Ritterkreuz award ceremony in the desert - archive photo scan #47

 

Generalmajor Seidemann Fliegerführer Afrika visted Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 during October 1942 to present the RK to Oblt. Hans von Bargen and Oblt. Herbert Stry, successful in 300 Stuka sorties.  Stry's  BF Ofw. Konsorke received the DKiG. 

Also on this blog;

Kriegsberichter  Hans Gross

Fieseler Storch of the (Luftwaffe) Sanitäts-Kompanie 220

 

Fieseler Storch of the (Luftwaffe) Sanitäts-Kompanie 220 operating in North Africa, here seen unloading a casualty for onward Ju 52 transport, presumably Sicily or Crete.. A "Sanitäts-Kompanie" was a German medical unit, specifically a medical company, responsible for providing medical care to soldiers in the field, including evacuation to field hospitals. Sanitäts-Kompanien worked closely with other medical units like the "Feldlazarett" (field hospital) and "Kriegslazarett" (war hospital) to ensure a continuum of care for the wounded. A Sanitäts-Kompanie would typically have a couple of Ju 52s and Fi 156s on strength..

More ECPA-D jewels - Fieseler Storch in North Africa, Instapic #15

 

..I've slightly gone off the 'idea' of posting ECPA-D images for a brief period, 24 hours, a series I call 'Instapic'.. Simply put while it brings in viewers, it doesn't stop people lifting the material and doing whatever with it. As I've pointed out recently to Denys Boudard who encounters the same issues. Anytime he posts, within hours 'his' images appear on other sites - notably a certain forum - to view. Seems that the 'owner'- ever ready to accuse others of 'lifting' material - is quite happy to see his 'members' reposting material they have helped themselves to elsewhere! 

So this may be my final 'Instapic' post. As I've said before, if you want to see lots of lovely unpublished, beautifully clear Luftwaffe images (I mean, literally thousands, hundreds of thousands..) book a week at the ECPA-D in Paris. As I did. You get a great welcome and their staff are really helpful. The images that follow are not even in the 'Luftwaffe' files at the ECPA-D (DAK 294).

Rommel climbing into his machine. A good view of the Kraftstoffstandanzeiger (fuel level indicator) gauge in the lower wing. Two images (bottom) show a Stork's wing tank being topped off from a drum.

more Bf 109 Aufklärer - 4.(H)/12 in Tunisia January -April 1943

Bf 109 G-2 of 4.(H)/12 seen on Sicily after departing Tunisia during April-May 1943. To view a larger version of this photo click on the image. 

In January 1943, a weakened 4.(H)/12 were resting at Bir Dufan before the Bf 109s of the Staffel were deployed to Tunisia to operate in the 'pocket' alongside those of 2.(H)/14 which had recently returned to Africa. On January 20th, at Bir el Ghnem, a 'Friedrich' had to be scrapped. Three days later, a further two Bf 109s (which were to be part of a rear commando left near Tripoli) were also destroyed. Two wounded were then reported during landing accidents in Zuara and Gabes. On February 9, Ofw Hönig was injured when his aircraft hit an obstacle in Gabes. It was 80% destroyed and this was the last mention of a Bf 109 F-4 in the Staffel. On February 20, Oblt Gerhard Wernicke was reported MIA, hit by ground fire and forced to make an emergency landing south-west of Zarzis. He was flying 'black 14' WNr. 10764  - one of the first Bf 109 G-2s to be transferred to the unit to replace the unit's Friedrichs. Wernicke, a former observer with 2.(H)/14 transferred to 4.(H)/12 and then turned pilot, managed to evade capture and returned to the unit on foot. Two more 'Gustavs' were damaged on landing at Hadjeb el Aioln on the same day, a ferry flight disrupted by bad weather. On 21 February, in a G-2, Fw Josef Harl was hit by flak at  Ben Gardane (near Medenine) and went into captivity. 

