1./NAGr. 2
1./NAGr. 2
(Unit Code J8+)
Formation. (March 1943)
Formed March 1943 at Jesau/East Prussia (ex-4.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 10) and equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 109Gs outfitted for the reconnaissance role.[1]
South Russia. (April 1943 - May 1944)
April – May 1943: unconfirmed sources state that the Staffel used Mariupol and Kharkov during this two-month period. On 1 May it had 10 Bf 109 G-4 assigned to it.
30 May 1943: Fw 189 A-2 crash landed at Kuteynikovo/123 km north-west of Rostov, 25%.
4-9 July 1943: 5 Bf 109 G-4 crashes and accidents at Kharkov-North, some involving combat-damaged aircraft. Staffe1 had transferred there to take part in Operation Zitadelle, the German offensive along the Kursk salient.
10 July 1943: Kharkov-North and probably under NAGr. 6 - reported 13(5) Bf 109s on strength.
3 August 1943: Bf 109G shot down in Pl.Qu.6158 (between Kharkov and Belgorod),
100%, pilot KIA.
3 August 1943: Bf 109G shot up by a fighter in Pl.Qu.61364 (between Kharkov and Belgorod), 30%, pilot WIA.
6 August 1943: Bf 109G shot down by a fighter over Belgorod, 100%, pilot MIA.
12 August 1943: Bf 109G shot down by a fighter in the Belgorod-Bogodukhov area, 100%, Oblt. Rudolf Eitelbach MIA.
15 August 1943: Bf 109 G-4 shot down by a fighter in Pl.Qu.5173 (north-west of Kharkov), 100%, Oblt. Karl Bartels WIA.
3 September 1943: Bf 109 G-6 shot up by ground fire near Kharkov, 40%.
9 September 1943: Bf 109 G-4 damaged landing at Mirgorod airfield/185 km west of Kharkov, 50%.
14 September 1943: Bf 109 G-6 shot down by an enemy aircraft in Pl.Qu.3155 (Mirgorod area), 100%, Oblt. Werner Lüchau MIA.
30 September 1943: Bf 109 G-6 crashed at Bolshoi-Tokmak airfield/54 km north-north-east of Melitopol due to engine failure, 100%, Oblt. Emil Konrad MIA.
10 October 1943: Bf 109 G-6 crash landed at Apostolovo airfield/42 km south-east of Krivoy Rog, 35%.
15 October 1943: at Apostolovo under NAGr. 1.
20 October 1943: Bf 109 G-6 crash landed at Apostolovo, 45%.
27 October 1943: Bf 109 G-4 struck the ground north of Syevidchenko (not located), 100%, pilot MIA.
29 November 1943: Bf 109 G-4 damaged landing at Apostolovo-East, 10%.
January 1944: Apostolovo under NAGr. 2 with 5 Bf 109 G-4/U3, 2 Bf 109 G-6/U3 and 2 Bf 109 G-8/U3 (on 1 January).
February – March 1944: departed Apostolovo at the beginning of February and relocated farther to the west, possibly to Uman.
24 March 1944: now at Iasi/east Romania under NAGr. 2. Remained there until May when it moved north to the Lvov area with the rest of NAGr. 2. The Staffel’s station during May and June has not been determined with certainty, but some sources have it at Stryj during this time.
South Poland, Silesia and Czechoslovakia. (June 1944 - May 1945)
1 June 1944: Staffel reported 4 Bf 109 G-4/U3 and 8 Bf 109 G-6/U3 on strength.
26 June 1944: at Stryj/south Poland under NAGr. 2. Pulled back toward Krakow during July.
17 September 1944: Krakow/south Poland.
1 December 1944: had 1 Bf 109 G-4, 5 Bf 109 G-6 and 6 Bf 109 G-8 on hand.
31 December 1944: detailed losses for 1944 are not available but totals do exist and can be used as a substitute. For all of 1944, the Staffel lost 12 Bf 109s to direct enemy action and a further 13 to non-combat causes. The July – August period was the heaviest with 4 combat losses and 5 non-combat losses.
11 January 1945: Krakow - strength: 14 officers and 154 men. Krakow was evacuated a few days later with the Staffel pulling back through Silesia and possibly settling at Neisse/75 km south-south-east of Breslau.
12 February 1945: 2 Bf 109 G-8s failed to return from sorties in the Ratibor area, 100%, pilots MIA.
1 March 1945: Bf 109 G-10 shot down by ground fire south-west of Bergstadt, 100%, pilot MIA.
16 March 1945: Bf 109 G-10 force landed east of Klein-Kunzendorf, 100%, pilot WIA.
19 March 1945: Bf 109 G-10 shot down by AA fire south-west of Wiesenstein, 100%, pilot safe.
20 March 1945: Bf 109 G-10 shot down by a fighter near Gilschwitz near Troppau, 100%, pilot KIA.
25 March 1945: Bf 109 G-10 shot down by AA fire east of Wilmersdorf, 100%, Oblt. Kurt Kohlhagen KIA.
26 March 1945: at Glatz/83 km south-south-west of Breslau under NAGr. 2.
29 March 1945: now at Olmütz-West (Olomouc)/western Czechoslovakia under NAGr. 2.
15 April 1945: Bf 109 G-10/R2 crashed near Trentschin (Trencin)/Slovakia due to the engine catching fire, 100%.
3 May 1945: still at Olmütz-West under NAGr. 2.
FpN:1./NAGr. 2 (L 40055).
Staffelkapitän:
Hptm. Werner Wilke? (1942 - 1943)
Hptm. Henning von Kamptz (March 1943 - ? ) 10/43
Hptm. Richard Hofsäss ( ? - 5 March 1945) 1944
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress).
(1st Draft 2022)
References
- ↑ W.Dierich - Die Verbände der Luftwaffe 1935-1945: Gliederungen und Kurzchroniken – Eine Dokumentation; G.Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945, Teil 14: Die Luftstreitkräfte (Osnabrück, 1980); N.Kannapin - Die deutsche Feldpostübersicht 1939-1945, 3 Bde (I – III) (Osnabrück, 1980-82); NARA WashDC: RG 242 (Microcopy T-501 roll 218/1276, roll 222/954); (Microcopy T-321 roll 50/876); PRO London: AIR 40 Air Ministry intelligence reports and lists based on ULTRA, “Y” Service intercepts, captured documents and PoW interrogations; BA-MA Freiburg: RL 2 III Meldungen über Flugzeugunfälle…..(Loss Reports – LRs); BA-MA Freiburg: Signatur RL 40/Kart; M.Rauchensteiner - Der Krieg in Österreich, 1945. (Wien, 1984), p.359; M.Holm-website ww2.dk.