Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

German Luftwaffe 1935-1945.
Post Reply
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something to share about it ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

The Kampfgeschwader 77 (Bombing Wing) was organized on May 1, 1939 in Praha-Kbely (from the Kampfgeschwaders 153) with Stab. / KG 77 and I. Gruppe. The II. Gruppe in Brünn the same day (from the II Gruppe Kampfgeschwaders 158). The III. Gruppe (from the II Gruppe Kampfgeschwaders 255) was organized in Königgrätz (Hradec Kralove). The unit was equipped with the Do 17. The Commander was Oberst Heinrich Seywald.

The Stab / KG 77 - During the summer supervised the training activities of its Gruppen until the mobilization on August 26, 1939 when deployed in Grottkau / Silesia. On that date it had 9 (9) Do 17 E in Grottkau / Silesia under 2. Fl.Div. / Lfl. 4 (September 1, 1939). The I./KG 77 - detached to Brieg after the mobilization (42 km SE of Breslau) (August 26, 1939). It had 37 (34) Do 17 E in Brieg under 2.Fl.-Div./Lfl. 4. The II./KG 77 - was trained during the summer until the mobilization on August 26, 1939 when it deployed to Grottkau / Silesia; reported having 37 (32) Do 17 E in Grottkau / Silesia under 2. Fl.Div./Lfl. 4 (September 1, 1939). The III./KG 77 - moved to Olmütz, where it trained during the summer. After the mobilization on August 26, 1939, it moved to Brieg in Silesia. It reported that had 34 (26) Do 17 E in Brieg (42 km southeast of Breslau / Silesia) under 2. Fl.Div. / Lfl. 4 (September 1, 1939).

Leutnant Herbert Möckel and his companions of the III.Gruppe / Kampfgeschwader 77 (KG 77) were not surprised on August 31, 1939. Since mid-August, the unit had been stationed in Brieg in Upper Silesia, near the Polish border , and had trained in low-level attacks with their Dornier aircraft. The team found the exercises monotonous and this feeling spread around them. In times of inactivity, the pilots got radio receivers and listened to the daily news. Despite the tense relations between Germany and Poland, many of them doubted that a war would break out. But on the afternoon of August 31, the telephone rang. The assistant responded and it did not take many seconds before his appearance became serious. "At 04:20 tomorrow, we must be ready to start," he told the pilots. "Now everyone should go to rest immediately" ...........................

Sources: Luftflotte IV 1939 - Kagero 17.
 http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=13663
Luftwaffe över Polen 1939. Artur Szulc, militärhistorisk författare. http://www.krigsmyter.nu/smb-luftwaffe- ... n-1939.pdf
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... KG77-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
A Do-17 E1 of the 7./KG 77 (3Z + BR) shortly before the campaign - May 1939 ........................ ........................<br />[url] http://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Do-17/Do-17-KG77/images/Dornier-Do-17E1-7.KG77- (3Z + BR) -Germany-May-1939.jpg [/ url]
A Do-17 E1 of the 7./KG 77 (3Z + BR) shortly before the campaign - May 1939 ........................ ........................
[url] http://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Do-17/Do-17-KG77/images/Dornier-Do-17E1-7.KG77- (3Z + BR) -Germany-May-1939.jpg [/ url]
image016.jpg (22.64 KiB) Viewed 6839 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
Prosper Vandenbroucke
Enthusiast
Posts: 473
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2002 12:01 pm
Location: Braine le Comte - Belgium
Contact:

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by Prosper Vandenbroucke »

Hi Raul,
Here below a link to a Junkers Ju 88A-4 which belonged to the Stab II./Kampfgeschwader 77 but was lost over Egypt
http://www.aircrewremembrancesociety.co ... index.html
Kindly regards
Prosper :wink: :wink:
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Thanks for sharing that link here Prosper :up:. Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something more ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

The war came!

