Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Gentlemen,

I have been compiling a summary of ZG movements, in order to determine when various Zerstörer units were withdrawn from the Eastern front and when they became operational elsewhere. The information that I have seen is vague and somewhat contradictory, so may I ask for comments from the experts?

The data that I have at the moment is summarised below:

I./ZG 26 – Withdrawn from the Eastern Front in October 1941, disbanded in Germany in April 1942.
II./ZG 26 – same as I./ZG 26

III./ZG 1 – Withdrawn in June (or possibly July?) 1942, operational in North Africa from November (or October?) 1942
I./ZG 2 – Withdrawn in June (or possibly August?) 1942, disbanded in August 1942
II./ZG 2 – Withdrawn in July 1942, operational in Germany from November (or October?) 1942 as I./NJG 5
III./ZG 2 – Withdrawn in July 1942, operational in Tunisia from November (or December?) 1942
II./ZG 1 – Withdrawn in March 1943, operational in Italy from April 1943
I./ZG 1 – Withdrawn in May (or April?) 1943, operational in Germany from June 1943

Regards,

Paul

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Hi Paul -

This should fill in most of the unknowns and gaps:

I./ZG 26 – Withdrawn from the Eastern Front in October 1941, disbanded in Germany in April 1942.
- Ordered to transfer from Smolensk in Rußland Mitte to the Reich on 18 Oct 41 to rest and refit. At Kitzingen until it transferred to Jessau/East Prussia on 30 Dec 41 where it was disbanded a few days later and its assets used to form I./NJG 4. I./ZG 26 never returned to Russia. Re-established at Bad Lippspringe on 13 Oct 43 and operated over the Reich until it was renamed I./JG 6 at Prowehren on 4 Sep 44.

II./ZG 26 – same as I./ZG 26.
- Returned to the Reich from Dugino airfield in Rußland Mitte for a long overdue rest and refit. In early Apr 42 it was re-designated II./NJG 4 at Laupheim/S Germany. I./ZG 26 never returned to Russia. Re-established at Hildesheim on 13 Oct 43 and operated over the Reich until it was renamed II./JG 6 at Hildesheim on 4 Sep 44.

III./ZG 1 – Withdrawn in June (or possibly July?) 1942, operational in North Africa from November (or October?) 1942.
- Ordered to transfer from Taganrog/Rußland Süd to the Mediterranean theater on 15 Aug 42. Arrived at El Daba/Libya on 25 Aug 42 on transfer from South Russia. Operated in North Africa until 29 Oct 42 when it turned over all of its remaining assets to I./Schlachtgeschwader 2.

I./ZG 2 – Withdrawn in June (or possibly August?) 1942, disbanded in August 1942.
- Ordered to transfer from Barvenkovo/Rußland Süd to the Reich in mid-August 1942. At Wiener-Neustadt on 30 Sep 42. ZG 2 ordered disbanded on 3 Oct 42. I./ZG 2 renamed III./ZG 1 at Foggia/Italy on 29 Oct 42.

II./ZG 2 – Withdrawn in July 1942, operational in Germany from November (or October?) 1942 as I./NJG 5.
- At Kuteinikovo airfield/S Russia in mid-Aug 42 where it was ordered to turn over all remaining Bf 110s to elements of ZG 1 and transfer without aircraft to Wiener-Neustadt. Equipped with new Bf 110s at the Wiener-Neustadt Messerschmitt plant during Sep 42. Renamed I./NJG 5 on 3 Oct 42.

III./ZG 2 – Withdrawn in July 1942, operational in Tunisia from November (or December?) 1942.
- Ordered to transfer by train from Rußland Mitte without aircraft to Augsburg during the second half of July 1942 to begin conversion to the Fw 190. Conversion and work-up in Germany and France to early November 1942. Alerted 10 Nov 42 for immediate transfer to the Mediterranean theater via Comiso/Sicily (11-12 Nov) and then to Bizerte – Sidi Ahmed on 15 Nov 42. Renamed III./SKG 10 at Bizerte – Sidi Ahmed o/a 14 or 15 Dec 42.

