Küstenfliegergruppe in Brittany, France (Kü.Fl.Gr. 506) May 1942

[Henofred]

Hello/Bonjour,

During the night of 4 May 1942, two Junkers Ju 88 belonging to Kü.Fl.Gr. 506 were claimed by a British night-fighter [Ju 88 A4 Wk-Nr 1528 from 1./Kü.Fl.Gr. 506 and Ju 88 D1 Wk-Nr 1154 from 2./Kü.Fl.Gr. 506] around the airfield of Dinard-Pleurtuit, France. According to several sources, this airfield was occupied by the Kü.Fl.Gr. 106 since February and I wondered what these two bombers were doing there - their unit was at that time based at Leeuwarden in the Low-Countries. Do you know if, during that night, there was a combined mission between the two Gruppen? Or if it was usual for Kü.Fl.Gr. planes to land at another place after a long and exhausting sortie. I thank you beforehand for your answers.

Best regards,
Frederic

[Chris Goss]

It was normal for units to move from home bases to a forward base before and after a mission. You will also need to check if this was an operational mission or a training sortie for these 2 aircraft (and according to the loss report, they were on an operational flight)

[Henofred]

Bonjour and thank you for this clarification Chris. By the way, there are further details regarding this operationnal flight?

Best regards,
Frederic

[Chris Goss]

The target on the night of 3-4 May 1942 was Exeter with the RAF claiming 7 destroyed and one probable (a mix of He 111, Do 217 and Ju 88) between 0140 hrs and 0400 hrs (which was MacLachlan's kills at Dinard) so my guess is they had returned from attacking Exeter when shot down. A quick look and I have a Do 217 destroyed and one damaged from KG 2 and a II/KG 40 Do 217 having a landing accident at Rennes possibly relocating there in preparation for the attack that night

[Henofred]

Merci beaucoup Chris, it is what I wanted to know.

Best regards from Rennes,
Frederic

[Pete63]

Frederic,
PM sent. By the way - these units weren't any "Küstenflieger" anymore, they can be abbreviated as KG 106 and KG 506...
I believe I've read somewhere these aircraft were exchanged/borrowed from each unit when necessary..? There is this famous picture of lots of Ju 88 aircraft waiting to be loaded at Leeuwarden - and S4+.. and M2+.. codes stood there alongside eachother... (This photograph is from a series that is regularly captioned as "somewhere in France - on the western front", but it definitely was taken at the northern part of Fliegerhorst Leeuwarden in the Netherlands...)
With kind regards,
Piet

[Henofred]

Hi/Bonjour Piet,

Thank you for these additional info...Quite frankly, l am inexperienced as regards the "Küstenfliegergruppen".

Best regards,
Frederic