Seenotdienstverbände Unit Histories
General Background
German Position. From the outbreak of the war, all air-sea rescue aircraft were painted white and marked with a large red cross in the conviction that they had noncombatant status under international law. During the campaign in Norway, the British left these aircraft alone because, according to the Germans, they rescued British crews, or at least were available to do so. But in July 1940, when the Battle of Britain was in its opening phase, the British government announced over the radio that aircraft of the German Sea Rescue Service would not be permitted to operate freely over the Channel or near the English coast. This was followed at the end of August by a direct order from the British government to all military commands to engage and destroy all German air-sea rescue aircraft and vessels whenever encountered. Left with no alternative, orders were soon issued by Luftflotte 3 in Paris, presumably on instruction from Berlin, to remove the red cross markings and repaint all aircraft and vessels in the standard camouflage pattern of the time. From then on and throughout the remainder of the war, Allied aircraft ruthlessly attacked German air-sea rescue planes and ships wherever they were found. In fact, these attacks were so pervasive that fighter escort was needed for many routine rescue missions. A significant number of these incidents were investigated by the Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau and can be inspected today at the Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv in Freiburg im Breisgau.
British Position. The British held that international law made no such hold-harmless provision for air-sea rescue services. The action by the British government to deny noncombatant recognition appears to have been based solely on legal interpretation, since no evidence seems to have been offered of any violations by the Seenotdienst until well after the decision was made to commence hostilities against air-sea rescue aircraft and vessels. From 1941 on however, British wartime documents maintain that Seenotdienst aircraft and ships carried out shipping reconnaissance, convoy escort, anti-submarine patrols and weather-reporting in addition to their regular duties. There was another and perhaps even stronger motive at play, too. The British wanted to do the rescuing themselves so they could interrogate as many downed Luftwaffe personnel as possible, and this could not happen if the Seenotdienst got there first. A much more comprehensive discussion of this touchy subject can be found at http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=177946#177946 , including the role Bletchley Park Enigma and RAF “Y” Service decrypts played in this decision during July 1940. Did the Seenotdienst have direct orders from Berlin and Luftflotte 3 to spot and report on convoys?
For more, also see: http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=17979 (this needs to be gone over carefully for precise loss info for July and August 1940 that’s given in this thread by “Seaplanes” and “Peter Cornwell”).
Also: http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1977/jan-feb/tilford.html
Wartime Chain of Command
1939 to May/June 1942
Inspekteur des Seenotdienstes Berlin (L In 16) (Inspector of Sea Rescue Services)
May/June 1942 to October/November 1944
Inspekteur des Seenotdienstes Berlin (L In 16 ) (Inspector of Sea Rescue Services)
October/November 1944 to May 1945
Inspekteur des Seenotdienstes Berlin (L In 16) (Inspector of Sea Rescue Services)
Tables of Organization Numbers and Comments
Seenotdienstführer (Sea Rescue Service Commander)
KStN 1551 (L) and KStN 5142 (L)
Exercised operational control over all Seenotdienst staffs and units within the area of the Luftflotte or theater for which he was responsible.
Seenotbereichskommando (Sea Rescue Regional Command) (SBK)
KStN 1552 (L) and KStN 5153 (L)
Based on all evidence from the Bundesarchiv’s Luftwaffen-Personalamt assignment orders and from
the Roba/Craciunoiu work, Seaplanes Over the Black Sea, that is primarily founded on the KTB of Seenotzentrale (L) Schwarzes Meer (later becoming Seenotbereichskdo. XII), the numbered SBKs
were first established in June 1942. It even appears that the order may have been dated 1 June 1942 with an effective date of 30 June 1942.
Seenotkommando (Sea Rescue Detachment) (SK)
KStN 1553 (L)
The SKs appear to have been assigned numbers for the first time in May 1942. Unfortunately, the actual order directing this organizational change has not been found and apparently did not survive the war. The following SKs were all ordered disbanded by OKL/Chef des Generalstabes effective 19 Aug 44: 1-8, 11-14, 16, 17, 20-28, 30 and 35.
Seenotstaffel (Sea Rescue Squadron)
KStN 5157 (L)
After the first of these were formed in 1939, they underwent three wartime re-designations:
Seenotflugkommando 1, 2, 3, 4, 5(1939 - Jun 41)
1. – 9. Staffel/Seenotgruppe d.Lw.(Jun 41 - May 42)
1. – 10. Seenotstaffel(Jun 42 - 19 Aug 44)
Seenotstaffel 20, 50, 51, 60, 70, 80, 81(19 Aug 44 - 8 May 1945)
Seenotflottille
KStN ? (L) Seenotflottille (Sea Rescue Flotilla)
KStN 1500 (L) and KStN 1510 (L) Seenotergänzungsflottille (Sea Rescue Reserve Training Flotilla)
This was the rescue boat service of the Seenotdienst. It employed hundreds of small craft over the course of the war, ranging from tiny 2-man motorboats up to 65-ton launches with a crew of 10 (there is a full listing of these in Jung et al, pages 205-23). The first of the Seenotflottillen appears to have been formed (or ordered formed) on 1 June 1942, which was the date of the order directing a major reorganization of the Seenotdienst. The Seenotzentrale (L)s were replaced by the numbered Seenotbereichskommandos, the Seenotstaffeln became independent, and the rescue boat service, which previously had been a component of the Seenotzentrale (L), was formed into independent Seenotflottillen.
Karte der Seenotbereiche und Seenotbezirke der Luftwaffe in der Nordsee, im Kanal und im Atlantik
For the source document on DEUTSCH-RUSSISCHES PROJEKT ZUR DIGITALISIERUNG DEUTSCHER DOKUMENTE IN ARCHIVEN DER RUSSISCHEN FÖDERATION see here
Unit Histories
This page provides links to all of the Seenotdienstverbände Unit Histories held on this wiki. There will be an "Index" page in the left-hand column and links to individual unit histories in the right-hand column.
Exceptions to this are units covered by one individual page - they are listed in the left-hand column.
© H.L. deZeng IV, 2024
References
- ↑ Dierich-VdL, pp.283-97; PRO London: AIR 40/British Air Ministry (A.I.3.(E)) “Organisation of the Air/Sea Rescue Service in the G.A.F.", 31 January 1944; Air Ministry (A.I.3.(E)) "Numbered Units of the G.A.F. Air/Sea Rescue Service", 30 October 1944; DEFE 3 ULTRA signals; British Air Ministry publication S.D.431 (Secret) The Organisation of the German Air Force (January, 1943); AFHRA Maxwell AFB: decimal K113 Karlsruhe Collection Seenotdienst studies; decimal 512 various Air Ministry intelligence reports; decimal 512.619 British AirMin CSDIC P/W Interrogation Reports in microfilm rolls A5415-18, interrogation report CSDIC/CMF A.446; AFHRA Maxwell: decimal 512, Air Ministry document A.I.12. Y/29 G.A.F. Establishment Schedule Numbers; NARA WashDC: RG 242/T-405 roll 45, frame 950; T-77 Luftflotte 5 OB charts; T-971 roll 18; T-321 roll 39; T-311 roll 79; T-311 roll 187; Green-Warplanes; O.Tuider-Die Luftwaffe in Österreich 1938-1945 (Wien, 1985); Jung, Dieter, Berndt Wenze1 and Arno Abendroth, Die Schiffe und Boote der deutschen Seef1ieger 1912-1976, (Stuttgart: Motorbuch Ver1ag, 1977), pp.170-223; K.Born-Rettung zwischen den Fronten: Seenotdienst der deutschen Luftwaffe 1939-1945, (Hamburg: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH, 1996).