St Kap 1(F)/120

[ju55dk]

Originally Posted by Rune Rautio

Hei,

I just found Staka No 6: Major Schmidt. I have him on a group photo of the officers of 1.(F)/120 shot 23.08.44 and his signature on a greeting card from the Staffel for New Year 1945.

Now I need his first name, and then just one more Staka...

Also, from an other photo it is clear that Hptm. Heidenreich was in command as early as 19.02.44 (the Staffel's 2500 Feindflug).

Rune

On the 06. of march 1945 Truppenoffizier Hptm. Schmitt was Staffelkapitän! He did have a pilotlicense and a observerlicense! Sadly his first name is not qouted. Source:
List of units with commanders under Gen. d. Aufklärungsflieger Jüterborg-Damm 06.03.1945.

Junker

[Rune Rautio]

Hi Jörn,

This is most interesting! I have also found some additional information identifying his as Werner Schmidt (not Schmitt). He obviously took over command after Heidereich as I have him on a photo from July 1944 as well.

Interesting to notice that he was Hauptmann in July, but 23.08.44 and 31.12.44 his rank is seen as Major (personal signatures with that rank), while on my last photo of him, after the surrender in May 1945, he is again having rank Hauptmann.

Looks like he lost a rank somewhere but still kept command of the Staffel... Would that be common?

Rune

[ju55dk]

Hi Rune.

There is something that does'nt add up here. The name on my list is spelled Schmitt. If you lose rank, as an officer, you will normally also lose command and transfer to another unit! I would say that it is two different persons. But the problem is your pictures? So we might have a small mystery on hand here. Does he wear a DKiG on your pictures?

Jörn

[Rune Rautio]

Hi Jörn,

This is very interesting. I also thought that it would not be likely to loose a rank and still keep the command.

I think Hptm Schmitt/Schmidt and Major Schmidt must be two different commanders, and that actually gives us the names off all the 7 Stakas with 1.(F)/120. Unusual with two commanders in row with similar family name, but on the other hand they are both very common.

On my photo of Major Schmidt he has no DK, but he has Spanienkreuz mit Schwerten. I belive it is in silver. He also has EK I, EK II and Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen and an other abzeichen I can not identify cause of distance. But he has no Frontflug-Spange.

By comparing the photo I have showing Hptm. Schmidt/Schmitt in May 1945, I could not say for sure if it is same person as the one of Major Schmidt as it is shot in a poor angle. But I can see a part of his uniform (left side), and there he has EK II, Front-Flugspange and Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen. But not the other abzeichen and no EK I.

Hptm. Werner Schmidt/Schmitt seem to have arrived to 1.(F)/120 early summer 1944, as he is not on any previous photos of the officers of the unit. And he seem to have obtained command sometime during early winter 1945. For Major Schmidt I have no further information, as to say if he really took command as early as when Heidenreich was killed - or if we also have a z.b.V. acting in the meantime. Such z.b.V. could in fact have been Hptm. Werner Schmidt as well, as he seem to have been having highest rank at that time.

Would be nice to get some more light on this matter.

Rune

[Seaplanes]

In a list of Luftwaffe unit commanders in Norway dated May 1, 1945, the Sta.ka. of 1.(F)/120 was Hptm. Schmidt (unfortunately no given name listed). The commander of the units detachment at Vaernes airfield was a Oblt. Lindhorst.

From an interrogation report ADI (K) No. 127/1944 (PRO AIR 40/2416) regarding the Ju 88D-1 A6+BH shot down off Lerwick, Shetlands on March 5, 1944. The following is told about the units commanders:

"The Gruppenkommandeur of (F) 120 is stated to be Oberstleutnant von Zezschwitz, who has his headquarters in Stavanger town.
Hauptmann Löhr, previously reported as Staffelkaitän of 1.(F)/120, went sick in October 1943 and was replaced by Hauptmann Behnke, who was Staffelkapitän of 1.(F)/124. Towards the end of February 1944, however, Behnke left the unit and was replaced by no other than our old friend Hauptmann Friedrich Heidenreich who had been Staffelkapitän in 1941.