On 24 February, Kapitän Schneider left his post to lead a training unit, 4/Nahaufklärungsgeschwader 102 and then II./NAG 102. His successor was Hptm Rolf Sauer, a veteran who had been shot down south of Arrancy on May 13, 1940 by GC I/5 while flying a 3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. 22 Dornier Do 17 P.  He had been taken captive but was freed when France fell and, in 1943, was assigned to the Nahaufklärung. On March 10 Fw Werner Schmidt was shot down near Gafsa by three Spitfires of N° 601 Sq. Schmidt was killed and this victory was attributed to P/O Baxter and Sgt Steele. On March 17, a G-2 was destroyed after an emergency landing due to enemy fire, the pilot was unharmed. 

During these risky missions in Tunisian skies, 4.(H)/12 were not 'clay pigeons'. Uffz Friedrich Stannek (left) was the ace of the Staffel, claiming at least six enemy machines downed during this campaign. Lt. Karl-Otto Holzapfel, who knew him, said; "We didn't like flying with Stannek. He was far too much of a Draufgänger. He often came back with a victory... but without his Kaczmarek".  Stannek claimed his 7th on May 23, a P-38 shot down 50 km south-west of  Cap Spartivento. Stannek was awarded the RK late in 1943 and was killed in a crash on October 25, 1944. 

 On March 19, Uffz Antonius Uhler flying Bf 109 G-2 'black 6' WNr. 10672 was hit by flak near Gafsa. He jumped and was captured. 4.(H)/12 had apparently reached the end of the line. In early April, two or three of its G-2s were destroyed at La Fauconnerie and Bir el Djem. (April 9,1943: Bf 109 G-2 W.Nr. 13899 was destroyed by German troops at Fl.Pl. Bir el-Djem). The last recorded loss for 4.(H)/12 in Tunisia was Bf 109 G-2 WNr. 10837, bombed at Sainte-Marie du Zît on April 12. The Staffel evacuated to Sicily and thereafter back to mainland Italy, missing the last of the fighting in the Tunisia and the surrender of the Panzerarmee Afrika in May 1943.

Below;  'white 6' a G-4 of 4./(H)/12 (note prancing horse cowl emblem) on Sicily. 4.(H)/12 was incorporated into the 'new' NAG 11 during October 1943, being re-designated 2./NAG 11.

Also on this blog;

Recon for Rommel  2.(H)/14 in Africa 

Fritz Galland - least well-known of the Galland brothers, StaKa of 2./NAG 11

The full story of battlefield recce Staffel 4.(H)/12  - from the Hs 126 to the Bf 109 Gustav, 1939 -1943 - is told by Jean-Louis Roba in the latest issue of 'Avions' magazine (Lela Presse). More details and a pdf extract here 

Sonderkommando Blaich 'raid' on Fort Lamy, January 1942 - 'anecdote' or feat of arms?

Two views of Theo Blaich and his Messerschmitt Me 108 "Taifun" prior to his departure on his pre-war 'Afrika Rundflug' (which took place during December 1938). 

Below, Blaich's Taifun with the Staffelabzeichen of the so-called "Sonderkommando Blaich"probably painted following the raid on Fort Lamy for the purposes of German propaganda.

Theo Blaich was a pre-war adventurer and 'explorer' - a German 'Lawrence of Arabia' - responsible for planning and executing one of the 'longest' bombing raids of the war - the 'spectacular' attack on Fort Lamy (capital N'Djamena in Free French Chad). Often described as a 'feat of arms' ('Husarenstreich' in German) it was, in the view of this blog, a fairly derisory effort mounted by a single He 111 that has been 'sensationalised' ever since, some even comparing it to the Doolittle raid! An 'exploit' perhaps - but one of limited impact as a more 'objective' look at the efforts of the Sonderkommando based on the German and French sources would surely conclude. The ECPA- D in Paris has a large amount of material that can be previewed - over 55 taken by PK reporter Fritz Dettmann on the raid alone..

