Flugplatz Serafino

[Witold K.]

Good evening
For short period of 01.06.42 III./JG 77 found itself in Serafino. Looking for location.
All the best

[Larry deZeng]

According to the multi-volume JG 77 unit history by Dr. Jochen Prien, III./JG 77 was operating from the island of Karpathos flying fighter-bomber attacks on British warships evacuating troops from Crete during the last week of May. It appears to have remained there until it transferred to Wien (Vienna) on 2 June.

The only airfield mentioned as being on Karpathos is this one:

Afiartis (GR/Dodecanese) (a.k.a. Afiarti) (35 25 05 N – 27 09 15 E)
General: landing ground in the Dodecanese at the SW tip of Scarpanto (Karpathos) Island which lies directly between Crete and Rhodes. History: built during 1938-40. Used by Luftwaffe fighters and dive-bombers in May 1941 during the invasion of Crete.

L.

[Rottler]

Larry’s information relates to 1941.
According to JFV 9/III on 31 May 1942 a part of the III./JG 77 transferred from Konstantinowka to Sarafino, Crimea and on 2 June 1942 the group moved to Oktoberfeld, an airfield northeast of Sarabus. In the grid reference map of the Eastern Front in JFV 9/III (Liegeplätze der Jagdverbände an der Ostfront zwischen 5.12.1941 und 27.06.1942) the airfield Sarafino is listed as "exactly location unknown".

Regards
Leo

[Witold K.]

Thank You both for answers, at least now I know it is somewhere in Crimea.

[Larry deZeng]

Sorry, my face is red!!
The question indeed concerned 1942 and not 1941.
I acted in haste and misread the date.

L.