Death of the Kommodore - Obstlt. Volprecht Riedesel Freiherr zu Eisenbach, new KG 54 history!

 

'Review' by Simon ('Siko54') 

" Have just received my copy and wow! This is a mighty and very weighty publication indeed - nearly 400 pages, hundreds of photos, Flugbuch/wehrpass scans and various annexes. I can’t really do it justice here but this is an absolutely incredible unit history and without a doubt the final word on KG 54. It’s a shame it’s in French but google translate works well and very grateful that Mr Taghon and Lela Presse have published it in any language! Congrats!...."

from Volume II of Peter Taghon's history of KG 54

 On the morning of 9 February 1945, the Kommodore of KG 54 ordered some 18 of his I./ KG (J) 54 Me 262s up from Giebelstadt to counter a huge 8th AF raid. Kommodore Volprecht Riedesel led this meagre force into the overcast skies at the controls of his Me 262 'B3+AA'. An eyewitness on the ground, Adolf Keller, mayor of Würges at the time, recalled;

‘On 9 February 1945, around midday, I witnessed an air battle near Würges. Several aircraft were in the air. A German machine appeared to collide with an American, both bursting into flames and crashing in Würges. A company of Russian Hiwis (Hilfswillige - volunteers) was stationed there. These men went to the site of the double crash and began a recovery operation. That afternoon Fw. Herrmann, who was on the Stab, gave me a ring found by a Russian. It was gold with a black stone. I asked for everything that had been collected to be brought to me and the next day Herrmann brought me the identity plate of a Cpt. James E. Browning, a photograph with his name written on the back, a small empty bag and a few dollars. In the evening, I visited the site to look at the remains of the two aircraft. Both had been burnt to a crisp. The body of the German pilot, Obstlt. Freiherr von Riedesel, had already been taken over by the Luftwaffe. I searched for the remains of the American but found only a few pieces of flesh and bone’.

The Kommodore had collided with a P-51 D (s/n 44-15630, ‘Junior Miss’) flown by Capt. James Browning of the 357th FG. Both Me 262 and P-51 came down at Würges, three kilometres east of Camberg (in a field north of the present-day Idstein Golfparks). From Keller's account, it would seem that the Kommodore deliberately hit the Mustang. This would support the rumour within KG 54 that von Riedesel gave his life voluntarily. According to Oblt. Eberhard von Brunn;

‘There is a version of the Kommodore's death that circulated within the unit. I can partly confirm it. Von Riedesel took off on 9 February probably with the intention of sacrificing himself in the face of a formation of American bombers. This would have been in response to Reichsmarschall Göring's remarks at the presentation of the Oak Leaves. In January, von Riedesel and others had been called to Karinhall for a decoration ceremony. The ceremony was due to take place at 11.00 am, but Göring kept the Kommodore waiting for a long time before arriving in his pompous clothes and without inviting the recipients to share his meal. He told the officers present that he was very surprised by the poor performance of the Luftwaffe, especially the flying personnel of the fighter and bomber units. He gave them their decorations but made it clear that they were not worthy of them. This deeply hurt von Riedesel, who left Karinhall very disappointed. He reportedly described this episode to his Adjutant, Hptm. Karl-Friedrich von Oppel, adding that he could not ignore such an affront. Shortly afterwards, he called the Kommandeure and their adjutants (for II./KG 54, Major Stamm and myself) to Giebelstadt to share an evening meal of venison, and we could see a change of mood in our Kommodore. His death on 9 February came as little surprise. As I knew him personally (having served for a time with the Stab), I was asked to prepare his funeral at Altenburg Castle near Alsfeld (Hesse). I remember talking about this Karinhall episode at the Alsfeld station hotel in front of, among others, General Harlinghausen, Major Zauner and Hptm. Petzold.."

Zauner confirmed: ‘At the burial ceremony for Obstlt. Freiherr von Riedesel, which I was able to attend shortly before my transfer as Kommandeur of III./KG 76 (Ar 234), some officers from KG 54 - whose names I have forgotten - told me about Hermann Göring's disgraceful and wretched attitude during a presentation of decorations. Freiherr von Riedesel had put his heart and soul into the conversion of KG 54 to the Me 262. This was an unacceptable and grotesque performance by the Luftwaffe's senior commander! Freiherr von Riedesel's mother and wife also told me about it. This unjustified criticism had seriously affected the Kommodore and would have been the reason for his last flight. He wanted to set an example and prove that he had always done his duty’.

