFT , EMBLEMS AND MARK INGS 3

expansion of the Jagdwaffe, in which each Gruppe would be expanded from three to fourStaffeln. It had been anticipated that JG 54 would soon replace JG 26 in the west and wouldadd the Staffeln to its three Gruppen; thus the new Staffel.nwere given JG 54 designations -10.lJG 54, 11.1JG 54, and 12.1JG 54.At the beginning of April 1943, Priller came up with a new, totally ad hoc solution to hiscommand-and-control problem - a Geschwadergruppe. 8.1JG 26, one of the best Staffeln inthe Geschwader, was ordered to leave III.lJG 26 and join the Geschwaderstab and 6.1JG 26(the Fiihrungsstaffel) at Lille-Vendeville. Priller now had a small Gruppe to lead in the air.The ground controllers treated it as a typical Gruppe, and Allied Intelligence knew it as the'Lille Group'. II.IJG 26 atVitry now contained 4.1JG 26, 5.1JG 26, and (from 1 May) 10.lJG54. III.IJG 26 contained 9.1JG 26, 4.1JG 54, 11.1JG 54, and 12.1JG 54.On 29 July, 1943, 6.1JG 26 returned to its parent II . Gruppe in exchange for 10.lJG 26(by now renamed from 10.lJG 54). The Geschwadergruppe also picked up l1.1JG 26(ex-11./JG 54) at about this time. These were the two weakest Staffeln in JG 26, and Prillerobviously wanted them under his close control. He now commanded (informally) a three-Staffel Gruppe, but it had less capability than the previous version.On 6 September, 1943, IIl./JG 26 returned to France after several months in northernGermany and the Netherlands. All of the constituent units of the Geschwader were onceagain based in close proximity, and Priller, whose other responsibilities left him little time for

combat flying, took the opportunity to disband the Geschwadergruppe, returning 10.lJG 26and 11.1JG 26 to their parent Gruppen. He kept a Fiihrungsstaffel, however. 8.1]G 26 joinedthe Stab on the tiny Lille-N ord field and remained under Priller's direct control until theGeschwader transferred to Normandy on 6 June, 1944, at which time the Staffel joined itsparent Gruppe.

T his H ein ke l H e 1 11H - 6, WN r. 4938 codeSF +CA b elo ng ed t ot he Ko rp sFiihrungskette!l.F li eg e rko rp s a ndwas pho tog raphedin R us sia d ur in g th ew in te r o f 1 94 2- 43when I .F l iege rko rpsw as r en am e d S ta b!Luf twaf fenkommandoD on . N otic e th ecommand pennanto n th e to p o f th e ta ila nd th e w hiteStammkennzeichen.T he a ir cra ft h ad aRLM 70 B l ack -G r eenan d 71 Dark-Greensp l in te r camou f lages c hem e w it h 65 LighB lue unde rs i des.


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f tw a ff e s e rv ic eh an ic c le an s th es h ie ld o f t his1 08 B c od edNG , o f th e S ta b/53 i n F r an cen g 1 94 0. T h era ft a pp ea rs to b ee d in e ith er R LMig ht G r ey or RLM

Gre y-G re en o ve ra llb la ckr s. T h e a ir c ra ftl at er t ra n sf e rr e dJGr .Sud.

e i s a no th e ro gr ap h o f th e1 08 B b elo ng in g toS t ab /KG 53 t hi s t imein g th e fu ll

e H ein ke l H e 11 1 Hsh e G es ch wa de r a reh e s am e h an ga r inc e d ur in g t he

r o f 1 94 0.

s se rs ch m itt B f 1 08WN r. 3 02 3,ed V K +WWth e S ta b II/./ JG 2 7shed du ri ng- of f f rom Ba ri ,y o n 2 April 1942 .

o t Fw . H e lm u tx em b ou rg a nd o nes en ge r w e re k il le dth e c ra sh a ndhe r p a ssenge rin ju re d. H owev e r,i s a p o ssi bi li ty

t th e s ce ne o f t hewa s a c tu all y

t ub a, N o rt h A fr ic ad n ot B ari. T her af t w a s p ai nt edh a R LM 79 Sandb u pp er s ur fa c ed li gh t b lu ed ers id es w it h a


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UNITS . A IRCRAFT. EMBLEMS AND MARKINGS

T his p ho to gr ap h s ho ws M ajo r G u sta vR od el o f th e S ta b/J G 2 7 a t t he c o nt ro lso f a F oc ke - W u lf F w 58 B in Ita ly d ur in g1 94 3. He w as th e K om m od ore o f J G 2a t th e tim e . T he a irc ra ft h ad a s ta nd ardL uf tw a ff e s p lin te r c am ou fla g e s c hem e

T hi s H e in ke l H e 11 1 H -4 c od ed P 4+ BAw as a ss ig ne d to th e K orp sF ii hr un g ske t te /X . Fl ie g er kor p s. I t wa sp ain te d in a s ta nd ard R LM 7 0-7 1 s plin tu pp er s ur fa ce c am o ufla ge s ch em e w i6 5 L i gh t B lu e u nd ers id es . It a ls o h ad aw hite fu se la ge b an d a nd a n e m ble m jub elo w th e c oc kp it. T he d ate a nd lo ca tia r e u n known .

n ie r D o 21 5 B -5 b elo ng ed toS ta b/ Na c ht ja gd D iv is io n 1w as p ho to gra ph ed in th et er ra n ean a re a . T he a ir c ra fta 7 0- 71 s p lin te r p at te rn s c hem e65 L ig ht B lu e u nd er s u rf ac e s.amm ke nn z eic h en o r

r a ti on a l co d e, We r kn umme r,t io n a nd d at e a re u nk nown.


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LUFTWAFFE SUPPORT UNITS

is a p ho to gra ph o fa ir cr aft b elo ng in g toS ta b /J a gd d iv is io n 3 ,s S ie be l F h 1 04 h ad th e9 N+ AA a nd w as

t og ra p he d i n Amphi ng ,m an y in M ay 1 94 5,b lo t chy camouf lagem e h as n ot b ee ni fi ed b u t w a sa bly a b ro wn o r s om er c olo ur s pr ay ed o ve rs ta n da rd 7 0 -7 1n te r p a tt er n, I t a ls oa y ello w fu se la ge, T he u nit h adi na ll y b e en t heN a ch tj ag d D iv is io n 1h ad b ee n re nam ed

th e S ta b/J ag dd iv is io n 1r ua ry 1 9 42 ,

n ally b ec am e th e3 in

e m be r, w hic h w as th eow ne r o f t he a ir cr af t,

s p ho to g ra p h w a se n a t th e s am e tim e a so ne o f t he F ie se le r5 6 a nd s ho ws F oc ke -f F w 58 B , W Nr. 0 16 ,d H 3+ DF o f th e

b /J aW No tweqen.s also pa in ted in a70 -71 sp li nt erm e w it h lig ht b lu e

Le ft : Th is pho tog raphs ho ws th e F ie se le r F iC -3 o r p oss ib ly a C -7v ar ia n t, c od e d H 3+B Fb elo ng in g t o t he S ta b/J aW N or we ge n d ur in gth e w in te r o f 1943 -4 4 iN orw ay, It w as p ain te da s ta nd ar d L uft wa ffe R70 -71sp l in t er uppers urfa ce s ch em e w ithL ig h t B lu e u n de r s ur faa nd h ad a y ello w fu seb an d a nd u nd er win g tT he c od e w as p ain te dg re en o r p os sib ly b lu e


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UNITS . A IRCRAFT . EMBLEMS AND MARKINGS

e r F i 15 6 C -3 'S to rc h' c od ed K l+ RA w as a ss ig ne d t o th e K or ps F iih ru ng sk ett e/ VF lie ge rk or ps a nd la te r to t he S ta b/L uft flo tte 6 .s ho wn fly in g o ve r R us sia d urin g th e la te s umm er o r e arly a utu mn o f 19 4 1 a nd w a s p ain te d in a s ta nd ar d R LM 7 0- 71 u pp er s ur fa ce s plin te r

l ag e s ch eme w it h 65 L ig ht B lu e u nd er s ur fa ce s a lo ng w it h a y el/ ow fu se la ge b an d.

Stab/Luftflotte 6 Badge

Messerschmitt Bf 110 CThis early Messerschmitt Sf 110 C coded Kl+EA belonged to the Stab/Luftflotte 6 in Russia during 1941-42.


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p ilo t fro m th e S ta b3 is g ettin g in to h is

y in g gea r i n p r ep a ra t io na flig ht in th e K 13 5,

c ra ft w a sm ou fla ge d in a R LM 7 0a ck G re en a nd 71 Darke n u p pe r s u rf ac e

lin te r s ch em e w it h 6 5gh t B l ue under s id e s ,

c lo s e u p p ho to g ra p h ofe mb le m u se d b y th eof t h e Weh rmach t -

e h ls h ab e r in d ende rl an d en ( e xa c to u rs u n known ),

s C a ud ro n C , 44 5,. 0 41 7, c o d ed K I+WW ,

m th e S ta blL uftflo tte 1p ho to gra ph ed in

te rb ur g in J un e 1 94 1,a pp ea rs to b e p ain te dl ve r o v er all w it h b la c ke s a nd a n a nt i- gl ar ee l i n f ro n t of th e

..


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15 6 C-3/trop', WN r . 5 56 3,S B+ UG , fro m th e

I ./ JG 54 w as ind u ri ng t he w i nt er

It had ar ar y w in te r w h it esu rf ace camouf la g eo ve r its n orm a l

g re en s pl in te r p ain tw it h a v e llo we b an d a ndwin g t ip s. T h ein te d b la ck .


E ven a We hrm ac htin fa nt ry d iv is io n c ou ld b ea ss ig n ed a 'S t or ch' .T h is F i 15 6 C-3/trop,W N r. 5 71 0, c o de d ND +O Lbelonged to t he S ta b oft he GrossdeutschlandPanze rg renad ier D i v is i onin R us sia . It h ad th ed iv is io n emb lem pa in te do n th e s id e of t he f use la gand w as painted in as ta n da r d 7 0 -7 1 sp li nt ers ch em e w ith a v ello wfu se la ge b an d a ndunde rw in g t ip s .

15 6 C-2 'S to rch :d N MK K, w ase d t o t he S ta b/ JG 2 7.

d th e n orm a l 7 0- 71e r uppe r su r face

w i th 65 L ig h t B l uer s ur fa ce s. T h ee r lo ok s l ik e a lig ht err b ut t ha t w a s ju s tect ion of t he s un .