African explorer and plantation owner, Theodor Blaich was already a civilian pilot and owned his own personal Bf 108 when he enlisted in the Luftwaffe. Serving as a 'technical advisor' to Rommel and his Afrika Korps, Blaich's 'Sonderkommando' was set up to counter the Long Range Desert Group but had so little impact that  there has been little or nothing written about it in English. Blaich's sole He 111 was a II./KG 4 machine (WNr. 4145) fitted out with a supplementary fuel tank (normal fuel capacity 4285 litres) enabling the machine to fly a 2500 km round trip carrying a pay load of just sixteen SC 50 bombs. The Fort Lamy raid was launched from Bir Misciuro ('Campo Uno') 600 km south of Hun on 21 January 1942.

Below; Heinkel He 111 mit Staffelabzeichen "Sonderkommando Blaich" and in the background, Blaich's car and Me 108 "Taifun", all featuring the Staffel emblem.

According to a recent video " the raid destroyed all oil stocks and 10 aircraft.."  Yet photos of the scenes appear to show plenty of intact oil barrels with the columns of smoke some distance from the photographer.  A recent article has an account from one French eye witness describing how base personnel man-handled barrels away from the scene of the fires ....in addition no a/c installations were hit and no aircraft were lost. The official 'bilan' (balance sheet) was 400,000 litres of fuel destroyed while 200,000 litres were saved directly from the fires. In fact according to figures published by Alain Godec, Free French fuel reserves stocked in and around Fort Lamy totalled some 2,500,000 litres!

Left; map of  the 'raid' against Fort Lamy flown on 21 January 1942 - from Alain Godec's article. 

As the Heinkel turned for home, columns of smoke rose up into the skies and the one imagines the crew looking down on the scenes with something approaching satisfaction. The anti-aircraft defences at Fort Lamy eventually reacted but the Heinkel crew were unaware of any defensive fire. In fact the Germans had been fortunate to 'hit' the target at all - they got lost on the way to Fort Lamy, running into a sandstorm an hour after take off. The meteorologist at Hun (Houn - 60 kms south of Tripoli) - who had forecast fine conditions for the raid - was apparently a British secret agent. Blaich and his crew also got lost on the way back, running out of fuel and eventually having to put down in the desert some 200 kms from Campo Uno. In fact  as Mark Felton explains his video (see below) while the Italians' 'path-finding' for the mission was a total failure, they did eventually locate the German raider(s) 'Funkpeilung' from their 3W transmitter in the desert after some five days under 36 C temperatures and rescued them. According to wikipedia, " while the attack on Fort Lamy caused only minor damage to installations and light casualties it did destroy vital fuel supplies. It reduced the supplies for the Free French Forces and the RAF in the region by half (according to Allied sources). The raid also caused the French general Philippe Leclerc to strengthen the anti-aircraft defences at Fort Lamy and to start hit-and-run operations against the Italian forces in Fezzan region.." Yet the raid on Fort Lamy had no bearing on LeClerc's 1942 campaign - which it was intended to hinder - and rather illustrated the Luftwaffe's inability to mount any kind of meaningful strategic operation. Blaich later commanded NSGr.7 (from October 1944 I think) and was awarded the DKiG (German Cross in Gold).  There were no awards handed out for the Fort Lamy 'attack'.

The PK reporter Fritz Dettmann who accompanied the raiders also authored the book 'Mein Freund Marseille' - which may go some way to explaining the 'propaganda success' enjoyed subsequently by Blaich.  You could possibly describe the raid as a 'feat of arms' ..but hardly a success. 

Theo Blaich (seen left) died in 1975.  His obituary was published in Jägerblatt and was written by Ed Neumann. There was not much detail on Blaich's life unfortunately -  he died aged 75 (born 1900), adventurer and explorer he spent time in his teens flying and travelling, mostly to central America - owned banana plantations in the Cameroons West Africa during the mid to late 20s - on the outbreak of war enlisted in the Luftwaffe with his own aircraft.