It fell to Hptm. Petzold and Oblt. von Brunn to take on the delicate task of notifying the family of the deceased. Oblt. von Brunn was to write to his mother;

‘I am at the moment in Alsfeld where, with my Kommandeur Petzold, I had to inform his mother of the death in action of our Kommodore. The news was received with calm and dignity. A noble attitude that is rarely seen these days. I was impressed by her understanding and respect for her son's airmanship and build. I am looking for a billet for the honour guard and have ordered the wreaths. I shall be returning to Altenburg Castle shortly to discuss the other arrangements.."

Available direct from the publisher here

Kampfgeschwader 54 Volume II by Peter Taghon (Lela Presse 28/02/25)

Another imminent publishing event for Luftwaffe enthusiasts - volume II of Peter Taghon's huge history of KG 54 is due at the end of next week. From the publisher's blurb; (adapted and translated by this blogger) 

 " ..With its skull and crossbones emblem Kampfgeschwader 54, the Totenkopfgeschwader, was one of the few Luftwaffe bomber/combat units to fly from the first to the final days of WWII, and has long warranted a detailed history. With its origins in KG 254, KG 54 made a modest entry into the war, with just a single Gruppe engaged in September 1939 in Poland. In April 1940, its second Gruppe, formed during the Phoney War, took part in the fighting in Scandinavia. Then, the following month, the Geschwader was increased to three Gruppen and launched in the Westfeldzug: the campaign in the West. With its third Gruppe disbanded after suffering heavy losses throughout the May/June engagements, KG 54 fought in the Battle of Britain, continuing its missions over England during the Night Blitz. In June 1941, the two Gruppen were deployed in the USSR during ‘Barbarossa’, completing large numbers of missions but suffering such heavy losses that they were recalled to the Reich at the end of the year. However, the military situation had become such that the Totenkopf was forced to disperse its forces, with I./KG 54 moving to the Mediterranean and II./KG 54 returning to the USSR (with a brief period in France). During the aerial assault against Malta, I./KG 54 operated in concert with K.Gr. 806, subsequently renamed III./KG 54. These two Gruppen supported Rommel's Afrika Korps before being joined in 1943 in Sicily by II./KG 54, the Gruppe taking part in the final battles over Africa (Tunisia) which is where this new Volume II picks up the story..

Now at full strength, KG 54 fought the Allied landings in Sicily before being withdrawn to mainland Italy. The Totenkopf left the Mediterranean for good at the end of 1943, returning to the West. It was then deployed again over England as part of the bloody and futile operation ‘Steinbock’. Casualties were so high that II./KG 54 was disbanded in April 1944. Two months later, the Geschwader - once again reduced to two Gruppen - faced the Allied landings in Normandy on missions that were just as costly in terms of men and equipment. Fighting tooth and nail, KG 54 returned to the Reich where, in September 1944, it became a fighter unit equipped with the famous Me 262 jet. However, the aircraft still suffered from serious ‘teething problems’, and KG (J) 54 - despite having been reinforced by a second Gruppe - was hardly able to stand out against the vastly superior Allied air forces, and was decimated. On 8 May 1945, the surviving personnel of the skull and crossbones Geschwader surrendered, their numbers then being mainly dispersed in Austria and Czechoslovakia. 

Volume II contains 392 pages, over 650 photos, 17 colour profiles and period documents. Volume I has been available since October 2024..."

Below; from volume II, a 6./KG 54 Ju 88 in Bergamo, Italy

Hello Peter, many of us are no doubt eagerly awaiting Vol II of your KG 54 book. Can I please ask you a couple of questions for my blog report?

How long did you spend researching KG 54 and how much time did you spend writing these two huge volumes?

Hello Neil,

It’s not easy to say exactly how much time I’ve spent researching KG 54. It all started for me in the mid-1980s with my research on Luftwaffe operations during the Westfeldzug. Through this, I made a lot of contacts with pilots and crew members of the Lehrgeschwader. Some of them had extensive documentation and had also been active in Belgium in 1944. It didn’t take much encouragement from them for me to start writing the history of their Geschwader. That KG 6 would follow was only natural.

Once I had finished working on KG 6, I looked for a new subject. During my research on the Westfeldzug, I had already made quite a few contacts with crew members and pilots of KG 54. I also had extensive communication with Sigmund Radtke from the Traditionsverband KG 54. However, most of my contacts had only been active during the western campaign or had been shot down over England as early as 1940-41. A few went on to have rather impressive careers. So, I already had a decent amount of documentation on KG 54.

By coincidence, the archive of Sigmund Radtke, the author of the book on KG 54, had been passed on to my good friend Ulf Balke. Part of it had already been given to Morten Jessen, but both Ulf and Morten were willing to make the archive available to me. That’s when I discovered that Radtke had far more information than he had used in his book. In addition, I found a lot of supplementary material in the Bundesarchiv.