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LUFTWA FF E SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

s S t or c h be long ingt he S ta b /JG 27 wast og ra p he d o ve rt w a s p ro b ab ly

r th A fr ic a in A ug us t4 2. T he F i 156 C-3,. 5 4 07 , c o de dA I, h ad w ha ta rs to b e a s an d

l ow ( It a li an pa in t ?)e r s ur fa ce s ch emeh da rke r s p lo tc hes

79 Sandn ?). It a lso h ad a

t e f us el ag e b a ndn o se .

s F i 156 C-2 ,W N r . 4428, c o de d CM+DU be lo n ge d to th e1 8 .F la kd iv is io n a n d w a s p h ot og ra p he d i n a w a te r- fi ll ed

d in R us sia . T he 'S to rc h' w as p ain te d in th e s ta nd ar d s plin te rm ou fla ge s ch em e a lo ng w ith a y ello w fu se la ge b an d a ndt lik ely u nd er win g tip s. T he p ho to gr ap h is a ls o o f in te re stca us e it s ho ws th e e mb le m u se d b y th is u nit.

is p ho to gr ap h s ho ws a F oc ke -W u lf F w 18 9 A th at w as use dt he S ta b o f th e W e hr ma ch t- Be fe hls ha be r in d en


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Fliegerforstschutzverband,Erprobungskommando 40 and 41

Aerial spraying for pest control started in Germany in 1926 when tests were conductedin the fall at Lipetsk (a German military secret flight centre near Voronezh, Russia).Junkers had created a branch called the Junkers AbteiJung Schadlingsbekampfung todevelop techniques and experiment further with aerial spraying. For the initial tests, twoJunkers Ju F13 and one Ju A20 were equipped with external spray tanks that contained thechemical pesticide. Two Junkers Ju W 33 were added to the aircraft compliment a short timelater. The crews had to wear protective clothes and masks to avoid any possible poisoningeffects. The first aircraft were Junkers Ju F13, coded D-63, D-168 and D-454 with the W33 aircraft WNr. 2502 coded D-1125 and WNr. 1642 coded D-2541. All the aircraft hadan emblem with the inscription 'Tod dem Schadling' (Death to the Verm.in) painted on theirfuselage sides. In the following years further experiments were very sporadic until HermannGoring was appointed as Reichsjagerrneister and took an interest in the programme.During this period, aJunkers W 34 and He 45 were equipped with 'Nebelgerat VS 200' andtested in the air. The positive experience with these aircraft led in 1935 to the creation ofa Luftwaffe-maintained Fliegerforstschutzverband. This unit was first equipped with theJunkers W 33 aircraft taken over from the Junkers Company and registered asWNr. 2502,D-OKAN and WNr. 1642, D-ODAN. During 1939, old Dornier Do 23 bombers weremodified for the same task as these aircraft offered a much higher payload. The first of thesewere D-APYN, D-AMIR and D-AGFV. Also during 1939 the skull and bones emblem wascreated. These and other Do 23s were equipped with an external 1500 litre tank withnozzles installed in the centre fuselage section. The new spraying device was called'Stargarden Spriihanlage' (Stargarden spray system) but during the test flights the device didnot work very well because the mist it produced was not fine enough. A much improvedsystem was developed by Blohm &Voss that used 20 nozzles spread out under the wing andwas pressurised by a pitot tube pressure system. The result was a fine 25 metre wide spraypattern. The system dispensed 1000 litres of chemical pesticide in two rninutes. Between1939 and 1943, a total of about 3500 flights were flown which covered approximately61,000 square acre.The main base of the unit was always Gottingen with missions being flown fromStrausberg (November 1939 to February 1940), Stargard (autumn 1942) and Weimar-Nohra (summer 1943). During operations in 1941 two Do 23 aircraft were lost due toaccidents in June and July and in the next year a Fw 44 liaison aircraft was lost in October.The Do 23 aircraft remained active until September 1944 when the last examples werescrapped. During the summer of 1943 approximately thirty examples of a special Focke-Wulf Fw 58 version, with the designation Fw 58 C-2/U6 were modified for the aerialspraying task by Weserflug. These aircraft then became the standard equipment of the unituntil 1945. During May 1943 Weserflug also modified the Do 23, WNr. 513, codedRX +NM with a new device. This consisted of 10 tubes under each wing, which provideda much more effective spray distribution.

Th is pho tog raphsh ow s so me o f theFocke-WulfFw 58 C - 2/ U5 o fE rp r.Kdo .41 t ha t we rein s to ra ge o n 17 April1 945a t FaBberg ,Ge rmany . The a i rc r af tw e re a ll c amo u fl ag edin a stan dard R LM 70B la ck -G re en a nd 7 1Da rk-G reen sp li nt ers ch eme w ith 55 LightB lu e u nd ers id es a nd a


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L U F TW A F FE SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

s p ho to gr ap h s how so f th e D om ie r2 3s b elo ng in g to th ea nd w ith o nly th e

t le tte r 'K ' o f th eb le . I t was pa in tedh d ark g re en u pp era ce s ( eit he r a s in g leo ur R LM 7 0 o r 71 ors ib ly a sp li nt erm e u sin g b oth

ou rs ) and 65 Lightunder s u rf a ces .

On 1 January 1944 while still based at Gottingen, the Fliegerforstschutzverband wasrenamed Erprobungskornmando 40. During 1944 the unit also operated from Weimar-Nohra (February 1944 to September 1944), Bayreuth (September) and Coburg, where sixFw 58s were destroyed on the ground by strafing Allied fighters 011 12 September 1944.The unit was renamed once again on 22 January 1945 and became Erprobungskornmando41. Flying activities by Erpr.Kdo.41 were limited in the remaining weeks of the war andthe aircraft were stored at Munster, Gottingen and FaBberg during April.

General der Deutschen Luftwaffe andKommandierender General derD eu tschen Lu ftw affeT he General der Deutschen Luftwaffe (Gen.d.dt.Lw.) and Kommandierender General derDeutschen Luftwaffe (Kornm.Gen.d.dt.Lw) were high-level commanding generalheadquarter commands and were in two different categories. The first were generalheadquarter commands over a country or large regional area, and the second were generalheadquarter commands over a Luftwaffe wide functional area.They both were responsible fordirecting, administering, supporting and overseeing all Luftwaffe units and related functionsin their area and always had a large Stab and often a directly reporting Flugbereitschaft orVerbindungsstaffel. Many were purely administrative and were mainly concerned withoverseeing and directing the Luftgaukommando, logistics, personnel and other Luftwaffesupport functions in their regional area or in their specialty function. Some were in activeoperational combat zones and consequently became involved in the coordination and supportof operational units. The following listing provides the reader with a broad overview of thesecommand and support unit.Lu ftwaffe Regiona l Commands :Gen.d.dt.Lw.Kanalinseln - This headquarters command was responsible for Luftwaffeoperations and administration in the Channel Islands.The Stab was formed in October 1943from the Stab/Flakbrigade 11 and was assigned the Feldpostnummer (FpN) L 45883. It wasdisbanded in May 1945.Gen.d.dt.Lw.beim Oberkommando der Koniglich Italienischen Luftwaffe - Wasformed in Rome, Italy on 10 June 1940 from the Stab des Lufrwaffenattache Rom and wascommanded by General Maximilian Ritter von Pohl. I t was also referred to as the

F1ieger-forstschutzverba

Badge


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U N IT S , A IR e R A F T , E M B l E M S A N D M A R K IN G S

Gen.d.dt.Lw.bei Italuft - This headquarters Stab was formed in August 1941 from theVerbindungsstab Italuft Rom. It was later renamed Stab/Gen.d.dt.Lw.in Italien in October1941 and had the FpN L 16390. The Stab was later renamed again as the Stab/Lufigau-Kommando Slid in July 1943. This Stab also had a Flugbereitschaft which wa formed inOctober 1941 and later became the Flugber.z Luftgau-Kdo.Sud in July 1943.The Stab/Luftgau-Kommando Sud was actually formed in April 1943 from theStab/Gen.d.dt.Lw. in Tunis and actually absorbed the Stab/Gen.d.dt.Lw.in Italien in July.Finally, on 27 October 1943, it was once again renamed Stab/Feldluftgau-Kdo.XXVIII withthe Flugbereitschaft also being renamed accordingly. Both the Stab and Flugbereitschaft weredisbanded in September 1944.Gen.d.Lufrwaffenfiihrer Nord Norwegen - Was formed inJune 1941 at Bardufoss whereit remained until being disbanded in January 1942.Gen.d.Luftwaffe Paris - This command Stab was formed in October 1940 from theVerbindungsstab des Ob.d.L. beim Chef der Militar- Verwaltung in Frankreich with the FpNL 27248. It was disbanded on 29 September 1944.Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Diinemark (FpN L 40083) - The Gen.d.dt.Lw.Danemark wasformed in Grove, Denmark during June 1941 from the Stab/Luftgau-Kommando XI and wascommanded by Generalmajor Eduard Ritter von Schleich until 1January 1944 when he wasreplaced with Generalmajor Andreas Nielsen. On 1 May 1944, Generalleutnant WalterSchwabedissen was named commanding General and on 1 October was replaced by GeneralRudolf Meister. The last commander was Generalleutnant Alexander Holle who wasappointed on 23 December 1944. The Stab moved to Skanderborg in September 1944 andwas redesignated as Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Danemark (FpN L 34375) on 16 September 1944.In the same month a Flugbereitschaft was added from. the Verb.StaffellIVFliegerkorps.Attached units included the Jagdabschnittsflihrer Danernark, FlugabwehrkommandoDanemark and Luftnachrichten-Abteilung 85. It was disbanded at the end of the war on8 May 1945.Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Finnland - Formed on 1 November 1943 in Rovaniemi, Finlandfrom the Stab/Luftgau-Kdo.Finnland (FpN L 40083) and elements of Luftflotte 5, it laterbecame the Stab/Luftgau-Kdo.XVI on 19 December 1944 in Dresden. It was commandedby General Julius Schulz until 23 June 1944 when General Willi Harrnjanz replaced him.The Stab had a Flugbereitschaft attached to it which was renamed from the Flugber./Luftgau-Kdo. Pinnland also on 1 November 1943. This particular Flugbereitschaft was assignedthe operational code 'A2' (Staffel letter A) and was later absorbed by theFlugber.lKOlmn.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Norwegen in December 1944. Other units directly attachedincluded the 13.Flak-Brigade and Luftnachrichten-Abteilung 82.Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Griechenland (FpN L 23107 & later 52570) - The Stab for thecommanding General of Luftwaffe administration and operations in Greece was formed on10 February 1944 from elements of the Gen.Kdo.lX.Fliegerkorps and also from the LuftgauStab Griechenland (Feldluftgau XXIX) at Athens-Kiffisia. It was commanded by GeneralJohannes Fink up to 11 September when Generalmajor Hans Korte was appointed. A Stabs-Kompanie was formed in March 1944 and disbanded on 2 October. Other attached unitsincluded the 19.Flak-Division, Stab/FAGr.4 and SAGr.126. The Stab itself was disbanded inDecember 1944.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Mittelitalien - Was formed from the Stab/Fliegerfiihrer 2 (FpN L 52230) inFebruary 1944 and later became the Stab/Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.ltalien on 6 September1944. A Flugbereitschaft was also a part of the command unit and came from the


