FW 200 Calado Airfield

[Chris Goss]

On 31 Mar 45, a section of 6 Beaufighters of 252 Sqn attacked Calado airfield. A closer look at one of the camera gun shots shows a heavilly camouflaged FW 200 with the typical wellenmuster camouflage. Does anyone have any records of such an aircraft being found at this Greek airfield after hostilities?

[Hans Mcilveen]

Hello Chris,

I think this one must be it. Found on Rhodes after the war.
I have no idea if Calado is on this island.
Picture from Hyperscale.

Regards,

Hans

[kaki3152]

The actual name of the airfield is Kalathos (Calato) airfield on Rhodes. Therefore,it probably is the FW-200 depicted. Probably had some mechanical problem(lack of fuel?) and could not make the return trip. The Fw-200s and B24s were flown by I/KG-200 to resupply the Greek islands.

[Chris Goss]

That answers it then! Many thanks to you all

[mapalm]

Hi all,

I’d like to make a side note on that airfield.

Calato was a small village, where the italians (Rodi was a part of Italy since 1912) builted fuel and ammunition dumps and quarters. The airfield, one of the three builted by Italians on the island, was coded N.806 by Regia Aeronautica and was in the flood plan of the Gaddura river, just North of Calato. It was usually called (and still is indeed) Gadurrà.

After the sept 1943 the Germans used the italian infrastructure in Calato as military prison.

Sorry the digression.

ciao a tutti

[Nick Beale]

For more of the Fw 200 story see the attached extracts from National Archives AIR40/1871.

kaki3152: please note that there is no record of KG 200 sending B-24s to Rhodes, only Ju 290s.

II.KG 4 was also active in the Greek Islands to the end of the war with He 111s in the transport role (and dropping the occasional bomb). See page 376 of Kampfflieger, Bombers of the Luftwaffe: Volume Four, Summer 1943–June 1945 (Classic Publications, Shepperton) ISBN 1 903223 50 4

[Nick Beale]

Sorry, there was a third attachment ...

[werfetter]

Good day! I am a new member. I am interested in the aircraft mentioned here. My father and his colleagues were sent to Rodos, immediately after the war,to fix the plane. The idea was to use it to fly their own troops back home. The plane was fixed, but no-one could fly it! It fellinto disrepair, as subsequent photographs revealed. I have a total of 4 pics of this aircraft, taken at Rodos (Rhodes). Including the one shown here, courtesy of William Marshall. I would be keen to see the Beaufighter pics. I also have some other Beaufighter action pics, from dad's collection...

[Chris Goss]

Send me a PM please-there is just one camera gun shot showing the FW 200 under attack (they missed because they didn't see it camouflaged under the trees)

[werfetter]

Herewith the photograph of the FW200 on Kalathos (Gadurra), Rhodos (Rhodes):
Back: Cpl Young; F/Sgt Curtis; Cpl Sinclair; Lt van der Spuy (my father); WO Szulczewski; ?
Front: ?; Sgt Barnwell; ?; ?