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Old 24th August 2014, 19:19
Larry Hickey Larry Hickey is offline
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Larry Hickey
Re: Trying to ID the correct location for AF where I./ZG2 was based during early August, 1940: "St Aubin-Thiberville, France"

Larry, et. al.

Gerhard has looked at this post and has responded:

"The entries in my list are resulting from Flugbuchs. Furthermore there is an accident recorded for I./ZG 2 at St.Aubin dated 12.08.40 which is in contrast to the entry in the surviving records of 8.Abt./Genst.d.Lw. that the unit was on 13.08.40 still at Caen-Carpiquet."

This points out the problem of incomplete or inaccurate records regarding I./ZG2 during this period. I also note that Balke records that the Gr Kdr of I./ZG2 on 13 August was Hptm. (Eberhard) Heinlein, but we now believe that that is not entirely accurate. My information is that after losing the Gr Kdr (Ott) on 11.08, and the Acting Gr Kdr (Kubel) on 12.08, that the new Acting Kdr was Hpt. Dr. Rudolf Christians, who served in that capacity for some unknown period (probably not more than a few days at most) until Hptm Eberhard Heinlein took command sometime later in August. He was Gr Kdr until the until was disolved around 25.09.40. He was killed in a flying accident on 28.09.04 during a ferry flight from the unit's last base at Toussus-le-Noble, France, to Augsberg, Germany, when the unit's assets were being transferred into the night fighter forces.

The deZeng-Stankey LOCS data base says that Heinlein was appointed Gr Kdr effective 13.08.40, but Christians apparently served as Acting Kdr for some unknown period until Heinlein, who was the Sta Kap of 6./ZG2, could arrive and take charge. It's a small point, but any further clarification of this would be helpful.

Regarding the base problem, my suspicion is that I./ZG2 was in the process of moving from Caen-Carpiquet to St Aubin-Thiberville during this period leading up to mid-August, and the issue is when they officially closed out the Gruppe command post at the former and officially became fully operational from the latter. I don't know if that can ever be completely resolved, but clearly there would have been some transitional period involved between the two places, which there would always be when a unit moved from one base to another.

This really get into the info on another post that I have active here on this unit, as I think we've identified which St Aubin Airfield we're talking about, although its precise location in the vicinity of that village is still in some doubt in my mind. That should still be able to be rather precisely determined.

Who has anything further to add here?
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Larry Hickey
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