"Luftwaffe Maritime operations" Topic

Nice shot of a He-115 being loaded up. Robert

"The Luftwaffe used 7 catapult vessels during the war, 3 were built directly for the Luftwaffe, and 4 were taken over from Lufthansa. They were frequently used as floating bases, for BV 138 Ketten deployed in northern waters, away from the principal seaborne aircraft bases."

ww2.dk/articles/catapult.htm

All German airborne maritime units, be they coastal or shipborne, were Luftwaffe manned & Luftwaffe controlled. However, with these maritime air units controlled by the Luftwaffe were observers from the Kriegsmarine seconded to the Luftwaffe for a four year period. Thus, the German Kriegsmarine did not actually control its own maritime air units during WWII.

Until 1939, all airborne maritime units came under the control of the OKL-Führer der SeeLuftstreitekrafte, which worked in close co-operation with the Kriegsmarine but was controlled directly by the Luftwaffe High Command. In 1939, the OKL-Führer der SeeLuftstreitekrafte was disbanded and replaced by the General der Luftwaffe beim Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine (Ob.d.M). This office was abolished in 1944 and responsibility for the remaining coastal and maritime units was placed under the control of the General der Aufklärungsflieger. Earlier in the war with the expansion of German occupied territory, coastal and maritime units were subordinated to the respective Fliegerkorps or Fliegerführer for operational purposes.

Of all the Luftwaffe controlled coastal and maritime units, the unit most closely intergrated with the Kriegsmarine was Bordfliegergruppe 196 (BFGr 196). Bordfliegergruppe 196 was formed in 1937, and went on to control a total of 6 staffeln. These 6 staffeln provided the aircraft used on various Kriegsmarine naval ships, such as the Bismarck and Tirpitz, and on the various German Cruisers, as well as many others. These aircraft took part in various reconnaisance, courier, patrol, and air support missions, although their task was mainly to serve in the recon role for the ship they served on. There are many documented cases of these reconnaisance-oriented aircraft actually engaging in air-to-air combat and combat air sweeps, so they did indeed see action in many different roles. The pilots of these onboard aircraft were controlled, trained, and provided by the Luftwaffe, while the Kriegsmarine provided liason support for the pilots, their training, and the ships they were stationed on.

Onboard aircraft were of mainly the floatplane type. They were stored above deck, usually within the center region of the ship on a small catapult used to launch the aircraft into the air. Upon completion of an onboard planes mission, it would land in the water near the side of the ship, after which an onboard crane would lift the aircraft out of the water and store it back in its launching place above deck.

The Luftwaffe also controlled the aircraft planned for use on the German Kriegsmarine aircraft carriers under contruction during WWII, all of which never reached completetion and never saw active service.

Further outside the realm of the Kriegsmarine, but close enough to maritime operations to warrent discussion here, were the various Luftwaffe controlled units that took part in anti-shipping attacks, coastal and sea reconnaisance, air-sea rescue, coastal patrol, and sea-minesweeping operations. The following is a listing of many of the Luftwaffe units that took part in all types of Sea related operations.

Bordfliegergruppe 196
Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung 108
Küstenfliegergruppe 106
Küstenfliegergruppe 406
Küstenfliegergruppe 506
Küstenfliegergruppe 706
Küstenfliegergruppe 906
Küstenflieger-Ergänzungsstaffel 138
Minensuch-Gruppe 1 der Luftwaffe
Seeaufklärungsgruppe 125
Seeaufklärungsgruppe 126
Seeaufklärungsgruppe 129
Seeaufklärungsgruppe 130
Seeaufklärungsgruppe 131
III./KG100
1. and 3./KG200

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Another site for the LUFTWAFFE MARITIME OPERATIONS IN WORLD WAR II by Maj Gould USAF 2005 pdf. Robert

link

Another Maritime use were the aircraft carried and used by the assorted HSKs. Robert

HSK 1, Orion, 1 x ARADO 196 A-1
HSK 2, Atlantis, 2 x Heinkel 114 A2
HSK 3, RAM, 2 x Heinkel 114 A2
HSK 4, Thor, 1 x ARADO 196 A-1
HSK 5, Penguin, 2 x Heinkel 114 A2, from 3.41 1 ARADO 196 A-1
HSK 6, Bull, 2 x ARADO 231, folding ARADO
HSK 7, Comet, 2 x ARADO 196 A-1
HSK 8, cormorant, 2 x ARADO 196 A-1
HSK 9, Michel, 2 x ARADO 196 A-1
HSK 10 Coronel, 3 aircraft planned. Type not specified…
Ship Castle, catapult to Luke III, 5 x 2 x ARADO 196-2

A very interesting seaplane.

On the Hs 293 the HMT Rohna was sunk by one. "The sinking was done with a Henschel Hs 293 radio-controlled glide bomb, launched and controlled by a Heinkel 177 bomber piloted by Hans Dochtermann. HMT Rohna was not the first casualty of a guided missile, however, as the British HMS Egret was sunk on the Bay of Biscay with the loss of 198 men on 27 August the same year by a Henschel Hs 293. Additional ships sunk by Hs 293 missiles prior to Rohna include HMHS Newfoundland, HMS LST-79, SS James W. Marshall, HMS Rockwood, HMS BYMS-72, HMS Dulverton and MV Marsa."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMT_Rohna

I'm going to go back and read the whole thread when I have more time, so if this has already been suggested I apologize.

I've thought of a scenario with a rescue seaplane and 2 fighters. The seaplane (say a Do. 24) has landed and is trying to recover the the crew of a downed bomber or recon plane (i.e., more than 1 crewmember, perhaps 1 wounded, too). By chance, it's discovered by a Spitfire. Just when the Spitfire is about to dive on the seaplane, a German fighter arrives and attacks the Spitfire. The German player wins total victory by splashing the spit and getting the seaplane away safe, and a partial victory by getting the seaplane away safe. The British player wins by splashing the seaplane. Maybe the German fighter could be an Me. 110 -- not as good as the Spitfire in a dogfight, but maybe enough combined with the distraction of the seaplane?

