1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31 in Oct.44
 

Hello, friends!

1.(H)/31 is mentioned in Kriegsmarine document in the Riga Gulf in the beginning of Oct.1944. According to ww2.dk, this unit was in NAGr.5 upto Aug.1944 only. Is it correct and in Oct.1944 1.(H)/31 was a separate Staffel?

Best regards,
Andrey

Re: 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31 in Oct.44
 

1.(H)/31
..........
26.6.44: Rakvere under NAGr. 5 with Fw 189s and a few Hs 126s.
2.9.44: Rakvere.
6.10.44: having withdrawn from Estonia into Latvia with NAGr. 5 during September, the Staffel was withdrawn from operations about this date and returned to the Reich to rest and refit. It may have been outfitted for night operations during the refit. Unconfirmed sources state that it transferred to Bromburg (Bydgoszcz)/NW Poland in September and remained there until November.
...............

L.

Re: 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31 in Oct.44
 

Thank you, Larry!

Best regards,
Andrey

Re: 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31 in Oct.44
 

In the end of Sept.1944 all Estonia except Moonsund Islands (Baltische Inseln) was in Soviet hands. So 1.(H)/31 was in Latvia or on Kogula (Kagul) airfield on Ösel. The Staffel last mentioned in Moonsund area on 6.10.44.

Re: 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31 in Oct.44
 

Thank you, Andrey! That's a nice addition to the Staffel's chronology.

L.

Re: 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31 in Oct.44
 

Larry/Andrey,

Please have a look at this Luftwaffedata Forum post that coincidentally asks about a notation in a soldbuch for 26.1.45 where the script appears to refer to Nachnahaufklungstaffel 1./31.

Your comments and thoughts would be appreciated.

Re: 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31 in Oct.44
 

Andy & Andrey -

Let's look at the remaining entries for this Staffel following the 6.10.44 entry given above:

Silesia and Czechoslovakia. (Oct 44 - May 45)
1.12.44: Staffel reported 8 x Fw 189 A-2 and 1 x Fw 189 A-3 on strength. The same unconfirmed sources state that it was based at Neisse and nearby Möckendorf from December 1944 to March 1945.
2.45: under NAGr. 2.
17.2.45: Fw 189 A-2 shot down by AA-fire SE of Gross-Strehlitz, 100%, 1 WIA and 2 MIA.
17.3.45: Fw 189 A-2 crashed SE of Münsterberg, 100%, 2 killed.
26.3.45: at Glatz (Klodzko) under NAGr. 2 with Fw 189s.
29.3.45: now at Olmütz (Olomouc)-West under NAGr. 2.
3.5.45: Nahaufklärungsstaffel 1./31 (Nacht) at Zauchtel/Czech. under NAGr. 2.


FpN: 1. (H)/31 (L04202).

This tells us that it was indeed retrained at Bromburg for use at night according to its 1945 designation, Nahaufklärungsstaffel 1./31 (Nacht). I know this is correct because it's exactly as it appears in the Luftflotte 6 documentation for 1945.

So, since there was never a unit designated Nachtnahaufklärungsstaffel 1./31 per the 26.1.45 Soldbuch entry on Andy's Wiki Forum, then it appears that a Luftwaffe clerk got confused when making the entry and it came out all garbled up. This was not unusual for the last 2 or 3 years of the war as many unit designations were changed into something more elaborate or descriptive and clerks making the entries occasionally made mistakes.

L.

Re: 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31 in Oct.44
 

Larry,


Many thanks for assisting with this, which complements the questions asked in the earlier posts here.

I'm sure that Richard (the poster on the Luftwaffedata Forum) will be more than happy.

Re: 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31 in Oct.44
 

Larry and Andy,

Thank you for interesting info.

In the same document (MOK Ostsee): since 2.Oct.44 00:00 Luftflotte 1 became subordinated to Luftflotte 6.
Did it situation remained until 1945?

Andrey

1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr.31
 

Larry, the Soldbuch in question for the young Fligerschutzen is mine and your information really has been a great help and will allow for an in depth research project as a result.
Many thanks indeed.

Regards Richard.