On the French side there were claims made about the efficacy (or not) of Fort Lamy's anti-aircraft defences. French writer  Alain Godec commented;

  ".. the officer commanding the guns did not see the German aircraft despite claims that they had clearly identified the aircraft on the approach. One gunner claims that the Bofors guns could not hit the aircraft because it was flying at 3500m (as compared to 1500m in the official report) and even says that the bombing was done North to South. The rumours among the Free French in Chad indicate that the crews were either having a nap or were playing cards, apparently unconcerned given that there were so many aircraft movements. When you look at the picture in Carrell's book depicting at least one bomb exploding with the river Chari in the back-ground  you can clearly see that the altitude was not 3500m (beyond Bofors guns range) but much lower. You can also simulate this on Google Earth..."

 

"..Select N'Djamena and play with the altitude. One thing I forgot to say is that the aircraft type and nationality was only discovered later on. The report mentions that the bombing "was done at 1235 GMT by a twin-engine bomber camouflaged by large orange and brown stripes without any markings". The nationality of the aircraft was only discovered when the two unexploded bombs were examined and destroyed three days later. In a local Fort-Lamy newspaper, an article reports that "Fort-lamy was bombed by an unknown aircraft and that the bombs were of a German make.." 

Below; refuelling Blaich's He 111 at 'Campo Uno' from drums carried by the accompanying Italian SM. 81 'Pipistrello'  prior to launching the 21-22 January raid. According to a German-language article on the raid (Flugzeug 5/86), the Italians were to accompany the raiding Heinkel and act as 'pathfinders'.  The Heinkel missed Fort Lamy by some 200 kms and only found the target by following the rivers Schari/Lougone. The crew landed in the desert -lost- some 200 kms from Campo Uno on the return leg of the mission. With diminishing water rations the crew were located after some five days in the desert.

Below; Blaich at the controls of a Me 108 having just landed at Campo Uno. Standing alongside him is the Count San Severino, Italian desert 'specialist'..

Above; 'colorized' (?) screen capture from the Mark Felton video below. A single click to view here

Who collided with the 97th BG B-17 F 'All American' ? - Luftwaffe in Tunisia (2)

 

 The internet it would appear was made for stories like that of the 97th BG B-17 'All American'. 

 "..The 'All American', a B-17 Flying Fortress, seen returning to Biskra, Algeria, after a mid-air collision with a German fighter almost tore the bomber's tail off completely..."

While quite amazing in its own right, the story has been somewhat embellished in the re-telling. Some versions even have the B-17 returning to England. The 'Disciples of flight' web site even uses a German newspaper illustration of a Sturmstaffel Fw 190 ramming attack to illustrate its article. 

The bombing raid was flown from Biskra, Algeria to Tunis on February 1, 1943. The American B-17s - a small force of some 12 unescorted machines - were targeted head-on by the Bf 109s of II./JG 53. As related in his memoir, Jules Meimberg's 11./JG 2 - subordinated to JG 53 in Tunisia - also participated in this action. Meimberg - who had claimed a P-38 over Tunis the previous day - was still testing the frontal pass for attacking 'Ami' bombers, concentrating his fire at the weakest point defensively on the B-17 F. However his luck ran out on February 1, 1943. His Bf 109 G-4 was quickly set alight by the gunners' fire and  Meimberg bailed out badly burnt. He subsequently claimed the B-17 shot down but none were lost. 6./JG 53 ace Fw. Erich Paczia also set up for a frontal pass. According to Steve Birdsall in his 'Pride of Seattle, The Story of the First 300 B-17 Fs', what happened next left indelible impressions on the men at the front of the aircraft. Bombardier Lt. Ralph Burbridge recalled ; “I was firing at it all the way… I figure one of us must have killed the pilot because the plane crashed right into us… When we hit, our plane almost stood up on its tail. Then we went down at a very sharp angle. I thought to myself, ‘boy, this is it’.”
Paczia's wing plowed through the rear fuselage of the 'All American' and the 16-victory German ace plunged to his death. 

Fw. Erich Paczia of 6./JG 53 (left) seen in Comiso during 1942

 

Below; the B-17 managed to fly back to its base and land safely without any crew member injured.

