Kampfgeschwader 55

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Kampfgeschwader 55
Active	1934-1945
Country	Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Type	Bomber Squadron
Role	Tactical and Direct Ground Support.
Size	Air Force Wing
Nickname	Greif

Kampfgeschwader 55 "Greif" (KG 55) (Battle Wing 55) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. The unit was one of the most famous in the Luftwaffe. The Heinkel He 111 medium bomber was the standard bomber for this unit from its conception through to the last days of the war.

[edit] History

On 1 April 1934 a unit called the Hanseatische Fliegerschule e. V. was formed, initially based at Fassberg. The Designation Kampfgeschwader 55 was made on 1 May 1939, with Stab, I., and II., Gruppen. the III. Gruppe was not created until December 1939. All of the pre-war equipment included the He111 Langnasen.

[edit] War time service

1939

Poland

Assigned to Luftflotte 2 during the Polish invasion (Operation Fall Weiss) the unit saw action for the first time. During the campaign KG 55 suffered one complete loss of aircraft and crew, in which an Oberleutnant Walter Fritz and his crew from 1./KG 55 were killed in action south west of L'vov^[1]. Three other Heinkel's were forced to land due to enemy action, but the crews did not suffer any fatalities.

1940

France and the Low Countries

The end of the Phoney War on the 10 May 1940 came with Operation Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), the invasion of France and the Low Countries. Stab./KG 55 began operations on 10 May in the Lorraine region of France which would include missions over Nancy, Toul and Espinal. In the first days action the Geschwader did not suffer any casualties. On the 12 May Allied fighters shot down a Heinkel of 4./KG 55, whilst it was attacking railway targets North East of Reims, for the unit's first loss of the Battle. The next day, 13 May, cost the KG 55 ten machines, six from Stab.4/KG 55. In that day alone the unit's losses had exceeded that of the Polish Campaign^[2]. The losses suffered by KG 55 on the 13 May were the worst of the battle. A further seven machines were damaged and forced to land throughout the remainder of the fighting, although only two machines and crew were completely lost. The first of these, a 9./KG 55 Heinkel, was flown by Unteroffizier Horst Mahnert. Whilst returning from a mission to bomb airfields in the Lyon area on 2 June 1940 it strayed into Swiss airspace and was shot down near Ursins by Capitaine Hans Thurnheer (in a Bf 109E)^[3].

Battle of Britain

Having achieved a series of low cost victories in the first ten months of the war, the airman of KG 55 were in confident mood heading into the Battle of Britain.The battle was to be one of attrition. Because of the nature of the campaign the aircrews, once downed over the British Isles, would be either killed or captured. The Luftwaffe was being asked to operate as a strategic airforce, something for which it had never been designed.

For KG 55, initial losses were light, losing seven aircraft in July 1940, however losses were to mount, and the Geschwader was to lose some of its most experienced crews. On 14 August 1940, He 111P, G1 + AA was shot down by Spitfire's of No. 609 Squadron RAF. The Heinkel in question was the Geschwaderkommodore, Oberst Alois Stoeckl whom was killed in the crash near the Royal Naval Armament Depot in Hampshire^[4].

On 25th September 1940, KG55 attacked the Aircraft factory at Filton, Bristol^[5].

On 26th September 1940, KG 55 (escorted by ZG 26) destroyed the Supermarine factory and Itchen Ferry village in the district of Woolston, Southampton^[5], but this did not stop production of the Spitfire which had been safely dispersed.

Between the 10 July and 31 October 1940 KG 55 lost 73 machines to enemy action. A further eight were shot down during 1940 in night operations over Britain. The last Heinkel lost, piloted by Unteroffizier Bruno Zimmermann, was shot down by Pilot Officer J.G Benson and Sergeant P. Blain in a Defiant from No. 141 Squadron RAF over Sussex on 22 December 1940^[6].

1941

The Channel Front

KG 55 continued operations over Britain into the summer of 1941. Subsequently it did not participate in the Balkans Campaigns of April/May 1941. The unit was to lose a further fifty one aircraft in missions over Britain, the last being forced to ditch in the English Channel after an attack by No. 66 Squadron RAF Spitfires. The pilot Eithel Barth and his crew were rescued by the 3-Seenothalbflottille based at L' Aberwrach. The last recorded fatality occurred the previous day when Feldwebel Lorenz Kempel and his crew were shot down and killed by Pilot Officer Pickering of No. 66 Squadron RAF, whilst carrying out a reconnaissance mission off Gurnard's Head, Cornwall.