Leutnant Möckel woke up about two hours after midnight. The cool, healthy air of the morning made the crews move slowly. After breakfast, they went to an ordered meeting and if the crew still had doubts about what awaited them, all those thoughts were shattered at the same moment that the commander, Wolf von Stutterheim, spoke to them. "Our bombing group will attack the Krakow airport at low altitude, attack time, at 05:45." The following instructions were very well received by the pilots as it became quite evident. They were ready.

The German troops had orders to cross the Polish border at 04:45 hours. At 04:35, the 38 Dornier machines of the Herbert Möckel Group took off, and in many of the planes, the men thought about everything, in the farewell: "Today you will experience your baptism of fire". Oberst Wolf von Stutterheim could well have spoken to all the pilots, navigators and gunners who entered the hostile territory in the early hours of September 1, 1939.

The first directives on the operations of the Luftwaffe against Poland were formulated four months before the outbreak of the war. The main objective was the complete destruction of the aerodromes in the shortest possible time; so it was about exploiting the moment and eliminating the Polish air force, preferably while it was still on the ground. The most important aviation bases of the Poles were known by the High Command of the Luftwaffe (OKL), but it turned out that they lacked information about war aviation.

The evaluations indicated that a few days of concentrated air operations would be sufficient to greatly reduce the air fighting capacity of the Poles. After that, the Luftwaffe could change its focus and start collaborating with ground attacks in support of the army. In this second step, the Luftwaffe would concentrate its strength on Polish mobilization points, troop concentrations and communications. Support for the ground units in advance was included as a last priority in the Luftwaffe list, phase three, would be developed through direct support flights. Then, the pre-war plans defined the role the Luftwaffe would play in Operation Fall Weiss, the German attack on Poland. But how was it really? We'll see..............

Sources: Luftflotte IV 1939 - Kagero 17.
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=13663
Luftwaffe över Polen 1939. Artur Szulc, militärhistorisk författare.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... KG77-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Crews of the 7./KG 77 in Königgrätz - August 1939; with an X who gave their lives in the Polish campaign ..............<br />https://get.google.com/albumarchive/109781830724590960368/album/AF1QipMTARSh_FBJ2XCPI80z8crpYGctXlB_aSjkn08l
Crews of the 7./KG 77 in Königgrätz - August 1939; with an X who gave their lives in the Polish campaign ..............
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/109781830724590960368/album/AF1QipMTARSh_FBJ2XCPI80z8crpYGctXlB_aSjkn08l
image005.jpg (55.3 KiB) Viewed 6814 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something more ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

Difficult start!

The Luftwaffe began the conflict with the worst possible starting point. Over much of the Polish landscape stretched thick white fog that covered the flight routes and, in some cases, the bombing targets. The weather conditions forced a massive air effort against Warsaw and most of the bombers did not take off until the afternoon.

However, there were exceptions. The aforementioned III. Gruppe/ KG 77, despite the poor visibility, carry out its attack on Rakowice, Krakow airport. Over Krakow the weather had cleared, and the first reconnaissances had shown that the airfield was occupied. When the Mökkel bombing group approached Krakow, the sky was free of Polish fighters, but the air war had begun to warm up. The airport was attacked by several waves. First 60 Heinkel He-111, from Groups I and III of KG 4, which took off from their base in Langenau in Silesia. Then followed a bombing dive attack by the Stukas of the I./ StG 2 under the Maj. Oskar Dinort on hangars and runways, after which the two groups of bombers of KG 77 could not fail to detect the target, marked as it was by fires and columns of smoke. This, however, prevented the vision, so when it was the turn of the III Gruppe, its leader, Oberst Wolfgang von Stutterheim, ordered them to do it at a low level. Flying over the airfield at just 150 feet, the Dornier Do-17 E "Flying Pencils" tended a line of 100-pound bombs along the runway, and seconds later they exploded into the concrete. When the KG 77 landed in Brieg, many of its aircraft were damaged, not by the enemy bombs, much less by the fighters, but by their own splinters flying towards them.

The German pilots reported that the air effort had been a success in which 70 Polish aircraft, including several modern fighters, were destroyed. But really the Germans were not so effective in their attack. Most of the 28 aircraft destroyed were instructional aircraft or machines out of service. Only two modern P.23 Karas aircraft had been destroyed.