II./ZG 1 – Withdrawn in March 1943, operational in Italy from April 1943.
- Transferred from Bryansk/Rußland Mitte to Brünn (Brno)/Czech. to rest and refit on 22 Mar 42. Moved from Brünn to Lechfeld/S Germany on 30 Apr 42. Transferred from Lechfeld to Belgorod II airfield/S Russia on 1 Jun 42 for operations under Luftflotte 4. Ordered to transfer from Poltava/S Russia to München-Neubiberg for a brief rest and refit on 23 Mar 43. Ordered from M-Neubiberg to Trapani/Sicily at the beginning of April with the transfer completed o/a 12 April. Remained in Italy to 1 Aug 43 and then moved to Kerlin-Bastard airfield near Lorient/W France.

I./ZG 1 – Withdrawn in May (or April?) 1943, operational in Germany from June 1943.
- Transferred from Ledna/Ost airfield near Orel in Rußland Mitte on 27 Jul 43 for reassignment to Luftwaffen-Befehlshaber Mitte for air defense operations over the Reich. Renamed I./ZG 26 at Bad Lippspringe on 13 Oct 43.

I can provide footnote sources for virtually all of these entries should you need them.

Hope this helps!

Larry

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

I./ZG 1 received the order to return to Germany on 30.7.1943 although it was already anticipated for a few days. On 7.8.1943 arrival in Wunstorf, transfer to Bad Lippspringe on 12.9.1943.

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

That's correct John. I left out some of the details after its departure from Russia because it was more than Paul T. was asking for. Actually, there were some taxiing accidents at Wittmundhafen on 27 and 31 July followed by a Bf 110 G-2 belly landing at Wunstorf on 2 August. So the Gruppe or elements of it may have gone to Wittmundhafen initially, then to Wunstorf a few days later.

L.

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

I./NJG4 used same VbKz (3U+_B, H, K, L) as I./ZG1, and fought hard during battle of Moskow along with II./ZG26 (minus 5./ZG26) from december 1941 to april 1942, based at Gugino a/f.

Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Hi guys

Many thanks to Larry for his detailed posting regarding the movements and redesignations of the various Zerstörergruppen. It is certainly very interesting and useful. However, I have also seen some reference that I./ZG 26 was redesignated I./JG 6 on 14 October 1944 and that II./ZG 26 was redesignated II./JG 6 on 5 August 1944. Can anyone please confirm the above or is this information in error and both units were indeed redesignated on 4 September 1944? Many thanks.

Horrido!

Leo

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Thanks for your nice comments, Leo!

The official and effective date for the re-designation or renaming of I. u.II./ZG 26 is given in the source below as 4 September 1944. Jurleit bases this date on a General der Jagdflieger order that he cites on page 40 of his book.

Jurleit, Manfred. Strahljäger Me 262 im Einsatz: Alle Geschwader, Gruppen und Kommandos. Berlin: Transpress Verlagsgesellschaft, 1993. ISBN: 3-344-70778-7. Hb (card cover). 199p. Heavily illus. Tables. Appendices. Glossary. Source notes.

L.

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Hello Larry,

A quite incredible post from you and it is far from the first time that you have made a major contribution to the subject! Your information fills almost all the gaps and in rather more detail than I had a right to expect :) . I have to add that I am somewhat embarrassed by the fairly low 'hit rate' of my original message :o . I will take up your very kind offer of footnote sources in a couple of days, once my file covering KG, St.G. and Schl.G. movements extracted from your and Doug’s books is in some kind of order!

A couple of minor Zerstörer-related points which I wanted to clarify, for the sake of completeness, are below. They relate to the second part of my initial query, namely the return of the Zerstörer Gruppen to operational status following their withdrawal from the Eastern Front:

II./NJG 4 (ex-II./ZG 26)
Did this unit become operational immediately upon re-designation in April 1942, or sometime later? The Bewegungsmeldungen report the first non-operational loss in July 1942, but I have used this source to check other units and have made serious mistakes, so I would like to check my reasoning this time round :) .

I./NJG 5 (ex-II./ZG 2)
Same question as above, was this unit operational immediately upon re-equipment in October 1942?

I./ZG 1
A look at Don Caldwell’s War Diary suggests this unit was off operations, or at least not intercepting raids by the Eighth Air Force, until 2 October 1943. This suggestion is reinforced by the fact that the Bewegungsmeldungen report the unit was accumulating Bf 110Gs from other units in August-September 1943, but not suffering combat losses. Is this correct?

Regards,
Paul

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Thank you for your contribution concerning I./ZG 1, John. Since you mentioned that the order to return had been anticipated, may I ask whether you know the reasoning behind this move? The Orel salient was under heavy Soviet pressure by this time, yet it would appear that I./ZG 1 spent the next couple of months resting instead of contributing to the German defence either in the East or the West.

