Kampfgeschwader 54

Kampfgeschwader 54
Squadron badge
active	May 1, 1939 to 1945
Country	German Empire
Armed forces	Wehrmacht
Armed forces	air force
Branch of service	Air force
Type	Combat Squadron
structure	Squadron staff and 4 groups
Location	Staff Fritzlar I. Group Fritzlar II. Group Hoya III. Group Wiener Neustadt IV. (Supplementary) group Lagerlechfeld
Nickname	Skull Squadron
Aircraft type	Heinkel He 111 , Junkers Ju 88 , Messerschmitt Me 262
Second World War	Raid on Poland Invasion of Norway's western campaign Air battle for England German-Soviet war Theater of war Mediterranean area Allied invasion of Italy Capricorn company Landing in Normandy
Squadron commodors
First commodore	Colonel Walter Lackner

The Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) was an association of the German Air Force during World War II . Because of its coat of arms, it was also called the "Skull Squadron".

Lineup

The squadron staff and the 1st group were set up on May 1, 1939 at the Fritzlar Air Base ( Lage ), from the staff and the 1st group of Kampfgeschwader 254. The II. Group emerged in December 1939 from the renamed II. Group of Kampfgeschwader 28 in Hoya ( Lage ). Then on February 1, 1940 in Wiener-Neustadt ( Lage ) the III. Group, which was disbanded in July 1940. On July 11, 1940, the IV. (Supplementary) group was established at Lechfeld Air Base ( Lage ). A new III. Group was formed on September 1, 1942 through the incorporation of Coastal Aviation Group 806.

The squadron was initially equipped with the Heinkel He 111 , later with the Junkers Ju 88 . The squadron identification was B3.

history

On the invasion of Poland , the squadron, whose line-up has not been completed, participated only with the second season. From September 8, 1939, it was in Neukuhren ( Lage ) and with its 12 Heinkel He 111Ps was assigned to the Luftwaffe training division of Air Fleet 1 in the area of ​​Army Group North. On September 20, the mission ended and the 2nd squadron returned to their regular unit.

After that, the II. Group of KG 54 took part in the occupation of Denmark and Norway from April 20, 1940, as part of the X. Fliegerkorps . To this end, she flew her missions from Varrelbusch ( Lage ) until May 2, 1940 .

Junkers Ju 88 with the skull and crossbones coat of arms (November 1940, Northern France)

At the beginning of the western campaign , the squadron was assembled in the area of Luftflotte 2 in Fliegerkorps zbV 2. From the air bases in Quakenbrück ( Lage ), Varrelbusch and Vechta ( Lage ), it supported the invasion of the Netherlands . It also carried out the momentous air strike on Rotterdam , in which over 800 people died and large areas of the city center were destroyed.

After the surrender of France, the squadron took part with the staff, the I and II groups (the III group was dissolved) in the Battle of Britain . There it was assigned to the V Fliegerkorps in Air Fleet 3 . In the meantime, the entire squadron had received the Junkers Ju 88A. Until May 1941 it fought from the northern French airfields Évreux ( Lage ) and Saint-André-de-l'Eure ( Lage ) from targets on the British Isles.

Before the German attack on the Soviet Union , the squadron, with the staff, I and II groups, was assigned the airfield in Lublin ( Lage ) in the Generalgouvernement as an operational base. There it was subordinate to the V Fliegerkorps of Luftflotte 4 and was used in the area of Army Group South . It was relocated to the central section at short notice only to take part in the air strikes on Moscow and then returned to the south.

On December 21, 1941, the squadron staff and the I. Group moved to Catania ( Lage ) and Gerbini ( Lage ) in Italy in order to fight Allied supply convoys in the Mediterranean . There they were subordinate to the 2nd Air Corps of Air Fleet 2. The squadron was also involved in the air raids on Malta in March / April 1942. It also intervened in the ground fighting in North Africa from June 1, 1942 . For this purpose, a part of Group I was stationed at the Libyan airfield Derna ( Lage ) until July 21, 1943. The second group of KG 54, however, remained on the Eastern Front until October 27, 1942. Then she also moved to Catania, where the III. Group, by renaming the coastal aviation group 806, was newly formed.

