Greece, November 1943. II./KG 54, II./KG 6 and, I./St.G. 3. Any data confirming escort of Italian fighters...?

[Larry deZeng]

"14 Ju88s of Einsatz Gr.Ju88 Gen d.FlAus 6" - if this was taken verbatim from Nesbit, then he did not get it from a German source and this makes it suspect. It should read: "14 Ju 88s of Einsatzgruppe Ju 88/General der Fliegerausbildungs". Correctly abbreviated it would be: "14 Ju 88s of Eins.Gr. Ju 88/Gen.d.Fl.Ausb.".

As for the Macchi fighters, I have been all over that area using all the microfilmed German reports and KTB material from Heeresgruppe E, all of the German units histories for JG 27 and KG 6 (yes, there is a manuscript unit history for KG 6), plus many of the XII Bomber Command and from 1 November 15th AAF sitreps and opsums. I do not recall seeing any reference to Italian fighters being used to escort German bombers in the eastern Aegean. On 30 October 1943, III./JG 27 was at Athens-Kalamaki being used for the escort duties described while IV./JG 27 was at Podgorica in Montenegro and Tirana/Albania operating over the Dalmatian coast.

This sounds very much like something taken from an RAF after action report that contains some enemy aircraft misidentifications. Since I certainly could be wrong due to missing something, someone independent of me should check Jochen Prien's multi-volume history of JG 27 that covers the dates in question. If the Italian fighters participated in that escort mission, then Prien would have mention of it. Another good source would be our member "Byron" from Greece who has covered all of the material I did plus even more.

Larry

[veltro]

Thanks so much, Larry.

It's just nice to see that what I still "feel" is not so out of this world. Your comments on the documents of Heeresgruppe E are extremely indicative.

Now let's hope Jochen or "Byron" has something to add. Their or other researchers' comments or shared knowledge would be very useful to solve this sort of "mystery"...

[byron-]

Hello Veltro, hello old friends,

I really never heard about a participation of italian planes during the battle of Dodecanes. There is nothing about it in all wardiaries of "Heersgruppe E" or "Militärbefehlshaber Griechenland".
Units of KG 54 were on greek soil only in the second half of 1942, i have no info about them over Dodekanes.
IV./JG 27 left Greece 21.10.43 to Podgorica and Tirana but came back middle November and took part by the operations there.

These are the units with intervention at this region:

Einsatz Staffel KG 100, 5./KG 100 (Gleitbombenstaffel), III. and IV./JG 27, 11./ZG 26, II./KG 51, I. u. II./St.G. 3, Chef-A.W.-Gruppe, 3./LG 1. , III./LG 1, II./KG 6.
For transport were angaged 2. u. 6./TG 4, parts of 1./TG 2 and parts of II./TG 2.
For reco 2./SAGr. 125 and SAGr. 126

regards
byron

[veltro]

Hi, Byron.

Thanks a lot for your precious contribute, which enforces further my sensations...

It seems that we are well on the way to exclude any operations of Italian fighters in that area after the Armistice of Sept. 8, 1943. This would be coherent to what happened in the Aegean islands after that date.

At the same time this cannot exclude that single or groups of volunteer Italian pilots/military did join the Germans and were eventually put into service - on German planes.

This not to sustain what reported (based only on oral memories of a single person) in the text of Vigna, but rather to try to explain the loss of Serg. Sancristoforo apparently in action.

So far, this is the best explaination I'm able to formulate...