FW200 in Fligierhorst Wormditt?

[Robcio]

Hello.

Please help in getting information about the aircraft from KG 40 III.KG40 in particular, which were stationed at Fliegerhorst Wormditt (05 - 06 1944). Today, the city is called Orneta (Poland)
Perhaps one of the planes KG 40 could break down or was shot down in the area of the Luftwaffe in Wormditt Fliegerhorst (14 km southeast of Wormditt).
At this point, I have found the remains of the plane that I can not identify. On the plane that were probably used BMW engines Gate Fafnir 323R-2 (found characteristic exhaust silencers - picture attached), had weapons MG 131, MG 151/20 (13mm, 20mm shells of the bullets found), AAG2 antenna system.
You probably have a radar system, unless FUG…… (found remains of the antenna).
Thank you in advance for your help
Regards, Robert

[Merlin]

Robert,

Fw 200C-4 WNr. 0113 F8+EW from 12./KG 40 crashed at Wormditt on 19.05.44, killing the crew of Karl Fick. The bases of Wormditt and Garz were used by these trainers during May/June 1944 for anti shipping exercises.

[Chris Goss]

19 May 44, 12/KG 40, FW 200 C-4, 0113, F8+EW (NT+BM). Crashed and destroyed at Wormditt airfield during training flight, cause unknown. Uffz Karl Fick plus 6 killed

[Robcio]

Hello.

Thank you very much for the information. Date referencing III / KG40 cover the date of the accident FW200 (May 1944).
Is there a chance to get all the names of the crew?
Yours
Robert

[Chris Goss]

Not III but essentially IV/KG 40. Uffz Horst Kämpfe, Gefr Hans-Karl Freund, Uffz Anton Fröschl, Gefr Walter Künzler, Uffz Josef Holzbrecher, Gefr Herbert Zahalke

[Robcio]

Thank you for the information and rectification.
So far, I used the book "Luftwaffe airfields 1935-1945
Germany (1937 Borders) "str.711,
The author mentions the Luftwaffe air units stationed in Wormditt:
Operational Units
4. (F) /Aufkl.Gr. 14 (Aug-Sep 44); Stab, I., III. / NJG
5 (Aug-Oct 44); II. / SG 1 (Jan 45); NSGr. 1 (Jun-Sep 44); III. / KG 40
(May-Jun 44); II. / KG 77 (Jun 41); III. / KG 77 (Jul 43 - Mar 44); KGR.
z.b.V. 600 (Apr 42); KGR. z.b.V. 700 (Apr 42); KGR. z.b.V. 800 (Apr
42).

[Larry deZeng]

Robcio -

III./KG 40
West - Reorganization; Anti-Shipping Ops; Glide Bomb Training. (Nov 43 - Jul 44)
Plans to gradually convert III./KG 40 to the Heinkel 177 were cancelled around October 1943 and in November 8.Staffel, still at Fassberg with He 177As, was renamed 2./KG 40 while 2./KG 40 at Bordeaux-Merignac with Fw 200s became 8./KG 40. At approximately the same time, the end of October/beginning of November, the Gruppe was ordered to move to Cognac and thus free Merignac for the incoming He 177s of II./KG 40. Beginning in December, the Gruppe was no longer responsible for flying routine reconnaissance missions over the Atlantic, as Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5 had arrived in western France to take over this duty with Junkers Ju 290s and was now fully operational at Mont de Marsan. There followed several months of relative inactivity, with only a few small-scale missions being flown against convoys in the Atlantic. While most of the ground staff remained behind at Cognac, the flying element of III./KG 40 moved to Lechfeld in S Germany at the beginning of March 1944 to rest and refit. In mid-May, the crews were sent from Lechfeld to Wormditt in East Prussia to carry out practice flights over the Baltic, and then to Swinemünde and Garz on 5 June where several of the Fw 200s were outfitted with the special purpose radar used to guide the Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb. After more practice flights over the Baltic, those Fw 200s equipped with the glide bomb returned to Cognac from where a few missions were flown against convoys. One of the last of these was on 3 July 1944, when several Condors staged a Hs 293 glide bomb attack on a convoy located in the Northern Approaches to the north of Ireland. No hits are believed to have been scored and the FW 200s returned safely to Cognac.


Sources for the above are mainly ULTRA decrypts and ADI(K) POW interrogation reports.

L.

[Robcio]

Thank you for the information