Russia

Operation Barbarossa

KG 55's units began a last minute withdrawal to the Eastern borders of the Reich in preparation for Hitler's war on the Soviet Union. I. Gruppe, III. Gruppe and the Geschwaderstab moved from their respective bases to Zamosz in Poland, while III Gruppe were located to Klemensow aerodrome south east of Lublin in Poland. On 8 March 1941 the Erganzungstaffel was formed into IV. Gruppe, but was deployed to Dijon in France and remained there until 4 May 1944. KG 55 was to provide air support for Army Group South attacking into the Ukraine in its drive toward the Caucasus and the Soviet oil fields. The opening day of the campaign resulted in the loss of seven aircraft. The next day gave the men of KG 55 some idea of what life was to be like on this new front. In the morning a 8./KG 55 Heinkel was shot down by flak over Luck, the crew bailed out but were found by advancing German forces to have been shot in the head. Two of the men were found at the local Commissar's house. The Luftwaffe established air superiority after destroying and capturing over 4,000 Soviet aircraft in the first weeks of the invasion (this figure rose to 21,200 by December 1941)^[7]. Losses between the Kampfgruppen had been heavy. The vast expanse of the front, the wear and tear of machines constantly advancing eastward took its toll. By August 1941, KG 4, KG 27, KG 53 and KG 55 were reduced to just 128 serviceable aircraft between them. The Geschwader played an instrumental role in the Battle of Kiev, in which the Wehrmacht won a huge victory, effectively destroying three Soviet Army's and killing or capturing 600,000 Red Army soldiers. I./KG 55 was credited with the destruction of 58 railway cars, 675 trucks and 22 tanks in this battle alone.^[8]

1942

During the stalemate in the winter of 1941/42 the units of KG 55 were redeployed to rest in Western France, not to return until April 1942, with the exception of IV. Gruppe. KG 55 once again was deployed to the Ukraine, to support the 11th Army in the Crimea, and the 6th Army pushing its way eastward from the Charkow area into the Caucasus. During the night of the 23/24 August the unit took part in the 'maximum' effort attack on Stalingrad which destroyed the centre of the city, one Heinkel was lost. Disaster struck the German 6th Army at Stalingrad, for on the 18 November the Russians counter-attacked and cut off the 6th Army. Hermann Göring assured Hitler that 'his Luftwaffe' could airlift in supplies. Göring wrongly believed a Heinkel that could carry 2000kg of explosives could as easily carry 2000kg of cargo.^[9] The Junkers Ju 52 and Heinkel 111's bore the brunt of Göring's supply plan. The Germans resisted fiercely but on the 14 January 1943 Pitomnik airfield was captured by the Soviets and many supplies were then parachuted in. The last German elements surrendered on 2 February. KG 55 contributed only a small fraction of the meagre 90 tonnes of supplies the German 6. Armee received daily. Over 165 He 111's were lost over Stalingrad, KG 55's losses stood at 59, although the unit managed to evacuate nearly 10,000 wounded^[10]. KG 55 covered the retreat of the German forces until the spring and II./KG 55 celebrated their 10,000 mission on 11 May 1943.

1943

KG55 supported German forces throughout 1943, and was heavily involved in Operation Citadel and continued to cover the retreat across Russia. As air superiority slipped away, losses to the bomber units began to climb. Ritterkreuz holder Oberfeldwebel Willi Nemitz and Oberleutnant Herman Meyer of Stab II./KG 55 were killed in the space of three weeks in May 1943. Many of the Heinkels were modified to enable them to carry out low strike missions in the face of enemy air superiority. The specialist train busting unit 14.(Eis)/KG 55 had its Heinkels fitted with an electric alitmeter that enabled them to fly at tree top level over the railway tracks. The unit began using the Ju 88C-6 aircraft in this role. The unit lost nine aircraft but flew over 5,000 missions, this unit was disbanded on 27 April 1945.

1944

The role of the unit in Russia continued much as it left off in 1943. Most notable during this year was the completion of KG 55's 50,000th mission on 10 May 1944. With production of the Heinkel ceasing in 1944, the unit was being prepared to re-equip with the ground attack versions of the FW 190.

1945

The unit was withdrawn from front line duty, and was assigned to training duties using mainly modified fighter aircraft.

The only active unit of the Geschwader was IV. Gruppe, which continued operations in the west from 1941-1945. IV. Gruppe would lose 50 aircraft in the west before the end of the war.

[edit] Organisation

Stab. Gruppe

Formed 1 May 1939.Disbanded 9 April 1945.

I. Gruppe

Formed with 1./KG155, 2./KG55 and 3./KG55 1 May 1939.

II. Gruppe

Formed 1 May 1939 along with 4./KG55, 5./KG55 and 6./KG55

III. Gruppe

Formed on 1 December 1939 along with 7./KG55, 8./KG55 and 9./KG55.

IV. Gruppe

Formed on 1 April 1940. Reformed 1 August 1940 as Ergänzungsstaffel/KG55. On 1 March 1941 it was redesignated 10./KG55. Stab IV./KG55 was formed on 7 March 1941, followed by 11./KG55 on 21 March 1941 and 12./KG55 on 7 April 1941.

14. (Eis)/KG55

Unit formed 1 June 1943, disbanded 27 April 1945

[edit] Knight's Cross recipients of KG 55

[edit] References

• Bergstrom, Christer (2007). Barbarossa - The Air Battle: July-December 1941. London: Chervron/Ian Allen. ISBN 978-1-85780-270-2.
• Hall and Quinlan (2000). KG55. Red Kite. ISBN 0-9538061-0-3.
• Hooton, E.R (2007). Luftwaffe at War; Blitzkrieg in the West. London: Chervron/Ian Allen. ISBN 978-1-85780-272-6.
• Taylor, A.J.P. and Mayer, S.L., eds (1974). A History Of World War Two. London: Octopus Books, . ISBN 0-70640-399-1
• Dierich, Wolfgang (2002). Kampfgeschwader 55 "Greif", Eine Chronik aus Dokumenten und Berichten 1937-1945. Motorbuch. ISBN 3879433402.

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