Hi all,
according to Robert Forsyth‘s JV44,Krupinski recalled the unexpectedly disbandment of his Gruppen on 25 March 1945
Quote:
At that time it had become very clear that due to pilot and aircraft availability, as well as the fuel situation, the Geschwader could not support four Gruppen any longer, and Priller decided that one" would have to be disbanded. It was decided that it would be III. Gruppe.
Priller bade me farewell, but as a gesture of goodwill, ordered me to go to Lechfeld to ask (Heinz) Bar, who was commanding III./EJG 2, if and when my Gruppe could convert to the Me 262. That was my official instruction.
I drove down to Lechfeld early next morning in one of those little wood-burning cars, and I arrived there about lunchtime. I went straight to Bar, whom I had known for a long time before, and asked whether it might be possible for my Gruppe to be incorporated into his unit and convert to the Me 262. Bar burst out laughing. There was no way he could accommodate us. He needed months to convert the pilots he already had,let alone us. So, I shrugged and left
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so...I'm curious that it really the case?Priller planed the entire third Gruppen convert to the Me 262?after all,Mr Caldwell suggested that Third Gruppe was by far the weakest of the four
If it was true,I believe it was more likely occurred before March,rather than after III./JG 26 had disbanded. we all knew Priller had been relieved of the command of JG 26 since 27 January 1945,and after III./JG 26 disbanded,its pilots were split among the other three Gruppen immediately
Best regards,
cheesin