Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum  

Go Back   Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum > Discussion > Luftwaffe and Axis Air Forces

Luftwaffe and Axis Air Forces Please use this forum to discuss the German Luftwaffe and the Air Forces of its Allies.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 14th December 2019, 10:36
Edward L. Hsiao Edward L. Hsiao is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 490
Edward L. Hsiao is on a distinguished road
Post Operation Bienenstock

Gentlemen,

Not much was known about Operation Bienenstock (Beehive) which was commanded by Oberst Hajo Herrmann. This idea was to attack Allied aircraft by Luftwaffe sabotage operations against airfields using explosive or the Panzerfaust. I want to know about the actions and successes against airfields on April and May of 1945 please. I know the missions of Operation Bienenstock against Allied and Soviet targets were incomplete. There is no complete book about Operation Bienenstock. Help please.

Edward L. Hsiao
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 14th December 2019, 11:16
Nick Beale's Avatar
Nick Beale Nick Beale is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Exeter, England
Posts: 5,782
Nick Beale has a spectacular aura aboutNick Beale has a spectacular aura aboutNick Beale has a spectacular aura about
Re: Operation Bienenstock

Quote:
Originally Posted by Edward L. Hsiao View Post
Gentlemen,

Not much was known about Operation Bienenstock (Beehive) … There is no complete book about Operation Bienenstock. Help please.

Edward L. Hsiao
There is something about it Christian Moeller's "Das letzte Aufgebot der deutschen Luftwaffe" but really it was a very small operation which seems to have been completely ineffective (unsurprisingly).

If you download and read through the ULTRA files from April–May 1945 from the UK National Archives (files DEFE 3/561–572) you will find a few messages about these operations, for example:
DEFE3/568

KO 786

7. JD to units on 14th (APril): Lw. Kdo. west has ordered undertakings to be carried out in rear of Allies against important targets (installations, bridges, columns, tanks, locomotives etc.). For these tasks volunteers from Army and Luftwaffe, courageous men ready to go to their death will be employed as pilots, as Panzerfaust men and for demolitions. Fieseler Storchs will be used. When they have carried out their task men will be collected by a waiting aircraft of during following night.

7. JD to set up detachment to be known as Luftwaffe Station (comment to be called MEREDITH, German TOTENKOPF) under former commander FAGr. 123 to direct operations. All preparations to be completed in shortest space of time, building up from little equipment and drawing upon other units. Motto: “Up and at ‘em”.

Units to report immediately men qualified as pilots and to use Panzerfaust (pilots of operational units only if no longer employable on operations), also men trained in demolition work. Stocks of Fi 156 to be reported and whether provided with electric starter and auxiliary tank.

(Strong indications first) collection airfiled for personnel Schleißheim (Y.86). Airfiled to be stocked as detachment’s operational airfield, tensts to accommodate about 200 men.

KO 844
(18 April) Lw.Kdo. West intention to use remaining SO crews with Fw 44 and Fw 58 with Panzerfaust and explosives to interrupt Allied supplies and movements.

DEFE3/569

KO 1139
(19 April) JG 53 ordered III. Gruppe to send six Panzerfaust men to Buch near Fürstenfeldbruck for Operation Meredith
Other relevant messages whose serial numbers I noted down are KO 1543 (DEFE 3/571); KO 1822, 1860, 1877, 1896 and 1988 (all DEFE 3/572)

Dr. Fritz Marktscheffel, who died recently (see obituaries) was probably the person who did the most research into this topic.
__________________
Nick Beale
http://www.ghostbombers.com
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 14th December 2019, 12:32
Chris Goss's Avatar
Chris Goss Chris Goss is offline
Alter Hase
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 11,194
Chris Goss has a spectacular aura aboutChris Goss has a spectacular aura about
Re: Operation Bienenstock

Hajo was now placed onto the Reserve and was posted to Königsberg waiting for a job to be given to him which turned out to be going to Hungary to list those German troops retreating through that country. However, in November 1944, he was recalled to Berlin by General Dietrich Peltz, another highly experienced bomber pilot and who now commanded IX Fliegerkorps and under whom bomber units were now converting to jet fighters in the hope that this would make a difference. Hajo went to the staff of II Fliegerkorps and in January 1945, he took command of 9 Fliegerdivision in Prague. However, it was too little too late and with reducing numbers of pilots and aircraft and almost total Allied air superiority, he was forced to conceive the idea of pilots ramming Allied aircraft as a last ditch effort-the so called Sonderkommando Elbe. Finally, he is believed to have formed Sonderkommando Totenkopf or Bienenstock (Deaths head or Beehive) around April 14 1945 which was manned by volunteers from the Army and Luftwaffe and believed to have been commanded by experienced former Legion Condor and Battle of Britain bomber pilot and Ritterkreuz winner Major Otto Köhnke. Operations were to be carried out behind Allied lines by personnel armed mainly with Panzerfaust anti-tank rockets and on April 25, 1945, ten aircraft each with two crew were tasked to attack supplies, tanks and bridges in the Rottweil/Tuttlingen areas in southern Germany; five took off and four returned (and of those two of them were damaged).The following day nine took off to attack similar targets in the Dillingen area-a bridge at Günsberg was confirmed destroyed but five aircraft failed to return. The final mission took place on April 29, 1945; three aircraft took off and none returned.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 14th December 2019, 16:20
Andy Mitchell's Avatar
Andy Mitchell Andy Mitchell is online now
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Biggin Hill, UK
Posts: 777
Andy Mitchell will become famous soon enoughAndy Mitchell will become famous soon enough
Re: Operation Bienenstock

Eduard

Have a look at this as well.
__________________
Best Regards

Andy Mitchell

LuftwaffeData Wiki including the history of Aufklgr. 122
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 17th December 2019, 08:17
Edward L. Hsiao Edward L. Hsiao is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 490
Edward L. Hsiao is on a distinguished road
Re: Operation Bienenstock

Thank you for replies guys.

Edward L. Hsiao
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 17th December 2019, 10:52
Edward L. Hsiao Edward L. Hsiao is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 490
Edward L. Hsiao is on a distinguished road
Question Re: Operation Bienenstock

Gentlemen,

Before Operation Bienenstock took place,were there any attempts by the Luftwaffe to send in their commandos in blowing up airfields and four-engined planes of USAAF in Italy or other places like in late 1944 or early 1945?

Edward L. Hsiao
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Researching the Luftwaffe through Prisoner Interrogations Bruce Dennis Luftwaffe and Axis Air Forces 61 23rd February 2023 15:19
Review: Operation Diver: Guns, V1 Flying Bombs and Landscapes of Defence, 1944-45 by Colin Dobinson Bombphoon Books and Magazines 0 30th April 2019 00:39
RAF losses 5./6. March 1945 JanZ Allied and Soviet Air Forces 13 25th February 2012 13:40
Martin "Tino" Becker claims 22 March 1944 rlapes Luftwaffe and Axis Air Forces 18 13th November 2010 21:20
Losses of B-17's in RCM role paul peters Allied and Soviet Air Forces 4 15th February 2006 21:57


All times are GMT +2. The time now is 16:58.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2018, 12oclockhigh.net