a little quiz - Lw. Soldbuch

[Stijn David]

Hello,

Well with the summer in front of us i tought a little quiz could never be bad, therefore.

I do post a page from one of my favorite pieces : a Lw. Soldbuch, the page is the page in wich the units are entered.

It is up towards you guys to answer the following :

* what kind of specialization (read Lw. qualification) did this person had ?

* Where would he have been active / theathers of war ?

The keys are offcoarse in his uits, a hint is to list the units up and then start searching from there on.

Have fun + will help from time to time

[Snoopy]

Hello

Nice one. German handwriting in not one of my strongpoints, but I will have a crack at this one.

Concerning the question about theatre of war, I would say Europe. A lot of interresting entries in this book. I believe that I can read that he has been attached to two staffeln of the famous Kampfgeschwader 200. Kampfgeschwader 200 used all sorts of aircraft, both german and captured aircraft. I seem to remember that captured B 17's where sopposed to have been used to judge speed and altitude of bomberformations. I don't know if this is correct. Some aircraft is allso said to have been used for agent drops. One of the staffeln was formed from 2/Versuchsverband/ Ob.d.L. The famous "Circus Rosarius". This unit toured fighter stations, to familiarise german pilots with captured aircraft.

I say that the previous owner was a pilot, since the book has entries from a flieger ausbildungs regiment, and an inscription that looks like "Segelflieger schule".

Snoopy

Edited April 12, 2007 by Snoopy

[PKeating]

From the Department of Funny Aeroplanes...

[PKeating]

Gets worse! More dodgy aircraft.

Warm yet?

Edited April 12, 2007 by PKeating

[Stijn David]

Hello,

Both of you guys (Snoopy and Prosper) are warm on the last third of his career. Therefore i will during this day reveal that part

Thank you for the additional pictures, indeed dodgy aircraft but the first one is the He 111 Z(willing), altough it does seems very unusual and it was only built in a limited series it was used in glider units either to tow the largest glider, the Me 321 Gigant or they did tow several Go 242's at once. Therefore that one is close but no cigar !

The last picture is actually nearly spot on with the history of this man

Cordial greetings + till a bit later

[Stijn David]

The riddle,

As mentioned, you guys (Snoopy and Prosper) has found the last part of the riddle, namely the KG 200 connection. There is a lot written about the KG 200 and some of what has been written is actually pure fantasy it seems as many plans where made but in many cases not performed due to whatever reason.

First let me share the written down units :

29.11.40 ? 04.06.41 :Segelfliegerschule der LW ( Neuhausen)

07.06.41 ? 16.06.41 : I. Staffel / K.G.z.b.V. 1

17.06.41 - 20.12.1941: I Kampfgeschwader. 2 e Staffel

21.12.41 ? 15.05.42 : 1.Go.Staffel / K.G.z.b.V. 1

16.05.41 ? 29.01.43 : 1.Staffel. / L.L.G. 2

30.01.43 - 01.05.43: Erg.Gruppe ( S) ( Langendiebach )

01.05.43 - 01.02.1944 : ? / L.L.G. 2

01.02.44 ? 08.11.44 : 5./II. /Kampfgeschwader 200

09.11.44 ? 23.03.45 : 14./ Kampfgeschwader 200

24.03.45 - ?: 4. / Erg.K.G. ( J )

In any case after the KG 200 was established and under the lead of Oberstleutnant W. Baumbach. It was compoed out of 4 Staffeln with each their own duty.

I. / KG 200 : droppings of secret agents and each individual subunit had again its own submission

1./KG 200 : long range droppings

2./KG 200 : short range droppings

3./KG 200 : training and maritime operations

4./KG 200 : later formed and also performed training

homebase was Finow

II. / KG 200 : composed once again out of 3 units

5./KG 200 : so called pathfinders - planes: Ju 90 and Ju 290

6./KG 200 : did fly the so called Mistel combo's (see picture)

7./KG 200 : training purposes and reserve + did also fly Mistel combo's.

The Mistel combo was effectively used and one of the main weaponfacts they performed was teh destruction of the bridge over teh Oder near Goeritz. Many other missions with such things where less succesfull !!! (see the image)

III./KG 200

Formed out of the Schlachtgeschwader 5 and was equipped with Fw. 190. These units where mainly used as ground support and also against enemy bombers. A few of the former 'Leonidas' members where transferred during march 1945 towards this unit.

IV./ KG 200

composed out of the following units:

13./KG 200

14./KG 200

15./KG 200

16./KG 200

This is booked in history as the unit (IV/KG 200) wich did held the so called Suicide soldiers with the Riechenberg Ger?t (the one that prosper is showing).

This is quite correct as the shown Soldbuch does belong towards a Leutnant who did belong towards the so called 'Gruppe Leonidas'. Wich was the name given towards the 14./KG 200.

What was the Gruppe Leonidas? Well these where the Luftwaffe members who did sign for the suicide missions. I have a list of 67 soldiers who where on that list, most of them where former glider pilots who where trained towards motorized pilots in order to later perform their suicide mission.

