Jagdgeschwader 6

[John Manrho]

John, the following rolls contain the KTB: Microfilm T321, Roll 17, 19, 50 and 51. I believe in total there are some 6,000 pages of material for KTB Luftflotte 6.

[Marcel Hogenhuis]

Hello John,

Happy to hear about your new project and admiring your optimism about those projects!

I guess it is a silly question but do you perhaps have an idea about the JG 6 operations during 17, 18 and 19 September 1944 (Market Garden). The reason for asking is this: RAF-navigator Pat Highland, he was hidden by the Venlo resistance movement, kept a diary during his months in Venlo. On 17 September 1944 he observed from his hiding place German fighters starting and landing on Venlo airfield, probably for refueling.

As I am not in the JG's business, I call in the reinforcements from air war historians who are dealing with all sort of JG operations. Perhaps you might give me a hint in the right direction, because I certainly do not want you to do all the work for me!

Many thanks in advance, Marcel Hogenhuis

[John Manrho]

Hello Marcel, nice to hear from you. Of course I am willing to help. The details of JG 6 missions on 17-19 September are well known to me, that part of the research is pretty much done. At the same time I don't think JG 6 was at Venlo for refuelling. I have quite a number of JG 6 logbooks for these missions and they don't list refueling at Venlo. Do you have a time for the refueling on Sept 17? Units that were active on that particular day are I./JG 26, II./JG 26, III./JG 26 and II./JG 6. The last Gruppe we already discussed and nothing indicates refuelling of II./6 at Venlo. I looked at the missions of the JG 26 Gruppen also in detail for my research and they don't seem to be likely candidates either. Could of course be individual pilots that decided to refuel at Venlo and not a complete Staffel/Gruppe. Again, any idea about time or number of aircraft?

[Marcel Hogenhuis]

Hello John,

Many thanks for your prompt reaction! It's a bit late now for me to enter my archive dungeon, but I will check that diary again. I don't have any illusions that Highland has described times nor aircraft type: such details would have been stored in my day-to-day facts list related to Venlo airfield. The most specific detail he might have mentioned was 'fighters' and I am sure that this entry was written within the same notes about the airborne landings near Arnhem.

The absence of 'Venlo airfield' in any of your flight logs is in itself an answer too: at least it seems unlikely, that aircraft of JG 6 have been in Venlo. I do agree however that occasionally some individual fighters could have paid a quick visit for refueling. Circumstancial evidence suggests that airfield Venlo was given up on or soon after 17 September 1944: the first references of scaring off Dutch citizens from the former airfield in the Venlo police diaries are from the 20th September and later. The heavily bombed landing area was further obstructed against possible airborne landings since then.

Many thanks for pointing me in the direction of other possible units from which some aircraft might have landed in Venlo, too short to be noticed in detail. I will keep searching for details. The problem I discovered with eye-witnesses from that month: they seem to have forgotten most details because these events were minor when compared with the mass devastations by the bombing campaign against the Venlo bridges in October and November 1944... Shit happens!

Now Hauptmann Abel again: though I put his story on the frequently visited website from the Venlo archive, no reaction so far...

All the best, Marcel

[John Manrho]

Marcel, did some further checking but nothing came up. Hey...now the a/f book is finished for you, why don't start writing a thorough and detailed Chronik on I./NJG 1..????....:-)))) cheers, JM.

[Marcel Hogenhuis]

Hello John,

First thank you for helping and I do appreciate your suggestions. What do you mean with "now the A/F book is finished for me" ? Those two volumes of Derix (written in 1990) or the recent and detailed book of Hub Groeneveld, mainly focused on the Yankee-55 period and after war years ?

Actually my plan is to write a bi-lingual (or tri-lingual) mixture of I.NJG 1 history and Venlo A/F during WW-2. This bi-lingual thing is just exchanging the films with Dutch text during the printing process with the German and/or English text > so, the whole printing becomes cheaper because of the higher volume in total. However, with for instance 3x 1000 volumes I could serve most people.

Well, though the job will never be finished of course, there are still a few white spots to fill in before that project will be finished.

All the best, Marcel

[John Manrho]

Hello Marcel,

I was thinking of the Dutch Airfields - book of the Studygroup. Or didn't you participate in that? Don't try to cover every blind spot, there will always be some and it will take ages to get the final bits and pieces. Will talk to Jaap concerning Abel next Saturday in 't Harde.

cheers,

John.

[kalender1973]

Originally Posted by John Manrho

Anybody seriously interested in JG 6 operations in January-May 1945 must buy the Luftflotte 6 KTB microfilms available at MA/BA Freiburg or PRO London.

It' s very strange, but the from MA/Ba Freiburg I have the reply, that they haven't microfilms, but only hard copy can be provided.

Also they have the Anlagenbände zum Kriegstagebuch RL 7/523 bis 547.

If somebody know, if these Anlagebände contains the usefull information ?

[John Manrho]

Yes, they are only available as hard copies at Freiburg. Beware it is over 6,000 pages, probably only 1-2% dealing with JG 6......ordering copies would cost you > 2500 Euros....