Debrecen

[Alex Smart]

Hello,

Debrecen A/F, in Hungary. What date did it fall into Allied hands , in other words when did it fall to the Russian's ?

Many thanks
Alex

[Larry deZeng]

Alex -

Debrecen (e. Debrecen) (c. 47 29 53 N – 21 36 15 E)
General: Fliegerhorst 4.6 km SSW of this city in E Hungary. City fell to 2nd Ukrainian Front forces on 20 Oct 44 after heavy fighting that began on 11 October when the Red Army began laying siege Debrecen and its immediate surroundings.
Air Units:
Station Units: Fl.H.Kdtr. E(v) 209/VIII.
Kommandant: Hptm. Henry Lüders (c. 1 Apr 44 – 23 Dec 44); Maj. Franz Baumgartner (24 Dec 44 – 12 Mar 45); Maj. Hans Becker (13 Mar 45 – c. 8 May 45).

Here is a detailed account of the fighting in and around Debrecen. Note that there are some differences in dates that what I provided above:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Debrecen


Any additional information regarding the airfield and the Luftwaffe units that were stationed there would be appreciated.

Larry

[Alex Smart]

Thank you Larry,

So any Luftwaffe aircraft on Debrecen Airfield in 1945 would have already have been captured by the Russian Army ? Even if they still wore Luftwaffe markings ?

Thanks
Alex

[Larry deZeng]

Yes, Alex, all of eastern Hungary, including Debrecen, had already been swallow up by the Russians by the beginning of 1945. If you are sure of the 1945 date, then the Luftwaffe aircraft would be captured.

Larry

[Dénes Bernád]

Rumanian aircraft also stationed on Debrecen airfield, in late 1944/early 1945.

[Alex Smart]

Thank you larry and dénes for your replies.
It has helped me with the time I am looking at, which is Post February 45.
A thread on another site gave detailed info of a US General's visit to the area and he reported that there were at least 17 Heavy bombers in the area that were repairable, including he reported a B17 in Luftwaffe markings that had been left there due to lack of fuel to fly her out.
I have a list of B17's that were lost over Hungary but it would not be likely that this Luftwaffe B17 would be included in that list as they are all US aircraft.
Any ideas as to which captured B17 this may have been ?

Thank you
Alex

[Alex Smart]

Thank you Larry and Dénes for your replies.
My interest is in the US Bombers that were downed in the area between October 44 and March 45 that may have been captured by the luftwaffe before being liberated by the russians.

Alex

[Larry deZeng]

Hi Alex,

Captured B-17s used operationally by the Luftwaffe were flown by 1. Staffel/KG 200. Over the course of 1943-45, a total of 23 B-17s were used by KG 200, almost exclusively for the purpose of dropping agents behind enemy lines. Between 1 July and 1 October 1944, I./KG 200 flew some 100 agent missions, mostly in the East. Something between 600 and 1,000 agents were inserted in this fashion from 1943 to 1945. One of the 1. Staffel agent insertion Kommandos (detachments) was Kdo. "Klara" which flew B-17s and other aircraft from bases in eastern Europe, including Romania and South Poland. From late August through September 1944, 1. Staffel was particularly busy carrying out agent insertion operations "Mob. Tag I/Mob. Tag II" and "Wolf" along the Eastern Front, especially over northwestern Ukraine. Debrecen would have been an excellent base from which to drop agents behind Russian lines east of the Carpathians. Unfortunately, no documentation exists from which to confirm and corroborate that 1. Staffel was using Debrecen at this time for this purpose, but it seems a good bet. So this may be the story behind the B-17 in Luftwaffe markings abandoned at Debrecen.

You can find a full list of all 23 B-17s in KG 200 service on page 66 of:

G.Thomas and B.Ketley – KG 200: The Luftwaffe’s Most Secret Unit (Hikoki Pub. Ltd, 2003)

[Alex Smart]

Hello Larry,

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

Are "KG200: the Luftwaffe's Most Secret Unit" by G.Thomas and B. Ketley,
and
"KG200 Geheim Greschwader" by G.T. Thomas one and the same book or are they two different books ?

Thanks

Alex

[Larry deZeng]

Alex -

Geoffrey J. Thomas only wrote one book about KG 200 and it's the first one of the two you listed, ISBN 1902109333.

That second one: KG 200 Geheim Geschwader, I couldn't locate anywhere. I've never heard of it and I know of and have all of the KG 200 books in both English and German.

Larry