Heidenreich gained the Ritterkreuz in June 1941 and shortly afterwards was seriously injured in a crash after being shot up by fighters. He was subsequently put in a spell at a training school and this is thopught to be his first reappearance in operations."

In a similar report ADI (K) No. 29/1945 regarding the loss of Ju 188 A6+FH on December 28, 1944:

"The Staffelkapitän of 1.(F)/120 is Major Schmidt, a pilot who fflew between 20 and 30 operational sorties in 1940/1941 for which he received the E.K. 1. Since then he has sucessfully avoided flying on operations and his present activities are confined to lecturing his Staffel on the glories of National Socialism etc. Needless to say he is neither respected nor popular and in practice the Staffel was led by Oberleutnant Neugebauer, the observer of A6+FH dealt with in this report, who also carried out the duties of Technical Officer."

[Rune Rautio]

Thank you for that confirmation! Interesting that Heidenreich commanded the Staffel during two periods. I think we have all the Stakas now, and we seem to miss only the first name of Major Schmidt - and more accurate information about the time (date to date) they served as Stakas.

I notice that the interrogation of the crew Oblt Cardaun states that Löhr went sick in October 1943 and was replaced by Behnke. Fact is that Löhr and Behnke switched command 15.07.43 - Löhr from 1.(F)/120 to 1.(F)/124 and Behnke the other way.

Rune

[Andy Fletcher]

[quote=Seaplanes;31645]
"The Gruppenkommandeur of (F) 120 is stated to be Oberstleutnant von Zezschwitz, who has his headquarters in Stavanger town.

[quote]

This is probably Wolfgang von Zeschwitz who was Gr.Kdr. SAGr. 131 (based at Stavanger-Sola) at the time.

As (F)/120 had no Stab perhaps 1.(F)/120 was sub-ordinate to SAGr. 131, at least for administrative purposes.

Reference 1.(F)/120 Staffelkapitäne, great research guys.

Best regards

Andy Fletcher

[Rune Rautio]

Based on the posts above and after receiving information from two veterans of 1.(F)/120, we seem to have the complete picture:

Stakas 1.(F)/120:

1. Major Anton Schub (??-08.40)
2. Oblt. Friedrich Heidenreich (08.40-04.41)
3. Hptm. Helmut Orlowski (05.41-11.42)
4. Hptm. Hugo Löhr (11.42-07.43)
5. Hptm. Kurt Behnke (07.43-02.44)
6. Hptm. Friedrich Heidenreich (02.44-05.44)
7. Major Schmidt (06.44-?.45)
8. Hptm. Werner Schmitt (?.45-5.45)

Rune

[Doug Stankey]

Seeing this old thread, I was inspired to investigate further. The obvious thing was to review our officer personnel database and attempt to create a commanders list from scratch.

The following list of commanders of 1.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. 120 was gleaned from our files and is presented with unrationalized dates ("as is") although I have added two comments.

Maj. Anton Schub (? - 01.09.39 - 13.08.40 - ?)
Oblt. Friedrich Heidenreich (c.08.40 - 04.41). - I suspect that this appointment was either in an acting capacity or simply wrong.
Hptm./Maj. Ernst Domnick (10.08.40 - 14.04.41)
Hptm. Helmut Orlowski (DKG) (05.41 - 11.42)
Maj. Hugo Löhr (DKG) (12.42 - 14.07.43)
Hptm. Kurt Behnke (DKG) (14.07.43 - 02.44)
Hptm. Friedrich Heidenreich (02.44 - 30.05.44).
Hptm./Maj. Karl-Gustav Schmidt (06.44 - 08.05.45)
Hptm.Werner Schmidt (R) (? - 02.45 - ?) - I suspect that this was in an acting capacity

So, there you have it. Not perfect, but not bad.

We hope that this is helpful.

HLdZ
DGS

[ju55dk]

Oh it's very helpfull. But a small problem is that I have a copy of a letter from Off zbv 1(F) 120 from february 1942 were it's stated that StKptn. was Hptm. Hartwig?

Junker