Questions about Operation Steinbock losses

[Simon Trew]

Laurent,

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Yes, the Luftflotte 3 loss tables in AIR 20/7709 are detailed. They do not link losses to units, however, nor provide any information about personnel losses.

I have photos of all pages from January – May inclusive, for my ‘Steinbock’ research purposes. I also have the June, July and August loss tables. I can Wetransfer them to you if you are interested. PM me if so. They are quite large files so it might take a few transfers. But it is possible.

Below is a summary of the He 111 data. I am not especially interested in He 111s as they did not participate in ‘Steinbock’. But they are still interesting to me because they were in 1944 quite an unusual aircraft (as a ‘bomber’) in the West. So understanding how their losses were calculated with reference to units like KG 26 should shed light on the principles that govern inclusion in (or exclusion from) the Luftflotte 3 loss tables with reference to other types, especially Ju 88s belonging to KG 26, KG 30, KG 76 and KG 77, He 177s belonging to KG 40 and KG 100, and Do 217s belonging to KG 100. If I can understand that, then I can confirm more easily Luftflotte 3 losses among units involved in ‘Steinbock’ (not only on operations but in accidents, transfer flights etc). As you know, there are some good unit histories that shed light on these kind of ‘non-battle’ losses, but (as far as I’m aware) there aren’t histories of KG 30 or KG 40. It is true there are good books about the He 177 that include loss data, but it is all a jigsaw.

On a vaguely related matter, I have been surprised to discover that the various published orders of battle presented for Steinbock forces on the eve of the operation all contain oddities or exclude units that probably ought to be included. For example, Mackay and Parry’s excellent ‘The Last Blitz’ (p.60) lists III/KG 30 as a ‘Steinbock’ unit (when it wasn’t) while Medcalf's ‘Ju 88 Vol 2’ (p.606) excludes I/KG 76 entirely, despite the fact that it was heavily involved in the opening raids. As for figures for KG 66 aircraft available, nobody seems to agree with anybody else! Anyway, I guess that is another story.

Best wishes,

Simon

Here are the January – May 1944 He 111 losses. I hope they are interesting to you and others, and I wish you luck in linking KG 26 losses over the Mediterranean to the data below!

2 Jan: 2 damaged (non-operational)
5 Jan: 1 destroyed on ground by bombs + 1 damaged (non-operational)
10 Jan: 1 damaged (non-operational)
13 Jan: 1 damaged (non-operational)
14 Jan: 1 damaged (non-operational)
21 Jan: 3 destroyed and 5 damaged on ground by bombs + 1 destroyed and 1 damaged (non-operational)
22 Jan: 1 destroyed (non-operational)
23 Jan: 1 destroyed (non-operational)
24 Jan: 1 destroyed and 1 damaged (non-operational)
25 Jan: 1 damaged (non-operational)
26 Jan: 2 damaged (non-operational)
27 Jan: 1 damaged on ground by bombs
1 Feb: 1 missing on operational flight
3 Feb:1 damaged (non-operational)
5 Feb: 1 destroyed in air combat + 6 destroyed and 5 damaged on ground by bombs
6 Feb: 2 destroyed and 3 damaged on ground by bombs
7 Feb: 1 damaged (non-operational)
8 Feb: 1 damaged (non-operational)
11 Feb: 2 damaged on operations but not by enemy action
13 Feb: 1 damaged (non-operational)
16 Feb: 1 destroyed (non-operational)
26 Feb: 1 destroyed (non-operational)
4 March: 1 destroyed (non-operational)
18 March: 1 destroyed and 1 damaged on ground by bombs
28 March: 7 destroyed and 7 damaged on ground by bombs
20 April: 1 damaged (non-operational)
23 April: 3 destroyed and 2 damaged in air combat
25 April: 4 destroyed and 3 damaged on ground by bombs
28 April: 1 destroyed on ground by bombs and 1 damaged on ground ‘by aircraft fire’ [strafing]
4 May: 4 destroyed in air combat
8 May: 1 destroyed on ground by bombs
11 May: 1 destroyed on ground by bombs

[Simon Trew]

Glad I did that - revealed a stupid error on my part. 43 destroyed, not 53. Time to correct my data tables.

