Luftwaffe 1933 - 1945 - Historia lotnictwa III Rzeszy

[Richard T Eger]

This Polish language website's strengths are its coverages of rarer Luftwaffe aircraft and a large section on missiles. The equipment noted below is that for which actual information is currently presented. The webmaster(s) show a much larger listing of equipment which will, hopefully, be supported in the future with information. The site address is:

http://www.luftwaffe.piasta.pl/

The sections are:

Samoloty - Brief histories, technical details, phtos, and drawings of the following aircraft:

Ar 76
Ar 80
Ar 95
Ar 96
Ar 195
Ar 196
Ar 197
Ar 198
Ar 240
Bv Ha 140
Bv 141
Bv 142
Bv 144
Bv 222
DFS 228
He 115
Ju 87
Bf 109E
Me 263V

Wyposazenie - Brief histories, photos, and drawings of the following aircraft equipment:

<U>Guns</U>

MG 15 i MG 17 - 7.9 mm

<U>Radar</U>

FuG 202 "Lichtenstein BC"
FuG 202 "Lichtenstein BC/S"
FuG 211 "Lichtenstein O"*
FuG 212 "Lichtenstein C-1"
FuG 214 "Lichtenstein BC/R"*

* - Bronie prototypowe i doœwiadczalne, wystêpuj¹ce w ma³ych iloœciach.

Rakiety - Brief histories, technical data, photos, and drawings of the following missiles:

Drahtmantel
Panzerblitz 1
Panzerblitz 2
Panzerblitz 3 (R4HL)
Panzerfaust
Panzerschreck 1
Panzerschreck 2 (PD 8,8 cm Pz. Büchsenrohr)
R 100 BS
R4M Orkan
RZ 15/8
RZ 65
RZ 73
RZ 100
Schlange
Wfr.Gr.28/32
W.Gr.21
15 cm Wgr. 41Spr.
21 cm R.B.Sprgr.Bord

Fliegerfaust
Föhn
KZS
EMW Taifun
Rheinkind
Tornado
15 cm Rs.Gs

Bv 143
Bv L.10 Friedensengel
Bv L.11 Schneewittchen*
Gerätwerk Stargard L.50*
Hs GT 1200 *
Hs 294
Luft-Forschungsanstalt Braunschweig-Välkenrode LT9.2 Frosch*
AEG Rumpelstiltzchen
EMW Flunder*
Ru 347 (X-7) Rotkäppchen
Fi 103 (V-1)

* - Niezrealizowany projekt

Historia i Strultura - Apparently a brief early history of the Luftwaffe and short discussion and listing of the various types of units.

Obrona przeciwlotnicza - Brief histories, technical data and photos of ground defense weapons and equipment:

2 cm Flak 38
8,8 cm Flak 37

Ground radar is listed, apparently for future entry on the site.

Misje Luftwaffe - A propaganda poster and a possible future link to being able to download something, possibly music, are shown, but there are no active internal links on this page.

Ludzie- Four aces listings and brief histories with photos of Hermann Göring, Albert Kesselring, and Ernst Udet. The aces listings, as titled in Polish, are:

Asy Luftwaffe na froncie Zachodnim
Asy Luftwaffe na froncie Wschodnim
Asy Luftwaffe w bitwie o Wielka Brytanię
Asy Luftwaffe "Nocni Myśliwce"

A brief biography with photo of Walter "Gulle" Oesau can be found through the aces lists.

Regards,
Richard

[This message has been edited by Richard T Eger (edited 03 October 2002).]

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Laurent Rizzotti
German losses in Poland 1939
Sat Mar 13 14:21:45 2004
212.194.206.144

Searching some infos on the following planes

1 September 1939
Podporucznik Wladyslaw Gnys of III/2 Pulk shot down two Do17 of KG 77 near Olkusz (or they collided during his attack) and the 6 German crew were all killed. One bomber bears the code 3Z+FR and one of the killed was the Uffz Kurt Klose, born 4/March/1915.

It seems to me that I saw a long time ago someone post in this forum the list of the two crews of these planes. I'm interested in the missing airplane code (and WNr if they are known by some sort of luck) and the crew lists.

2 September 1939
Hptm Wendelin von Müllenheim-Rechberg, Staka of 3./ZG 1, was killed when his Bf110 was shot down at Kornatowo by the ppor Stanislaw Skalski of 142 Eskadra, Dyon III/4.

I'm searching the plane code (and possibly WNr) and the name and fate of the gunner.

3 September 1939
Lt Herbert Potthoff of 1(H)/31 was killed in the morning when his Hs126 was shot down near Wyry by a P.7 flown by kpr Zszislaw Urbanczyk of Dyon III/6.

I'm searching the plane code (and possibly WNr) and the name and fate of the second crew. I guess Potthoff was the pilot.

4 September 1939
A He111 of 5./KG 26 was destroyed by an accidental explosion on Gabbert airfield, Germany. An inexperienced member of the FBK manipulated at a bomb during loading. The 10kg bomb fell to the ground and exploded. The rest of the bombs exploded also. Some aircrafts in the vicinity were damaged some were rolled out of the danger zone by mechanics. Five men were killed and another died the next day. One aircraft was totally destroyed, 8 damaged by fragments. Until the 9 September. the squadron was not operatable.