I got even luckier—through my contacts at the AMC, I was able to access their archive as well. They turned out to have a large collection of photographs, some interesting logbooks, and, most importantly, the diary of Hauptmann von Brunn. He had been very active in the final years of the war, and his notes proved to be of great value for that period.

How long I spent researching/writing is hard to say. A large part of it was done in the 1980-90s (mainly focusing on 1940-41), and after that, I worked on it in small steps until I finally decided to tackle the chronicle in earnest, which led me to resume intensive research. That was during the peak of the COVID period. Writing itself took about 3 to 4 years, partly alongside the research. I did this partly in my free time while I was still working, and then for about a year and a half as a retiree—spending a considerable number of days working on it full-time.

Peter, there were plenty of great images in volume I and I've already been fortunate enough to have seen some of the highlights from volume II. Do you have any particular favourites?

Which photos interest or appeal to me the most? Most readers will undoubtedly be very interested in the photos of the Me 262. There are so many photos that I find fascinating, but the ones I have the strongest emotional connection with are the photos that started it all. For example, during my research on the Westfeldzug, I came across a couple of photos in an infantryman’s album showing the crashed Heinkel 111 of Hauptmann Willers in Scheldewindeke. Through Sigmund Radtke, I got in touch with Willers himself. He was very eager to visit his crash site again. That was a truly special experience, and his information proved very valuable for the chronicle.

Even more significant was a photo of a He 111 that had crashed in Oudekapelle—also a KG 54 aircraft. I had no idea who the crew could be, but one of the infantrymen had taken a clear photo of the pilot. I sent the photo to Sigmund Radtke, and he immediately recognized him as the future Ritterkreuzträger Ernst Petzold. I was able to get in touch with him, sent him the photos, and he turned out to be very interested. He immediately invited me over, and through him, I gained an incredibly interesting insight into his long career within the Geschwader. So, if you ask me which photos appeal to me the most, then yes—it would have to be the photos of Willers and Petzold.

Peter, thank you for helping to put together a nice presentation for the Luftwaffe blog and thank you for allowing me to to translate some extracts of your KG 54 history into English (coming soon)

No problem! Many thanks for the publicity! I know Lela Presse appreciate it. Can I conclude by saying that I’m very lucky that Michel at LeLa Presse took the risk of publishing two such voluminous books. Cheers!

Below; ground crew pose for a souvenir snapshot in front of "B3+AP" flown by Staffelführer of 6./KG 54 Oblt. Karl-Egon Hellwig. Hellwig and his crew were shot down over Kent on the evening of 21 January 1944, crashing at Sellindge (between Ashford and Folkestone). Hellwig was killed.

 

Oblt. Eberhard von Brunn, attached to the Stab./KG 54 noted in his diary; 

 "..In the late evening of 21 January, the crews received their instructions on the the airfield where I. Gruppe was also located. We learnt that the attack we had been planning would be aimed against London, which few had anticipated. We had assumed that this operation ('Steinbock') would concentrate on ports, airfields, certain industrial installations or even Allied troop concentrations and supply depots in order to disrupt the invasion preparations. None of us were happy about the situation... We were loaded with  high explosive 'Sprengbomben' (1000 kg container) and a 500-kg  incendiary 'Brandbombenbehalter' container and took off from Marx at 6.33pm in the dark. Given the weight of the ordnance, I could only with difficulty maintain 330 km/h and the climb performance of the Ju 88 was just as abysmal. Of the fast bomber designed as such in 1940, there was nothing left. We flew alone over Deventer and Ijmuiden (on the coast of the Netherlands) to within twenty-five kilometres of central London. We then turned towards the city and dropped our cargo. In the sky, but also on the ground, the target was well marked by light ('Leuchtbomben') or incendiary bombs. We attacked horizontally. The defences were terrible. Over London, we were greeted by searchlights and flak. But the enemy appeared to have been caught by surprise because no night fighters intervened. During subsequent operations, the defences strengthened. One weapon surprised us. We called it 'Fliegerschreck' - airman's terror. It consisted of rockets fired in salvoes. We could see fifty rockets going off below us (later there would be more) and a few seconds later, the same number of explosions in the sky at around five thousand metres. After three seconds, a large cloud of dark smoke rose from some two hundred points. We assumed that the rockets were dispersing highly explosive projectiles. Hence this cloud of smoke. We also thought that some of the shells were coming down by parachute. During our four subsequent missions over London, no one could tell us anything about this weapon..." 