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L U FT W A FF E SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Nordbalkan (FpN L 53040) - This headquarters command Stab wasformed from the Stab/Feldluftgau-Kdo.XXX, part of the Gen.Kdo.lI1.Fliegerkorps and theLuftwaffenkommando Siidost on 29 August 1944 and was based at Zagreb, Croatia. It wascommanded by General Bernhard Waber. A Verbindungsstaffel was formed in August 1944(FpN. L 09473) fromVerbindungsstaffe1400 and later became theVerb.Staffel/X.Fliegerkorps on20 November 1944. The Stab also had aTransportstaffel assigned to it, which was formed fromthe TransportstaffellII.Fliegerkorps in August 1944 and kept its operational code 'C3' (Staffelletter H). The Transportstaffel was disbanded a short time later on 25 September 1944. Besidesthe units above, also directly attached was Fliegerfiihrer Nordbalkan (later renamed as theStab/17.Fliegerdivision), Nahauklarungsgruppe 12, 1. and II.ISchlachtgeschwader 10,Nachtschlachtgruppe 10 and 20. flak-Division.Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Norwegen (FpN L 36018) - This headquarters unit was formed inOslo, Norway on 15 September 1944 from the Stab/Luftflotte 5 and the FeldluftgauNorwegen and was commanded by General Josef Kammhuber until 10 October whenGeneralmajor Eduard Ritter von Schleich was appointed for a month and followed byGeneralleutnant Ernst-August Roth on 15 November. A Flugbereitschaft was attached whichcame from the Flugber.lLuftflotte 5 at Oslo-Fornebu and was later bolstered by the additionof the Flugber./Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Finnland in December. Directly attached wereJagdfliegerfi.ihrer Norwegen, 5.Fliegerdivision, 13.flak-Brigade and 29.Flak-Division. It wasnot disbanded until the end of hostilities on 8 May 1945.Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Rumanien (FpN L 18500) - Initially formed as the Befehlshaber derLuftwaffe Rurnanien on 25 March 1944 from the Deutschen Luftwaffenmission Rurnanienand elements of Luftflotte 4, and renamed as the Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Rumanien on 5 May1944, this headquarters unit was based in Bucharest, Romania and was commanded byGeneralleutnant Alfred Gerstenberg until May when he was replaced by GeneralleutnantRainer Stahel. Directly attached to the Stab was jagdfliegerfiihrer, Flak-Division 5 andLuftnachrichten-Abteilung 81. It was disbanded on 4 September 1944.Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Ungarn (FpN L 54000) - This command staff was formed inBudapest, Hungary on 6 April 1944 from the Stab des Generals del' Luftwaffe Ungarn whichitself had just been formed on 19 March 1944. It was commanded by General Kuno HeribertPutterer and was redesignated as Luftgau-Kommando XV on 13 December 1944. Attachedto the Stab was Luftnachrichten-Abteilung 84.Other Kommandierender General der deutschen Luftwaffe included theKonun.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Italien/Luftwaffenkonunando Slid, and the Komm.Gen.d.dt.Lw.Tunisalso known as Fliegerkorps Tunis.Lu ftwa ffe Func tiona l A r eas:These departments generally had no practical function other than acting as a liaison andadviser to the Ob.d.L. regarding tactics, the relocation of operational units, planning forpersonal supplies, etc. The Generals did not command any unit beside their own headquarterStab. During 1940-41 their title was 'Inspekteur del' ... ' rather than General. They includedthe General del' Jagdflieger, General der Kampfflieger, General del' Schlachtflieger,Gen.d.Nahkampfllieger, General del' Fliegerausbildung, General derTruppentechnik, Generaldel' flak and many more plus the ones detailed below.Gen.d.Fliegerbodenorganisation und des Flugbetriebes - Formed in November 1943from the Stab/Gen.d.Flugbetriebes which itself was formed in May of 1943. The Stab was


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U NIT S , A IRe R AFT, E M B L EMS AND MAR KIN G S 1

Gen.d.Lw.h.Oh.d.H & Gen.d.Lw.h.Oh.d.M - Were only liaison offices between theLuftwaffe and the Marine (Navy) and Heer (Anny).The did not command any units exceptfor their own Stab office although the KurierstaffellOb.d.H. (later Kurierstaffel 110) andKurierstaffellOb.d.M. were directly attached to their respective headquarters Stab.

e -u p o f th e p ort sid e o f th e F h 1 04 flo wn b y G en era ld ur in g h is in sp ec tio n t ou r o f t he J ag d f/ ie g er

hwade rn i n 1942-43 . E ac h u nit p ain te d th eir e m ble me s id e o f t hi s o th e rw is e s pl in te r 7 0 -7 1 c amouf la ge d

E :- T his v ie w s ho ws th e p or t s id e o f G en er al G alla nd 's S ie be l F h 1 04 , ? ?+ CL s ho win gle m s o n th at s id e.

A S ie be l F h 1 04 , wit h p artia l S ta mmk en nz eic he n ? T+ CL ,b elo ng in g to th e S ta b/ Ge ne ra l d eJ ag dflie ge r a t th e fa cto ry in H alle /S aa le , G er ma ny in 1942. It w as th e p erso na l a irc ra ft o fG en er al A do lf G alla nd a nd h ad a s ta nd ar d 7 0 B la ck -G re en a nd 71 Dark -Green sp li n te rc amouf la g e s ch eme w it h 65 L ig ht B lu e lo we r s urfa ce s. T he a ir cra ft w as u niq ue b ec au sec ar rie d a n um b er o f J ag dg es ch wa de r emb lems w hic h w er e c olle cte d d ur in g h is in sp ec ttr ip s t o v ar io us J ag dg ru pp en a nd S ch la ch tg ru pp en d ur in g 1 94 2- 43 .

RIGHT:-Itiss pe cu la te d t ha tth is J u 5 2/3 mph ot og ra ph e d inF in la nd m ig ht h av eb ee n a ss ig ne d to thKomm.Gen.d.dt . iw.F in nla nd a nd w ase it he r a S ta b ma ch ior p os si bl y b e lo n ge dthe F lugbere it scha f to f th at u nit or t o th eear li e r F lugber ./Luftgau-Kdo.Finnlan

LEFT: -C lo se-up o f Genera lG alla nd a t th e c on tr ols o fh is p er so n al a ir cr af t, t heS ie b el F h 1 0 4, ? ? +C L.H e a ls o h ad a no th erFh 104 l at e r w i thou tt heem blems th at h ad th eStammkennzeichenKB+ZW.


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LUFTWA FF E SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

WetterdienstT he Wetterdienst (Meterological Service) started as a civilian operation in the 1920sunder the control of Deutsche Seewarte to provide weather information for airlinesand all other civilian or quasi-civilian units. It was composed of a number ofWetterflugstellen (Meteorological flight bases) which flew local and regional weather datagathering flights from their home base using mostly light single-engine aircraft such as theJunkers Ju A 20 and Ju A 35, Focke- Wulf Fw 40 B, Focke- Wulf Fw 47 and Junkers W 34.The localised weather information was supplemented by data through internationalcooperation to form a more complete picture of conditions. During the 1930s theWetterdienst became more and more important to the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht in generaland it was gradually militarised as an important arm of the Luftwaffe. There were fourteenWetterflugstellen at the start of hostilities in September 1939 along with fiveWettererkundungsstaffeln (Wekusta), four of which were directly attached to a Luftflottethrough a subordinate Luftkreiskommando with the fifth being under direct control of theLuftwaffe high command. The high command knew that the international exchange ofweather data would be mostly cut off in the event of a war, especially the information from.the North Atlantic where weather fronts and storms traveled from west to east.Consequently, measures were taken to offset the loss of data by establishing a ZentraleWetterdienst-Gruppe (main Meteorological Centre), equipping U-Boats with someweather-gathering instruments and a rneans to report the data, converting a number oftrawlers into ocean-going weather reporting ships (Wetterbeobachtungsschiffe), the creationof the Wekusta and Wetterkette units to provide regional and longer-range data by flyingweather reconnaissance missions, and later by creating and establishing both automated andmanned weather reporting stations often located on remote islands.

The five operating Wekusta at the start of the war were Wekusta Ob.d.L. (Berlin-Gatow),Wekusta l/Luftflotte 1 (Leipzig-Brandis), Wekusta 26 attached to Luftflotte 2 (Wesendorf),Wekusta 51 attached to Luftflotte 3 (Langendiebach), and Wekusta 76 attached to Luftflotte 4(Zeltweg). The Wekusta were mainly equipped with twin-engine aircraft such as the He 111 J,Dornier Do 17 P and some Focke- Wulf Fw 5.8 E because of their longer-range missions. TheFw 58 E also became more and more COnl1TlOnn the Wetterflustellen as the 1930s progressed.Both the Wetterflugstellen and the Wekusta flew daily weather reconnaissance flights to gatherand record pressure, temperature and relative humidity at various altitudes and then forwardedthat information to the Zentrale Wetterdienst-Gruppe, which also obtained information fromthe other sources mentioned above, to develop an overall picture of conditions and forecasts.The localised information was needed by a variety of units including training schools and thecoastal artillery while the longer-range weather reconnaissance data often determined whethera specific mission could be flown, diverted to a different location or route, or not flown at all.As the Wetterdienst and the need for information expanded, individual commands and schoolsoften formed their own Wetterkette to have current information regarding conditions in theirarea of interest. The last thing a pilot trainee needed was to run into an unexpected storm orother adverse weather condition during a training flight.

After the start of the war, the Wetterflugstellen expanded into the occupied territories andnew Wekusta units were formed to fly standardised routes into the enlarged operational areas.The principal Wetterflugstellen during the war were Wetterflugstelle 464 (Dokudowo),Wetterflugstelle 464 (Schatalowka), Wetterflugstelle 1228 Udetfeld-Mielec, WetterflugstelleAmsterdam-Schiphol, Wetterflugstelle Balkan at Belgrad-Semlin, Wetterflugstelle Berlin,Wetterflugstelle Breslau-Gandau, Wetterflugstelle Dievenow, Wetterflugstelle Dresden-Klotzsche, Wetterflugstelle Erfurt-Bindersleben, Wetterflugstelle Frankfurt/Main,Wetterflugstelle Hamburg- Fuhlsbuttel, Wetterflugstelle Handorf, Wetterflugstelle Kaukasus,Wetterflugstelle Kiel-Holtenau, Wetterflugstelle Kiew-Postwolinsk, WetterflugstelleKonigsberg (later at Heiligenbeil), Wetterflugstelle Krakau, Wetterflugstelle Paris-Le Bourget,Wetterflugstelle Madrid, Wetterflugstelle Munchen-Riern, Wetterflug telle Munster-Loddenheide, Wetterflugstelle Nancy, Wetterflugstelle Norderney, Wetterflugstelle Pardubitz,Wetterflugstelle Pleskau, Wetterflugstelle Prag-Ruzyn, Wetterflugstelle Saarbrucken,Wetterflugstelle Saporoshje, Wetterflugstelle Stettin, Wetterflugstelle Stuttgart-Boblingen,Wetterflugstelle Vaernes and Wetterflugstelle Wien-Aspern. There were other more temporary