Regards,
Paul

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Thank you for your contribution too, Evgeny! Another point of embarrassment for me – I did not know I./NJG 4 existed at this time, let alone that it was operational. I have now consulted another source and have seen that the last loss of I./NJG 4 in the East was reported in early April 1942. Was I./NJG 4 then disbanded and re-formed in September 1942? Since you have mentioned this unit, do you know whether it had any significant intruder successes against Soviet long-range bombers during this period? I have read Soviet sources which mentioned night fighter attacks on bomber airfields at this time, now I know that there may have been something substantive behind this.

Partly based on your comment above, I assume that 5./ZG26 left the Eastern Front together with I./ZG 26 in October 1941.

Regards,
Paul

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

The orders for ZG 26 to change into JG 6 are pretty clear;

Stab ZG 26 into Stab JG 6 on 13.10.1944 at Prowehren.
(I have not found evidence that contradicts that).

I./ZG 26 into I./JG 6 on 13.10.1944 at Prowehren.
(seems to be confirmed by data I collected from former members, but some had their soldbuch/wehrpass not changed until 18.10.44)

II./ZG 26 into II./JG 6 on 5.8.1944 at Königsberg/Neumark.
(some had their soldbuch/wehrpass changed on 4.8.1944, a day earlier).

John

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Hi John,

I usually view command orders as having precedence over Soldbuch entries because the former deal with an entire unit at an operational level while the latter with an individual at personnel administrative level. There could have been a 5-week delay in entering the change in the individual Soldbücher that may be explained by numerous reasons, such as a possibly unknown telephone change issued by the General der Jagdflieger that postponed the 4 September date, the individual could have been sent on leave and did not rejoin the unit until October, etc. The possibilities are many. Those were chaotic times in late summer/early fall 1944 and few things went according to plan. I have no doubt that it took from 4 September to the first half of October to get the Gruppen fully outfitted, equipped, staffed and operational. But that doesn't render the General der Jagdflieger order worthless. No changes would have happened without this order being issued.

L.

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Paul -

II./NJG 4 (ex-II./ZG 26)
Did this unit become operational immediately upon re-designation in April 1942, or sometime later? The Bewegungsmeldungen report the first non-operational loss in July 1942, but I have used this source to check other units and have made serious mistakes, so I would like to check my reasoning this time round.
Comment: My notes state that Stab II./NJG 4 and 4. Staffel/NJG 4 were disbanded in April 1942, 6. Staffel/NJG 4 was renamed 6./ZG 26. II./NJG 4 was then immediately re-established as a full Gruppe using cadre personnel from 5./NJG 4 plus new personnel and aircraft. It’s first mention in the Gen.Qu.(6.Abt.) Verlustmeldungen is 26 Jul 42 when a 4. Staffel Bf 110 E-1 crashed near Luxembourg killing the pilot. An educated guess would be that the Gruppe was “in formation” until late July or August. The first combat loss, according to the Verlustmeldungen, was on 24 Oct 42 when a Bf 110 D-3 was shot up in France (Neufchâteau) and damaged 70%.

I./NJG 5 (ex-II./ZG 2)
Same question as above, was this unit operational immediately upon re-equipment in October 1942?
Comment: I have it at Stendal from Sep 42 and not becoming operational there until early Feb 43. The only entry in the Verlustmeldungen during that period is for 3 Nov 42 when a 3. Staffel Bf 110 E-3 crashed near Stendal and burned out with the crew of 2 being killed. The pilot was Oblt. Kurt Martineck. It seems very likely then that it was non-operational and engaged in re-equipping, work-up and training from Sep 42 to Feb 43.

I./ZG 1
A look at Don Caldwell’s War Diary suggests this unit was off operations, or at least not intercepting raids by the Eighth Air Force, until 2 October 1943. This suggestion is reinforced by the fact that the Bewegungsmeldungen report the unit was accumulating Bf 110Gs from other units in August-September 1943, but not suffering combat losses. Is this correct?
Comment: I have no argument with that. According to my notes, I./ZG 1 had no combat-related losses between 25 July 1943 and 8 October 1943. There were some taxiing accidents, a belly landing and a mid-air collision during that period, however.

Let me know if you need anything else.