These 'anti-aircraft rockets' were undoubtedly the so-called 'Z' rocket batteries. The first were equipped with a single launcher, the Projector, 3-inch Mark 1. As this equipment did not give complete satisfaction, it was improved, with rockets subsequently being launched in large numbers in powerful salvos. The Projector, 3-inch, No 2, Mk 1 was a double launcher, while the N°4 Mk 1 and Mk 2 could fire thirty-six rockets simultaneously. On this first ‘Steinbock’ mission, London's defences were limited. Despite this, one of the KG 54 Ju 88s 'B3+AP' flown by the crew of Oblt. Karl-Egon Hellwig (the Stafü of 6./KG 54, below) was shot down by F/Lt John Hall and F/O ‘Jock’ Cairns flying a 488 Sqd Mosquito for their first victory..

 

(blogger note;  the  grave of the 30-year old Karl-Egon Hellwig who was from Hamburg can be visited in Hawkinge cemetery. His crew Uffz. Johann Jehle, Uffz. Walter Flossmann and Fw. Roland Kühnert bailed out successfully and were taken captive)

 

'new' KG 54 photo Me 262 B3(?)+AL, on airfield - sold for €3730 euros!

So this is the photo that apparently got me 'banned' from the LRG. Not that I knew much about it as I rarely visited the LRG.  I joined a lengthy list of 'experts' banned from the LRG, that include Vasco, Beale, Davis and others. Was I bothered ? Not at all. If you want to visit the LRG go ahead. By the way,  I worked hard on the 'precursor' to the LRG with Peter Evans, well before the current regime took over. And to think that I was defending  Lorant.  The problem was the image below, a KG 54 Me 262. The sceptics on that forum got in first with their arguments about manipulation, distortion, perspective etc etc. 

" It is undoubtedly a fake in my opinion..."

" It is obviously a fraud which succeeded to fetch a large amount of money. The buyer should be made aware .."

Nothing wrong with a healthy dose of scepticism but these same 'sceptics' are not usually 'photo specialists'. It struck me that any Photoshop manipulation however professional could be detected under high magnification simply from a close examination - even size comparison - of the pixels ? The 'white arrow' flash on KG 54 training machines is already well known from other sources, although not admittedly in the single-seat variant.

and the response from Lorant, who paid nearly 4,000 euros for this image (yes, he's an idiot as well..)

" I will keep you informed if/when I have the photo in question in my own hands. I was the official responsible for the 9.5 million private and official photographs of the French Air Force held in the archives at Vincennes castle near Paris. I have been manipulating and reproducing original photos for over forty years and I will know very quickly if it is a counterfeit..."

".. I was able to examine yesterday and scan in high definition the original photo of Me262 A coded " AL.."

  
"...The original has many small scratches and imperfections as seen on original German photos of the same period. The picture is not sharp enough to read the Werk Nummer, nor the small 'B3' code of KG 54 that should be painted in front of the fuselage cross. The argentic grain of this print on old paper is perfectly homogeneous. This is obviously a perfectly original print..."


So, yes, a rare and genuine photo of Me 262 A-2 "Anton-Luise" assigned to 3./KG (J) 54 armed with two 30 mm cannon and displaying the letters A (gelb) and L (schwarz) aft of the fuselage Balkenkreuz. It is possible to make out the WNr, but not read it with 100% accuracy.


There are few 'experts' in this field with as much knowledge of the subject as Jean-Yves Lorant - in his professional life he managed the French Armed Forces photo archive (SHD at Vincennes) - some several millions of images. As he wrote on the LRG, " I am not sure that there are on this forum people who can claim an expertise superior to mine in this domain ".

I'm really surprised he didn't get banned from the LRG for that..


To close the discussion.  A spectacular price was paid for this one image - but as someone who has sometimes spent a lot more money on trips to Germany for much less spectacular results put it;

" ..given my age (61), I will certainly never have the opportunity to see others comparable to this one. If anyone knows who is the lucky owner of the other Me 262 photos from the same seller, please send me a message. I thank you in advance..."

Now the internet 'fakers' and 'plunderers' just have to decide what type of Hakenkreuz  - out of the six possibilities - to put on their 'copies'..

a collection of "classic" German-language Luftwaffe books for sale - Siegfried Radtke's KG 54 Chronik " Von der Ju 52 zur Me 262 " (Schild Verlag)

..well-known ebayer Rich Carrick has a nice selection of German language titles on offer in a 'private' sale. Thanks to Rich I have just acquired Siegfried Radtke's KG 54 Chronik " Von der Ju 52 zur Me 262 " (Schild Verlag).

