Kampfgeschwader 76
Kampfgeschwader 76 was a Luftwaffe bomber Group during World War II. It was one of the few bomber groups that operated throughout the war.
In 1933 Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. To meet the expansionist aims of their Führer, the German state began an enormous rearmament programme to build the Wehrmacht. 76 was created in May 1939 as the Luftwaffe sought to reorganise and increase its strength. The wing was permitted three Gruppen in May 1939, but only two were operational by August. The Dornier Do 17 light bomber equipped the wing's units.
In September 1939 German and Soviet forces invaded Poland, beginning World War II. 76 served in the campaign until the 17 September 1939 and then proceeded to spend the Phoney War resting and re-equipping. All three groups began the offensive in Western Europe on 10 May 1940. 76 supported the German Army in the Battle of Belgium and Battle of France. In July 1940 76 served in the Battle of Britain and The Blitz until May 1941. During the course of these operations it converted to the Junkers Ju 88.
From June 1941 76 supported Army Group North in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. It remained on the Eastern Front until December 1942 and never returned. From December 1942 to January 1944 it operated exclusively the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre, mainly in the Maritime interdiction role. It participated in the Battle of Tunisia, in the final phase of the North African Campaign and also in the Italian Campaign, from July 1943 until May 1944. Some of its staffeln converted to the Messerschmitt Me 410 and Junkers Ju 188 in the spring, 1944.
Some of KG 76s Gruppen saw service on the Western Front in the night intruder role because of Allied air superiority. It formed part of the bomber force for Operation Steinbock and contested the D-Day landings in the summer, 1944. It was withdrawn from the Battle of Normandy after heavy losses. 76 continued to operate over the Low Countries and supported the Ardennes Offensive in the Aerial reconnaissance and close air support role. Significantly, KG 76 made use of the first-ever operational jet bomber design, the Arado Ar 234. 76 remained operating on the West Front until May 1945, one of the few bomber units to do so.
The last remaining groups either withdrew to Norway on 3 May 1945 or surrendered to the British Army in northern Germany on 8 May 1945.
Background
The first steps towards the Luftwaffes formation were undertaken just months after Adolf Hitler came to power. Hermann Göring became National Kommissar for aviation with former Deutsche Luft Hansa director Erhard Milch as his deputy. In April 1933 the Reichsluftfahrtministerium was established. On 25 March 1933 the Deutschen Luftsportverband absorbed all private and national organisations. The merging of all military aviation organisations in the RLM took place on 15 May 1933, which became the Luftwaffes official day of foundation. The Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps was formed in 1937 to give pre-military flying training to male youths, and to engage adult sport aviators in the Nazi movement. Military age members of the NSFK were drafted to the Luftwaffe. As all such prior NSFK members were also Nazi Party members, this gave the new Luftwaffe a strong Nazi ideological base in contrast to the other branches of the Wehrmacht.With this base of organisation, the Luftwaffe began an enormous expansion program lasting six years to 1939. In 1938, during the preparations for Fall Grün, the proposed invasion of Czechoslovakia, both Hitler and Göring discovered the Luftwaffe was more "shadow than substance". The German air arm possessed only 2,928 aircraft in total while the aviation industry's production target was 1,179 per month. Munitions and aircraft armament production could only cover 50 percent of current operational requirements. Fuel reserves allowed for only four weeks of aerial operations. There also shortages of spares and technical units, although bomber groups received three while other types of aircraft units were given only one.
By January 1939 there were 269 first-line Staffeln. Only 90 were bomber squadrons. A further six would be added by 1 July. Among these formations was KG 76. Hitler's expansionist aims required a larger air force and the annexations, or unopposed invasions, of Austria and Czechoslovakia allowed the industry to exploit the new territories and expand the size of the aircraft industry to a small degree. In manpower terms it received substantial reinforcement. A late concerted effort—of which KG 76 was part—was ordered and this expansion and designation produced a frontline strength of 4,093 aircraft of which 1,176 were bombers.