18/97

e rs J u 8 80 -1d 0 7+ LH w as

to Wekustad .L . i n No rwayt he la te s umme rThe a i rc ra ftM 0 2 G re y-

n wa ve m ir ro rn s p ra ye d o ve re 7 0 -7 1 sp li nt erf la g e scheme .r s id e s we r e65 L ig h t B lu e

h e p ro pe ll er h ub sa de s we re

U N I T S . A I R C R A F T . E M B L E M S A N D M A R K I N G S 1

disbanded. In April 1942,Wetterflugstelle Wi en-Asp ern was moved to Shatalovka-East whereit was redesignated asWetterflugstelle Schatalowka-Ost to replace the departed Wekusta 26. Itlater was moved to Orsha-South on 7 September 1943 and then to Dokudovo in June 1944where it was renamed Wetterflugstelle 464. On 15 June 1944, a new Wekusta 26 (Ost) wasordered to be set up and it was formed by the disbanded Wetterflugstelle 464 and Wekusta76/2 inJuly.Unlike most of the other support units, the Wekusta were assigned operational codesprimarily because of their mixed operational/support role. Some of the Wetterkette even hadan operational code assigned and both types of units often developed an emblem to paint ontheir aircraft along with their code.GroBraum-Wettererkundungsstaffel- Was formed on 15 March 1938 at Berlin-Gatow totest various aircraft types to see which were best suited for weather reconnaissance, to testdifferent measuring and recording equipment, to train crew members and meteorologists inrelated functions and navigation, and to develop procedures for weather flights over extensiveareas.The Staffel tested and evaluated many different aircraft and determined that the DornierDo 17, Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 86 were the be t for the longer-range role.The Staffelwas renamed to Wekusta Ob.d.L. on 1June 1939.Wekusta Ob.d.L. - Wekusta 1/0b.d.L. - (FpN L 05356) Established from the civilianGroGraum- Wettererkundungsstaffel in June 1939, the Staffel remained in Berlin-Gatow for atime before moving to Oldenburg and finally to Bad Zwischenahn in early 1941. It had a largecompliment of over twenty aircraft, which was much larger than an ordinary Staffel would haveassigned to it. As war clouds started to loom, the Staffel was assigned the operational code'T5'(Staffelletter U) which was later changed to 'D7' (Staffelletter H) in June-July 1942. After thewar started, it was transformed into a more military unit and was redesignated asWekusta 1Ob.d.L. in July 1940 and in August 1944 asWekusta 1/OKL. The Staffel served as the premierWekusta throughout the entire war and was disbanded in May 1945. Temporary detachmentsfrom this unit formed Wetterkette Stavanger and Wetterkette West. ,

T his h ea d- on p ho to gr ap h s ho ws J u 88 0 -/, c od ed 0 7+ LH o f W ek us1 /0 b.d .L . a fte r c om p le tin g th e u nit's 1 00 0th m i ss io n o n 2 0 A u gu st 1

Wekusta 1/0h.d.L. Badge


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LUFT W A FF E SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

WekustaOb.d.L.Badge

u nkers Ju 88 D-1o n gi ng t o We k us ta

1 wast og ra p he d i nk ov d ur in g 1 94 1.rrie d th e c od e

+ GA a nd w asn te d in th e fa cto ry

70 -71 sp li n te rp er s ur fa ce a ndL ig ht B lu e u nd erf ac e s ch eme.

Wekusta 2/0h.d.L. - (FpN L 24693) Was formed at Oldenburg from part ofWekusta1/0b.d.L. in June 1940 and moved to its new base at Brest in July. It was primarily equippedwith the Heinkel He lllH which was gradually supplemented by the Junkers Ju 88 D-l inearly 1942, which was the best suited aircraft at the time for long-range weatherreconnaissance flights. The aircraft served without an operational code until the Staffel wasassigned the code 'DT (Staffelletter K) in July 1942, and moved to Nantes where it was tostay for over two years before relocating to Burg, Germany in March 1944 for conversiontraining on the Heinkel He 177. The Staffel was ordered back to France in July 1944 andrelocated to Mont-de-Marsan and in late July to Bordeaux-Merignac with KG 40.When theAllied armies broke out of Norrnandy, the Staffel was ordered to relocate back to Burg whereit was disbanded in September.Wekusta l/Luftf]otte 1 - (FpN L32857) This Wekusta, assigned the code'BT (Staffelletter A), was formed on 1June 1939 at Brandis and moved toStargard late August 1939 using He 111J-l aircraft to fly weather recon-naissance missions over Poland inSeptember. After the fall of Poland, theStaffel was moved back to Brandis andin February 1940 to Jesau, Germany.Here the unit was re-equipped withJunkers Ju 88 A aircraft in the spring of1941. It was moved again just before theinvasion of Russia on 15 June 1941 toJi.irgenfelde and following up theadvance of the ground forces relocatedto Rakopolye, south ofPskov, Russia on4 August 1941, to Korovye Selo on 9 October and to Gostkino near Luga on 15 November.During the Soviet winter counter offensive, it was moved back to Pskov on 13 January 1942and then to Dno in April 1942. The Staffel began to fly regular bombing missions in additionto its weather flights because of the lack of bomber Gruppen in the area during this period.In April 1943, it was moved to Pskov once again and then to Jelgava, Latvia in February 1944.Finally, the Staffel ended up in Parnu, Estonia on 28 July 1944 where it was disbanded on 31July 1944, with the remnants being absorbed by 5,(F)AufkLGr.122.

T his p ho to gr apH ein ke l H e 11 1( un it c o de u n kbelonging toWekus ta 2 /Db .n ot t he b es t q ubu t it do es sh oe mb le m u se dS taf fe l . The a irh ad a s ta nd ards pl in te r p a tt er n6 5 u nd ers id esna rro w w hitet he p ro p el le r s

Wekusta 3 - (FpN L 62875) Created from an expanded Wetterkette Sudnorwegen inJanuary1944, this very small Staffel (usually only about five aircraft), continued to be based atStavanger-Sola, Norway. It retained the code 'DT (Staffelletters VH to ZH) until issued thenew code '4B' (no Staffel letter) in October of 1944. The Staffel flew JunkersJu 88 D-ls and Ju 188 F-ls on weather reconnaissance missions over the North Sea andnorthern Atlantic. On 2 November 1944 the unit moved to 0ysand, but because this had ashort runway they had to stop at 0rlandet to fuel up before starting a mission. The Staffel


20/97

U N IT S, A IRe R AFT I E M B L EMS AND MAR KIN G S 1

-

Th i s He inke l7 J , c od ed B 7+ GAd t he e ar ly em blems ta t/u itttto tte 1

w as in u se u ntilThe He inke l appears

n te d in a 7 0- 71wi th 65 L ig h t B l ue

r sid es a lo ng w it h 7 0-Green p rope l le rr s a n d b la d es .

A BOVE : T h is J un ke rsJu 88 b el on ge d t oW e ku sta IIL uftflo tte 1a nd s ho ws th e e mb le mu se d b y th at S ta ffe lt o g oo d a dv an ta ge .T he p ho to gr ap h w as ta kin R us sia in e ith er 1 94 2o r 1943 . T he J u 88 had as ta n da r d camouf la g es ch em e a nd w hite s pin netips.Wekusta 1.1

Luftflotte 1Badge

Nebel kr ii ti e' ( F og c r ow ) ,a J un ke rs J u 5 2/3 m o fWekusta l /I u it il o tt e 1 waunde rg o in g ma in te n an cein R us sia in e ith er 1 94 2o r 1943 .

Junkers Ju 52/3mWNr. 6187, B7+AA of Wekusta l/Luftflotte 1. The aircraft was lost over the Baltic Sea on25 June 1941.


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l U FT WAF FE SUP P 0 RTUN ITS

5 a ls o f lewn ke rs J u 88 Dsc h a s th is o net og ra p he d in

, No rway .i nt er u p pe r s u rf ac eu fl ag e s ch eme

th lig ht b lu e u nd err fa ce s - s pin ne rp ea rs to b e p ain te d

s H e in ke l H e 11 1 H-51B+DH of

5 la nd ed o nf ro ze n ic e ofe n tf jo rd o nt z be rgen I sl and ,rw ay o n 19 M ay 1942t b ro ke th ro ug h w it hle ft la nd in g g ea r. T hec ra ft w as b as ed inn ak , N orw ay a ndb ri ng in g s u pp li es

t he w e at he r s ta tio nre . It h ad a 7 0-7 1i nt er u p pe rs s u rf ac ed 65 undersideso ng w ith a y ello ws ela ge b an d. T he r ea r

of t h e p rope l le r

remained there until the end of the war when it surrendered to British forces. The lastmissions flown were on 8 May 1945 when volunteer crew flew to Kurland (Latvia) toevacuate wounded soldiers and then on to Germany where they surrendered.Wekusta 5 - (FpN L 13189) Came into existence in September 1940 and was formed froman expanded Wetterkette Nord. During the first month of operations, its losses were reportedasWetterkette/Luftflotte 5 and notWekusta 5.It was assigned the operational code 'lB' (StafIelletter H) in October which was switched to the new code 'DT (StafIelletter N) in May 1942.The unit was based in Vaernes, Norway and its area of operations was the extreme NorthAtlantic and Arctic Ocean. It was sometimes referred to asWekusta/Luftflotte 5 and bothdesignations were listed in the loss records although the official and correct designation wasWekusta 5. A Wetterkette was established at Banak in July 1941 to increase the range ofweather flights, which later became Wekllsta 6.As the northern front started to shrink in 1944,this StafIel was merged with Wekusta 3 on 23 October 1944.Wekusta 6 - (FpN L 51638) Was formed from Wetterkette Banak on 12 September 1943with the operational code 'DT (Staffelletter P). It moved to Bodo, Norway on 4 November1944 as German forces were retreating south out of Finland and was disbanded shortlythereafter.

Wekusta 5. Badge


22/97

U N IT S , A IRe R AFT, E M B L EMS AND MAR KIN G S 2

Th is He in kel1 H , co dedH wa s a ls or ap he d in t her th o nd o ff t he t ip of

Zem lya,i a o n 20 Ju ly.I t w a s p ai nt ed ink -g re en a ndg reen sp li n te rsu rf ace w i th

b lue unde rs i desa n ar ro w

w f use la g e band .pe ll e r sp inne rs

p a in te d wh it e.-Wh il e n o t ve ryh is is t he o nly

Iav e of a6 a ir cr af t, a

s Ju 8 8 A-6/Uo ff f rom Ba na k,y . It w as ar a ir cr af t o f

5 and had a70 -71 sp li n te rf la ge w it h a

w f use la g e bandh i te p rope ll e r

Wekusta 7 - (FpN L 62631) Attached to Luftflotte Reich for tactical weatherreconnaissance, thi Wekusta was established on 25 November 1944 at Brandenburg-Briest.It primarily used the late version Junkers Ju 88 G-l aircraft and was assigned the code 'K4'(Staffel letter A). On 10 February 1945 it was moved to Stendal and on 13 April 1945 viaUetersen to Husum, where it was disbanded and surrendered to British forces in early May.Wekusta 26 - (FpN L 32972) Was formed in June 1939 at Braunschweig- Waggum with thecode '5M' (no Staffelletter such as 5M +C) and was attached to Luftflotte 2. At first the unitwas primarily equipped with Ju 52, He 111 J and Do 17 aircraft. The unit was relocated toMunster-Loddenheide on 9 October 1939 and later to Koln-Ostheim on 23 April 1940 inpreparation for the coming offensive in the West. German forces advanced to Brussels-Grimbergen in June and remained there for about a year flying missions over and aroundFrance and Britain. In August, the unit received some faster and heavily armed MesserschmittBf 110 Cs because of mounting losses to the slower Do 17 and He 111 aircraft it had beenusing. On 4 June 1941, it was assigned to the base at Warsaw-Bielany in preparation for thecoming attack on Russia where it was responsible for weather reconnaissance flights in thecentral sector. The first move forward was to Minsk in July and then to Seshchinskaya in earlySeptember, followed by another move to Orsha on 24 September 1941. Fairly heavy losseswere suffered during its months in Russia and it relocated to Wurzburg (via Minsk andFinsterwalde) in mid November for rest and re-equipping with the Ju 88 D-1. The Staffel wasordered south to Trapani, Sicily and moved there between 28 December 1941 and 19 January1942. A small detachment was sent to Crete on 20 May 1942 to cover the easternMediterranean and it was first known asWetterkette Kreta and later Wekusta 26/1. It wasre-designated as Teilstaffel Si.id-Griechenland in July and moved to Tatoi from Iraklion inNovember. The main unit in Sicily began to fly more and more general reconnaissancemissions and convoy escort missions in addition to its weather flights and these continuallyincreased especially after the Allies occupied North Africa and invaded Sicily.Wekusta 26moved to Frosinone, south-east of Rome, on 10 July 1943 and was subordinated underAufkl. Gr.(F) 122 where its role was completely tactical reconnaissance except for a smallMeteorological Kette. On 13 September it changed bases again to Perugia where it was

T his A rad o A r 23 2A -O l0 WN r. 1 00 01c od ed T C+ EG w asused by W ekusta 5fo r a s ho rt tim e ins um m er o f 1943 tosu pp ly weat he rstations.Un fo rt un a te ly , t hea ir c ra ft c ra shednear D r age id e t( ne ar B e ne k) , N o rwshor tl y a ft er t ake -of or t he r etu rn ff ig htto G erm any o n26 August 1943 an dw as a c om plete loT he A ra do w asp ain te d i n a s ta nd aRLM 70 B la ck-G re ean d 71 Da rk G r ee ns pli nt er u pp er s ur fas ch em e w ith 65 LigB lue unders ides.T he W ek us ta 5em blem wa s p ai nt eo n j us t b eh in d th ecockpit.


