Meaning of numbers in head count (Bestandsmeldung) ?

[Jochen Prien]

Gentlemen,

the first group should comprise three figures instead of only two, these standing for a) official number of a/c ( Soll-Bestand ), b) actual number of a/c ( Ist-Bestand ) and c) number of a/c combat ready ( Klarstand ). The second group of four figures refers to the flying personal and stands for a) official number of pilots ( Soll-Stärke ), b) actual number of pilots ( Ist-Stärke ), c) number of pilots fit for combat ( Einsatzbereitschaft ) and d) number of pilots conditionally ready for combat ( bedingt einsatzbereit ), i.e. pilots recovering from wounds, temporarily posted elsewhere etc. Thus if you see the figures like

I./JG x 40 - 30 - 20 and 40 - 30 - 20 - 10 this would mean that the Gruppe in question has an official outfit of 40 a/c whereas the actual stength is 30 a/c of which 20 are combat-ready. Likewise the figures for the aircrew read like official strength at 40, actual strength 30, of these 20 ready for action with the unit while 10 do still belong to the Gruppe but are not available at the moment.

Hope this helps

Regards

Jochen Prien