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Re: Greece, November 1943. II./KG 54, II./KG 6 and, I./St.G. 3. Any data confirming escort of Italian fighters...?
"14 Ju88s of Einsatz Gr.Ju88 Gen d.FlAus 6" - if this was taken verbatim from Nesbit, then he did not get it from a German source and this makes it suspect. It should read: "14 Ju 88s of Einsatzgruppe Ju 88/General der Fliegerausbildungs". Correctly abbreviated it would be: "14 Ju 88s of Eins.Gr. Ju 88/Gen.d.Fl.Ausb.".
As for the Macchi fighters, I have been all over that area using all the microfilmed German reports and KTB material from Heeresgruppe E, all of the German units histories for JG 27 and KG 6 (yes, there is a manuscript unit history for KG 6), plus many of the XII Bomber Command and from 1 November 15th AAF sitreps and opsums. I do not recall seeing any reference to Italian fighters being used to escort German bombers in the eastern Aegean. On 30 October 1943, III./JG 27 was at Athens-Kalamaki being used for the escort duties described while IV./JG 27 was at Podgorica in Montenegro and Tirana/Albania operating over the Dalmatian coast.
This sounds very much like something taken from an RAF after action report that contains some enemy aircraft misidentifications. Since I certainly could be wrong due to missing something, someone independent of me should check Jochen Prien's multi-volume history of JG 27 that covers the dates in question. If the Italian fighters participated in that escort mission, then Prien would have mention of it. Another good source would be our member "Byron" from Greece who has covered all of the material I did plus even more.
Larry
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