Ju 290s and 'Operation Salzsee'

[richdlc]

Hi guys

does anyone have more information, and importantly any photos or documents, concerning the following two Ju 290s:

Ju 290A-9, WNr. 0185 AZ+CB of 1/KG200
Ju-290A-9, WNr. 0182 AZ+AB

Used in 'Operation Salzsee' by the Abwehr in October 1943 and May 1944 over the Kalmyk Steppe in Russia?

I assume there's some info in Ketley's KG200 book (just ordered a copy) plus I have an interesting Russian examination by Konstantin N. Maksimov.

Thanks in advance

[Nick Beale]

The markings you gave should begin with KG 200's code A3+, not AZ.

0182 was originally KR+LM
0185 (which Thomas Hitchclock gives as an A-6) began as KR+LP

There was no KG 200 before February 1944, so any unit codes would have been those of predecessors such as 2. Versuchsverband Ob.d.L. (hence T9+_K)

I do have this archived from a 2002 exchange (on TOCH, I think) involving Larry de Zeng and Carl-Fredrik Geust:

Thank you for the question which gives me the possible of correcting an inaccuracy in Red Stars Vol.4: the Ju 290 was not intercepted by the Soviet PVO Hurricanes, but strafed on ground after landing during the night 22/23 May 1944 at Utta in the Kalmykian desert NW of the Caspian Sea (west of Astrakhan at the mouth of Volga). In this region an "autonomuous" Kalmykian (or Kalmuck) Socialist Soviet Republic (capital Elista) had been set up in 1935 in order to give the nomadian Kalmucks (primarily of Buddhist religion) some sort of semi-national self-government under communist rule (apparently not without the only too common bolshevik terror and forced collectivization).

Understandably, anti-communist feelings were widespread among the Kalmuck people, and the Germans had apparently no difficulties in recruiting volunteer cavallery and other soldiers among Kalmuckian prisoners-of-war of the Red Army. The Germans also gave the Kalmuckians vague promises to set up a "Free Kalmuck State" after the war. In summer 1944 the Kalmuck Cavalry Corps is said to have numbered to some 3.000 men, with a separate groups acting behind the front line in Kalmykia proper (controlled by Abwehrgruppe 103). In order to support these clandestine fighting groups the Ju 290 transported 24 specially trained Kalmykian commando troops, commanded by the German Captain von Scheller (pseudonyme "Otto Kurth"). According to the German plan the Ju 290 was to return after landing, but this was prohibited by the strafing Hurricanes.

Captain von Scheller ("Kurth") was caught alive, and forced into a "radio-game" controlled by NKVD. As result of the skilfully played radio-game another KG 200 aircraft (a FW 200 Condor, identity unknown) with another 30 Kalmykians landed on 10 August 1944 into an NKVD-trap. Most of the Kalmykian-German commandos were killed in the fighting against the NKVD-troops, but some were obviously caught alive. Nothing is known about the ultimate fate of these two commando groups.

After WW II the Kalmykian Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic was dissolved on Stalin's explicite orders "on grounds of the Kalmucks' collaboration with the enemy", and reinstated only in the late 1950s. Thus the Ju 290 flight on 22/23 May 1944 had absolutely nothing to do with a possible Manchuria flight, Carl

And:

Carl-Fredrik Geust 
KG 200, Kalmykia and SMERSH: Tue May 28 13:53:57 2002

The involvement of KG 200 in the Abwehr operations in Kalmykia is very interesting indeed and unfortunately described only vaguely in various publications, to say the least. I have tried to check available literature and found that dates and aircrft types are reported rather diffently in various sources, as Mirek points out: the operation was apparently called "Unternehmen Salzsee" (see J.Hoffmann: "Deutsche und Kalmyken", footnote on p.134. "Two Ju 290s and one Ju 252 were lost with crew and passengers; date June-July 1944"). The codename "Unternehmen Elista" mentioned by Gellermann in "Moskau ruft Heeresgruppe Mitte…" is unlikely.
- The operation is also referred to in the KG 200 book by P.W.Stahl (Motorbuch 1977) without exact details ("Ju 290" is however mentioned).

- The date of the first lost Ju 290 aircraft is obviously 23 May 1944 (Dolgopolov: "Vojna bez fronta", original edition, p. 176: landing at 04.55 Moscow time, strafing attack by Russian fighters at 12.40). In the PVO-chronology the date is given as 22 May 1944 (aircraft type "Ju 89"!).

- The captured radio-operator Hans Hansen was forced into the radio-game, which results into the dispatch of a Ju 252 in the night 29/30 May, but which does not land because of lack of confirming signal from the ground.

- The next aircraft (Ju 290) is dispatched in the night 11/12 June, lands and crashes into the prepared trap.

- According to Gellermann the date of the first flight (piloted by Ofw Möller with Hptm Hansen as navigator) is 10 June, as Mirek rightly points out. Gellerman mentiones the date of the Ju 252 (which did not land) as 12 June, while he writes that a second Ju 290 piloted by Lt. Jenichen took off to rescue the stranded crew and passengers of the first on 14 June 1944 (as Mirek rightly points out it is virtually impossible to think that the radio game could have continued until 10 August!!).
Anybody out there able to confirm the dates, aircraft, crews etc of these KG 200 operations?

Larry deZeng

Interesting stuff! Mon May 27 23:46:13 2002
Carl-Fredrik,

You cleared things up very nicely. I am very familiar with the "Kalmuck" people, desert and the assorted Abwehr operations involving them. I just didn't make the connection because of the context posed in the question.

Our errant 933 IAP is listed as a component of 123 IAD (PVO) on 1 May 1944, according to the A. N. Gril'ev volumes prepared as postwar Soviet General Staff studies.

Since these works are considered empirical, the answer must be that 933 IAP was reassigned to or attached to 144 IAD sometime after the first of the month.

Anyway, it's fascinating stuff!
(Larry)

[richdlc]

Thanks Nick!

I think my errors were due to translating a Russian language document. Thanks for the additional info