Looking for Luftwaffe KTB resources for the Polish Campaign

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

I'm trying to find out whether the Luftwaffe unit KTBs for the period of the Polish Campaign (and later to the end of 1940), are also at the U.S. National Archives, on microfilm, and what the file or microfilm roll numbers are. I know that these records are available at the B.A., but I'd like to access them in the US Archives if possible.

I suspect that someone like Larry DeZeng knows the answer to this, and perhaps others as well. What is the easiest, most efficient, and least expensive way to access and obtain a copy of any existing unit KTBs (fighter, bomber, recon etc.) for the 1939-40 period?

Has anyone already obtained such records from whom I could obtain photocopies of some of this material? I understand that the Luftwaffe unit KTBs for the Polish Campaign are relatively complete, with only a few units missing. Is that true?

Thanks in advance.

[Adam]

Hi Larry,

PM inbound

cheers

Adam

[crolick]

If I may I would like to add that I'm also looking for some of the KTBs from September 1939 for:
- 4.(St)/186(T)
- KüFlGr 506
(both can be found in BA/MA under RM 118)
If anyone could help me in obtaining those KTBs please let me know.


Cheers,
Andrzej

[Larry deZeng]

I've been through all the microfilm, including the "missing" von Rohden rolls at the Library of Congress that few people know about, and I do not recall see any unit KTBs. When all of the captured records were removed from Germany between summer 1945 and spring 1946 and taken to the so-called Captured Documents Library on Monck Street in London, they were sorted into two categories by the Air Ministry/USAFE A.I.12 Post-Hostilities team: (1) Technical, and, (2) Administrative. The technical documents were air-freighted to Wright-Pat at Dayton, Ohio, where they were microfilmed. The administrative documents remained in London where those above Geschwader level were largely microfilmed at Monck Street but those below that level were not. The documents that were not microfilmed were turned over to the Air Historical Branch of the Air Ministry in 1948 and then returned to the BRD between the late 1960's and 1978. AHB did no microfilming, but some was done by the IWM as most of us know. So, to access unit KTBs, what few survived the war and still exist, it is necessary to use BA-MA Freiburg.

There are a few exceptions, of course, and others can certainly add to this list:

(1) The highly detailed KTB-like account of the Seeflieger units maintained by the General der Luftwaffe beim Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine (L.In. 8) is in NARA T-1022.
(2) The KTB of KG 26 for the Polish Campaign is reproduced as an appendix at the back of Rudi Schmidt's KG 26 unit history book.
(3) ??

L.

[Larry Hickey]

Larry,

Thanks for your very knowledgeable reply. It was what I expected from you. You have confirmed my own efforts to locate these at the US NA a couple of years ago--couldn't find them. I knew about the maritime KTBs, which were listed on this site a few years ago. I'm going to pursue those.

Has anyone obtained any of the other unit KTBs from the 1939-40 period from the BA that they would be willing to share copies with our EOE Working Group? Even some would reduce the time, effort and expense of trying to obtain all of these from the BA. I would be most willing to reimburse photocopying and mailing expenses. And then there is the problem of getting these translated into English.

Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided.

Regards,

[Richard Muller]

Great info.

In case anyone is interested, the Air University Library at Maxwell AFB, Alabama also has a set of the Library of Congress von Rohden microfilms. As Larry de Zeng points out, they contain material not found in the NARA T971 series.