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L U FT W A FF E SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

is J un ke rs J u 88 A- 4We ku s ta 26 wa so to gr ap he d in O rs ha ,s sia . It h ad a

d 70 -71 sp li nt e rmo u fl ag e s ch eme65 u n de rs id e s a n d

B lack -Greenl le r s p in n er s a n ds . I t a ls o a p pe a rs

have ye ll owd er win g tip s a nda bly h ad a y ello wla ge b an d a s w ell.

is u n ce rt ai n w h et he rs J un ke rs J u 88 D- lW e k us ta 27 s til l h a do ld er W ek us ta 2 6

de of 5M +H or hade n r em a rk ed w it he n ew W eku sta 2 7d e Q 5+ H. I t w aso to gr ap he d a t T ato i,e ec e in 1943 an dd a h eavy w aver or s q uig g le a p pl ie de r it s b as e 7 0- 71i n te r c amouf lageh eme. T h e f us e la g en d s ho uld h av ee n w hite fo r th eite rr an ea n b ut

p ea rs d ark er a ndg ht h av e b ee n a le fte r y ello w b an d fr omp re v io u s ow ne r.

Asalready mentioned, a newWekusta 26 (Ost) was formed on 15June 1944 at Dokudovoin central Russia to support that sector of the front for Luftflotte 6. It was assigned the code'5M' (Staffelletter U, such as 5M+CU) and moved to Kolberg in December and later toNeubrandenburg where it was disbanded on 14 February 1945.

Wekusta 27 - (FpN L 53048)Was formed out of the TeilstaffelSiid-Griechenland atTatoi,Greece inJune 1943 and assignedthe code 'Q5' (no Staffelletter). It flewweather and generalreconnaissance missions for over a year before being moved to Sernlin, Yugoslavia where itabsorbedWetterflugstelle Balkan on 1 September 1944 aspart of the general German retreatfrom Greece. In October it was relocated to Szombathely (Steinamanger), Hungary where itwas disbanded in December 1944.Wekusta 51- (FpN L 02349) Assignedthe code '4T' (Staffelletter H), this Staffelwas formedin Roth near Niirnberg during August 1939 with a compliment of Do 17, He 111 J andJu 52 aircraft to serve Luftflotte 3. It was relocated to Langendiebach on 3 October 1939 inpreparation for missions on the Western Front, and then after the French armistice movedagain to Tossus-le-Buc, France. Weather reconnaissance missions were flown around the

British Islesduring the air battle and later included longer-range flights over the Bay of Biscayand North Atlantic. In September 1942, the Staffelwas relocated to Nantes, France, then toRennes on 1August 1943 and toTours on 13June 1944.After the Allies started to break outof Normandy, it moved to Nancy for a few weeks before going to Jiiterbog, Germany inSeptember 1944. It was disbanded there on 24 October 1944, with the remnants beingabsorbed byWekusta 1.Wekusta 60 - The plan to establish this unit for Luftflotte 6 in the East never materialisedbut the Luftflotte did receive its own weather reconnaissance Staffel in June 1944 when

D or nie r D o 17 ZWNr. 1169 , cod5M +K o f W ekua t Smo le n sk , Ron 16 S ep tem beT he r ea r fu se lab ro ke n o ff e itht he a ir cr af t la n( ha d s uf fe re d df ro m e nem y f ira m issio n) o r be nem y b om b in go n th e a irfie ld .D o rn ie r w a s p aa s ta n da rd 7 0 -c amou fl ag e s ca nd h ad th e Wo wl e mb le m u ncockpi t .


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U NIT S . A IRe R AFT . E M B L EMS AND MAR KIN G S 2

Wekusta 76 - (FpN L 00009) Was established to supportLuftflotte 4.Wekusta 76 was formed in July 1939 at Zeltweg,Austriawith the code "5Z" (Staffel letter A). It moved to Schweidnitz inSilesia to fly weather missions for the campaign in Poland and thenback to Zeltweg in October after the hostilities were over.The unitwas relocated to Wien-Aspern in early 1940 and mainly conductedflight training there before being raised to operational status in April1941 for the offensive in the Balkans. It moved to Plovdiv(Philipp opolis) in Bulgaria on 13 April 1941 and then to Rzeszowin south-eastern Poland in May where it flew weatherreconnaissance missions during the opening phases of the invasionof Ru sia. In mid-August with the front moving eastward the unitwas ordered to Vinnitsa, south-west of Kiev where it stayed for overthree months before moving to Nikolayev in October which was itshome until August 1942. The southern sector of the Russian frontexpanded tremendously with the push into the Caucasus in 1942and it was soon recognised that it was too large for just one Wekusta.R ig ht: T his J un ke rs J u 8 80 -7 , c od ed 4 T+ GH o f W e ku sta 57 w a s p ho to gr ap he d in N a nte s, F ra nc ea s th e c re w w as b oa rd in g fo r a no th er m is sio n in 7943 or 1944 . It w as c am ou fla ge d in a n u nu su als ch em e c on sis tin g o f a lig ht c olo r ( eit he r 65 L ig ht B lu e o r 76 L ig ht G re y) o ve r- sp ra ye d w ith ad a rk c o lo r ( e it he r 71 D ar k G re en o r 74/75 D ark G re y) w av e m irro r s qu ig gle . T he c od e '4 T' w asv ery s ma ll s o th is w as p ro ba bly a r ep la ce m en t a ir cra ft fo r th e J u 88 0 -1 , W N r. 4 30 48 1 , co de d4 T+ G H t ha t h ad to d itc h in th e B ay o f B is ca y in F eb ru ary 7943 a ft er r un nin g o ut o f f ue l.

T h is H e in k el H e 7 17c od ed 4 T +GH o fWekus ta 51 s its o n aa ir fi el d i n F r an c eaw a it in g i ts n e xtm i s si on. The swas ti ka n d B a lk e nk re u ze at he ou tl in e - onl y s t yls o t he p h ot og ra p hw a s p ro b ab ly t ak e nin 1942 or 7943 . TheH e in k el w a s p a in te din a s ta nd ar d fa cto ry70-71-65pa in tscheme.

Junkers Ju 88 A4W.Nr. 5910, 5Z+RA served with Wekusta 76 and was lost in Russia on 14 April 1942.


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4 L U F TW A F FE SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

It was decided to split Wekusta 76 into two and the parent Staffel was disbanded on 31 July1942 at the same time that Wekusta 76/1 and Wekusta 76/2 were created. Wekusta 76/1 wasmoved to Mariupol and later to Novocherkassk in November 1942 while Wekusta 76/2 wasrelocated to Volchansk after forming to support the northern half of this sector. FromNovocherkassk, Wekusta 76/1 moved to Zaporozhye on 21 February 1943, to Focsani,Romania in March 1944, Mamaia and Buzau in April and to Debrecen, Hungary in May.Wekusta 76/2 also began the long retreat back by moving to Nikolayev in September 1943,Odessa in November and Proskurov in December before leaving Russian territory forJasionka, Poland on 29 January 1944. Both Wekusta 76/1 and Wekusta 76/2 ended up inSzekesfehervar, Hungary, SW of Budapest, where they were both disbanded in September1944. As far as the code was concerned, the '5Z' (Staffelletter A) was on aircraft lost by bothunits although there has been some speculation that Wekusta 76/2 used the code '5Z' (Staffelletter B).Wetterkette Nord - Was formed in April 1940 at Langendiebach with crews and aircraftfrom Wekusta 26 and Wekusta 51. As Norway was occupied, it moved to its new base atStavanger where the aircraft flew their missions still marked with the codes of the formerunits. The Kette was expanded to a full Staffel and moved to Vaernes in September 1940where it was renamed asWekusta 5 the same month.Wetterkette Siidnorwegen - Also referred to as Wetterkette Stavanger, this small unit wasformed in late 1941 as a detachment ofWekusta 1 Ob.d.L. to cover the gap in reconnaissanceflights between Wekusta 5 and Wekusta 1 Ob.d.L.When the new operational code 'D7' (Staffelletter H) was assigned to Wekusta 1 in the summer of 1942, this Kette was assigned the Staffelletters VH to ZH for its aircraft, although in actual practice many letters from AH to ZH werereported operating out ofStavanger. It was later expanded to a full Staffel and became Wekusta3 in January 1944.Wetterkette West - This unit was also a detachment ofWekusta 1/0KL at Rhein-Mainairbase to provide service for Lufiwaffenkornmando West. The Wetterkette started operationson 1 September 1944 with Junkers Ju 88 S-3. aircraft still marked with the 'D7' (StaffelletterH) code. On 23 March 1945 it moved to Ingolstadt and on 1 April to Husum where it was

recombined with its parent Wekusta 1.Weather reconnaissance flights were also

conducted by some operational unitswith long-range aircraft such as KG 40,FAGr.5, SAGr.129 and SAGr.130. Theywould fly combination weather and generalreconnaissance missions with Meteorologistsfrom the Werterdienst.

t is n ot h ard to id en tif y t his D o rn ie r D o 17 P -l a s it h ad W ette rflu g R he in -M ain ' p ain te d o nh in d t he em blem w hic h c le ar ly a ss ig ns it to Wet te r fl ugs te l le Rhe in -Ma in .

T he p h o to gr ap h w as ta ke n in 1939 a nd th e D orn ie r w as p ain te d in a s ta nd ard 7 0-7 1lin te r u pp er s ur fa ce w ith 65 L igh t B l ue unde rs ides .