"..Wings ablaze with gunfire, the Messerschmitt pilot aimed his fighter directly at the nose of the 'All American'. The crew aboard the B-17 Flying Fortress had seconds to respond. The bomber’s nose gun flashed in reply. The gunners of the lead bomber joined the fray, raking the air with bullets. At the last moment, the fighter turned to pull away. Suddenly, the pilot froze – one of the American gunners had found their mark. The fighter shot right over the cockpit of the B-17 'All American' with a deafening “whoosh” before plowing into the tail section. The craft shuddered as a tremendous “whoomp!” tore through it..."

A full day-by-day account of the Luftwaffe in Tunisia is related in issue #96 of 'Batailles Aériennes' over 96 A-4 pages, comprising 200 photos and 15 artworks all for 12 euros. Even if you don't read French this is a bargain.

"..From 1940 to late 1942, the Tunisians had seen few Luftwaffe aircraft, except for the few aircraft of the Armistice Commission that had come to verify compliance with the conditions set in June 1940 at Compiègne. This changed in November 1942 when the Allies landed in Algeria and Morocco, catching the Afrika Korps (then in full retreat) in a pincer movement. Mustering all it could, the Wehrmacht rushed in disparate units from land, air and sea to take control of Tunisia, towards which Rommel's army was retreating. On the ground, the Heer was initially able to block the advance of the enemy forces, while in the air, the Luftwaffe stepped up all kinds of operations: fighter and bomber escort sorties, ground attack, reconnaissance and also supply operations following the creation of an air bridge linking Europe to Africa. Airborne units and the flak arm were also put to great use. However, even if the German fighters were able to inflict heavy losses ( the USAAF in particular lacked combat experience), they often appeared powerless against large forces of American heavy bombers that were dispatched to pound their airfields as well as troop concentrations. The Luftwaffe, confronted with sophisticated enemy equipment, was to find out the hard way what 'Materialschlacht' meant. As the months passed and Allied numerical superiority increased, fatal blows were dealt to the air and sea supply units, which isolated the Tunisian pocket. Despite the disproportionate nature of the fighting, the Axis were able to hold on to the country for some six months, although their positions were slowly  whittled away. And on 13 May 1943, after suffering heavy losses, the Axis lost Africa for good..."

 

Lt. Rolf Schlegel of 4./JG 53 - Luftwaffe in Tunisia (1)

 

Lt. Rolf Schlegel of 4./JG 53 climbing into the cockpit of his G-6 ‘Trop’ ‘white 6’ for a spell at 'readiness' during early 1943 in Tunisia. Note the 'painted' cowl gun troughs. Schlegel flew as Staffelkapitän 10./JG 4 during February-March 1945 and was posted to EJG 2 at Lechfeld for jet training for the final months of the war. He returned nine victories. Click to view large

Casemate Illustrated - Luftwaffe in Africa

New from Casemate is this 'Osprey-style' monograph of 128 glossy pages with neat glossy card covers, around 200 photos and profile artworks by Vincent Dhorne. The text features newly translated first-person accounts by this blogger and covers aspects of the campaign in North Africa that are generally less-well known; KG 26 raids on the Suez Canal, KG 40 FW 200 transport missions, Go 242 glider units and the end in Tunisia with JG 77 to cite just a few examples..

From an Amazon reviewer;

 "...I thought this was an excellent book. In fact, it is the only book I have found that is devoted solely to the history of the Luftwaffe in North Africa. It covers the air combat from several levels or viewpoints: grand strategic, local operations, and individual aircraft and pilot combats. It gives the strengths and deployments of the various Geschwader and Staffeln throughout the 1941 - 1943 period. The text is accompanied by many period black and white photos and color artworks. In looking at the bibliography, it appears that the sources are almost entirely original German documents and publications with a few British books thrown in....

There are several comments or analyses that German involvement in North Africa was a mistake from the beginning. The German military was far more resource or asset limited than the US or Britain. As the book points on several occasions, a Geschwader deployed in North Africa meant one fewer such unit deployed on the Russian Front where it was most needed. Page 72 contains an interesting assessment of the whole situation: "Rommel's fatal decision was his first: to launch an all-out offensive in 1941, an offensive that would divert to Africa resources that would have achieved more and proved more effective in Russia...."