Here I have the names of the killed but I am searching the plane code (and possibly WNr).

6 September 1939
The Kommandeur of I./ZG 1, Major Karl Hammes was shot down and killed by PZLs over Poland. He was a veteran from WWI and has scored 4 victories with Jasta 35.

I'm searching the plane code (and possibly WNr) and the name and fate of the gunner.

Thanks in advance

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Dean Wick
Poland '39
Sat Mar 13 20:59:17 2004
199.243.50.115

Hi Laurent: Mullenheim-Rechberg's Bordfunker was Gefr. Hans Weng. Karl Hammes Bordfunker was Ofw. walter Steffen. Sorry, I don't have A/c codes. I got this Info off a Polish language Website, I'm still trying to locate the site address in my cluttered files. Can anyone translate the following polish words? Zginat--Niewola--Ranny--Skakat--Polegli- ?.They refer to loss details. Gfr. Weng is listed as"skakat", Ofw. Steffen as "niewola" Hope this helps. Dean

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Dean Wick
Website
Sat Mar 13 21:26:39 2004
216.208.52.153

Laurent: Here's the Website that I got the previous info. from.My printer wasn't working at the time and I had scribbled it on a chunk of paper. http://www.luftwaffe.piasta.pl/06_szkielet_bilans_strat.htm . I haven't had time to check if the site is still up. Cheers! Dean

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Laurent Rizzotti
Thanks, I find the new site
Sat Mar 13 23:01:47 2004
62.34.206.44

It's now at http://net.bialystok.pl/~hess/inne_straty_lot_kam_wrzes.htm

And if you need it, here is an online Polish-English translator

http://www.poltran.com/pl.php4

Thanks a lot

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Krzysztof Czernicki
strange words ;)
Sun Mar 14 00:38:19 2004
195.205.76.2

zgin¹³ (zginal) - died
niewola - captivity, POW
ranny - wounded
skaka³ (skakal) - jumped, hit parachute
polegli - fallen or the fallen,the dead

nice online dictionary
http://slowniki.onet.pl/

greetz
Chris

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Chris
Re: strange words ;)
Sun Mar 14 00:42:56 2004
195.205.76.2

well this site does not support CE characters - there are odd characters like ¹,³,æ... instead of similar in pronouciation a,l,c... simplified record i put in brackets

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Franek Grabowski
German losses in Poland 1939
Sun Mar 14 06:46:19 2004
213.25.54.73

Hello Laurent
The general problem is that so famous GQ6 loss lists do not give any details in the period and even worse are missing for the first days of September. Some of the details can be sourced from the other documents, I think you must wait patiently what Mr Marius Emmerling can dig up.
> 1 September 1939
Current research indicates those Dorniers were downed by Polish AA.

> 2 September 1939
As noted his gunner baled out and went to captivity. I cannot definetelly link this loss with Skalski, 7 DO.17s being claimed by Poles. Location is wrong and should be Chelmza area (I'm writing from the memory)

> 3 September 1939
Proper rank is kpr. and teh forename - Zdzislaw.

> 6 September 1939
Hammes was downed by ppor. (again from memory) Wiktor Strzembosz. This is confirmed by a wartime account of Strzembosz which however gives the date of 5 September.

Franek

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Laurent Rizzotti
Marius Emmerling
Sun Mar 14 09:13:01 2004
212.194.88.149

Hi Franek,

do you have the book of Marius Emmerling: "Luftwaffe nad Polsk¹ 1939. cz. 1 Jagdflieger" ?

And if you have, what is it worth ?

And just a confirmation of my translation:

Zgin¹³ = missing (presumed dead)
Polegli = killed

Thanks

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Franek Grabowski
Marius Emmerling
Sun Mar 14 12:49:26 2004
213.25.54.73

Hello Laurent
From the easiest.
Zginal = means more less killed (not to natural cause), missing is zaginal
Polegli = plural from polegl, killed while performing a duty, eg. polegl smiercia lotnika - killed while flying an aircraft.
Concerning Marius Emmerling and his Luftwaffe nad Polska 1939 - I'm still wondering if it's worth to have. ;)
Here are my pros and contras.
- This is the only book on the subject.
- The book is based on archival sources.
- It's not possible to verify which sources had been used by author to draw conclusions due to incorrect footnotes. It's important issue as eg. author sometimes adds German victories while based on known Polish losses only.
- There're no comprehensive tables giving exhaustive info on claims and losses. Most of the suplementary data must be found within the text.
- Loss lists cover only aircarft damaged 60% and more.
- Locations etc. were altered by author according to his knowledge.
- Author is tendentious and explains all doubts in German favour without any discussion of Polish sources.
- Author lacks basic knowledge about tactics and aircraft performance.
- Translations of German documents and accounts are often suspicious as to their accuracy.
Summarising I'd not recommend the book to a non Polish speaker as well as definetelly not recommend as an only source about the first campaign of WWII.
Best wishes
Franek

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Laurent Rizzotti
Poland 1939
Sun Mar 14 16:49:15 2004
212.195.126.25

Thanks for the comments. I found on the Net a review of the book also saying it's too much pro-German.

