Kette Eberhardt

[sidney]

Thank you for your exhaustive reply, it is great to have someone so knowledgeable on the subject to discuss with.

I am aware that Oblt. Kraft Eberhardt did command the whole flight/squadron/staffel of six Heinkel 51´s (two Kettes) flown by Germans (Sonderstab W) during the late summer/early autumn 1936. In his book, Luftwaffe at War – Gathering Storm 1933 – 1939, page 51, E.R. Hooton referred to this Staffel-strong unit as Gruppe Eberhardt - have you ever come across this designation in any other book on the subject?

I suspect that the first six Heinkels were initially coded "Black 1" to "Black 6" so the planes of Kette Eberhardt were coded between "Black 1" to "Black 6". This is reasonably well documented. If you so wish I can provide you the photographic evidence from the literature. My question was quite specific though - Trautloft flew "Black 4", there is a photo of the He 51 coded "Black 5", but I am not sure who flew it, either Kraft Eberhardt himself, or Herwig Knüppel.

Regards,
Sinisa