Sounds an interesting scenario. You could also use another aircraft for the British too. A Beaufighter or Beaufort maybe. Robert

You might want to check out the "Looking for unusual scenarios" thread too. There are a few similar encounters that may give you an idea.
TMP link
Robert

Kaoschallenged, good idea. I'm reading through the unusual scenarios thread too.

Thanks Oberst Radl. I have tried very hard to for them . I think there are some pretty good ones there. Robert

Very informative article about the He-115 in Norway. Robert

"Introduction

The Heinkel He 115 was one of the rarest floatplanes in service with the Luftwaffe during W.W.II, and was widely used on the "Eismeer" front (Norway and Finland). Although production of this Heinkel ceased as early as 1940, the plane remained in service up until the end of hostilities in May 1945.
This paper reviews some of the literature available on the He 115, with a special emphasis on its operational career in Norway."

link

There were some captured Ex-Regia Aeronautica/Marina CANT Z. 506 floatplanes crewed by volunteer Italians being used in the Baltic around Peenemunde. So that would be interesting aircraft to add to Luftwaffe gaming. Robert

"LUFTWAFFE STRATEGIC AND MARITIME RECONNAISSANCE 1944

Ju 290

The need for a long-range maritime patrol aircraft was great, and the Ju 290A‑2 answered the call. Little was changed except for the addition of an aft dorsal turret, changes to navigation equipment and the addition of FuG 200 Hohentwiel search radar. Flying by the summer of 1943, the first example went to Rechlin for tests while two further machines were delivered to the newly established Fernauflarungsgruppe 5. Five Ju 290A‑3s followed, these having; low‑drag Focke‑Wulf air turrets. 1./FAGr 5 began operations from Mont‑de‑Marsan on 15 October 1943, followed a month later by 2./H AGr 5. Covering a large area of the Atlantic, the Ju 290s provided target information for U‑boats, but also flew general reconnaissance missions for the hard‑worked KG 40 at nearby Mérignac.

Five Ju 290A‑4s were the next aircraft from the line, these introducing the Focke‑Wulf turret in the forward dorsal position also. Armament for these comprised a single MG 15120‑mm cannon. With A‑2s, A‑3s and A‑4s in regular service, several operational shortcomings were noted, and these were rectified largely by the Ju 290A‑5 version. Chief among these was the introduction of protection for the fuel tanks and heavy armour around the flight crew. The waist gun positions were improved and fitted with MG 151s in place of the MG 131 machine‑guns used in earlier models. The crew complement went from seven to nine to provide more dedicated gunners.

The A‑5 was the most numerous version with 11 examples, entering service in the spring of 1944 to general acclaim by its crews. 4. /FAGr 5 formed around this time, but throughout its career the Gruppe rarely had even 20 aircraft on strength, totally inadequate for its operations.

With the Normandy landings in June 1944, the Mont‑de‑Marsan base became threatened by Allied invasion, and FAGr 5 left for Germany in August 1944. Throughout its operational career the Ju 290A had been well liked by its crews, and although several were lost to Allied attack, none were lost to any other causes.

Western Front Air OoB for 26 June 1944:

X FliegerKorps, HQ Angers,

Strategic/Maritime Reconnaissance Stab/FAGruppe 5 Mont-de-Marsan

1 (F)/5 Mont-de-Marsan

2 (F)/5 Mont-de-Marsan 15 x Ju 290 total

4 (F)/5 Nantes 4 x Ju 290

3(F)/123 Corme Ecluse 7 Ju 88

1 (F)/SAGr129 Biscarosse 4 Bv 222

Bombers: Stab KampfGruppe 40 Bordeaux-Mérignac x FW 200

1/ & 2/KG40 Toulouse-Blagnac 12 He 177

II/KG40 Bordeaux-Mérignac 12 He 177

7/KG40 St Jean d'Angely

8/ & 9/KG40 Cognac (these staffeln of III/KG40 had 23 FW200 between them."

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Meanwhile a bit more about the Ju-290,

"Meanwhile, the necessity of a long-range maritime reconnaissance airplane of long reach became indispensable to maintain adequate surveillance of the allied convoys. The Ju 290 A-2 carried search radar; the 200 FuG Hohentwiel, had a range of over 3,000 km and could remain airborne for over 20 hours. For its patrol role it was well-equipped and was soon replacing Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors. Minor changes in armament distinguished the A-3 and A-4, leading to the definitive A-5 variant that introduced a system of self sealing fuel tanks and better shielding for the crew cabin. Only 65 were built, as bombers, long-range reconnaissance aircraft, and transports but there were never more than 20 in service at any given time. The first series of aircraft were painted RLM 65/70/71 and any aircraft used in Naval recon were painted in RLM 65/72/73."

THE G.A.F.
[German Air Force, Luftwaffe]
AND THE INVASION OF NORMANDY
1944
by Oberst Walter Gaul

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The Ar-196s from the Tirpitz attacked 2 FAA Albacore that was shadowing it with no kill from either the Germans or the British in 1942. Robert

"On 29 June 1941, Ju-88's from Kampfliegergruppe 806 seriously damaged the Soviet destroyer Karl Marx (a Ukraiyna class destroyer built in Tallinn in 1904) in Tallinn. The Soviet vessel MO-229, moored next to the Karl Marx, was also pulverized. "

feldgrau.com/baltsea.html

I figured I would bump this up due to the mention of the Luftwaffe in my Soviet torpedo bombers thread. Robert

Hmmm…..