Anyway, I'm able to translate tables from Polish but not a whole book, so I won't try to find this one.

I'm searching the full names & grades of the following Polish airmen lost in Sep 1939:

Fighter pilot Mielczynski, 141 Eskadra, Dyon III/4, shot down by Polish AA fire 2/9/39, executed by German soldiers the next day.

Polish R-XIII of 56 Squadron shot down near Presov at 12h18 on 6 September 1939: pilot E. Porada parachuted but was taken POW while the observer M. Piasecki was killed.

7/9/39: P.23 of 41e Eskadra Rozpoznawcza shot down near Modzele: Podporucznik Strejmik (observer ?) Kapral Janicki (pilot ?), Plutonowy Szymanski (gunner ?) all killed

And I find in an English source a loss of the 56th Observation squadron, I think the Polish term is 56 Eskadra Obserwacyjny ?

Thanks in advance

Laurent

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Franek Grabowski
Poland 1939
Sun Mar 14 18:00:32 2004
213.25.54.73

Well, I'd say the book is offensive and emotional, this being quite surprising given the age of the author.

kpr.pil. Benedykt Mielczynski, 141 EM, Dyon III/4, shot down by German Flak during attack on armoured columns on 2/9/39, executed by German soldiers the next day. Together with him a boy 12 or 14 years of age was killed.

R-XIII of 56 EO shot down near Presov at 12h18 on 6 September 1939: observer por.obs. Edward Porada killed pilot kpr.pil. Marian Piasecki POW d.1982. I recall reading Slovak pilots weren't proud nor happy of this victory!

7/9/39: P.23 of 41 Eskadra Rozpoznawcza shot down near Modzele: ppor.obs. Brunon Strejmik,kpr.pil. Jozef Janicki, st.szer.strz. Antoni Szymanski.

Polish term is 56 Eskadra Obserwacyjna, the word eskadra has the same origin as squadron but it's excellent sample that such names shouldn't be translated to avoid confusion, because it's much more appropriate to compare it with a German Staffel.

Franek

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Laurent Rizzotti
Thanks for all (nm)
Sun Mar 14 21:52:07 2004
212.195.126.25

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Ed West
LW Airfield Defense Rocket ?
Tue Mar 30, 2004 07:24
64.7.187.121

Does anyone know where I could find more information about a rocket that played out a steel wire or ribbon that was meant to damage enemy aircraft? I've seen it referred to as a ribbon rocket.



Thanks in advance,
Ed

[Richard T Eger]

From further within the thread on TOCH!:

Grzegorz Plonski
Kurzzeitsperre
Tue Mar 30, 2004 14:47
213.76.110.177

There were probably four types of such barrage rockets, commonly known as the Kurzzeitsperre or short time barrage.
These included two 21 cm types built by Rheinmetall, Draktseilrakete (RSK) 1000 and 2000, of which RSK 1000 is believed to be tested operationally, plus two types built by Krupp, the spin stabilized 8,6 cm RAG (I think it was a version of the naval 8,6 cm Rakete) and the 15 cm Kz 1000.
How is believed the 8,6 cm one looked like is illustrated here: http://net.bialystok.pl/~hess/r_ppn_kzs.htm .
The 15 cm Kz 1000 was a fin stabilized projectile of 'puller' type, just under 1,5 m long, looking pretty like the 15 cm WGr 41 Spr artillery rocket but with a huge wire container mounted behind its engine (approx. 17 cm in diameter and some 70 cm long), having six fins. The rocket carried approx. 900 m of 3 mm steel wire plus two selfdestruction charges of some 1 kg each. Some number of the rocket was found by Canadian forces near Amiens, so it's pretty likely, it was used in combat.
The only actual combat encounter of a KZS rocket I'm aware of, is a Mosquito NF II piloted by maj. A.W. Mack near Schleswig-Jagel airbase in the morning of August 18, 1943, which lost one meter of a wingtip plus a major part of an aileron, hitting a steel cable hanging from a parachute.

Regards

Grzesiu

PS British Snare barrage roskets, mentioned below, were apparently built in 1940-1943 in 2" and 3" calibres, the latter reaching 6-7 km ceiling but with only 60 m of parachuted rope.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Ed West
Many thanks (Bardzo dzieki) (nm)
Tue Mar 30, 2004 23:14
64.7.186.143

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Andreas Brekken
SG 38
Fri Jul 23, 2004 19:40
80.212.199.88

Hi, guys.

What was the full correct name for this glider aircraft?

I have seen both Stamer-Lippisch SG 38

and

Schneider-Hofmann-Rehberg SG 38

Are these the same aircraft? How should I register it?

Regards,
Andreas

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Grzegorz Plonski
Schneider SG 38
Fri Jul 23, 2004 20:23
213.77.234.185

I'd opt for Schneider, as it was its home factory: http://www.net.bialystok.pl/~hess/samoloty_szybowce_schneider.htm (summary in English), although I encountered even DFS. Anyway, Lippisch had nothing to do with it.

Regards

Grzesiu