He.115 at Orbetello seaplane base (Italy)

[Gianandrea Bussi]

Porto Santo Stefano is next to Orbetello, only a few km away, in the Promontorio of the Argentario.
There was a Depot of the Regia Aeronautica (and it's still used by the Italian AF now).

In my source no mention of connections between the trials at Orbetello and the Lw Torpedowaffenplatz at Porto S. Stefano: but the trial of italian torpedoes is probably the more logical answer.

Are you sure that Lw Torpedowaffenplatz at Porto Santo Stefano was established in 1941?

Porto Santo Stefano and Orbetello are both in the Grosseto area, where KG 26 trained and where KSG 102 was based in 1943.



Thank you

Gianandrea

[Larry deZeng]

Are you sure that Lw Torpedowaffenplatz at Porto Santo Stefano was established in 1941?

No. Its mobilization number was issued in 1942, but my experience is that a unit, establishment or other entity was usually in existence for some months before its Mob. Nr. was issued.

[Gianandrea Bussi]

Do you know when that unit was disbanded? It's not included in the german document listing the Luftwaffe ground units in Italy compiled around jan. 1944 held by the IWM.

Thanks

Gianandrea

[Larry deZeng]

Originally Posted by Gianandrea Bussi

Do you know when that unit was disbanded? It's not included in the german document listing the Luftwaffe ground units in Italy compiled around jan. 1944 held by the IWM.
Thanks
Gianandrea

I sure don't. It was an Aussenstelle of the Torpedowaffenplatz at Gotenhafen so it is nearly impossible to find any information about it. I ran across its Mob. Nr. purely by chance while looking through the microfilmed Luftgaukdo. VII records. This means the original paper records would be at BA-MA Freiburg. If I had to guess when it was disbanded, I would say it withdrew from Italy during Oct-Dec 1943 and was officially disbanded at Gotenhafen in Jan-Feb 44.

L.

[Seaplanes]

He 115C W.Nr. 2760 DC+GK was probably the last He 115 to be used for testing of the italian-built Whitehead torpedo (German designation F.5W) in the Grosseto area. The plane left Grosseto on 17.06.1943 and returned to Germany where it joined the Fl.Erg. (See) Kamp as 6H+VH. The unit in Grosseto was refered to as E-Stelle UW Grosseto.

[Gianandrea Bussi]

Thank you both for the informations.

Gianandrea