Stuka Flugplatz. Help with a photo.

[photo-war]

Hello! Any guess what LF unit was stationed at the city Petrich, Bulgaria right before invasion to Greece in 1941? Photo came from Gebirgsjager photo album (1./Gebirgs-Artillerie-Regiment 112) and was captioned: Stuka Flugplatz, Petrich.

I see no Stukas there, Bf109 only – hence this airfield was AFB for Jagdgeschwader …

Thanks in advance!


Best regards,
Alexander

[Chris Goss]

According to Jochen Prien, none unless the airfield had a different name to the nearby city

[Richard Aigner]

There is an "S" in between the second "T" and "C", so read "Petritsch"

[Mike Watson]

Hi. ww2.dk has an entry for Petritsch in its LW Airfields section but there is no info on units that were based there.

[Larry deZeng]

Originally Posted by Mike Watson

Hi. ww2.dk has an entry for Petritsch in its LW Airfields section but there is no info on units that were based there.

Generally, I did not include air units that were at a given airfield for 3 days of less. These airfields were used mainly as:
Absprunghafen: advanced landing ground (no permanent staff or services); or as an
Einsatzhafen: operational airfield (minor – limited services; used mainly for fighters, dive-bombers and ground attack aircraft). Ranked I for 1st Class and II for 2d Class.

Accordingly, units were not really "based" or "stationed" there, but rather just "visiting" for a few days. This is further illustrated by the proximity of Petrich to the old 1941 border between Bulgaria and Greece: 7 to 12 kilometers as I make it. The fighters and Stukas were flown in to gas-up and stand by just a day or two before the attack.

L.

[edwest2]

Looking at the photo, I see non-standard tents and a fuel drum.