Formation
Kampfgeschwader 76 was formed on 1 May 1939 at Wiener Neustadt in Austria with Stab./KG 76 and I Gruppe. The new bomber formation was formed from KG 158 stab unit. The Geschwader was placed under the command of Luftflotte 4. Oberst Paul Schultheiss was appointed the first Geschwaderkommodore of KG 76. The stab and I Gruppe trained throughout the summer on the Dornier Do 17E. Oberst Stefan Fröhlich was given command and became the group's first Gruppenkommandeur. Near the end of August 1939 both formations converted to flying the Do 17Z.II. Gruppe was not formed until 1 January 1940 at Wels where it was placed under the command of Major Walter Hill. It trained its bomber crews on the Do 17Z and was also placed under the command of Luftflotte 4. The original order for formation occurred on 19 September 1939, after the war had begun, but it was repeatedly delayed. III. Gruppe was also formed on 1 May and became operational at Rosenborn, southwest of Breslau, on 26 August 1939. Oberst Werner Zech became the first group commander.
KG 76 operated the Dornier Do 17 light bomber at the outbreak of World War II. Photographical evidence from the period confirms that the wing did operate the Heinkel He 111 medium bomber. 1 Staffel operated the He 111 in the Mediterranean region. KG 76 partially converted to the Junkers Ju 88 in 1940. In August 1939 76 began mobilisation for war. Stab./KG 76 was brought to combat readiness at Breslau-Schöngarten. I. Gruppe deployed to Silesia for mobilisation on 26 August 1939. III. Gruppe readied for war at Rosenborn. By the 31 August 1939 Stab KG 76 could field nine Do 17s, all of which were operational. The 36 Do 17s belonging to II. Gruppe were also combat ready. II. Gruppe had all 39 Do 17s operational. The Geschwader was assigned to the 1. Flieger-Division which operated under the 4th Luftflotte.
World War II
Invasions of Poland
On 1 September 1939 German forces began Fall Weiss, an invasion of Poland which began World War II in Europe. General-Major Bruno Loerzer, commanding the 2nd Fliegerdivision ordered attacks on Polish Air Force airfields to achieve air superiority. Cloudy weather forced KG 76 to abandon its first missions. Throughout the first day of the invasion the wing did bomb airfields and Polish Army troop concentrations along the Vistula river. Bombing operations continued and were extended to Galicia until 21 September. I. Gruppe struck at targets in and around Łódź, Radom, Kielce, Częstochowa, Krosno and Moderowka. Luftflotte 4 flew only a small number of missions because of the fog. Half were directed at airfields: I./KG 76 were a part of the operations. Neighbouring Kampfgeschwader 4 flew 150 sorties and dropped 200 tonnes of bombs on airfields around Kraków.On 4 September KG 76 embarked upon railway interdiction operations. The purpose of these attacks was to cause congestion at Polish railheads. The Polish land forces using roads were simultaneously attacking road traffic at an altitude of 2,000 metres and above followed by 10 to 30 degree diving attacks. The bombing raids prevented the Łódź Army from detraining. 76 received support from KG 55 and KG 77. The dive-bombing was carried out by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas. The operational-level attacks were effective and from 5 September the shortage of new targets led to a focus on close air support.
In mid-September, from the 14th, KG 76 supported the German 14th Army. 76 resumed rail interdiction missions to cut off Polish lines running into Romania and eastern Poland. 76 flew low-level sorties against rail bridges and choke points. On 16 September KG 76 was formally assigned to Hugo Sperrle's Luftflotte 3. On the night of the 16/17 September the attacks were ordered to stop. Luftflotte 4 received a teletype message alerting them to a secret clause in the Nazi-Soviet Pact which allowed for the Soviet invasion of Poland. III./KG 76 remained active in the war on Poland until 22 September.
The German-Soviet campaign in Poland ended on 6 October 1939. 76 spent the winter and the following spring resting, training and re-equipping. Stab./KG 76 moved to Nidda southeast of Giessen in February 1940. II./KG 76 moved from Breslau to Wiener Neustadt on 22 September then to Leipheim in Bavaria where it was ordered to stand-by in case of an emergency and end of the Phoney War. In mid-October it relocated to Crailsheim until December. From January to April 1940 it was stationed at Merzhausen, Nordhausen and Langensalza. II./KG 76 moved to Nidda with Stab./KG 76. III. Gruppe were more active. After a brief period at Wels, it went to Baltringen southwest of Ulm in the first half of October and Schwäbisch Hall late in the month. The group also moved to Nidda southeast of Giessen with a possible stay at Gotha. From 6–24 April 1940 it flew training exercises over Rheims-Laon.
The unit did not participate in Operation Weserübung but instead spent the spring training and resting in preparation for the western offensive in 1940.