Sources: Luftflotte IV 1939 - Kagero 17.
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=13663
Luftwaffe över Polen 1939. Artur Szulc, militärhistorisk författare.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... KG77-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
A flight of Do-17 E of the KG 77 heading towards the assigned target ....................................
A flight of Do-17 E of the KG 77 heading towards the assigned target ....................................
image048.jpg (24.36 KiB) Viewed 6794 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something more ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

Difficult start!

Here we find contradictory information because according to Polish sources around 06:00 hours on that September 1, 1939 from the Balice airfield, near Krakow, took off two P.11 piloted by Cpt. Medwecki and 2nd Lieutenant Gnys. The plane of Cpt. Medwecki fell under fire from Leutnant Frank Neubert's Ju-87B and was shot down killing the pilot, but Gnys escaped and managed to intercept a Do-17 E bomber formation from the KG 77 and downed two aircraft from the 7. / KG 77 that fell to land in the vicinity of the village of Zurada near Olkutz. As a result of this action the members of both crews perished. These planes were the first to be shot down by an allied pilot in the war that had just begun.

However for the Germans the two planes of the 7. / KG 77 fell victims of the fire of the antiaircraft artillery. Another machine of the 8. / KG 77 crashed near Oppeln (Opole) due to the damage produced by the splinters of its own bombs when attacking at low altitude (as we saw earlier).

Sources: Luftflotte IV 1939 - Kagero 17.
The Luftwaffe War Diaries. Cajus Bekker.
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=13663
Luftwaffe över Polen 1939. Artur Szulc, militärhistorisk författare.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... KG77-R.htm
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/109 ... B_aSjkn08l

Any other data about casualties suffered by the KG 77 on the first day? Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Part of the fuselage of the Do-17 E 3Z + FR of the KG 77 .....................................................
Part of the fuselage of the Do-17 E 3Z + FR of the KG 77 .....................................................
image003.jpg (24.14 KiB) Viewed 6770 times
Four German airmen met the death - Krakow September 1, 1939 .....................................................
Four German airmen met the death - Krakow September 1, 1939 .....................................................
image005.jpg (33.54 KiB) Viewed 6770 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something more ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

Difficult start!

Apart from Cracow, there were Stuka attacks on the airfields of Katowitz and Wadowice, while the II./KG 77 attacked Krosno and Moderowka, also when further troop movements in the Wielun area were reported, a bomber Gruppe, the I./KG 77 under Major Balk, was ordered to continue the work of annihilation. However there were no cavalrymen in Wielun, the bombing did great damage to the civilian population and almost totally destroyed the city.

The objectives of the Oberst Seywald's Bombing Group (KG 77) during the afternoon of that first day of war were Jaslo, Krosno and Przemysl.

Sources: Luftflotte IV 1939 - Kagero 17.
The Luftwaffe War Diaries. Cajus Bekker.
Luftwaffe över Polen 1939. Artur Szulc, militärhistorisk författare.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Ground crew preparing the bombs to be loaded in a Do-17 E .................................
Ground crew preparing the bombs to be loaded in a Do-17 E .................................
image006.jpg (48.19 KiB) Viewed 6730 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something more ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

Difficult start!

The Luftwaffe's efforts on the first day of the war revealed that Polish fighters did not interfere with German air operations. The Polish plane P.11c was slow and little armed, in addition, they were very few. But General Albert Kesselring, Commander of the Luftflotte 1, reported that the enemy's air force had escaped the initial attack and could not be located. In the following days both Luftflotten continued to attack the Polish airfields with meager results ..................

Therefore the orders issued for September 2 specified: "Luftflotten 1 and 4 will continue hostilities against the enemy air force ... Special surveillance will resume on the air bases adjacent to Warsaw, Deblin and Posen ..." At dawn Luftflotte 4 was still continuing its air offensive, so the first order issued for the 2./ZG 76 was to provide cover to the Do-17 bombers of the III./KG 77 in flight to Lodz. Around 09:00 hours the 1. / ZG 76 giving aerial cover to the Do-17 of the I./ KG 77 rejected an attack by several Polish fighters. The attack carried out by the KG 77 against the Radom-Sadkow aerodrome was particularly successful .........

