Charadras

Byron Tesapsides has very kindly informed me that the unit in question was a Luftwaffe Funkmesstrupp unit, specifically Trupp 135 which was assigned to Kithira and Antikithera. "Funkmesstrupp" translates as "radio measurement unit", which I assume includes radio goniometry, but Tesapsides also includes the information that the unit was equipped with a Freya radar device.

Thank you!

Hello, Perlet. Many thanks for the valuable information regarding the Korporal's sleeve patch. This was really good news, as it confirms the nature of the unit and their mission. Were "aircraft observation units" a separate unit type with it's own identity? And would it have come under regular Luftwaffe command, or would it have been part of a Luftwaffe Field Regiment? Could I also beg for the source of the Foxforce information? We know from local accounts that on the night of 11-12/09/44, eight British parachutists including two officers were dropped south-east of Drymonas village, on the western side of the island. They were indeed welcomed enthusiastically, including a special Te Deum in the local church.Their mission was apparently to investigate the German presence on the island. They were evacuated from Kapsali harbour by a British vessel on the night of the 12th to the 13th, mission accomplished. On the 15th, eight vessels arrived at Avlemonas and disembarked "some 600 regular troops". Presumably that would be the unit mentioned in the text you posted above as "Foxforce", which is also valuable information. But it would be good to know more about both the SBS and the Foxforce operations, as would any reference to published sources! Withe best wishes, Charadras --

Many thanks for this lead. I am attempting to contact Mr Tesapsides by way of his facebook account. The lack of colour information in the tabs is indeed frustrating; based on the unit's mission, which was almost exclusively that of visual oversight of the southern Mediterranean, my guess would be that they were a signals unit.

There is always confusion in translating the name of this unit. The Greek name is ιερός λόχος, literally "sacred company" (company as in the infantry unit). In the Middle East during the war years it tended to be referred to as the "Sacred Brigade" amongst English speakers, while to the French it was the "Bataillon Sacré". My father, a member of the unit for most its operational lifetime, always referred to it as the "Sacred Squadron" in English. This last is probably the most appropriate for what was, from the point of view of orderly military nomenclature, a very unorthodox and rather piratical unit.

Good morning, and best wishes for the new year. I am researching the wartime history of the Greek island of Kithira (a.k.a. Cerigo or Kythera), southernmost of the Ionian islands, lying between the mainland and Crete. The island was occupied by German and Italian forces. The Germans interest was exclusively on Kithira as an observation post for scanning the waters towards Crete and the coast of Africa, so that administration of the island was left largely in the hands of the Italians (intriguingly, in 1944 the Germans installed a 'mysterious' scanning device, by some accounts a kind of sound amplifier, on the southern end of the island; the device was dismantled and taken away when they withdrew in September 1944, though the signs of concrete anchoring points for a large tripedal structure can still be seen). During the German occupation, a young 17-year old photographer, son of the island's deceased studio photographer, was asked by the members of the garrison to take portrait photographs of them. I have recovered some thirty large and medium-format glass negative plates of these images, which apart from formal portraits include some scenes of activities such as an NCOs' Christmas party and amateur dramatics. I am far from expert in German uniforms and insignia, but the men and NCOs photographed appear to me to be members of a Luftwaffe Field Regiment. I would be most grateful if this could be confirmed by readers, and of course any information at all concerning the identity of the unit would be a wonderful bonus. This material will be used in a public exhibition and a paper delivered to the Conference on the History of Greek Photography, to be held in Chania, Crete in early April. My thanks in advance!