Kampfgeschwader 55
Kampfgeschwader 55 "Greif" was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. was one of the longest serving and well-known in the Luftwaffe. The wing operated the Heinkel He 111 exclusively until 1943, when only two staffeln of its four Gruppen used the Junkers Ju 88C.
Founded in May 1939, the Geschwader was a product of a late surge in expanding the size of the Luftwaffe medium bomber forces. The formation of the wing began on 1 May 1939 with the creation of the command Gruppe and I. and II./KG 55. III./KG 55 was formed on 1 November 1939 two months after the outbreak of war in Europe. IV./KG 55 was formed on 1 August 1940 to train new crews sent to the Geschwader. The formation's first Geschwaderkommodore was Wilhelm Süssmann.
KG 55 first saw action in the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. During the Phoney War—September 1939–April 1940—the bomber wing flew armed reconnaissance missions over France. In May 1940 participated in the Battle of Belgium and Battle of France through to the end of the campaigns in June 1940.
In July 1940 took part in the Battle of Britain but suffered significant losses in the battle. On 14 August KG 55 lost Geschwaderkommodore Alois Stoeckl killed over England. It continued operations over the British Isles during The Blitz until June 1941. attacked targets over Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
In June 1941 the unit's Gruppen participated in Operation Barbarossa and spent the next years on the Eastern front. flew most of its operations on the southern sector in support of Army Group South, a front-level battle group of the German Army. groups participated in the early successes which included the large battles of encirclements at Kiev and First Battle of Kharkov. The command also took part in the Battle of Moscow and bombed the city.
In 1942 participated in the Second Battle of Kharkov and the Battle of the Caucasus and Battle of Stalingrad. continued to operate as a bomber unit and air supply unit to support the German Army and also undertook some strategic bombing operations in 1943 and 1944. In the aftermath of the Battle of Kursk the unit was increasingly forced to fly at night owing to the Soviet Air Force achieving air superiority. In 1944 it carried out counter-air operations against United States Army Air Force forces based in the Soviet Union.
In October 1944 I., II., and III., were re-designated KG to convert to fighter aircraft for the Defence of the Reich operations. The Gruppen remained active until the last day of the war. IV./KG 55 was disbanded on 21 November 1944. The independent 14./KG 55 on 27 April 1945.
For the duration of the war, KG 55 flew 54,272 combat operations, dropped 60,938 metric tons of bombs, carried 7,514 metric tons of supplies from 1 September 1939 to 1 October 1944. The Geschwader lost 710 men killed in action and 747 missing.
History
On 1 April 1934 a unit called the Hanseatische Fliegerschule e. V. was formed, initially based at Fassberg. This organisation was formed into a Geschwader and created as a Kampfgeschwader on 1 May 1939. The command staffel, or Stab unit, was created from KG 155, a defunct bomber unit on 1 May 1939. The organisation was created at Giessen aerodrome and was subordinated to Luftflotte 4. The Stabsstaffel was placed under the command of Wilhelm Süssmann, who became the first Geschwaderkommodore of KG 55. The unit trained intensively over the spring and summer, 1939. On 31 August Süssmann was ordered to Wesendorf in preparation for an attack on Poland. The unit was equipped with the Heinkel He 111P-4 medium bomber.I. Gruppe was formed at Langendiebach on 1 May 1939. This unit was formed from I./KG 155. The unit was expanded and trained on the He 111 through to 26 August. The Gruppe was placed on alert on that day and transferred to Dedelstorf on 31 August 1939 under the command of Gruppenkommandeur ''Major Walter Traub. The group remained active until 1 May 1943 when it was re-designated Lehrgeschwader 1 and transferred to that wing. I./KG 55 was reformed on 10 June 1943 at Stalino in the Soviet Union using personnel from Transportfliegergruppe 10, the former Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung 5.