[Laurent Rizzotti]

I criss-crossed you list with my data:

2 Jan: 2 damaged (non-operational)
5 Jan: 1 destroyed on ground by bombs + 1 damaged (non-operational)
10 Jan: 1 damaged (non-operational)
Not in table: 10 Jan: 4 MIA, 2 KIA for I./KG 26 in Med in book “Torpedo Los”, losses also in MAW4
13 Jan: 1 damaged (non-operational)
14 Jan: 1 damaged (non-operational)
21 Jan: 3 destroyed and 5 damaged on ground by bombs + 1 destroyed and 1 damaged (non-operational)
22 Jan: 1 destroyed (non-operational) – He 111 H-6 WNr 7071 of 11./KG 55 (4 KIFA) https://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=40390
23 Jan: 1 destroyed (non-operational)
Not in table: I./KG 26 (4 dead, 2 wounded in Med this day in book “Torpedo Los”) 3 He 111 lost off Italy in MAW4
24 Jan: 1 destroyed and 1 damaged (non-operational) – possibly IV./KG 53 (4 killed this day in book “Kampfgeswchader 53 Legion Condor”)
Not in table: I./KG 26 (4 MIA this day in book “Torpedo Los”), 1 He 111 lost off Italy in MAW4
25 Jan: 1 damaged (non-operational)
26 Jan: 2 damaged (non-operational)
27 Jan: 1 damaged on ground by bombs
Not in table: He 111 P-2 WNr 1592 of school B-15 shot down by an Intruder near Bourges (3 KIA), Avions n°77
1 Feb: 1 missing on operational flight – possibly I./KG 26 (4 MIA, 4 WIA in Med this day in book “Torpedo Los”), 1 He 111 lost in Med (3 MIA, 1 POW) and another crash-landed in Spain (4 WIA) in MAW4
3 Feb:1 damaged (non-operational)
5 Feb: 1 destroyed in air combat – He 111 11./KG 55 shot down by an Intruder (3 KIA) http://www.btinternet.com/~air_research/kg55loss.pdf (dead link) + 6 destroyed and 5 damaged on ground by bombs
Note: second line losses under bombs 1 He 111 of KG 101 damaged in Tours, 1 He 111 of Telefunken Berlin damaged in Villacoublay. Avions n°82
Note: according to a testimony in book “Kampfgeswchader 53 Legion Condor” IV./KG 53 base was bombed and 3 airmen were killed, but no aircraft was hit
6 Feb: 2 destroyed and 3 damaged on ground by bombs
7 Feb: 1 damaged (non-operational)
Not in table: 7 Feb: 4 MIA for I./KG 26 in Med in book “Torpedo Los”, nothing in MAW4 on this date
8 Feb: 1 damaged (non-operational) – possibly He 111 H-6 WNr 7772 of KG 101, 15% in Germany. Avions n°82
11 Feb: 2 damaged on operations but not by enemy action
Not in table: 12 Feb: 4 MIA for I./KG 26 in Med in book “Torpedo Los”, 1 He 111 in Corsica in MAW4
13 Feb: 1 damaged (non-operational)
Not in table: 13 Feb: He 111 P-5 WNr 1691 of FFS B-15 100% loss in accident near Bourges (7 KIFA), Avions n°82
16 Feb: 1 destroyed (non-operational)
26 Feb: 1 destroyed (non-operational) – possibly Heinkel 111 Z-1 WNr 2704 of IV./LLG 2 (3 WIA) https://www.histavia21.net/HISTAV2/Cra1944-1.htm, but was shot down by an Intruder
Not in table: 3 March He 111 E WNr 1268 of Ld.Kdo Westküste Frankreich damaged at 40% by enemy fire (no crew loss), Avions n°88

