Luftwaffe units active in Magdeburg - Barby a/d Elbe area April 1945
 

Dear all,

Does anybody know which Luftwaffe units (apart from I./KG66) were involved in the attacks against the American (9th US Army) pontoon bridges and bridgeheads over the Elbe in the Magdeburg - Barby an der Elbe area between 14 - 20 April 1945?

I would be very grateful for any info, in particular in the bombing results and the own losses suffered.

Best regards,

Marcel

Re: Luftwaffe units active in Magdeburg - Barby a/d Elbe area April 1945
 

The quick answer about units involved seems to be Gefechtsverband Helbig but I'll email when I've been able to take a closer look at the material I have.

Re: Luftwaffe units active in Magdeburg - Barby a/d Elbe area April 1945
 

Thanks Nick! Just heard from a reliable source that we can exclude LG1, they were not active in that area. Does anybody know something about units such as KG200 or the Nachtschlachtgruppen?

Thanks,

Marcel

Re: Luftwaffe units active in Magdeburg - Barby a/d Elbe area April 1945
 

Barby seems to befall into a gap between information I have on operations to the north and south of it. It was probably too distant from the bases of NSGr. 20 and III./K 200 for them to attack it. NSGr. 2 and the southern element of NSGr. 1 were operating in the areas of Bamberg, Karlsruhe, Jena and Erfurt at first, then Nürnberg and Bayreuth. Elements of NJG 11 attacked south of Würzburg on the night of 19/20 April.

According to the Seekriegsleitung: on the 19/20th there 63 Nachtschlacht sorties in the area Dessau-Barby but no details are given of the units involved.

Re: Luftwaffe units active in Magdeburg - Barby a/d Elbe area April 1945
 

Thanks Nick, that confirms the picture that's building up in my mind of the whole situation. Looks like in some cases I./KG66 and Gefechtsverband Helbig are synonymous..However, according to RL2 II/389 (great stuff BTW!) units such as NSGr.20 and I./KG66 worked closely together wherever possible, such as the attack agains the British pontoon bridge over the Aller river near Rethem (Aller) on 15 April 1945.

Regards,

Marcel

Re: Luftwaffe units active in Magdeburg - Barby a/d Elbe area April 1945
 

For those interested in an American perspective of the situation, here's an excellent site: https://www.17th-engineers.nl/nl/tre...il-13-14-1945/

Regards,

Marcel