Trägerverbände Unit Histories

Trägerverbände (Aircraft Carrier Formations)

Introduction

General Background

Trägergruppe 186 (Carrier Group 186) was activated on 1 October 1938 as part of the program for the completion of the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, construction of which began 28 December 1936 at Kiel. A special version of the Ju 87 dive bomber, specifically the Ju 87C, and a special version of the Messerschmitt fighter, the Bf 109T, were developed for carrier operations, the Graf Zeppelin having an initial combined complement of 42 of these. But bitter opposition to aircraft carriers and any other sort of naval air arm by Reichsmarschall Göring and other high-ups in the Luftwaffe, coupled with wartime material and skilled labour shortages, caused repeated delays until work on the Graf Zeppelin was brought to a final halt in 1943. Meanwhile, Trägergruppe 186 was committed to front line service from the first day of the war, as its unit history shows, rather than held back to wait for an aircraft carrier than might never be completed.

Tables of Organization

None of the Kriegsstärkenachweisungen (KStNs) tables of organization and equipment are believed to have survived the mass destruction of Luftwaffe records during the last year of the war, but what is known of the numerical designation for the main ones for the Trägerverbände is listed below:

1483 (L)Träger-Ergänzungs-Mehrzweckestaffel (Carrier-borne Reserve Training Multi-Purpose Staffel).

1485 (L)Träger-Ergänzungs-Jagdstaffel (Carrier-borne Reserve Training Fighter Staffel).

1542 (L)Stab einer Trägergruppe (Staff of a Carrier-borne Gruppe).

1543 (L)Trägerjagdstaffel (Carrier-borne Fighter Staffel).

1543 (L)Träger-Mehrzweckestaffel (Carrier-borne Multi-Purpose Staffel) (old).

1545 (L)Träger-Jagdstaffel (Carrier-borne Fighter Staffel) (old).

1587 (L)Träger-Sturzkampfstaffel (Carrier-borne Dive Bomber Staffel).

1597 (L)Träger-Mehrzwecke-Staffel (Carrier-borne Multi-Purpose Staffel).

For non-tactical, general administrative matters concerning doctrine, tactics, staffing, promotion and awards recommendations, inspections, etc., the Trägerverbände were managed by a branch of the Luftwaffe general staff in Berlin, the identity of which is unknown.

Unit Histories

This page provides links to all of the Trägerverbände 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.

Index Page	Unit/History
Trägergruppe 186	Träger-St.Gr. I./186
	Trägerjagd-Gr. II./186

© H.L. deZeng IV, 2024