L. :)

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Hi Larry,

The dates 5.8.44 (II.) and 13.10.44 (Stab and I.) are based on the orders. I have a copies of these orders OKL....not sure what Jurleit is citing (does he name the original source?). The dates around it 4.8.44 or 18.10.44 are dates mentioned in Soldbuch. The 4th September can not be correct for both units. II./JG 6 was already in combat in France by August 23rd.....As I do not have the book, does Jurleit name the source with a reference number or something line that......

John

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Hi John -

Here is the entire passage from Jurleit page 40:

“Mit Befehl des Generals der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland vom 4. September 1944 wurde das Zerstörergeschwader ZG 26 ‘Horst Wessel’ zum Jagdgeschwader JG 6 umgebildet. Die drei Gruppen des Zerstörergeschwaders lagen zu diesem Zeitpunkt in Powehren/Ostpreußen (I./ZG 26) mit Me 410, in Hildesheim unter Oberleutnant Stehle (II./ZG 26) mit Bf 110 und 10 Me 410 sowie in Lechfeld, Schwäbisch Hall und in Leipheim (III./ZG 26) deren 8. und 9. Staffel als Erprobungskommando 262 mit dem Turbojäger Me 262 operierten.”

He does not give a proper document citation with order and file numbers, nor does he state where he got his information from. I have often found this "exact date" of formation business to be something of an unrewarding puzzle that never gets satisfactorily solved because of conflicting documents, behind the scenes phone calls, incomplete records, etc. But in this case specifically, I would say that Organisations-Abt./OKL orders carry more weight than Galland's order which we have yet to see. It seems possible that the 5.8.44 order was issued covered just II. Gruppe, followed by Galland's order to rebuild the entire Geschwader, followed by the 13.10.44 order. At least that's what it looks like to me in the absence of actually seeing Galland's 4 Sep 44 order.

L.

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Paul:
I./ZG26 (wich was virtually named I./NJG4 only on papers) flew same kind of missions as before, along with II./ZG26, such as airfield attacks (day-light time), road hunting (strafing vechicle columns), other ground attack missions.
Search for details of Hptm. Spiess death in january or Lt. Eduard Meyer death in march.

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Evgeny, thank you for the additional clarification. I take it that I./NJG 4 / I./ZG 26 did not undertake night intruder operations of any significance.

I looked up Spies and Meyer in Doug Stankey's excellent Careers database, I am copying the summaries below as a quick reference for anyone else interested in these issues:

SPIES, Wilhelm. (DOB: 26.08.13 in Rimpar/Unterfranken). (RE, DKG?). c.25.06.41(19.07.41?) appt Kdr. I./ZG 26 (to 27.01.42). 14.06.41 Hptm., awarded Ritterkreuz, 1./ZG 26. 27.01.42 KIA – Bf 110 C-4 (3U+FH) shot down by AA fire during a low-level attack SSW of Suchinichi/116 km NNE of Bryansk. 21.03.42 awarded the DKG? 05.04.42 Hptm., posthumously awarded Eichenlaub, Kdr. I./ZG 26. Posthumous promo to Maj. effective 01.01.42. Credited with over 300 combat missions and 20 air victories.

MEYER, Eduard. (DOB: 08.12.19 in Detmold). (R). 1940 in I./ZG 26. 09.09.41 Lt. in an unspecified ZG, awarded the Ehrenpokal. 20.12.41 Lt., awarded Ritterkreuz, I./ZG 26. 31.03.42 KIA – Bf 110 E-2 (3U+PL) collided with another German aircraft and plunged to his death near Velizh/Belorussia. Credited with 22 air victories and the destruction of at least 48 enemy planes on the ground and 2 tanks.

Evgeny, I have sent you a PM regarding an Eastern front issue which came up in my research.

Regards,

Paul

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Errr......ah......."Doug Stankey's excellent Careers database" is actually "deZeng/Stankey's excellent Careers database". :shock: :o :red: :)

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

Larry, I stand corrected and embarassed, again :o You will know from our correspondence that no slight was intended :) I'll be following up some stuff this evening and I will ask for your advice regarding some more confusing ZG issues once I've got things back in order!

Warm regards,

Paul

Re: Dates of withdrawal of Zerstörer Gruppen from Eastern Front in 1942 1943
 

No problemo, Paul! I knew it wasn't intentional so I assumed you were just pulling my chain. Naturally, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get back at you!! ;) :)