Beginning at dawn on September 3, 1939, and continuing through the next day, German bombers and dive bombers carried out a series of attacks aimed at immobilizing the Polish railway system. On this day Polish pilots of the III / 2 DM destroyed a Do-17 E bomber from the Staff of KG 77 near Olkusz ...............

Sources: Luftflotte IV 1939 - Kagero 17.
The Luftwaffe War Diaries. Cajus Bekker.
Luftwaffe över Polen 1939. Artur Szulc, militärhistorisk författare.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).

Feliz Navidad - Feliz Natal - Frohe Weihnachten - Joyeux Noël - Merry Christmas - Wesołych Świąt!. :up:
Attachments
Ground crew in maintenance tasks on a Do-17 E of KG 77 .................................................<br />Original photo album of Kampfgeschwader 77 (KG 77), Pollen u. to. (about 155 photos)
Ground crew in maintenance tasks on a Do-17 E of KG 77 .................................................
Original photo album of Kampfgeschwader 77 (KG 77), Pollen u. to. (about 155 photos)
image016.jpg (71.24 KiB) Viewed 6702 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something more ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

Attack on ground targets in support of the Army!

On September 4, however, the focus changed and phase two began, indirect support for ground operations. Here, it was mainly about bombing the Polish road network, the railway tracks, the troops columns and the mobilization points. The actions followed the plan before the war and were not the result of any intimate cooperation with the army during the battle. After September 5, the repeated attacks against Warsaw were carried out without any disturbance. The Polish Fighter Brigade did not seem to exist at all.

On the sixth day of the war 30 machines of the I. / ZG 76 took off for their first mission providing cover to a formation of Do-17 E of the II./ KG 77; around 08:00 hours, in the vicinity of Zdunska Wola, there was an air combat with several Polish fighters, however there are no records of the Polish side about the meeting. At 08:15 hours 8 Bf-110 B of the 3. / ZG 76 took off to escort at 27 Do-17 E from III./ KG 77 and were soon attacked by Polish aircraft (Pc-11 of 112 EM).

The coordination between the Army and the Luftwaffe is worthy of mention. The most dramatic stories about the "Blitzkrieg" that appear in books and documentaries often describe air attacks as crucial to German success, acting as flying artillery for the well-oiled mechanized war machine. The reality in Poland in 1939 was another. However, when attempts to coordinate operations failed, this sometimes had a negligible effect, and in many cases the bombs also fell on German positions due to the fact that the front line had moved during the time that Luftwaffe reacted to the reports of the Wehrmacht.

Sources: Luftflotte IV 1939 - Kagero 17.
The Luftwaffe War Diaries. Cajus Bekker.
Luftwaffe över Polen 1939. Artur Szulc, militärhistorisk författare.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).

Feliz Navidad - Feliz Natal - Frohe Weihnachten - Joyeux Noël - Merry Christmas - Wesołych Świąt!. :up:
Attachments
A Do-17 E from KG 77 that has suffered structural damage during an emergency landing .....................................
A Do-17 E from KG 77 that has suffered structural damage during an emergency landing .....................................
image006.jpg (41.43 KiB) Viewed 6681 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something more ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

Attack on ground targets in support of the Army!

Already after a week, the Luftwaffe had carried out raids over all the Polish aerodromes. Polish fighting and bombing units had been decimated and were suffering from a serious lack of fuel and spare parts. All Polish air units had also concentrated in the south-eastern part of the country, and the Germans still had great problems finding them. Polish bombers continued raiding the German armies, but on September 14, the Luftwaffe succeeded in locating one of the brigade units in Hutniki warfight airfield. In the attack, 17 Karas were destroyed. It was the first time that the Luftwaffe had succeeded in such an attack against the Polish combat air forces.