Uffz. Siegfried Radtke was a Beobachter in 9./KG 54. Flying out of Decimomannu, Sardinia, Radtke and his crew were injured on 5 June 1943 when they were forced to bale out of Ju 88 B3+CT WNr 142481 in darkness after a long night sortie over North Africa which saw them returning on one engine before finally running out of fuel. Radtke himself appears in the photo at the top of page 186. On page 216 he describes a bombing sortie flown by his crew in Ju 88 B3+IT on the night of 26-27 July 1944 from Soesterberg over Giberville south-east of Caen in Normandy. Attacked by night fighters and then hit by anti-aircraft fire over the target area, the port wing of the Junkers was quickly ablaze. Although the blaze took hold and burned vigorously the port wing tanks were full, so, according to the author. " there was little danger of an explosion..". The crew elected to fly on and put down at the nearest 'friendly' airfield which was Le Culot where they carried out a successful belly landing at 03:00. The aircraft (which appears as 'JT' in Radtke's loss lists, W.Nr unknown) sustained 60% damages..

" ..in seconds we had scrambled clear of the machine and with the fire brigade and ambulance in attendance our "IT" disappeared under a mountain of foam. Suddenly all the lights on the airfield were extinguished. There was a sound of engines. Our 'colleagues from the other side' had arrived on the scene - too late! Then we heard voices calling out; " ..where is the crew? " By the light of a pocket lamp (torch) we were met by the Kommodore of KG 30, Obstl. Freiherr von Gravenreuth. Later back in the ops building he said ; " Mensch ..goddamn boys you were lucky there! Two nights ago another Ju 88 came in ablaze, attempted what you've just done ..and exploded 100 meters above the field! " We swallowed hard and toasted our Geburtstag ('birthday'). Later we set out  by train via Brussels and Rotterdam and eventually arrived back at Soesterberg where we were warmly welcomed home.."

Rich has a lot of other nice and often hard-to-find Luftwaffe books for sale too; Kock's NJG 6 book and Peter Achs' Fw 191 title to mention just a couple.. You can contact Rich via the **** or the Luftwaffe SIG on Facebook. Visit these sites to see the full range of books available in Rich's private sale..

A blog post devoted to rare Luftwaffe books on Ebay

Ju 88 NJG 2 and KG 54, ZG 76 Bf 109 Dora, Henschel Hs 126 Aufklärer in Poland, KG 54 Totenkopf emblem - Ebay daily photo find #130

Click on the image to view large

neat view of Ju 88 C-2 "R4+EL" WNr 0736  of 3./NJG 2 crash landed by Flugzeugführer Fw Robert Lüddecke (front) on 22 November 1941 at Capodichino-Naples. Lüddecke had returned three night victories - Nachtluftsiege - at the time of the incident.

Three more from Michael Meyer's current sales.

Frontal views of a 2./ZG 76 Bf 110 B photgraphed in May 1939 in Olmütz/Silesia, where training and conversion onto the Bf 110 began. A good view of the radiator intakes under the power plants, the oval exit channels for the 20 mm shells under the nose, level with the wing roots, as well as the insignia of the propeller manufacturer VDM on the prop blades

On 1 May 1939 5./ZG 141 was re-designated 2./ZG 76. Two views of Gefr. Erich Zickler’s Bf 109 D, "red 12" of 2./ZG 76 seen in Pardubitz during the spring of 1939. Zickler later served with 6./ NJG 1

Michael Meyer's Ebay sales are here 

below; from the images currently on offer at koelsch333 Ebay sales and shown here courtesy of proprietor Marco. Click to view large. Go to link below to bid

http://www.ebay.de/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_ssn=koelsch333&item=311458609037&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xflugzeug.TRS0&_nkw=flugzeug&_sacat=0

Junkers Ju 88 B3+NP 6./KG54 - Marx-Laon/Athies 1944, Bf 109 G-6 JG 106

 Junkers Ju 88 B3+NP 6./KG54 - Marx-Laon/Athies 1944

currently on offer from 'airpics' here

Bf 109 G-6 W.Nr. 161 370 "Rote 108", 2./JG 106, Bad Schussenried, Summer 1944.

Show here courtesy of Marco at koelsch333. Marco's current Ebay auctions are here

Rudel 1000th combat sortie Ju 87 Stuka, Ju 88 KG 54 Sicily

From a ebay sale via seller 'Kurmark-antik' and shown here courtesy of Oliver Rogge a number of images of Rudel being feted on the completion of his 1000th combat sortie (Feindflug), more Stukas on the Eastern Front, and an interesting series of aerial views of air raids on Malta carried out by Sicilian-based Ju 88s.