Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

Hi guys,

Does anyone know the number of Luftwaffe sorties flown by 1, 2, and 4 Luftflotte on 22 June 1941? A break down by Luftflotte and a source would be nice too.

Thanks
Oquaig

Re: Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

Luftflotte 2 flew 2,242 sorties on 22 June. Sad when you have to answer your own posts. ;-)

Re: Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

. yes know how just you feel;

sharon'

Re: Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

" Sad when you have to answer your own posts"

Comments like that doesn't help

Anyway

506 fighters and 1766 bombers and other aircraft was involved in the actions on 22. and night to 23/6

Source: Luftwaffe Lagebericht Nr 653

Best
Olve Dybvig

Re: Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

Well, it got a rise out of you. And that was a typo on my part, the total sorties were 2272. Thanks for the input. Now I have a source to quote. What do you know about First and Fourth Air fleets ?

Thanks again
Oquaig

Re: Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

First wave - 870 aircrafts (Bergstrom BCRS I).

Re: Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

Accroding Soviet sources over South-Western Front (since 19.0641 former KOSO), German had done about 400 sorties, such amout was registered.

So it is possible (pure my estimation) that German could done about 500 to no more than 600 sorties by whole first day, or only this 400 (below line)?
It was not main attack direction so the amout of sorties was also less.

LW had attacked about 22-23 Soviet airfields (if right remember) in this direction. On Wester Front was attacked, as right remeber 66 or 67 mostly border airfields.

So this also shows much weaker works of LW's units over this second part of battelfield.

Similar smaller amout of sorties could be done on Northern Front about 400-600 - it is my again specualtion, of course.

I think that, again my pure specualtion, total amout of LW's sorties on 22.06.41 could be between 3500-4000. The most were done over Western Front by unit of Luftflotte 2.



Regards,
mirekw

Re: Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

One account I saw stated Luftflotte 4 flew 1,600 sorties from 22 to 25 June against 77 Soviet airbases, and destroyed 774 Soviet aircraft on the ground and 89 in the air. What is interesting is, from Soviet sources, a report of the loss of 104 training aircraft during this period for South West Front.

Regards
Oquaig

Re: Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

About reports done by Soviet during the first weeks and month of war there are very difficoult find what exactly is a true there? In this part of air war commander Ptuchin was very soon arrested plus his chief of stuff by NKWD (both from political not any military reasons and again both were killed by NKVD on 23.02.42). New one had come on begining of July 1941 and he has done his report about losses on this front, if right remebr in August 1941?
This is similar case as Soviet reports from Wester Front (this was done on December 1941).
Anyway losses on the first day on South-Western Front were about 300 planes including 100 training, in was not so higfh, because there were over 2300 combat planes there.

Now better to see M. Solonin 2 books" "Nowja chronologia katastrofy vol. 1, vol. 2" 2010-2011, which is based on archiwal reports from regimenal and divisional level, he very good expalin this differences. On his www.side there were published some parts of both.

Regards,
mirekw

Re: Number of Luftwaffe sorties flown 22 June 1941
 

Well, I find it interesting that after four days of operations 4 luftflotte flew only 1600 sorties, meaning their sortie rate was not so high, yet western authors keep saying fighters and ground attack flew up to 9 sorties a day and bombers up to six a day, but in fact only a few units did this.
The other thing I find interesting is that this is the only account I have seen so far of any claims for training aircraft. None of the published Soviet documents that I have seen before recently have never mentioned them. Certainly every regiment in the five western military districts (119) had some, plus those no one counts in the 29 regiments that were forming up but not on active duty...but I am going off topic here.

I have read some of Solonin's work. I will look up this new title. Thanks for the suggestion.

Best regards
Oquaig