II./KG 55 was also founded at Giessen and trained alongside I./KG 55. Data records that it had 31 He 111s when it was ordered to the airbase at Wesendorf under the leadership of Gruppenkommandeur Otto von Lachemair. III./KG 55 was officially formed at Neudorf near Oppeln in Silesia on 1 December 1939. The staffeln began forming exactly a month earlier on 1 November. The formation spent the winter training on the He 111 and were ready for operations by May 1940. The Gruppe was operational by March and was placed on high alert on 24 March. It was based at Gablingen until the western offensive. Major Hans Schemmell commanded the unit from 1 December 1939 – 30 September 1940.
The Geschwader was the largest homogeneous flying formation in the Luftwaffe which usually 90-120-aircraft strong. Each Geschwader was split into three to four Gruppen of 30 to 40 aircraft. Finally, the Gruppen were split into Staffeln'' containing 12 to 15 aircraft.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
On 1 September 1939 Adolf Hitler issued orders for Fall Weiss to be implemented and the Wehrmacht attacked Poland. was placed under the command of the 4. Flieger Division under the command of General Alfred Keller. The Flieger Division was subordinated to Luftflotte 4. KG 55 flew attacks against Polish Air Force airfields on 3 September, after being left out of the campaign's first two days. The Geschwaderstab and I./KG 55 were ordered to Maerzdorf/Ohlau and II./KG 55 was moved to Rosenborn. Whilst there the crews listened to operational experiences from the Dornier Do 17-equipped Kampfgeschwader 4.Commander-in-chief of Luftflotte 4, Alexander Löhr, ordered KG 55 into action and the wing bombed railway targets in support of the German Fourth Army. The attacks were made in a 10–30 degree dive from altitudes of. The operations were so successful it reduced the number of targets and the bombers reverted to close air support operations. The rail lines on the Radom–Kraków line were permanently severed. KG 55 flew 13 operations and 275 individual sorties; the Stabsstaffel flew 13 armed reconnaissance missions.
KG 55 was also heavily involved in the Battle of the Bzura. Three Polish Army groups attempted to break out of an encirclement and the German Eighth Army could not contain the attack. The Luftwaffe initiated a large air offensive against the Polish forces on 8 September. I. and II./KG 55 were involved in attacking communication targets while other units offered close air support. The offensive was successful and the Polish resistance broken. Operations moved south thereafter, operations against bridges on the Vistula and attacks against Polish forces retreating towards Romania also absorbed much of the wing's effort. The Geschwader suffered its first loss when one bomber made a forced-landing with no casualties on 11 September during long-range operations against Przemysl. The Luftwaffe was flying further to the east by this stage.
On 12 September 1939 Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring visited the unit. I./KG 55 flew against target in the Dubno area on 15 September as operations wound down. On this date KG 55 flew 363 individual sorties. By the 20 September the number of sorties flown stood at 670. On the night of the 16/17 September Luftflotte 4 was ordered to stand down and cease operations as part of the Nazi-Soviet Pact. The Red Army invaded Poland the following morning. II./KG 55 was moved back to Giessen on 22 September. During the campaign KG 55 suffered one complete loss of aircraft and crew, in which an Oberleutnant Walter Fritz and his crew from 1./KG 55 were killed in action south west of L'vov.
Following the conclusion of operations in Poland, which ended on 6 October 1939, I./KG 55 transferred to Ingolstadt-Manching on 9 October. Then the Gruppe moved to Neuburg an der Donau on 13 February 1940. It flew some reconnaissance operations over France dropping leaflets in the Nancy area and over the Maginot Line. The formation moved to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base on 2 March but reverted to Neuburg on 23 April. II./KG 55 moved to Ingolstadt on 10 November 1939 and moved to Schwäbisch-Hall on 13 January 1940 under the 5th Flieger Division. It moved to Leipheim and on 3 February 1940 flew at least one leaflet mission in eastern France. III./KG 55 were combat ready and were stationed at Gablingen.