R IGHT : T h is J u nk er s J u 52 belonged to a n u nk no w n w ea th eru nit - p ro ba bly o ne o f th e W ette rflu gs te lle n. It w asp ho to gr ap he d in G e rm a ny d ur in g 1942 or 1943 . The emb lem


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U NIT S . A IRe R AFT . E M B L EMS AND MAR KIN G S 2

Flugbereitschaften

The communications and courier duties of a headquarters staff could be provided byeither a Stabskette/Stabsschwarm or an attached Flugbereitschaft. However, theStabskette/Stabsschwann versus a Plugbereitschafi question can only be answered on aunit by unit ba is, and even then without certainty due to the destruction of wartime

documents. One observation can be made for certain though and that is if a higherheadquarters or command was large enough or important enough to warrant its ownFlugbereitschaft (duty or on-call flight), then it definitely did not also have a separateStabskette or Stabsschwarm. Generally, if the number of aircraft authorised to support theofficial duties of the Stab or Komrnando (command or headquarters) exceeded four or five,then a Flugbereitschaft was established as part of its table of organisation. Any Stabskette orStabsschwarrn that may have already existed was incorporated into the Flugbereitschaft. Inmost cases, especially for the higher headquarters and commands, the Flugbereitschaft wascustom tailored with a separate KstN (Kriegsstarkenachweisung - wartime table oforganisation) for each one, being dependent on individual needs in terms of aircraft types andthe number required. Since the Flugbereitschaft u ually had a Feldpostnummer that was thesame as its parent unit, it then becomes nearly impossible to identify when a particularFlugbereitschaft was initially established. Sometimes, the Flugbereitschaft would be assigned asuffix of its parent headquarters Feldpostnummer - for instance, FpN L 52039 D might havebeen the Feldpostnummer of the Flugbereitschaft for Luftflottenkommando 1, rather than aseparate FpN of its own (the 'D' at the end of the FpN for the Luftflottenkommandoindicating the Flugbereitschaft). There were no definitive rules for using these sub-letters,which were issued at the unit level if needed and at their discretion.For the Luftflotten, it seems certain that each one had its own Flugbereitschaft by October

or November 1939.A loss report entry for the Flugbereitschaft/Luftflotte 4 on 28 November1939 is the earliest date documented so far. There were literally hundreds ofFlugbereitschaften which could be found in many different types of units such as aPallschirrnjagerdivision, Fallschirrnjagerkorps, Feldluftgau-Kommando, Flakkorps,Fliegerdivision, Fliegerfiihrer, Fliegerkorps, Komm.General der Luftwaffe, Luftflotte, Luftgau-Kornmando, Luftgau Stab z.b.V, Luftwaffe Kornmando, and some Geschwader formationsincluding Flugi.iberfuhrungsgeschwader 1 (also the Flugiiberfuhrungsgruppe) andFliegerverbindungsgeschwader 2. Flugbereitschaften were also attached to special units suchas Flugber.beim Befehlshaber Serbien, Flugber.beim Befehlshaber Mitte, Flugber.beimBefehlshaber Bulgarien, Flugber.beim Befehlshaber Rumanien, Flugber.des BefehlshaberSi.idgriechenland, Flugber.des Reichsfiihrer-Sx, Flugber.des Reichsminister Todt,Flugber.Angriffsfi.ihrer England, Flugbereitschaft G.L. (Generalluftzeugmeister) - Duty flight,Chief of Air Force Supply and Procurement, Flugbereitschaft Generalluftzeugmeister(Flugber. G.L.) - Duty flight, Chief of Air Force Supply and Procurement,Flugber. Generalluftzeugmeister (Adlershof), Flugber. Generalluftzeugmeister (Villacoublay),Flugber.Ob.d.L. (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe), Flugber.OBS and Flugber.RLM Staaken.Some of the Flugbereitschaften were assigned Verbandskennzeichen (operational codes) butmost operated aircraft still with their individual Stammkennzeichen.Flugber.lLuftflotte 2 - Because there were a very large number of Flugbereitschaften, itwould be impossible to provide a detailed breakdown of each one so we will concentrate onthe Flugber.lLuftflotte 2 to provide a more detailed picture of this important communicationsunit. As mentioned above, whether a headquarters had a Stab flight or a Flugbereitschaftdepended entirely on the number of aircraft they needed. For example, one to four aircraftwould probably be assigned to a Stab flight (Stabskette) while a large headquarters such as


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L U F TWA FF E SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

Poland in June 1941. Luftflotte 2 and its Flugbereitschaft fought on the Ea tern Front forabout six months being based at Minsk in July 1941, Orsha in August and Smolensk inSeptember. After that, it was moved to the Mediterranean and was based in Rome-Ciampinostarting in December 1941, where it remained until September 1943 when it was relocatedto Castellana which was its last duty station before being reduced to aVerbindungsstaffel inJune 1944. The Verbindungsstaffel was finally disbanded on 6 September 1944. In February1943, the Flugbereitschaft was assigned the operational code 'F5' (Staffelletter H) althoughmany aircraft were not remarked and continued to use their Stanunkennzeichen. It appearsthat Kesselring's personal transports and some other aircraft in the unit had an emblemconsisting of a shield with crossed batons and a small '2' underneath to distinguish them fromthe other Flugbereitschaft aircraft. A sample of some of the aircraft assigned to this unit isillustrated in the following loss information:These aircraft were damaged by Allied bombing at Ciampino Aerodrome (Rome) on 18

and 19July 1943 (source: Generalquartiermeister 6.Abt. Loss Reports).Do 217 K-1 WNr. 4460 25%Do 217 K-1 WNr. 4485 25%Do 217 E-4 WNr. 4329 25%Do 217 E-4 WNr. 5387 65%Ju 88 A-4 WNr. 0411 25%Ju 52/3m WNr. 0525 90%Ju 52/3m WNr. 3343 100%He 111 H-3 WNr. 5706 15%Fi 156 C-3/trop WNr. 1234 40%Ju 52/3m WNr. 314 15%Some of the other

aircraft included Fh 104coded SG+GB, Do 217K-1, WNr. 4429 codedCF+ PB (before going toF5+FH) and Do 217 K-1,WNr. 4486.

T his H e in ke l HH -3 , WN r. 3 34c od ed VC +XPb elo ng ed t o thF l ugbe r. /L u ft fl oa nd w as th e pa ir cr af t o f G e nA l fr e d Ke ll er ,c omm an de r oLuftflotte 1. T hb as e o f th is u nBe r li n- S ta a kenc re w to ok o vea ir cr aft fr om tF l ugbe r.RLM Son 22 J u ly 1 9 4fle w it at lea stFebruary 1944s ho wn d ur in gw in te r o f 1 94 2in R us sia w itht empo r ar y w i nwh it e u p pe r scamouf la ge scIt a pp ea rs to hh ad y e ll ow u nt ip s b ut if it hafu se la ge b an dp ain te d o ve r i

E : A J un ke rs J u 88 A -5 , WN r. 3 09 8, c o de d B L+ NO, n am e d 'G er t' w a s p ho to gr ap he dt h A fr ic a s om e tim e d ur in g la te 1941 or 1942 . T he a ir cr af t w a s a ss ig ne d t o t he2 a nd th e c olo ur p ho to gra ph s ho ws it w as p ain te d in a s an d y ello w u pp er

a ce w it h d ar k g re en s qu ig gle s, a w h ite f us ela ge b an d a nd p ro pe lle r h ub s, a lo ng w ith7 0 B la ck G re en p ro pe lle r b la de s.

B E LOW T his O or nie r 00 217 J c o de d N9 +AA b el on ge d t o t he F lu gb e r. /L uf tf lo tt e 5 a nin A la k ur tt i, F in la nd i n Ma rc h 1944 . T he a ir cr aft h ad a lig ht ly s pr ay ed p at ch w or k o f ww hite o ve r its m ore s ta nd ar d g re en s plin te r s ch em e. It w as th e p ers on al tra ns po rt oG e n. Lt .J os ef K amm hu be r a s s ig nif ie d b y t he c omm an d p en na nt o n th e n os e.


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UN IT S , A IR e R AFT , E M B L EMS AND MAR K IN G S

w as a s ta rk c on tra st b etw ee n th is d ark -c olo ure d H ein ke l H e 46 C , c od ed R T+ AY a n dr ou nd in g s no w. T he a ir cr af t w as a ss ig ne d to th e F lu gb er.R LM a nd h ad a s plin te r 7 0G r ee n a n d 71 D ar k G re en u pp er su rfa ce a nd 65 L ig ht B lu e u nd er s urfa ce s. It h ad afu se la ge b an d a nd c od e le tte rs o utlin ed in th e s am e c olo ur - n otic e it a ls o h ad s kise o f t he n or ma l ty re s.

l e r F i 15 6 C - 2 'S to rc h ', c o de d CK +NY , b el on g ed t o t he l it tl e- kn owne r. /LwBe fe h ls h ab e r M i tt e in S e pt embe r 1941 . F ro m th e little th at c an b e s ee n, a ll th ats aid is th at it w as p ain te d in a d ark g re en s ch em e (p os sib ly th e s ta nd ard 7 0-7 1pa tt e rn ) w i th 65 L igh t B lue under s ides .

W h ile n ot of th e b es t q ua lity , th is p ho to gra ph s ho ws a n o ld J un ke rs W 34 h i c od ed B l+ Cwh ic h w a s a ss ig n ed t o t he F lu g be r. /L u ft fl ot te 1 a t L an ds hu t in M ay 1945 . The o r ig ina l L ip ain t s ch em e ( RLM 0 2 G re y- Gr ee n? ) h ad b ee n o ve rs pr ay ed w ith d ar ke r- co lo ur ed b lo tc h

A b ov e: A p h ot og ra p h of t he emb lem of th eF lu gb er ./L uft flo tt e I on a F i 15 6 'Storch'. Flugber.l

Luftflotte 1 Badg

Th e F ie s el er 'S to rc h'on e of t he mo st w id e lyused a ir c ra f t, e s pec iaam on g t he s up po rt u nH er e, th is F i 16 5 C-2,IN.Nr. 4429 , c od e d B l+of t h e F lugbe r. /Lu ft fl ot tis s ho wn in R us sia d uth e la te s umme r of 19T he a ircra ft h ad as tanda rd 70 -71 sp li nt ep at te rn s ch em e a lo nga y ello w f us ela ge b an


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L U F TWA FF E SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

is M es se rs ch mitt B f 1 08 0 c od ed R I+ AX , w as a ls o a ss ig ne d to th e F lu gb er.R LM a nd w aso gr ap he d in K ir ch he im , G e rm a ny in th e s umme r o f 1 94 0, It is d if fic ult to d ete rm in e th eo ur s ch em e b ut it a pp ea rs to b e R LM 0 2 G re y-G re en o ve ra ll w ith a y ello w fu se la ge b an do n t o f t he B e lk e nk re u z.