4 March: 1 destroyed (non-operational)
18 March: 1 destroyed and 1 damaged on ground by bombs
Not in table: 21 March: He 111 P-5 WNr 1993 of FFS B-15 100% shot down by P-51 (2 KIA, 3 WIA), Avions n°88
Not in table: 27 March: 1 He 111 destroyed and 1 damaged at Cazaux by bombs (both of Erpr.St.d.Lw Rechlin), Avions n°88
28 March: 7 destroyed and 7 damaged on ground by bombs – possibly at Dijon (2 WIA for IV./KG 55) and/or Tavaux (1 KIA, 1 WIA for IV./KG 55) https://www.histavia21.net/HISTAV2/Cra1944-1.htm
Not in table: 28 March: 1 He 111 of FFS B-15 1 damaged at Nimes in accident, Avions n°88
Not in table: 30 Mar: 4 MIA for I./KG 26 in Med in book “Torpedo Los”, 1 He 111 crashed off French Med coast (3 MIA, 1 KIA) in MAW4
20 April: 1 damaged (non-operational)
23 April: 3 destroyed and 2 damaged in air combat – 5 He 111 of IV./KG 55 shot down or crash-landed (9 KIA, 7 WIA) https://www.histavia21.net/HISTAV2/Cra1944-1.htm
25 April: 4 destroyed and 3 damaged on ground by bombs
28 April: 1 destroyed on ground by bombs and 1 damaged on ground ‘by aircraft fire’ [strafing]
4 May: 4 destroyed in air combat – 4 He 111 of IV./KG 55 shot down (8 KIA, 3 WIA) https://www.histavia21.net/HISTAV2/Cra1944-1.htm
8 May: 1 destroyed on ground by bombs
11 May: 1 destroyed on ground by bombs

Remarks:
_ of all I./KG 26 known losses in the period, only 1 on 1 Februay is possibly in the Luftflotte 3 table, and it is not even sure (2 KG 26 losses that day, only one in table)
_ of all the second-lines losses in the period, probably none are in the table, except possibly 2 on 5 February
_ identified losses with correct number and cause are from IV./KG 55, and possibly IV./KG 53

Comparison between Luftflotte 3 and Flugzeugbestand show no clear link:
January: 15 due to enemy action (I./KG 26 15), 6 without enemy action (I./KG 26 4, IV./KG 53 1, IV./KG 55 1)
February: 5 due to enemy action (I./KG 26 4, IV./KG 55 1), 1 without enemy action (IV./KG 55 1)
March: 5 due to enemy action (I./KG 26 2, IV./KG 55 2, IV./KG 53 1), 2 without enemy action (I./KG 26 1, IV./KG 55 1)
April: 21 due to enemy action (IV./KG 55 14, I./KG 26 6, IV./KG 53 1), 4 without enemy action (IV./KG 53 4)
May: 7 due to enemy action (IV./KG 55 7), 5 without enemy action (IV./KG 55 5)

Table:
January: 4 destroyed on the ground, 3 destroyed non-operational
February: 1 missing on operational flight, 1 destroyed in air combat, 8 destroyed on the ground, 2 destroyed non-operational
March: 8 destroyed on the ground, 1 destroyed non-operational
April: 3 destroyed in air combat, 5 destroyed on the ground
May: 4 destroyed in air combat, 2 destroyed on the ground

[Simon Trew]

Thanks Laurent, that is all very helpful and I appreciate you going to the trouble to do this.

I have Schmidt's 'Torpedos Los!' but as you know, the loss list at the back is of personnel, not planes, which is less helpful than one might want. I don't have unit histories for KG 53 or KG 55 since they had nothing to do with 'Steinbock', nor do I have the editions of 'Avions' to which you refer, so your clarifications are very welcome.

I do have Balss's February loss book (though not Trendle for the same month - I ought to get that), which - as an example - shows that the 7 February loss (crew mentioned in Schmidt but missing from MAW 4) was He 111 H-11, Wnr. 8067, 1H+BB of 2./KG 6, which took off from Salon and crashed near Cassino.

I probably should mention that in the Luftflotte 3 loss tables, He 111 'bombers' are distinguished from He 111 transports, which are recorded separately. There is also a 'miscellaneous' category, which I take to include hack and personal aircraft, but which I guess might include the occasional He 111.

From what you write, it seems like a working hypothesis is that losses for aircraft technically under command of Luftflotte 3 and based at airfields in southern France, but which operated over Italy and the Mediterranean, are NOT included in the Luftflotte 3 loss tables. If that turns out to be true, that is very good news for me, since it means I don't have to try to separate KG 26, KG 77 etc. losses in the south from the Luftflotte 3 loss tables (since they aren't included in those tables in the first place). In your reply of 8 April, you mention that at least some of the KG 26 losses (possibly all) were included under a separate heading ('Einsatz Sud'). If that turns out to be true for the entire January - May period (which would seem to make sense), then my problem largely goes away.

