Fliegergeschwader z.b.V. 7 (page 1)

Introduction

What follows comes from a brief look at two National Archives files on “German Police Decodes No. 1 Traffic”. I was hoping to find messages relating to actions against the French resistance in 1944 but didn’t have much luck. There were however several mentions of aircraft apparently assigned to “police” duties which here seem to be anti-partisan warfare in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

The text is verbatim in German, without any analysis or explanation and the constituent formations concerned are almost exclusively identified by animal names. However during a long-ago visit to the Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv I saw some documents about an anti-partisan unit operating in the East and Balkans. These are now available to download and make it clear that the unit in question was Fliegergeschwader z.b.V. 7.

Identification

The activities described, unit locations and some of the aircraft Stammkennzeichen point very clearly to Fliegergeschwader z.b.V. 7. On 19 September 1944, the General der Aufklärungsflieger described the unit as follows:

… operationally subordinate to the Reichsführer-SS and Chief of the German Police, [and] to an Airfield Regional Command for pay and rations. The Geschwader’s independently deployed elements are subordinated to a Höheren SS- und Polizeiführer and for pay and rations to the Geschwader.

The Geschwader is organised into a Geschwader staff; an Ergänzungsstaffel; an Fw 189 reconnaissance Staffel and a Ju 87 bombing Staffel forming an Einsatzgruppe under a provisional Gruppe staff; and six further Staffeln.

These elements are split between 20 different locations from Oslo to Budapest.

Geschwader personnel numbered 417 on 19 September with 50% of the non-flying elements seconded from the SS and police. As for aircraft, actual strengths on 8 October 1944 were:

Stab	Spirgsten, Lötzen, East Prussia (Spytkowo, Gizycko, Poland)
	(Kdo. Stab RF-SS)
	1 Ju 52	2 Fw 58	2 Fi 156	1 Si 202
Erg. Staffel	Deutsch Brod (Havlíckuv Brod, Czech Republic)
	(Stab/Fl.Geschw. z.b.V. 7)
	Nil report
1. Staffel	Krakau (Krakow, Poland)
	(Höh. SS-u.Pol.Führ. Ost, SS-Ogrup. Koppe)
		3 Fw 58	13 Fi 156	1 Si 202
2. Staffel	Tschenstochau (Czestochowa, Poland)
	(Höh. SS-u.Pol.Führ. Distrikt Radomsko, SS-Brigadeführer Dr. Böttcher)
		1 Fw 58	9 Fi 156
3. Staffel	Pressburg (Bratislava, Slovakia)
	(Deutscher Befehlshaber Slowakei, SS-Ogruf. Höfle)
		1 Fw 58	6 Fi 156
4. Staffel	NOTE: A diagram of the Geschwader’s organisation, apparently for the period October–December 1944, includes a 4. Staffel with 2 Fw 58, 3 Fi 156, 6 Fw 189 and 11 Ju 87. as this is identical to the composition of the Einsatzgruppe (see below) it seems evident that the latter was formed from the 4. Staffel.

5. Staffel	Agram (Zagreb, Croatia)
	(Beauftragter des RF-SS Kroatien, SS-Ogruf. Kammerhofer)
	1 Ju W. 34	1 Fw 58	11 Fi 156	1 Saiman 202
6. Staffel	Oslo, Norway
	(Höh. SS-u.Pol.Führ. Norwegen, SS-Ogruf. Radieß)
		1 Fw 58	6 Fi 156
7 Staffel	Laibach (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
	(Höh. SS-u.Pol.Führ. Alpenland, SS-Ogrf Hösener)
		1 Fw 58	6 Fi 156
Einsatzgruppe 1	Pistiany (Piešťany, Slovakia)
	(Dt. Bfh. Slowakei, SS-Ogruf. Höfle)
Stab/Eins.Gr. 1		2 Fw 58	1 Fi 156
Aufkl. Staffel	6 Fw 189		2 Fi 156
Schlachtstaffel	11 Ju 87

The unit was engaged seeking out and combatting partisans with operational orders a matter for agreement between the SS/police authorities and the Luftwaffe command in the relevant theatre of war. The Geschwader was led by Oberstleutnant Heinz Heinsius.

continued on next page …

navtag

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