Approx 75 % of the names on the list have survived the war, the rest (25 %) did die trough accidents, missions, etc .... So a rare beast it is

This Leutnant did survive a Mistel mission for a simple reason: technical failure. he did start but his plane did have technical problems and therefore the mission had to be aborted. Due to this he survived and did return towards his unit. The end of the war came quicker and prevented a new missions for him. he was captured by the Amricans and released soon after because he was a Austrian. It was with such a combo (see image) he did fly once upon a time

So it is now up toward syou guys to figure out the first part of the riddle, what has he performed before he came towards teh KG 200

Cordial greetings,

Edited April 13, 2007 by Stijn David

[Snoopy]

Hello

Second attempt. I would say that this pilot served on attack or supply gliders. Starting out in K.G.z.b.v. 1. This unit flew DFS 230, Gotha Go 242 and The mighty Messerscmidt Me 321 Gigant, amongst other aircraft. Looks like he finished his flighttraining a bit late for "Operation Merkur". I would say that he served in north Africa, and later on the eastern front with 1. Go. staffel/K.Gz.b.v., and L.L.G. 2. When it comes to the aircraft he might have flown. I would say the Gotha Go 242, transport glider.

The only thing that makes me a bit unshure about this theory, is that he seems to have spent about six months, during the period of the invasion of Russia, with Kampfgeschwader 2 Holzhammer. I know that this unit had at least one Junkers Ju 52. Did he start his flying career with all these units, flying Ju 52's or Heinkel He 111. In the first two units, he might possibly have been a glider tug pilot. This is maybe a long shot. The book allso has an entry from Erg. Gruppe (S) Langendiebach. I believe that the "S" is short for "See". This unit flew Heinkel He 60 floatplanes. I am a bit confused know.

Well, Thats my theories. I am probably maybe leaning towards the last one. I must say that this is probably the most interresting page from a soldbook, that I have ever seen. Congratulations on owning it.

Snoopy

[Stijn David]

Hi Snoopy,

Thank you for taking up the gauntlet on this one, you are once again parially correct. However you need to start with the first entered unit:

Namely the Segelfliegerschule der LW ( Neuhausen)

That unit was the first unit that did train military glider pilots, it was later renamed Erg. Gr. (S) 1 wich does stand for :

Erg?nzungs Gruppe (Segelflug) 1

So the (S) does stand for Segelflug (glider) and not See .

But you are quite good on the way. Therefore i can give you the following part of the riddle : he started his career as a military glider pilot (glider pilots badge awarded 1941) and was trained to fly both the DFS230 and Go 242 glider planes.

As a extra i will give you guys the award page => so now the theather of war will become clear also

So feel free to add the next part of the riddle.

[Snoopy]

Hello again

Now that you mention it, I don't think that they used any abbrevation for "see". They used (See).

From the last page I can see that he served on the eastern front. I guess he saw a fair bit of action around Cholm. I have a question. What do you know about the "K.G. 2" entry?

Snoopy

[Stijn David]

Hi SNoopy,

Hehehe, he was never with the KG 2 as you will see.

Read the entry carefull : I Kampfgeschwader. 2 e Staffel

That does mean, 2 e Staffel - Kampfgeschwader I, fully transliterated it does mean : Kampfgeschwader z.b.V. I wich was the mother unit from the Glider pilots as they where trained on the Go 242 glider plane

So there does ly the answer also, he was trained on the Go 242 with the KGzbV I and did fly a ressuply mission towards ....

Cordial greetings,

[Snoopy]

Hello Stijn David

That explains it all. I must admit that the entry confused me a bit. I think that I must have my eyes checked on monday. A really fascinating soldbook. I must tell you that a fuselage from a DFS 230, are currently being restored in Norway. I don't know how far the project has come. The glider was discovered in the norwegian mountains some years ago. I was told that the tubular frame of the fuselag was used as a radio mast. Believe it or not. I really look forward to the completion of the project.

Snoopy

[PKeating]

He flew resupply missions into Cholm in Gothas.

PK

[Stijn David]

Hi guys,

Indeed, he did fly a ressuply mission towards CHolm on the date of 07.03.1942 and started in the late afternoon from the airbase Pleskau towards Cholm.

They where able to land safe (crew existed out of glider pilots Eck / D?hne ) at approx. 19.00 Hours. Their load was a PAK and ammunition.

The load could been recovered in good order and the crew was from that point on part of the encercled troops. They survived the encerlement and could leave the Cholm encerclement on the date of 09.05.1942 (the encerclement was broken on the date of 05.05.1942).

For their efforts in this battle he recieved :

* Iron Cross 2 nd. class - 15.03.1942

* Eastern front medal - 05.10.1942

* CHolhield - 31.10.1942 (note that this is the standard date as found on the award documents of the Cholmshield, in the case of the glider pilots it is prooven that they only received the shield, etc ... arround january 1943)

So after the Cholmbattle the glider crews where first put into a quarantaine. The reason therefore was that there was inside Cholm a disease called 'Flecktyphus'. After this quarantaine they where allowed to go onto a holliday.

After the holliday the normal duty began again and he was first transferred towards the Erg. gr. (S) 1 based at langendiebach where he became a trainer for the new Glider recruts. After this he was send towards the Luftlandegeschwader 2 (L.L.G. 2) based in france during 1943.

There his wartime efforts where not over yet as a glider. As a Feldwebel he also participated into the glider missions towards Sicily. He and his crew did a ressuply landing on Sicily (Airfield Catania) on the date of 13.07.1943.

Remark : Only 16 Go 242's gliders did land on Sicily for ressuply - their load where Paratroopers.

They had it quite hard on Sicily as they where shelled, etc .. even during the landing and as so called special personal (this means - highly qualifyed and RE-usable for other glider missions) they where allowed to leave Sicily. After 6 days of traveling they made it back towards their homebase in france (Istres).

For this action he did not receive any awards etc ... but was promoted up towards his final rank: Leutnant.

The training went on, untill he was voluntarely transferred towards the KG 200 => and that story is described already

So, please meet our man