E : T h is F ie s ele r F i 15 6 c - t c od ed W L-IN O B, o f th eb er./O b,d L w as p ark ed in a fie ld in F ra nc e d urin g 1 94 0,

e 'S to rc h' h ad a ty pic al fa cto ry 7 0- 71 s plin te r s ch em eh a ll b la ck c od es ,

G H T:A b us y s ce ne a t G u te nfe ld , G e rm a ny in A ug us t 1 93 9th th e a irc ra ft H e 7 0 F c od ed W L-O VY T, Ju 86 E c od e dA LG A , W 34 c od ed O -O TU X a n d W 34 c od e d D -OD IH

th e F lu gb er ./ Lu ftp ar k G u te nf eld p ar ke d w ith s om e B f 1 09

Russ ia , s ummer 19 4 1 , a J u 5 2/3 m, W N r. 5447 , c od ed TD +MX , o f t he F lu gb er .G L is beip re pa re d fo r a no th er m is sio n, P ain ed in a s ta nd ard R LM 7 0 B la ck G re en a nd 71 Da rks plin te r p atte rn w ith b la ck u nd er s urfa ce s, th e J un ke rs a ls o h ad a y ello w fu se la ge b aa nd u nd er win g tip s,

L E FT : T hi s Me s se rs c hm i tt B f 1 0 8,WN r . 2 1 10 , c o d e d RC+YZ , o f t he F lu g be r. /L u ft flo tt e 4to g rie f in S olk olo v, R u ss ia o n 11 July 19 4 7 . It w as flo wn b y G efr.B ru ns ma nn a nd is belo oke d ove r b y him an d so me o th er L uftw affe pe rso nne l. T he B f 10 8h ad w ha t loo ks ta n 0 2 G re y- Gr ee n a nd 71 D ar k G re en s plin te r u pp er s ur fa ce w ith 65 L ig h t B lu e u n de rsa nd a y ello w fu se la ge b an d,

A BOV E: h is F i 156 C-3 ,W N r . 4 4 13 , c od ed N A +K H , o f t he F lu gb er ./F la kk or ps " w a sp ho to gra ph ed o n a c hilly d ay in R us sia d urin g th e w in te r o f 1941 - 42 It w as p ain te d ins ta n da rd 7 0 -7 1 s p lin te r p a tt er n w it h 65 L ig ht B lu e u nd er s ur fa ce s a nd y ello w u nd er win


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U N IT S , A IR e R A F T , E M B L E M S A N D M A R K IN G S

W A do lf H itle r a nd H erm an n G orin g sh ake h an ds in fro nt o f th e F i 15 6 C-I,d R I+AR be long ing to t h e Fugber .RLM at Wo lfs pla tz , G e rm a ny in J un e 1 94 0.a in t s ch em e o n th e 'S to rc h' w as p ro ba bly R LM 0 2 G re y-G re en o r 63 L igh t G rey.

Ano the r a i rc r af t o f t he F l ugbe r. /Lu ft fl ot te 4 - th is D or nie r D o 17 Z -3 c od e d I V+HA,s o p h ot og ra p he d in S e pt embe r 1 9 3 9 . T his a irc ra ft w as f in is he d in a s ta n da rd 7 0 -7 1r u p pe r s u rf ac e w it h 65 L ig ht B lu e u nd er s id es , w ith a ll b la ck co de s.

The l it tl e k nown Ve rbandskennze ic hen 'IV ' IS ta ffe lle tte r A i w as u se d b y th e4 fo r a re la tiv ely s ho rt tim e fr om J uly to November 1 9 3 9 . T his J u 5 2/3 m

h e co de IV +? ? a nd w as p ho to gra ph ed in S ep te mb er 1 9 3 9 . I t a ppea r s to b e p ain te d inM 0 2 G r ey -G re en o ve ra ll s ch em e w ith b la ck e ng in e c ow lin gs a nd e xh au st b an ds o n

A no th er M e ss er sc hm itt B f lO B c od ed IV +C A, b elo ng in g to thFlugber./Luftflotte 4 w as p ho to gr ap he d in th e s ummer of 1 9 3a nd w as a ls o fin is he d in a n o ve ra ll 0 2 G re y- Gr ee n c am o ufla gs ch em e w ith a ll w hite c od es . It lo ok s lik e th e c od e IY +C A mh av e b ee n p ain te d o n th e u pp er w in g s urfa ce b ut it is hardte ll fo r s ur e b ec au se of t he a n gl e of the photograph.

B elo w: T his M e ss ers chm itt B f lO B c od ed IV +D A, b elo ng edthe Flugber. /Luftf lot te 4 i n Augus t 1 9 3 9 when t he p h ot og ra p hw as t ak en . It a pp ea rs to b e p ain te d in a R LM 0 2 G re y-G re eno ve ra ll s ch em e a nd h ad w hite c od es w ith th e IY +D A a lsop ain te d o n t he w in g u pp er s ur fa ce s.

A BOVE : T h is F ie se le r F i 15 6 C -l c od ed C E+ GX ,w as p ark ed o n a R us sia n fie ld in th e s ummof 194 2 w he n th e p ho to gr ap h w as ta ke n. I t w as a ss ig ne d t o t he F lu gb er ./L uftf lo tte 1 a nda c omm an din g g en era l p en na nt o n th e ta il. It w as c am ou fla ge d in a s ta nd ard fa cto ry R LB la ck G re en a nd 71 D ar k G re en s plin te r s ch em e a nd h ad a y ello w f us ela ge b an d, u nd erwt ip s a n d f ro n t of t he p ro pe lle r s pin ne r. T he u nd er s ur fa ce w as p ain te d 65 L igh t B l ue .


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LUFTW AFFE SUPPORT UN ITS

Th eF l u gb e r. /F la kk o rp s I I o p er at ed t hi s F i 15 6 C- 3, W N r. 5 21 4,d N K +W F in R us sia ju st b ef or e th e F la kk or ps II w as d is ba nd ed .p s w as p art o f H ee re sg ru pp e S ud d urin g th e o pe nin g o f

a ro ss a a nd h ad its o wn F lu gb ere its ch aft u ntil it w as d is ba nd ed o n1942 in c en tr al R u ss ia . T he F lu gb er eit sc ha ft w as p as se d o n t o th e

a kd iv is io n w h ic h w as th e o nly F la k u nit u nd er t he K or ps a t th at tim e .'S to rc h' h ad a s ta nd ar d 7 0- 71 s plin te r c am o ufla ge w ith a y ello wa ge b an d a nd u nd er vv in g t ip s. T he em blem , a s qu ar e s hie ld w ith a ne av e a nd tw o a co rn s, o f th e II.F la k-K orp s o n th e e ng in e c ov er w asn ue d in u se b y t he 1 8.F la kd iv is io n a t le as t fo r a s ho rt tim e .

F i ese le r F i 1 56 C 'S to rc h' b e lo n ge d t o t he F lu g be r. /L u ft ga u -K d o.Mos ka u a n d w a sg ra p he d i n R u ss ia d u ri ng 1942 . O nly th e le tte r '0 ' o f th e S ta mm ke nn ze ic he n c an b ein th e p ho to gr ap h ( ?O + ?? ). I t h ad a s ta nd ar d f ac to ry 7 0- 71 s plin te r u pp er s ur fa cef la ge s ch em e w ith th e r ar ely s ee n em blem fo r th is u nit.

T he se tw o p ho to gra ph s s ho w F i 15 6 C-3/ trop 'S to rch ',WNr . 5673 , c od ed B H+WG b elo ng in g to th eF lu g be r. /V II I. Fl ie g er ko rp s , w h ic h h a d c ra s he d in R u ss iaon 24 July 1942 a nd s uffe re d 8 0% d am ag e. T he se tw o c olop ho to gra ph s w ere ta ke n s ho rtly a fte r th e c ra sh a nd c le ars ho ws th e 7 0- 71 s plin te r c am o uf la ge s ch em e , y ello w fu seb a nd a n d w h it e o u tl in e d S tammke n nz e ic h en .

B ELOW: T he F lu gb er. /F lie ge rfu hre r A frik a a ls o o pe ra te d a t le as t o ne 'S to rc h' a s te stifieth is p ho to gra ph o f F i 15 6 C - 3/ tr op , WN r . 5451 , c od ed P P+ QL , t ak en in th e s umm er o f 1It w as p ain ted in th e d ese rt sch em e o f R LM 79 S an d- Br ow n a nd 78 L ig ht B lu e u nd ers urfa ce s. T he c od es w ere b la ck a nd th ere w ere n o w hite th ea tre m ark in gs ..

T h is F ie se le r F i 156 C -3 'S to rc h: W Nr. 5837 , c od ed N B+ Y N, b elo ng ed to th eF lu gb er ./F lie ge rk or ps V III a nd w as th e p er so na l tr an sp ort o f G e n. v on R ic hth of en . I t h ad7 0- 71 s plin te r u pp er s ur fa ce s ch em e w ith 65 L ig ht B lu e u nd er sid es , y ello w u nd er vv in ga nd a com man d p en na nt o n th e ta il.


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e be l F h 1 04 c o de d B l+ KB b elo ng ed to th e F lu gb er /F lie ge rk or ps I. It a pp ea rs to b e p ain te d63 L ig ht G r ey or p os sib ly 0 2 G r ey -G re en o ve ra ll a nd c le arly s ho ws th e e mb le m u se d b y.

L EF TA ND B EL OW T he se tw ophotographs of a D orn ie r D o 21 5 Bof the Flugber. /Luf t flo t te 2, wereta ke n in N orth A fric a in th e s um m erof 1942. I t h a d a 7 0 -7 1 s p li nt eru pp er s urf ac e c am o ufla ge w ith6 5 L ig h t B lu e u nd e rs id es ( w it ha lig ht d ark g re en m ottle d ow nth e fu se la ge s id es , a nd a w hitef us el ag e b a nd , u nd er w in g t ip sa nd p r op e ll er sp in n e rs .

Flugber.!Luftflotte 2 Badge

T hi s H e in k el H e 11 1 H-3,WNr . 33??, c od ed V C +X ?w as a ss ig ne d to th eFlugber./Luftf lotte 5an dw as p ho to gra ph ed a tA l aku rt ti , F in la n d. T hea irc ra ft h ad a s ta nd ard 771 -6 5 f ac t or y camouf la g e,w hit e c od es a nd a y ello wfu se la ge b an d p lu s th ec omm an d p en na nt o n th eta il. It w as la te r c od edN9+KA.


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2 L U FT W AF FE SUP P 0 R TUN ITS

GHTAND BE LOWd t o t ra n sp o rt

s t iansen, th is58 C c od ed D -D P DV ,s a ss ig ne d to th ee h ls h ab e r d e re de rla nd e a nd b as ed inversum, Ho l land .e p h o to gr ap h w a s ta ke nt he a ut um n of 1940.e p ain t s ch em e is

c lose-up of th e n os e is of Fi 15 6 C - 3, WN r . 5153, c od ed K H+ YM , b elo ng ed to4 a nd w as u se d b y G en era l A le xa nd er L dh r a nd it a ls o o ffe rs a g oo d v ie w

th e e mb le m u se d b y th e u nit. It is a ls o a little e as ie r to id en tify th e fa cto ry s plin te r 7 0-7 1m o ufla ge s ch em e . L dh r b ec am e t he fir st c omm an de r of Luftflotte 4 w he n it w as fo rm edMa rc h 1939 a nd in th e sa me m on th he w as pro moted to G en eral de r F lieg er. H e w asom ote d to G e ne ra l O b er st in M a y 1941 a s a re wa rd fo r h is e ffo rts in th e B alk an c am pa ig n,

c o nt in u ed t o c ommand L u ft fl ot te 4 unt i l 1 J uly 1 94 2.

