Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

This pilot was shot down by No 1 Sqd. in Do17 of 4(F)/123 over France on 23-11-1939 and taken POW, all as described in the book Fighter Pilot. QM's returns show a Ofw. pilot of the same name was injured in the crash of Do215 008 on 18-5-1943. Can anyone confirm if this is the same man and is it known if he survived the war,

Thanks

Brian Bines

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

Hello Brian!
Do you know if he was just testing the Do 215 ( werknummer 008 seems to be a prototype or a very early type ) or flying on a regular recon flight ( which Squadron -his same (F)/123?
Yours
Baumgartner

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

Hello Adriano,

The unit shown for Frankenberger is Flugber./2. Fl.Div. with the crash at Fl.Pl. Mondesier. In the losses of Do215's there is B. Oblt Martin Baumgartner injured on 10-3-41 in a collision on take off at Le Bourget while in 083 of 2(F)/Ob.d.Luft. I take it you have him on your list,

Regards

Brian Bines

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

Hello Brian!
I knew about this Oblt Martin Baumgartner ( he was awarded the DKiG later ) but did not know about this incident while taking off! Good news! Thanks. Apparently Arno Frankenberger survived, but there is no mention of him being awarded the DKiG or other decorations. He simply vanished...
What was this kind of unit? Never saw this abreviation before! A TEST squadron? Something related to development?
Thanks again Brian!
Adriano

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

Adriano,

Thanks for the info, I take it Frankenbergers 1943 Unit was some sort of Headquarters staff/liasion flight perhaps someone with a better knowledge could qualify this,

Regards

Brian Bines

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

Brian,
I found out that Flugbereitschaft means "Flight readiness" or "Préparation de vol" ( in French ) or something like "Prompt Flight" in Portuguese. Something related to Aerial Reconaissance? Being a recon pilot ( and a glider pilot ) and with a vast experience, why he would have been posted to a kind of second rank unit ( something like VIP transport )?
Yours
Adriano

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

I forgot to ask: you meant the crash of Ofw Frankenberger was at Fl.Pl Montdésir ( in France )?

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

From a good link: http://www.ww2.dk/oob/bestand/aufkl/bflgb2fd.html

Istbestand MonatsersterIstbestand MonatsletzerDatumAnzahlMusterInsgesamtNeufertigungReparaturvon andere VerbändeInsgesamtdurch Feindeinw.ohne Feindeinw.Überholungan andere VerbändeAnzahl2.430Ju 88D-241-31--1-30Ju 88A-51--1-----10Do 2152--2-----23.433Ju 88D-2----1---121Ju 88A-5---------12Do 215---------24.432Ju 88D-2----2---201Ju 88A-5----1---102Do 215----2--

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

Sorry...that did not work!
Do you know who was the Commander of 2nd Fliegerdivision at that time? Was that unit directly subordinated to the Fliegerdivision ( Strategical reconaissance ) or ( tactical reconaissance in support of the Whermacht )? Maybe someone with more knowledge or who possess the book "Aufklärer" could help us and explain the chain of command of this particular unit.
Yours
Adriano Baumgartner

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

The location of the crash is given as Fl.Pl. Mondesier which would be in France and the loss is listed under Luftflotte 3. From your research it appears the unit was a higher level Recon. unit, hope someone might be able to add to this,

Regards

Brian Bines

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

Guys

Flugbereitschaft is the name for VIP transport duties. See also modern day Luftwaffe where all VIP flights are made by the Flugbereitschaftstaffel or FBS for short.

Cheers
Stig

Re: Uffz. Arno Frankenberger
 

Hi Stig!
Yes, I saw a diagram showing the organization of 2 Fliegerdivision in June 1944 and it seems correctly that it was a VIP transport unit.
However, on the link I mentioned before, it is classed as an Aufklärer Unit in 1943! Is it possible that it indeed started as a recon unit and then became a transport one?
The other question is: why, such an experienced airman like Frankenberger would be posted for the rest of the war on a VIP transport unit instead of returning to his (F)/123, where his knowledge would be best used? Was he severely wounded on the crash of his Do 17 P in 1939?
DOES someone possess the "chain of command" branch and links of the Aufklärer units? It seems the Germans had a lot of Kommandos directly linked to the OKL...It would be nice to see if sometime in 1943 this particular unit we are discussing was indeed a recon unit...
Yours
Adriano Baumgartner