When Group I moved to Ingolstadt ( Lage ) on June 6, 1943, Group II had already left Italy on May 26th and was now in Vienna-Aspern ( Lage ). As a result, after the Allied invasion of Sicily on July 10, only the staff and the III. Group intervene in the fighting with their Junkers Ju 88A-4 from Grottaglie ( Lage ). After the Allies landed on the Italian mainland on September 3, 1943 , Groups I and II returned to the squadron, which now intervened in the fighting in Italy from the positions in Bergamo ( Lage ) and Novara-Olleggio .

From January 21, 1944 to May 1944, the squadron took part in Operation Steinbock , the bombing raids on London and other British cities. In addition it was the IX. Air Corps subordinated to Air Fleet 3. The staff and the II. Group, equipped with the Junkers Ju 88A-4 and the Junkers Ju 88D-1 were in Marx ( Lage ), while the I. Group with its Junkers Ju 88A-4 was stationed in Wittmund ( Lage ). The III. Group initially did not participate in the missions as it was refreshed. She didn't come back to the squadron until March. In return, Group II withdrew from the operations and was disbanded on April 30, 1944 due to heavy losses.

After the Allied landing in Normandy , the squadron attacked with the staff, the I. and III. Group into the action. The staff was in Eindhoven ( location ), the I. group in Juvincourt ( location ) and the III. Group in Marx. At this point in time the I. Group with its 3 squadrons had a total of 12 Junkers Ju 88A-4s in their ranks. Although 24 new machines were added in June and July, the number did not increase due to high losses. At the III. Group looked similar.

On October 1, 1944, the squadron was renamed Kampfgeschwader (J) 54 (the (J) stood for hunting). At the same time, the conversion to the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter began . The staff and the I. group were at this time in Giebelstadt ( location ) and the III. Group in Neuburg an der Donau ( location ). In January 1945, in Gardelegen ( Lage ), the previous IV group became the new II group. The squadron flew only a few missions until the end of the war. At the surrender in May 1945, the squadron was in Giebelstadt, Saaz, Fischbachau-Schliersee and Prien / Chiemsee.

Commanders

Squadron commodors

Rank	Surname	time
Colonel	Walter Lackner	May 1, 1939 to June 22, 1940
Lieutenant colonel	Otto Höhne	June 22, 1940 to November 23, 1941
Lieutenant colonel	Walter Marienfeld	November 23, 1941 to April 1, 1943
Lieutenant colonel	Volprecht Riedesel Freiherr zu Eisenbach	April 1, 1943 to February 27, 1945
major	Hansgeorg Bätcher	February 27, 1945 to the end

Group commanders

I. group

• Major Otto Höhne , May 1, 1939 to June 21, 1940
• Captain Jobst Heinrich von Heydebreck, June 22, 1940 to February 28, 1941
• Captain Richard Linke, March 1, 1941 to August 19, 1941
• Captain Walter Freimann, August 20, 1941 to October 10, 1941
• Captain Hans Widmann, October 11, 1941 to October 25, 1941
• Captain Georg Graf von Platen, October 26, 1941 to November 19, 1942
• First Lieutenant Helmut von Raven, November 20, 1942 to April 13, 1943
• Captain Gerhard Molkentin, April 14, 1943 to October 4, 1943
• Major Ottfried Sehrt, October 5, 1943 to March 25, 1945
• Captain Hans Baasner, March 26, 1945 to May 8, 1945

II group

• Oberleutnant Rudolf Koester, December 1939 to July 20, 1940
• Major Kurt Leonhardy, July 20, 1940 to August 11, 1940
• Captain Karl-Bernhard Schlaeger, August 12, 1940 to August 1940
• Captain Hans Widmann, August 1940 to September 14, 1940
• Major Erhart Krafft von Dellmensingen, September 15, 1940 to November 17, 1941
• Captain Heinz Gehrke, December 1941 to February 14, 1942
• Captain Otto Köhnke, March 1, 1942 to September 27, 1942
• Major Richard Taubert, October 1, 1942 to March 28, 1943
• Major Horst Bressel, March 29, 1943 to October 23, 1943
• Captain Karl Palliardi, October 24, 1943 to April 25, 1944
• Captain Ernst Petzold, January 4, 1945 to May 8, 1945

