Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

Quite an unusual entry in a german Flugbuch.

19.12.1944, Uffz Mayer takes the norwegian Lensman (police) Foerseth on board his Storch. They take off from Alta and so they go looking for reindeer...

Rather a risky endeavour, with the Soviets breathing down their back - wasn't Alta evacuated and destroyed at this time?
...and how often did it happen that a Luftwaffe pilot took a "native" from an occupied country on a flight trip?

Greetings

Hans

Re: Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

Hans -

Alta (Land), a.k.a. Altengard, was ordered evacuated and demolished on 23 Dec 44 but it was still occupied on 30 Dec. Your Flugbuch show a flight from there on 4 Jan 45. When it was actually abandoned is a good question, but I'm guessing by 10 January at the latest. Perhaps some of our Norwegian members have more complete information.

L.

Re: Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

Thanks Larry for those dates - still I wonder if they were really looking for reindeer, sounds quite adventurous, so close to the front...!?

By the way, the pilot's full name was Uffz Rudolf Mayer, from AufklärungsGruppe (H)32.

Regards

Hans

Re: Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

Could be an official order , maybe some herd was lost or stolen , seems that in the last part of war nd so far in the north , german nd norwegian hv some interest to work together


Rémi

Re: Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

Provided "Raindeer" is for real and not a cover name for something else, then Mayer and his passenger may have been looking for some to hunt for food purposes for their messhall. If this is true, then I am surprised fuel was made available for this purpose given how critical the fuel supply was by December 1944. His Staffel, 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 32, was based at Bardufoss at the time.

L.

Re: Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

Up North and in December, maybe they were looking for Rudolph... or a stand-in for some celebration.

Re: Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

Please be aware that the Soviets stopped after liberating Kirkenes. When the Germans pulled out of Finmark county they burned more or less everything and left a wacume not filled until the arrival of Norwegian Police troops from Sweden. The last German troops left Billefjord on 18. December 1944 and. Kautokeino was left on the same day. A small German detachment was kept in Alta up to February 1945.

Re: Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

Quite an unusual german Flugbuch. Is there any flights at sola in it too?

Re: Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

Ladies and Gents,

if it may be of interest, it concerns 1.(H)/Aufkl.Gr. 32.
Of note is the strange call-sign "La Paloma" (Flugbuch entry No. 758).

Best Regards
Norbert

P.S. (edited): Hopefully there wasn't the singing Hans Albers aboard that flight of the Siebel :-))

Re: Looking for reindeer in Norway 1944
 

No flights from or to Sola are noted.

By the way, Uffz Mayer learned how to fly in Denmark, at Avnø in 1942.
He started his front-"career" in Finland in March 1944, flew mostly the Fw 189 and Fi 156 alternately, even learned to fly the Bf 109F in Pori. Then in October he moved on to Norway with some days and enemy encounters in Petsamo on his way.

He continued flying, for the British may we assume, up till 27.6.1945, moving Storchs and Ju 52s around in Norway.

...and yes, about the Si 204"La Paloma" - haven't found any information on the net about that one. Perhaps one of our Norwegian friends knows more...?

Greetings

Hans