KG 1 Heinkel He 177 - ebay photo find #303

KG 1 Hindenburg Heinkel He 177 GREIF mit Piloten vor dem Start

Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 in 72nd scale, NJG 5 'bomber ace' Eduard Lindinger Ritterkreuz - Luftwaffe models

Left; Ofw. Eduard Lindinger of KG 1 and NJG 5 and, below, his G-6  'C9+ET' after an undercarriage malfunction on landing at Lueneberg in early 1945 (picture via EB).

This 9. Staffel machine is fitted with a 'shortened' 2cm SM installation and single MG 131. Note the cabin roof-mounted Naxos.

Lindinger was awarded the Ritterkreuz for 300+ sorties in KG 1 but enjoyed a singular lack of success as a night fighter - he returned no night victories while in III./NJG 5. Lindinger passed away on 1 September 2004.

 Below;  my Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 night fighter in 72nd scale with the addition of resin Jumo engines, exhausts and spinners from John McIllmurray's AIMS. The engines feature finer detail and perfectly engraved supercharger intakes and, perhaps more to the point, are the correct length. I fitted them in this post. The kit tail fin is rather short and I did briefly replace it with a Quickboost replacement item. However the QB rudder was not the correct shape at all, so in the end I used the kit fin. I have built this model as a representation of Eduard Lindinger's G-6 'C9+ET'. The decals were 'assembled' from various AIMs sheets, most notably the superb new 'Ju 88 Fighters' sheet reviewed on this blog here. Note the 'solid' fuselage Balkenkreuz on the real machine - which I missed, but is easily fixed. Rather unusual for a 1945 machine.

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

KG 1 Ju 88 in flight - daily ebay photo find #172

Hans Keppler career summary

19.09.41 Hptm., appt Staka 7./KG 1. 01.11.41 appt Kdr. III./KG 1 (to 19.08.42). 05.12.41 awarded Ehrenpokal. 01.04.42 promo to Maj. 20.08.42 Maj., appt Kommodore KG 1 (to 03.09.42).
25.02.42 awarded DKG, III./KG 1. 20.08.42 Maj., awarded Ritterkreuz, Kdr. III./KG 1. 03.09.42 Maj., Stab/KG 1 KIA – in Ju 88 A-4 (V4+CD) in a mid-air collision with a German fighter east of Mga in the Lake Ladoga area. 22.12.43 posthumous promo to Obstlt. (with RDA of 01.09.42). Credited with over 300 missions.

Verbandsflug of Ju 88s of KG 1 in Wintertarnung at low altitude



Photos from the album of Ofw. Windisch, Beobachter in 6./ KG 1 in Keppler's crew according to the seller on offer here

Career summary via the Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries by Henry L. deZeng and Douglas G. Stankey on Michael Holm's site