Sonderstaffel Einhorn

[Nick Beale]

Oh God, what complications am I getting myself into? I'll persevere anyhow, since the bit in the Thomas/Ketley book about Einhorn was essentially written by me (see the acknowledgments page) and my account was based entirely on contemporary German and Allied sources.

On file in Freiburg are organisation tables for KG 200 (which was reorganised three times between February and November 1944) and a sucession of Führungsstab messages about the formation and redesignation of elements of KG 200. The picture is NOT simple.

Until 6 November 1944, there was no 13./KG 200. Einhorn was first listed in the tables on 1 November as 2./II./KG 200 (and, yes, that was the designation - KG 200 was not normal!).

The operational elements of Einhorn became 13./KG 200 as of 6 November (not that anyone ever called it anything but Einhorn, apparently) as part of IV./KG 200. At that time, there was no III./KG 200 but its formation from I./SG 5 was "foreseen." At this point, I./SG 5 was retraining on blind- and night-flying.

On 8 January 1945, I./SG 5 was redesignated Stab and 9., 10. & 11./KG 200 (= III./KG 200) and 13./KG 200 (Still called Einhorn in every other communication) was incorporated into the III. Gruppe. When 11./KG 200 became operational on the Western Front, it absorbed the remaining five or so pilots of Einhorn who had been operating alongside NSG 20 for about a month.

Diekwisch commanded 3./SG 5 and then 11./KG 200 when the former was renamed in January.

There was a 13./KG 200 in existence at the time of the surrender but apparently nothing to do with the operational Fw 190 Staffeln of III./Gruppe.

P.S. AFAIK there never was a 12./KG 200 (4./SG 5 had become 2./NSG 8 in June 1944).