KG 1 'Hindenburg' in October 1942

[Dan History]

According to Michael Holm's site, KG 1 had detachments of I and II Gruppe, as well as all of III Gruppe, at Morosovskaya in October 1942. These units flew attacks on targets in Stalingrad, but did they also support the German offensive into the Caucasus? I do not have Larry de Zeng and Doug Stankey's excellent 'Bomber Units' books to hand just now, unfortunately, which would have helped to answer this question.

There is an interesting additional issue here, which Larry and Doug did not have the space to cover in detail. Luftflotte 4 attempted some longer-range operations against Soviet industrial targets at this time, so I would like to check whether KG 1 was involved in these raids.

Regards,

Dan

[Dan History]

Page 64 of John Weal's Ju 88 Kampfgeschwader on the Russian Front throws a little light on this obscure subject:

“two Dno-based Gruppen spent the latter half of September operating against enemy forces exerting pressure on the Demyansk sector of the front south of Lake Ilmen. Then, early in October, the Geschwader was put on standby for another move. This was to take it not just across the Army Group boundary into the central sector, but much further south. By 7 October Major Lau’s three Gruppen found themselves deployed on the two fields at Morosovskaya, just 125 miles away from Stalingrad.

The crews were not impressed with their new surroundings, claiming that the accommodation in Morosovskaya’s earthen bunkers was ‘primitive in the extreme’, but they soon had other things to worry about. On 10 October KG 1’s Ju 88s took part in a major raid on the oil refinery at Grozny, deep in the Caucasus, from which a machine of 1. Staffel failed to return. They would lose at least eight more aircraft during their four weeks on the Stalingrad front, where their main targets were pockets of resistance within the ruins of the city itself, as well as Soviet artillery positions and lines of supply on the east bank of the Volga and beyond.”

Larry and Doug's book has quite a bit more detail than John Weal's book, of course, but no information about the number of sorties or tonnage of bombs dropped. Is that information available?

Regards,

Dan