By September 11, 1939, Polish troops exposed to continuous air attacks began to lose cohesion and the first signs of chaos appeared. These days the bombers of KG 4 and KG 77 were particularly active. On September 13, 1939, the Do-17 E of the II./ KG 77 took part in the bombing of the railway station in Lublin and the railway tracks between Lwow - Brody, Brest - Kowel and Lublin - Kowel. The Do-17 E of Lt. Eduard Reither was shot down and Reither together with Lt. Heinrich Berg managed to jump by parachute and were taken prisoner - Colonel (plk) Czaplinski saved them from being lynched by the mob and later the Germans saved his wife of the Gestapo.

Sources: Luftflotte IV 1939 - Kagero 17.
The Luftwaffe War Diaries. Cajus Bekker.
Luftwaffe över Polen 1939. Artur Szulc, militärhistorisk författare.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).

Feliz Año Nuevo - Happy New Year - feliz Ano Novo - gluckliches Neues Jahr - Bonne Année - Felice Anno Nuovo - Szczęśliwego nowego roku!! :beer:
Attachments
Bomb of 250 kg anchored in an external support of a Do-17 E of the KG 77; Greetings, God brings luck. Heinrich, Karl ............................................... ..<br />http://odkrywca.pl/samoloty-niemieckie-39-quot-,115351.html
Bomb of 250 kg anchored in an external support of a Do-17 E of the KG 77; Greetings, God brings luck. Heinrich, Karl ............................................... ..
http://odkrywca.pl/samoloty-niemieckie-39-quot-,115351.html
image023.jpg (36.43 KiB) Viewed 6646 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something more ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

Warsaw!

On September 18, the Battle of the Bzura River was over and the Luftwaffe could devote all its attention to Warsaw. The city had been continually exposed to air raids since the first day of the war, but the bombings increased in intensity during the third week of the war. After several failures in conquering the capital by the land forces, the German High Command visualized that the battle for Warsaw would be a continuous source of casualties.

In an effort to achieve the surrender of the city without having to be dragged into bloody street adventures, on September 25 a massive bombing operation was mounted. A total of approximately 400 bombers took off from the aerodromes, in an action that lasted from morning to afternoon. In total, more than 500 tons of explosive bombs and 70 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped on the targets, mainly food, water and power plants. Many civilians were killed and two days later, Warsaw surrendered.

The fight against the Polish Air Force cost the Luftwaffe 187 fallen pilots and 247 aircraft of different categories destroyed. After the victory, they began to systematically analyze the actions and gather the experience of the actions carried out by the aviation. Several reports indicated that the coordination with the ground units did not work satisfactorily since there was no coordination and control officer and no adequate communication equipment.

For Herbert Möckel, the first victorious campaign of Germany ended on September 23, 1939, when his bombing group ordered a technical review of the plane. Two days later the III./ KG 77 was transferred back to the Fatherland. His Polish adventure was over .......................

Sources: Luftflotte IV 1939 - Kagero 17.
The Luftwaffe War Diaries. Cajus Bekker.
Luftwaffe över Polen 1939. Artur Szulc, militärhistorisk författare.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Do-17 E of the 6./KG 77 ..................................................................<br />https://reibert.info/threads/kg77-kampfgeschwader-77.396616/
Do-17 E of the 6./KG 77 ..................................................................
https://reibert.info/threads/kg77-kampfgeschwader-77.396616/
image007.jpg (14.98 KiB) Viewed 6608 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
User avatar
tigre
Patron
Posts: 6959
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:42 pm
Location: Argentina

Re: Kampfgeschwader 77 1939.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; something more ....................................

The Kampfgeschwader 77 Aug-Sep 1939.

Radom 1939.

Sources: http://pwm.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=11931&start=30

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Ground crew preparing material for another mission, while a kette (three aircrafts) of Do-17 takes off  .......................................................
Ground crew preparing material for another mission, while a kette (three aircrafts) of Do-17 takes off .......................................................
image003.jpg (38.28 KiB) Viewed 6524 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Post Reply