III. group

• Major Adolf Häring, February 1, 1940 to June 9, 1940
• Major Kurt Leonhardy, June 10, 1940 to July 19, 1940
• Major Richard Linke, September 1, 1942 to September 17, 1942
• Major Kurt Stein, September 18, 1942 to October 12, 1942
• Captain Franz Ibold, October 15, 1942 to February 2, 1943
• Captain Hermann Donandt, February 3, 1943 to March 31, 1943
• Major Franz Zauner, April 1, 1943 to September 30, 1944
• Captain Eduard Brogsitter, October 1, 1944 to May 8, 1945

IV. Group

• Oberleutnant Günther von Boekmann, July 11, 1940 to November 30, 1940
• Captain Hans Widmann, December 1, 1940 to October 8, 1941
• Captain Heinz Gehrke, October 9, 1941 to December 1, 1941
• Captain Heinz Krenkel, December 2, 1941 to October 30, 1942
• Captain Franz Zauner, November 1, 1942 to March 31, 1943
• Captain Georg Graf von Platen, April 1, 1943 to April 19, 1943
• Major Helmut Stamm, April 20, 1943 to October 20, 1944

Known squadron members

• Rolf Dräger (? –1970), was professor at the Technical University in Karlsruhe from 1949 to 1960 and director of the Institute for Materials Handling

literature

• Wolfgang Dierich: The air force associations 1935-1945 . Outlines and short chronicles one document. Ed .: Wolfgang Dierich. Verlag Heinz Nickel , Zweibrücken 1993, ISBN 3-925480-15-3 (703 pages).
• Ulf Balke: The Air War in Europe 1939–1941 . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-86047-591-6 (1057 pages).

Web links

Commons : Kampfgeschwader 54  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 194-195 , accessed on April 1, 2020th
2. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , p 297 , accessed on April 1, 2020th
3. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45, Austria (1937 Borders) , pp 37-40 , accessed on April 1, 2020th
4. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 382-384 , accessed on April 1, 2020th
5. ^ Marius Emmerling: Luftwaffe nad Polską 1939. Part 2 fighter planes. Armagedon, 2005, p. 336.
6. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 475-476 , accessed on April 1, 2020th
7. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 660-661 , accessed on April 1, 2020th
8. ↑ Leo Niehorster : Battle of France, German Order of Battle, 2nd Air Force, 2 Air Corps for Special Missions, May 10, 1940. December 12, 2001, accessed on April 1, 2020 (English). 
9. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 543-545 , accessed on April 1, 2020th
10. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 661-663 , accessed on 2 April 2020th
11. ↑ Ulf Balke, pp. 408-413.
12. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45, France (with Corsica and Channel Islands) , pp 155-158 , accessed on 2 April 2020th
13. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45, France (with Corsica and Channel Islands) , pp 318-320 , accessed on 2 April 2020th
14. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Poland , pp 30-31 , accessed on 2 April 2020th
15. ↑ Leo Niehorster: German Air Force, Order of Battle 4th Air Fleet, V Air Corps, June 22, 1941. December 12, 2001, accessed on April 2, 2020 (English). 
16. ↑ ^{a b c} Wolfgang Dierich, p. 127.
17. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45, Italy, Sicily and Sardinia , pp 52-56 , accessed on 2 April 2020th
18. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Luftwaffe Airfields 1935–45, Italy, Sicily and Sardinia , pp. 98–102 , accessed on April 2, 2020.
19. ↑ Leo Niehorster: German Air Force Order of Battle, 2nd Air Fleet, Second Air Corps, June 28, 1942. December 12, 2001, accessed on April 2, 2020 (English). 
20. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 303-304 , accessed on 3 April 2020th
21. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-1945 Austria (1937 Borders) , pp 34-36 , accessed on 3 April 2020th
22. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45, Italy, Sicily and Sardinia , pp 111-113 , accessed on 3 April 2020th
23. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45, Italy, Sicily and Sardinia , pp 23-24 , accessed on 3 April 2020th
24. ↑ Ulf Balke, p. 390.
25. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 432-433 , accessed on 4 April 2020th
26. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 706-708 , accessed on 4 April 2020th
27. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Luftwaffe Airfields 1935–45, the Netherlands , pp. 10–11 , accessed April 4, 2020.
28. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45, France (with Corsica and Channel Islands) , pp 186-187 , accessed on 4 April 2020th
29. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 218-220 , accessed on 4 April 2020th
30. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 467-470 , accessed on 4 April 2020th
31. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 207-209 , accessed on 4 April 2020th

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