On 9 April (1945) the Luftwaffe General Italien reported 14 Ju 188 D-2s on the strength of 4.(F) and 6.(F)/122 of which 12 were serviceable, but by 22 April, these two Staffeln listed 11 Ju 188 D-2s on strength all but one of which was serviceable. They continued to conduct intermittent reconnaissance over the Adriatic. On the morning of 2 May, a Ju 188 of 4.(F)/122, apparently devoid of any national markings, flew the head of the Vichy regime, Pierre Laval, out of Bolzano to Barcelona in neutral Spain, effectively marking the end of Ju 188 operations in the theatre. (Ju 188 Units, Osprey)
On 31 July 1945 - nearly three months after the cessation of WWII - an 'unmarked' Junkers Ju 188 unexpectedly appeared above the former Luftwaffe air base in Hörsching- Linz and landed. The US 79th Fighter Group was occupying the field at the time - astonished service personnel quickly gathered around the machine (below). And as it turned out, the aircraft had 'explosive' passengers on board: it was the former Vichy Prime Minister Pierre Laval and his wife, who were to be delivered to France from their "exile" in Spain. Laval had twice headed the cabinet of the Vichy government collaborating with the Germans. Not only responsible for the Vichy 'rafles' (round-ups) of French Jews, he had notoriously proclaimed in a speech broadcast on French radio during June 1942 "..Je souhaite la victoire de l'Allemagne, parce que, sans elle, le bolchevisme demain s'installerait partout.." - I want to see Germany victorious in this war because unless there is a German victory, Bolshevism would become established everywhere tomorrow....
The Ju 188 D-1, WNr.230499, formerly 'F6+DM' of 4.(F)/AufklGr 122 landed in Austria having flown in unannounced from Barcelona. This was the same machine that had carried Laval to Spain on or around 30 April 1945 displaying the civil registration D-CEDM. Laval was in Spain for three months until his visa expired. De Gaulle wanted him back in France to face trial and the Spanish were quick to give him up. The two pilots who had flown him out to Spain brought him and the Ju 188 into Linz. It was almost certainly one of the last flights of a Luftwaffe aircraft...Laval (along with Petain) was subsequently put on trial, received the death penalty and later executed. De Gaulle commuted the sentence handed out to Petain, his former mentor....
The Ju 188 D-1, WNr.230499, formerly 'F6+DM' of 4.(F)/AufklGr 122 landed in Austria having flown in unannounced from Barcelona. This was the same machine that had carried Laval to Spain on or around 30 April 1945 displaying the civil registration D-CEDM. Laval was in Spain for three months until his visa expired. De Gaulle wanted him back in France to face trial and the Spanish were quick to give him up. The two pilots who had flown him out to Spain brought him and the Ju 188 into Linz. It was almost certainly one of the last flights of a Luftwaffe aircraft...Laval (along with Petain) was subsequently put on trial, received the death penalty and later executed. De Gaulle commuted the sentence handed out to Petain, his former mentor....