P ho to gr ap he d in J as io nk a, R u ss ia in J uly 1941, th is F i 15 6 C -3 , WN r. 5153, c od ed K Hwas ass igned t o t he F l ugbe r. /Lu ft fl ot te 4 a nd w as th e p ers on al tra ns po rt fo r G en era lA lexander liihr th e L uftflo tte n C he f. T he u pp er s urfa ce p ain t s ch em e s ee ms to b e ad ar k g re en o ve ra ll b ut it w a s p ro ba bly a s ta nd ar d fa cto ry 7 0- 71 s plin te r s ch em e .T he F lu gb ere its ch aft w as b as ed a t K ra ka u in th e e arly w ee ks of the w ar in th e E ast,m ov ed to J as io nk a o n 1 0 Ju ly 1941, an d th en on to M ariu pol o n 5 N o vem be r 1 94 1w h er e it s ta ye d u ntil th e s pr in g o f 1 94 2.

T he p ho to gra ph is n ot to o s ha rp , a lth ou gh it d oe s o ffe r o ne of th e fe w v ie ws a va ila blF lu g be r. /L u ft ga u -K d o. No rw e ge n 'S to rc h '. T h e F ie s el er F i 15 6 C -2 , W N r. 4 40 8, c od edw as ta ke n in O cto be r 1941 in e it he r N o rw a y or F in la nd . It w a s p ain te d in a s ta nd ar d7 0- 71 s plin te r p atte rn w ith b la ck c od e le tt er s a nd n o o th er m a rk in gs .


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U NIT S , A IRe R AFT . E M B L EMS AND MAR K IN G S 3

156 C-3 ' S to r ch : c oded CE+GX ,be longed t o t he F l ugbe r. /Lu ft fl ot te I a nd w asaphed i n Russi a i n l at e Ma r ch 1942. I t h a d a t yp ic a l f ac to ry 7 0 -7 1 s p li nt er p a tt er n a lo n gy ello w fu se la ge b an d a nd u nd er win g tip s, p lu s a c omman d p en na nt o n th e r ud de r.

ese ler F i 15 6 C -3 /tro p, W N r. 5 3B 3, c od ed G G +M S w as a ss ig ne d to th e6 a nd w as p ho to gr ap he d in R us sia b et we en its m is sio ns . T he p ho to gr ap h

th e e mb le m w ell a lo ng w ith a m ys te rio us s ma ll w hite circ le o n th e u pp er ta il. It w asin a s ta nd ard fa cto ry 7 0-7 1 s plin te r p atte rn a nd h ad a y ello w fu se la ge b an d a nd

ke ly underw ing t ip s .A BOVE : T h e F lu g be r. /Lw .K d o.Os t w a s a ss ig n ed t he V e rb a nd sk e nn ze ic h en 'B C ' ( St af fe l l et tH ) i n th e s umm er of 194 2 which is v is ib le in t hi s p h ot og ra p h of a Fi 15 6 C ' S to rch ' be longinto th at u nit ta ke n in S ep tem be r 1942. T he F lu gb er eits ch aft c am e fr om th eF lugber ./ F li ege rk o rps V i n Ap ri l of th at y ea r a nd c on tin ue d to u se th eir o ld c od e XI' (Staffle tte r A) for a few m onth s. T he em blem can just b e se en o n th e n ose an d the aircra ft ha d7 0- 71 s plin te r p atte rn w ith a v ello v f us ela ge b an d (a nd p ro ba bly u nd er win g tip s) .

h e F l u gb e r. /Lw .K d o.O st u se d t he V e rb a nd s ke n nz ei ch e n 'K I' ( St af fe l le tt er A ) f roma ro u nd J ul y 1942 a nd th en s witc he d to 'B C' ( Sta ffe l le tte r H ). It w as re na me d to th e

6 on 6 May 1943 a nd c on tin ue d to u se th e 'B C' c od e u ntil th e s prin g o fe n it s wit ch ed to 'K I' ( St affe l le tte r H ). T his F i 155 C ha d the co de K l+ RA an dd to th e F lu gb er ./L w.K do .O st s o th e p ho to gr ap h m u st h av e b ee n ta ke n s om e t im en A p ri l a n d J ul y 1942. N ote th e e mb le m p ain te d o n th e re ar of t he n o se .

A BOV E: A c lo se r v ie w of th e F i 156 C ' St o rc h ', c odeKI+RA, of t h e F f ugbe r. /Lw .Kdo .Os t i n Russi a du ri ngm id 1942. Th e c od e XI' ( St aff el le tte r A ) h ad a nin te re stin g h is to ry firs t b ein g a ss ig ne d to t heStab/Fliegerdivision 5 a nd th en in O cto be r 1939 to tF u hr un g sk et te /F li eg e rk or ps V Th e Fu hr un g sk et te wd isb an de d in th e s umm er o f 1 94 0b ut th e c od e w asu s ed i n p a ra ll el b V t he F lu g be r. /F lie g er ko rp s Vfro m A pril 1 94 0. T he fin al s te p w as w he n th eF lu gb er eits ch aft w as r en am e d to th eF l ugbe r. /Lw .Kdo .Os t i n Ap r il o f 1 94 2. Th e d iv id in g l inb etw ee n th e R LM 7 0 B la ck G re en a nd 71 Da rk G r eec an ju st b e s ee n o n t he o rig in al p ho to gra ph .


35/97


: F o ck e -Wu lf Fw 18 9 A w as ass ig ned to the2 an d is s ho w n b ein g in sp ec te d b y G en er al

s el ri ng . T h e Fw 18 9 h ad a s ta nd ar d f ac to ry 7 0 -7 1 s p l in te rt s c heme w it h t he f am i li ar F lu g be r. /L uf tf lo tt e 2 emblemb elo w th e c oc kp it .

HT : T h e F l u gb er ./ Fla k ko rp s I o pe ra te d t his F o ck e -Wu lf Fw9 A- I, WN r. 0 17 6, c o de d KC +J Z in R u ss ia d ur in g t he la te r h alf1941 . T he a irc ra ft lo ok ed fa ir ly n ew a nd w as fin is he d in aM 7 0 B la ck G re en a nd 71 Da rk G r ee n u pp er s ur fa c e s p li nt ero u fl ag e s c heme w it h 65 L ig ht B lu e u nd er si de s a nd y e llo we la ge bands .

F oc ke -W u lf F w 18 9 A -I, WN r. 0 15 9, c od ed KC +J I, w as a ss ig ne d t o th e F lu gb er ./ Lu ftf lo tt e 2 a nd w a s p ho to gr apth e s umm er o f 1941 . T he a ir cr af t h ad a s ta nd ar d f ac to ry 7 0- 71 s p lin te r c am o uf la ge fin is h a nd b ec au se t he L uw as in R us sia u ntil D ec em be r a ls o h ad a y ello w fu se la ge b an d.

e J un ke rs J u 5 2/3 m c od ed B T+ AV wa s o pe ra te d b y th e2 b etwee n No vembe r 1939 a nd t hemm er o f 1941 . It w as p ro ba bly t he p er so na l t ra ns po rt o f G e ne ra llm y , w h o lik ed t o n am e h is a ir cr aft 'S cb eic h' (S he ik h).p ea rs t o b e p ain te d in a n o ve ra ll R L M 0 2 G r e y- Gr ee n fin is h

LEFT: The Flugber ./Luftf lo tte 2 w as one of the larges t o f tF lu gb er eits ch af te n a nd o pe ra te d a w id e v ar ie ty o f a ir cr aT his H ein ke l H e 11 1 H -2 c od ed N G+ JO , w as p ho to gra ph eN or th A fric a in 1941 a nd w as p ain te d in th e o ve ra ll s an d-d es ert s ch em e w ith a w hite fu se la ge b an d. It is b el ie ve dG erm an s u se d th e s an d- ye llo w Ita lia n p ain t fo r a tim e b eow n R LM 78 L ig ht B lu e a nd 79 Y ello w B ro wn p ain ts w er eavailable.


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U N I T S . A IR e R A f T . E M B L E M S A N D M A R K IN G S

Sanitatsflugbereitschaften

While the majority of injured and wounded men were taken to a front line dressingstation or to a hospital in the rear area by ambulance, truck or railway, it was veryimportant to transport the critically wounded to a medical facility as soon aspossible. The first trials with ambulance aircraft took place at the end of 1937 when a fewJunkers Ju 52/3m aircraft (with the inscription San.Flz, 1 to 4) were operated by KG 253 atGotha. However, the exact accomplishments and fate of this small detachment is unknown.The new service was formalised with Kriegsstarkenachweis (KstN - Wartime Table ofOrganisation) 5393 (L) dated 1 November 1938 for the Sanitatsflugbereitschafien (DutyAmbulance Flights) and called for one physician officer, 13 NCOs, two men, three ambulanceJunkers Ju 52/3m aircraft, each capable of taking eight stretcher cases, and two buses. The nextunit was formed at Stendal in early 1939 and eventually became Sanitatsflugbereitschafi 7.Another new unit was formed late in August 1939 to serve in the Polish campaign and it laterbecame Sanitatsflugbereitschaft 11. The next Sanitatsflugbereitschafi was formed in early 1940by X.Fliegerkorps to support the invasion of Denmark and Norway. Shortly after the spring1940 campaign in Norway, the number ofJu 52s was increased to five or six and the stretchercapacity to 12.The bulk of the Sanitatsflugbereitschaften were then formed on 8 March 1941in preparation for the coming operation Barbarossa. Three further Sanitatsflugbereitschafiwere formed later, which brought the total number formed to eleven.

On the basis of experience gained during the 1941 campaign in North Africa, eachSanitarsflugbereitschaft was provided with four Fieseler Fi 156 'Storch' short take-off andlanding aircraft to pick up wounded directly behind the front and fly them to the rear forfurther transport. A ground ambulance section (Krankenkraftwagenzug) with 12 ambulanceswas eventually incorporated into each San.Plugbereitschafi during 1943-44, giving the unit anincrease in total strength to around 130 personnel. A Sanitatsflugbereitschaft was theoreticallysubordinated to a Fliegerkorps, but in practice, was often under a Luftflotte and sometimes evenunder a Fliegerdivision. Records include ten numbered units; San. Flugber. 1-8, San.Flugber.lland San.Flugber.17 plus San. Flugber (S), San. Flugber.Smolensk, San.Flugber.z.b.V andSanitatsstaffel Wismar. Some of the airborne ambulance units were assigned an operational codein late 1944 and early 1945 with only one being identified to date - San.Flugber.2 with 'B8'(Staffelletter H). The only other units that may have also been assigned an operational codewere Sanitatsflugbereitschafi 8 and 11, with all the others having already been disbanded.

BE LOW : Th is isano the r pho tog rapo f J u 5 2/3 m ,WNr. 7349, codedW L +A FD E, a s it hb ee n c am o ufla ge da p re -w et s ta nd aRLM 70 Black-Grean d 7 7 Dark-Grees p li nt er s ch eme6 5 L ig h t B lu eunder s ides a longw ith red cro ssesw hit e c ir cle in a llp os it io n s. T h ep ho to gr ap h w ast ak en a t S te n da ld ur in g J uly 7 93 9

e rs J u 5 2 /3m , WN r. 7349, c od ed W L+ AF DE fro m a nown e ar ly S a ni ta ts flu g be re it sc ha ft i n P o la n d d u ri ng

7939. It w as p ain te d w hite o ve ra ll w ith b la ckn e c ow lin gs a nd w in g e xh au st s hie l

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Luftwaffe Support Units 1933-1945