I'll continue to work on this. My impression is that 'Steinbock' losses do align well with the Luftflotte 3 loss tables. But the problem is that as Balke's KG 2 and Horn's KG 6 and KG 51 histories (for example) show, lots of aircraft were lost during non-operational activities, or in attacks on airfields, and hardly any of these appear in Mackay and other 'Steinbock' accounts. It is a matter of opinion whether they should do, but my basic line of argument is that 'Steinbock' losses should be interpreted widely, and should include aircraft lost in training flights, transfers, accidents etc. So it would be good to be able to confirm as many of Balke's and Horn's claims as possible, and fill gaps for units (e.g. KG 30) which must have lost aircraft in similar circumstances, but for which equally useful unit histories do not yet exist.

Anyway, thanks again and remember that I'm happy to send you the Luftflotte 3 loss tables if that interests you. Just let me know.

I'll update when I've done so more work and am more confident in my own views.

Best,

Simon

[Simon Trew]

Having taken Laurent's suggestion into account and used the 'Flugzeugbestand un Bewegungsmeldungen' data accessible on Michael Holm's website, I get the data below (see also explanatory notes).

Much of this agrees with data presumably taken from the same source in Medcalf, 'Junkers Ju 88 Vol.2 p.620'. But this book seems to omit several 'Steinbock' units which 'joined in' a bit late (III/KG 30 and III/KG 54), as well as one (I./KG 76) that was only briefly involved. It also omits KG 101 elements that were occasionally involved, and there are a couple of data transcription errors. For example, Medcalf has 11 I./KG 40 losses to enemy and another 3 not to enemy in January 1944, when the actual tables on Holm's website have 3 losses to enemy and 3 not to enemy, plus 5 planes transferred to other units (i.e. a total loss of 11 planes, of which three were destroyed). Medcalf also counts II./KG 30 losses during February 1944 as 'Steinbock' losses, when they were actually sustained in Italy.

The biggest difference between my table and Mecalf's lies in the data concerning I./SKG 10. See notes below my data for comment.

Obviously, this table still needs work, not least in matching data to known and suspected losses. And damaged planes also need to be taken into account. Still, I said I would update when I had done a bit more work, and one or two people might find this of some interest or deserving of comment / constructive criticism.

Here goes:

Consolidated losses table

First figure = to enemy / second figure = to other causes
N/A = 'Not applicable'

Unit //// Jan //// Feb //// March //// April //// May //// Total

Stab KG 2 //// 0 / 0 //// 0 / 0 //// 0 / 0 //// 0 / 0 ////1 / 0 //// 1 / 0
I./KG 2 //// 3 / 1 //// 6 / 3 //// 2 / 1 //// 9 / 1 //// 2 / 3 //// 22 / 9
II./KG 2 //// 1 / 2 //// 7 / 2 //// 4 / 1 //// 9 / 1 //// 0 / 1 //// 21 / 7
III./KG 2 //// 6 / 3 //// 5 / 1 //// 11 / 3 //// 13 / 3 //// 4 / 0 //// 39 / 10
V./KG 2 //// 7 / 1 //// N/A //// N/A //// N/A //// N/A ////7 / 1

I./KG 6 //// 2 / 3 //// 2 / 2 //// 3 / 2 //// 0 / 0 ////11 / 1 //// 18 / 8
II./KG 6 //// 3 / 5 //// 8 / 0 //// 5 / 0 //// 5 / 0 //// 2 / 0 //// 23 / 5
III./KG 6 //// 4 / 2 //// 7 / 0 //// 7 / 0 //// 4 / 1 //// 0 / 0 ////22 / 3

II./KG 30 //// 1 / 1 //// N/A //// 9 / 0 //// 5 / 0 //// 5 / 0 //// 20 / 1
III./KG 30 //// N/A //// N/A //// 7 / 1 //// 6 / 0 //// 0 / 0 //// 13 / 1

I./KG 40 //// 3 / 3 //// N/A //// N/A //// N/A //// N/A //// 3 / 3

Stab KG 51 //// 0 / 0 //// 0 / 0 //// 0 / 0 //// 1 / 0 //// 0 / 0 //// 1 / 0
I./KG 51 //// N/A //// N/A //// 3 / 2 //// 4 / 3 //// 0 / 3 //// 7 / 8
II./KG 51 //// N/A //// 4 / 0 //// 0 / 0 //// 4 / 1 //// 2 / 2 //// 10 / 3

