Ju 188s of 4.(F)/11 - any image?

[ChristianK]

Gentlemen, and especially our members from Denmark,

is there any photo out there showing a Ju 188 with the unit code "6M+xM" of 4.(F)/11?

Mr. Peter Achs from Gera sent to me an excerpt of a Flugbuch from April 1945, which mentions four of this unit's planes (6M+RM, +TM, +QM and +NM). At least one of them (6M+QM) was flown from Rerik to Denmark on 30 April 1945, where according to the pilot's entry it was handed over to FAG 2. The exact airfield is hard to read, but it seems to be Vaerlose. Maybe other Ju 188s from 4.(F)/11 have found their way to Denmark or Northern Germany, too.

Here http://www.luftwaffe-experten.org/fo...?showtopic=848
you may find a pic of a ??+QM at Beldringe, but it is said to have carried the "7A" code of Aufklärungsgruppe 121, even though the code is not visible in this pic. Could this be 6M+QM, regardless of the caption?

Anyone able to help here?

Regards,
Christian

[Larry deZeng]

4.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. 11 was at Flensburg with Ju 188s under FAGr. 2 on 28 April 1945. It would be interesting to know if it remained there or whether it moved to Rerik or Vaerlose. Perhaps they were dispersing their aircraft during that final week of the war?

[ChristianK]

Hi Larry,

sorry for the late reply. May I ask what's your source for 4.(F)/11 being in Flensburg at the war's end?

Cheers,
Christian

[Larry deZeng]

Hi there, Christian,


NARA WashDC: RG 242 (Microcopy T-321 roll 50/876; roll 114 frame 016); AFHRA Maxwell: decimal 512.625S (British Air Ministry) OKL document.

The two above in blue and green are end of April/beginning of May 1945 Abt. Ia/Genst.d.Lw. Kriegsgliederungen that were in the hands of the OKL command staff taken over by the Air Ministry A.I.12 OKL advance party in the Berchtesgaden - Salzburg area on 11 May 1945. These documents were handed over to the OKL Party in accordance with the surrender agreements. They identify the last known locations of all Luftwaffe flying units. One of them is dated 28 April 1945 and the other 3 May 1945. Unfortunately, a number of units do not appear in the 3 May list and 4.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. 11 is one of those.

Now it's your turn, Christian. Can you answer my questions?

Larry

[ChristianK]

Hi Larry, thanks for your answer.

the Flugbuch I have states the following last flights:

14 April 1945: 6M+NM relocation from Welzow (from which some missions had been flown at least from 7 April) to Rerik. Pilot Uffz. Buschkiel, standard crew.

30 April 1945: 6M+QM transfer flight from Rerik to Vaerloese. Pilot Fw. Buschkiel, 2 NCO's, 1 technician, 4 Girls. Note: "Landing in Denmark. Transfer of aircraft to FAG 2" ("Landung in Dänemark. Abgabe der Flugzeuge an FAG 2")

I cannot send or post a scan of this Flugbuch entry as I promised the owner not to do that. Unfortunately "Vaerloese" is just a guess, as the officer confirming the Flugbuch wrote his own confirmation over this entry. However, I cross-checked what I could decipher with all known Luftwaffe bases in Denmark. There is a possibility that Buschkiel in fact wrote "Kastrup", but I think Vaerloese it is.

While 4.(F)/11 doesn't appear on the 3 May listing you mentioned, I guess it disbanded at Rerik (or in fact anywhere else in northern Germany) around 28-30 April 1945.

Hope this helps,
Christian

P.S. Would still be happy with just one pic of a 4.(F)/11 aircraft!

[Larry deZeng]

Thanks, Christian. That last 10 days of the war for the Luftwaffe was pure confusion and chaos. Most units in northern Germany made for Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark but many aircraft got dispersed along the way. I guess trying to make assumptions about a particular unit based on what 3 or 4 aircraft from that unit are known to have done can lead to false conclusions. The Staffel had probably been ordered to join Stab/FAGr. 2 and turn its aircraft over to the Stab. Unfortunately, I do not have a location for Stab/FAGr. 2 for those last 10 days except that it was under Lw.-Kdo. Nordost and was en-route to Schleswig-Holstein or Denmark. Bummer. One source that might help solve the puzzle is the RAF Disarmament Wing reports for Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark for May - June 1945. I understand that these provide a detailed inventory of all aircraft found on the airfields in that area immediately following the surrender along with the markings for many of these aircraft.

Larry

[ju55dk]

FAG 2 transferred to FlH. Odense end april 1945. It contained following units, some were allready ordered to be dissolved:
4(F)/11, 4(F)/14, 5(F)/122 and 2(F)/Nacht. FAG 2 began the march home 7. may 1945 on foot.
The Ju 188 ??+QM belonged either to (F)/11 or (F)/14. Most likely to (F)/11.
If needed I will be happy to provide a far better scan of the Ju 188.

Junker

[ChristianK]

Thanks Junker, your help is as always very appreciated. Sent you a PM!