Denmark 29 August 1943: LW deployments and actions.

[Sid Guttridge]

I am advised that Jorn Junker, Michael Holm and other Denmark specialists may be of assistance with the following:

I have tried in the past to find out about Luftwaffe deployments during Operation Safari, the disarming of the Danish army and fleet on 29 August 1943.

From previous discussions I have the following general picture (from memory).

The only combat action was against the coastal defence ship Nils Juel, which looked as though it was preparing to escape to Sweden. It was apparently spotted leaving port by an He111(?) of Blindflugchule 4 (Copenhagen-Kastrup) and then attacked and damaged by near misses from bombs dropped Ju87s(?) and/or Ju88s of Schiesschule der Luftwaffe (Vaerlose). Are these units and details correct? Were the bombings deliberate attempts to hit the vessel or merely warnings?

I note that IVErg/KG30 was also in Denmark at Aalborg. It appears to have been the most powerful Luftwaffe unit in the country at the time. What was its role in Operation Safari?

In other similar occupations in Vichy France in November 1942 and Hungary in March 1944 Luftwaffe units were given similar priorities: overfly and, if necessary, attack enemy airfields, conduct mass demonstration flights and leaflet drops over major urban centres and overfly the spearheads of German ground columns to demonstrate the availability of close air support. Obviously Danish airfields were no threat on 29 August 1943 as the Luftwaffe was already operating from them and Danish aircraft were in storage, but were mass demonstration flights, leaflet drops and support missions over ground columns flown by the Luftwaffe?

Were any other Luftwaffe units put on standby during Operation Safari?

Finally, in an unrelated question, what happened to Denmark's Fokker DXXIs? Is it mere coincidence that Finland completed a small number of them in early 1944, not long after the Germans presumably captured Denmark's stored aircraft of this type in late August 1943?

Many thanks, in advance, to anyone able to answer, correct, clarify or add to the above.

Cheers,

Sid.