He 177 I./ KG 1 Hindenburg, Kommodore Horst v. Riesen - daily Ebay photo find #173

Original Konvolut von 20 x Fotos, KG 1 Hindenburg

".. Kommodore Horst v. Riesen mit Stab in der Fliegerkaserne in Brandis, viele Offiziere und RK+DKIG Träger dabei..."

 According to the seller these photos were taken from a KG 1 album and show officers and Kommandeure of KG 1 awaiting a visit from Kommodore Horst von Riesen in Brandis, presumably April 1944. Two lower images show RK holder Hptm. Otto von Ballasko (cf. Alfred Price He 177 Profile) followed in the last image by von Riesen's departure. Only two of the twenty images on offer here (see link below) show any of the unit's He 177s. Note the elaborate spinner decoration in the image below.

Below; Major von Cossart (also third left above) in discussion with Oblt Sickert. Hptm Manfred von Cossart was Kdr. of IV./KG 1 from late 1942 until February 1944. With promotion to  the rank of Major, von Cossart assumed command of I./ KG 1. On the dissolution of KG 1 this officer was posted to IV./ JG 301, prior to a posting to Erg.JGr. Ost and a transfer to JG 7. (via the de Zeng/Stankey officer career summaries here)

Hptm. Otto von Ballasko

von Riesen departs Brandis

According to Flugbuch entries listed in Ransom's  brief history of Flugplatz Brandis "Zwischen Leipzig und der Mulde" the first He 177 arrivals for I. Gruppe KG 1 flew into Brandis, some 18 km east of Leipzig, during February 1944; He 177 A-1 WNr. 15184 arrived in Brandis on 18 February 1944. By April I./KG 1 still had only sixteen He 177 bombers on strength and it was not until March 1944 that the newer A-3 model arrived.  II./ KG 1 in Burg and IV./ KG 1 in Neuburg also had claim on some of these newer machines. Of  I./KG 1's 22 He 177 A-3s on strength on 25 April 1944 only six were einsatzbereit (combat-ready) the Gruppe having already lost three He 177s in crashes. By 10 June 1944 the Gruppe had lost a further 16 machines ! ( cf. Ransom p.46)  At least one He 177 was lost in the 28 May 1944 US 8th AF air raid on Brandis. Heinkel He 177 A-3 V4+HK departed Brandis for Neuruppin on 14 July 1944 as the He 177s were moved to various bases in central Germany. Gruppen of KG 1 had taken part in raids on targets in Russia and been deployed against Soviet tank columns that had broken through German defensive positions before fuel shortages grounded KG 1's He 177 bomber fleet in late July 1944.

He 177 A-3 V4+AK  seen in May/June 1944, Flugplatz Brandis (via ebay auction)

IV./KG 1 He 177 with black lower surfaces, summer 1944

Arthur Sack Kreisflügler Sack AS 6 Flugplatz Brandis - flying disc design tested by JG 400 Me 163 Komet pilot

Over in 72 Land Kevin Callahan has finished his Special Hobby Sack AS 6. I happened to see this at the same time as Tom GF was reviewing Stephen Ransom's brief history of Brandis airfield "Zwischen Leipzig und der Mulde" at his German Aviation 1919-1945 blog  Like all of Tom's recommendations this little booklet is well worth tracking down - especially as amazon.de re-sellers have copies on offer for under 10 euros. The connection is Ransom's treatment of the Sack AS 6 on page 61 of his Brandis history. He provides some fascinating information..

Circular wing aircraft planforms were all the rage in America in the 1930s and for a time post war. In fact the American "flying flapjack" flew well enough, but these designs were ultimately no more than aeronautical cul-de-sacs. The Luftwaffe 'sponsored' a similar concept - although their machine was dreamt up in his barn by a farmer, Arthur Sack from Mackern in Saxony (north-east of Leipzig). Sack was an aero-modeller who had entered his flying model in a contest in Leipzig in 1939 and where he had apparently met Ernst Udet who had encouraged him to continue his 'design' work. By early 1944 Sack had built his first piloted Kreisflügler circular wing design 'aircraft', since designated the Sack AS 6 (or the Sack AS 6 V1 according to Special Hobby). Sack then apparently persuaded the Kommandant of his local airfield to allow some developmental work to go on at his airfield - only in this case the local airfield was Flugplatz Brandis, where later that year highly secret and state-of-the-art designs such as the rocket-powered Messerschmitt Me 163 point interceptor and the amazing forward-swept wing Junkers Ju 287 jet bomber were being test flown and operated!

Despite the presence of such a 'design' at a 'secret' test base like Brandis, the Sack AS 6 was as far removed aeronautically from these futuristic machines as it was possible to be - a plywood circular wing powered by an old Messerschmitt Bf 108 Argus engine utilising cockpit parts from a crashed Bf 109. Ground taxiing tests were performed during February 1944, with the first test proving that the rudder was not strong enough and the landing gear not fit for purpose - some structural damage ensued. Five takeoff runs were made during the second test on the 1200 metre Brandis runway during April 1944 with ATG Leipzig test pilot Baltabol at the controls. Testing continued that summer -presumably on a very ad-hoc basis - with a pilot who had some experience of tail-less aircraft trying his hand - Oblt. Franz Rösle, Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 400. These were apparently flight tests although it is doubtful whether the Sack AS 6 ever got airborne - other than a short hop - since it was clear that the 'aircraft' was under-powered. In addition the control surfaces of the flying 'beer mat ' were hopelessly inadequate since they were masked by the circular wing. Based on eye witness reports Ransom concludes that the Sack AS 6 never flew and the 'aircraft' was later broken up on the airfield for fire wood. Of course it is entirely possible that the main legacy of the Sack AS 6 was the host of rumours and myths post-war regarding German 'disc' aircraft and flying saucers...