Battle of France
The end of the Phoney War on 10 May 1940 came with Operation Fall Gelb, the invasion of France and the Low Countries. Stab./KG 55 had six He 111s at Leipham for the operation. The Geschwader was placed under the command of Luftflotte 3 although it was still subordinated to the 5th Flieger Division. I./KG 55 committed 35 He 111s to the offensive. II./KG 55 could muster 36 He 111s and 17 of 36 He 111s on strength with III./KG 55 were combat ready. The units were to be engaged in counter-air operations against the French Armée de l'air.Stab./KG 55 began operations on 10 May in the Lorraine region of France, which would include missions over Nancy, Toul and Epinal. In the first day of action the Geschwader did not suffer any casualties. II. and III./KG 55 attacked Nancy-Essey Airport which was heavily damaged. I./KG 55 attacked Toul-Croix de Metz Airfield. I./KG 55 moved to Baltringen in the evening and flew a long-range operation against rail depots in Orléans on 11 May. II./KG 55 flew attacks against similar targets but included bombing rail and bridge targets around Châteaudun on 12 May. KG 55 flew attacks against 38 airfields from 11 to 13 May. Hugo Sperrle, commanding Luftflotte 3, claimed 100 Allied aircraft on the ground in these operation and another 100–150 in hangars. A second operation hit the railway of Rethel. Stab./KG 55 attacked the Châteaudun Air Base and supported German army advances at Charleville-Mézières and the Battle at Sedan. From 11 May–2 June it flew operations against Châteauroux-Déols Air Base, Orleans, Soissons and Lyon – Mont Verdun Air Bases.
I./KG 55 moved again to Malmsheim near Stuttgart. The formation attacked Soissons on 15 May and Reims on 18 May supported by II./KG 55. III./KG 55 was confined to more northern operations: attacking Verdun on 16 May and flying the only known mission of the unit in the Battle of Belgium, to Charleroi, three days earlier on 13 May before moving to Eutingen on 24 May. Through May, KG 55 operated were engaged against targets in central, southern, and eastern France. The unit did not participate in the battles against the British forces in the Battle of Dunkirk and Lille. KG 55, was however involved in anti-shipping operations in the English Channel. On 1 June it was transferred to IV Fliegerkorps to participate in these operations.
In May losses were sustained. On 12 May Allied fighters shot down a Heinkel of 4./KG 55, whilst it was attacking railway targets North East of Reims, for the unit's first loss of the battle. The next day, 13 May, cost KG 55 ten machines, six from Stab. and 4./KG 55. On that day alone the unit's losses had exceeded that of the Polish Campaign. The losses suffered by KG 55 on 13 May were the worst of the war. A further seven machines were damaged and forced to land throughout the remainder of the fighting, although only two machines and crews were completely lost. The first of these, a 9./KG 55 Heinkel, was flown by Unteroffizier Horst Mahnert. Whilst returning from a mission to bomb airfields in the Lyon area on 2 June 1940 it strayed into Swiss airspace and was shot down near Ursins by Capitaine Hans Thurnheer in a Swiss Air Force Messerschmitt Bf 109.
In June KG 55 continued long-range operations. It is believed the Geschwader flew to Marseille on 1 June 1940 on a leaflet-dropping exercise with Kampfgeschwader 53. On 3 June the entire wing flew on Operation Paula—a mass attack against industrial targets around Paris. It supported the drive of the Army Group B to Paris until the city's capture on 14 June. The last operations were flown on 22 June 1940, three days before the French surrender. From 6–19 June the formation operated in Geschwader-strength against troop concentrations and rail targets around Nancy. Between 20 and 23 June 1940, KG 55 were already operating over the United Kingdom, bombing targets in Bristol and Cardiff flying from forward airfields near Paris.
KG 55 flew 886 combat operations against troop concentrations, 725 against rail targets, 406 against airfields, 49 anti-shipping operations and harbour attacks, 148 armed reconnaissance sorties and 46 dropping leaflets for the duration of the French campaign. I./KG 55 flew 897 missions and lost 10 bombers. II./KG 55 flew 571 combat sorties and lost 11 Heinkels. From 10 May—23 June 1940 III./KG 55 flew 595 combat missions and lost 9 bombers.