Stab KG 54 //// 0 / 0 //// 0 / 0 //// 1 / 0 //// 0 / 0 //// 0 / 0 ////1 / 0
I./KG 54 //// 3 / 1 //// 9 / 0 //// 5 / 1 //// 7 / 1 //// 4 / 0 //// 28 / 3
II./KG 54 //// 3 / 7 //// 4 / 1 //// 6 / 1 //// N/A //// N/A //// 13 / 9
III./KG 54 //// N/A //// N/A //// N/A //// 5 / 2 //// 6 / 0 //// 11 / 2

I./KG 66 //// 5 / 2 //// 9 / 2 //// 5 / 2 //// 11 / 1 //// 1 / 0 //// 31 / 7

I./KG 76 //// 4 / 1 //// N/A //// N/A //// N/A //// N/A //// 4 / 1

I./KG 100 //// 4 / 11 //// 3 / 2 //// 6 / 1 //// 7 / 3 //// 4 / 1 //// 24 / 18
III./KG 100 //// N/A //// N/A //// N/A //// N/A //// 2 / 0 //// 2 / 0

Elts KG 101 //// 0 / 0 //// 1 / 0 //// 1 / 0 //// 3 / 0 //// 1 / 0 //// 6 / 0

I./SKG 10 //// 6 / 0 //// 3 / 2 //// 5 / 0 //// 3 / 2 //// 2 / 1 //// 19 / 5

TOTALS //// 55 / 43 //// 68 / 15 //// 80 / 15 //// 96 / 19 //// 47 / 12 //// 346 / 104

Possibly add two 1.(F)/121 Me 410 sent to photograph results of 25-6 April Portsmouth raid, which were shot down: TOTALS if so = 348 / 104 (452 total)

Notes:

KG 6: Stab KG 6 participated in ‘Steinbock’ with a small number of aircraft, but apparently sustained no losses to enemy action or other causes (other than to overhaul or transfers to other units). Consequently, it is omitted from the table above.

KG 30: Stab KG 30 and I./KG 30 were in north-west Europe until late January 1944 but there is no evidence that they participated in the 21-22 January raids. If any elements did so, they almost certainly suffered no losses. III/KG 30 only joined ‘Steinbock’ in March 1944. II./KG 30 losses suffered during February were sustained in Italy, not ‘Steinbock’ sorties (therefore excluded from table).

KG 40: I./KG 40 includes 1./ and 2./KG 40 only (3./KG 40, with Fw 200s, was based in Norway throughout).

KG 51: II./KG 51 was until 6 February known as V./KG 2 (see separate line above). Some KG 51 aircraft were lost in intruder role rather than in bombing attacks on London and other targets.

KG 54: II./KG 54 was removed from operations at the start of April and dissolved later the same month. III./KG 54 replaced it as a ‘Steinbock’ unit and participated in attacks on the U.K. until the end of May.

KG 76: There is no evidence that Stab KG 76 or II./KG 76 participated in the first ‘Steinbock’ raid, even if either was available. The Stab lost no aircraft in January, so even if it did participate, no record is included here. II./KG 76 lost three aircraft to enemy action in January, but there is evidence that all were destroyed after the Gruppe’s transfer to Italy, from the night of 24-25 January onwards.

KG 100: Figures for III./KG 100 refer solely to its participation in Plymouth raid on 29-30 April (two Do 217 K-3s shot down).

Einsatzstaffel 101: This unit contributed intermittently to ‘Steinbock’ and associated raids. Figures in table above include only confirmed losses during operational sorties against the U.K. Possibly, one or two non-operational losses should be added.

I/SKG 10: Problematical. Reasonably detailed information about 22 or 23 losses during ‘Steinbock’-period raids exists, but Beale ‘Hit & Run Raiders’ appendix lists numerous other losses in accidents etc. If Beale is used, figure for I/SKG 10 is not insignificantly higher, as is overall total.

[Nick Beale]

Credit for “Hit and Run Raiders” belongs to Chris Goss, not me!

[Simon Trew]

Yes, apologies to you both. I had you in mind for another reason, Nick, and the fact that 'Hit and Run Raiders' was open on my desk doesn't seem to have helped me. Mind you, so was Kampfflieger Vol 4, which might be part of the explanation. Again, I apologise for the error!