German NIWI-operation 1940 Belgium (2nd try)
 

Hello to everyone!
Here's again a demand for information about above mentioned operation:
on May 10th 1940 some 100 Fiessler Storch's landed behind the Belgian lines of the " Chasseurs Ardennais" .
At the landing about 30 aircrafts were destroyed and several Luftwaffe pilots were K.I.A. The operation was called NIWI but among the German participants they called it " Operation Nicht-Wissen".
Up to now I found very very little information on this Op., it's almost amazing!
Who can help us with the losses and crews ? Your help would kindly be appreciated !
fredcompa

Re: German NIWI-operation 1940 Belgium (2nd try)
 

Hi,
there were up to 15 Fi 156 lost in this operation according to KTB of XIX AK and combat reports submitted by participating army units. Only one Fi 156 was shot down. The rest were victims of bad landings or were burned by own crews.

Regards

Robert

Re: German NIWI-operation 1940 Belgium (2nd try)
 

hm in our database find 16 Fi 156 lost in operation NIWI, but sadly there´s no personell losses given, reason for all is crash landed or burned by own crew.

khorat

Re: German NIWI-operation 1940 Belgium (2nd try)
 

Good evening fredcompa !

The operations name NIWI came from the target's names NIves and WItry, due South of Bastogne, close to the Luxembourg border in Belgium.

You may gain very good information about this operation in the book "Blitzkrieg in the West - Then and Now- " by Jean-Paul Pallud, pages 88 to 91.

In my book " Zielpunkt Südeifel - Ein Tagebuch über die Luftkriegsereignisse in den Kreisen Bitburg und Prüm 1939 - 1945" Band 1: 1939 - August 1944,
the operational events of NIWI are mentioned in German language on the base of the forementioned book, since the the airfields, from which NIWI was launched, are only about 5 km from my hometown.

Hope this helps.

Best regards !

Horst Weber

Re: German NIWI-operation 1940 Belgium (2nd try)
 

Hello to each of you, Robert, Khorat and Horst Weber !
Real thanks for your kindly cooperation in this matter, your help is very helpfull !
May we ask on Khorat on what your database is build-up? KTB ?
Now we will try to find these books.
Grts from Belgium !
fredcompa

Re: German NIWI-operation 1940 Belgium (2nd try)
 

build up using GQM, WASt, KTB and any availibale sources..........

khorat

Re: German NIWI-operation 1940 Belgium (2nd try)
 

Hello Fredcompa,

there are 22 losses for Fi 156 C from Aufklärungsgruppe 156 reported to GQM for 10th May 1940.

8 were lost due to artillery-fire at Foetz and Nives and most of the rest due to crash-landings at Nives.

Fw Albert Faulhaber was taken POW at Gemündel after being shot at by AA. I have two additional names: Uffz Richard Will taken POW at Fauvillers and Uffz Leonhard Brodka (or Boidka) WIA at Fauvillers. Faulhaber and Will returned from POW.

There is also a report filed 14.05.1940 at Genst. Gen. Qu. 6. Abteilung (IA) on losses of flying units from 5th to 11th of May 1940. Acording to this document Aufkl.Gr. 156 lost 22 Fi 156 and two pilots dead and one wounded.

So the number of losses for a/c seems to be quite clear, but there is still some confusion regarding the crews.

BTW: Aufkl.Gr. 156 does not appear on Luftwaffe files on readiness of flying units. These reports were usualy very detailed and thorough. Perhaps the Gruppe was established "auf dem Kommandowege" for a single mission only and disappeared almost "at once" again.


HTH

Carl

Re: German NIWI-operation 1940 Belgium (2nd try)
 

Thank you Khorat and certainly Carl for the precious information!
Fred

Re: German NIWI-operation 1940 Belgium (2nd try)
 

Hello Fredcompa
there are short descriptions of Oper NiWi also in Florian K. Rothbrust's Guderian's XIXth Panzer Corps and The Battle of France (1990) and Robert Allan Doughty's The Breaking Point. Sedan and the Fall of France, 1940 (1990). POV of both is that of ground war, so no lost lists of pilots and Fi 156s but good general descriptions of the operations and its effect on general situation, which was just the opposite what Germans had tried to achieve.

Juha