I think an even better way of putting it was that there was no one at the top assigning priorities: Hitler wanted to attack everywhere and defend everything. His rationale for sending German troops and air units to North Africa in the first place was awful: to prevent Mussolini from losing prestige if the Italians lost Libya to the British. Libya was simply of no strategic significance to Germany. Even if it was important, Germany could never devote the military resources to it that would be needed to defend it against the British and eventually the Americans.

An excellent equivalent book on the British RAF in North Africa is "The Desert Air Force in World War II: Air Power in the Western Desert 1940 - 1942" by Delve (2017)....."

Also on this blog by Jean-Louis Roba and published by Casemate " Luftwaffe in Colour "

Junkers Ju 88 Aces - a selection of Ju 88 'ace' photos - Helbig, Hogeback, Storp, Fischer , Schweickhardt

Hptm. Erwin Fischer (right of the sign) with Glas Sekt on the occasion of the 3000th Feindflug  of Aufklärungsgruppe 121. Note the white swan emblem of the unit, Ju 88 D coded 7A + NH

Despite having published at least three volumes on Junkers Ju 88 Kampfgeschwader in their 'Combat Units' series, Osprey editor Tony Holmes decided we needed at least one Ju 88 volume in the 'Aces' series. However on the evidence of this volume I would say to him that we probably need a few more of these as well. This is an excellent volume on the Junkers Ju 88, presenting an overview of the aircraft and the men who flew it in each of the roles it undertook; bomber, intruder, night-fighter, long-range day fighter and reconnaissance. Many of the more 'famous' Ju 88 pilots are covered such as Baumbach, Helbig, Herrmann and Heinz Rökker along with some of the lesser known. The profiles are some of the best I have seen in an Osprey book and the content highly readable and informative. However, it is not strictly an "aces" volume as it does not specifically look at those who claimed 5 or more kills whilst flying the Ju 88. If you are thinking of buying it because of the title, you may perhaps be disappointed. That being said, if you have any interest in the type and the exploits of its crews then buy it - it is a taster or as Robert himself referred to it " a toe-dipper". To cover all noteworthy Ju 88 "ace crews", in all the roles in which the aircraft undertook, would take several similar sized volumes. For example, Hermann Hogeback is only mentioned in a couple of photo captions and he would certainly qualify as the Ju 88 bomber "aces of aces" (with 500+ operational sorties and being one of only three Ju 88 pilots to receive the Knights Cross with Swords). Erwin Fischer is the only reconnaissance pilot to receive the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves (as far as I am aware) and he is not even mentioned in the text...

Above; Ju 88 A-4 WNr. 142338 coded 'F1+GS' flown by the Gruppenkommandeur III./KG 76 Hptm. Heinrich Schweickhardt. The coat of arms of the city of Heidelberg recalls Schweickhardt's birth place. He was flying this aircraft when he went missing during a transfer flight on 9 January 1943.

Hptm. Heinrich Schweickhardt (1914-1943) awarded the RK as Staffelkapitän 8./Kampfgeschwader 76, (Ritterkreuz 04.02.1942, Eichenlaub (138) 30.10.1942)

Appointed Kommandeur III./KG 76 in March 1942 Schweickhardt and his crew went missing during a flight from Catania to Athen-Tatoi on 9 January 1943 after a radio message from about noon saying he was having engine trouble. This was after combat about 100 km west of Zakynthos or Zante. The aircraft was a Ju 88 A-4 WNr. 142338 coded 'F1+GS'. Posthumously promoted to
Major, credited with around 400 missions.



Below; Junkers Ju 88 A-6 1./(F)123 (4U+SH) after a recon mission flown by Ofw. Bach, Perugia Italy. Chased by Allied fighters the pilot flew so low over the sea that the propellers struck the water and shattered. Fortunately the wooden propellers broke evenly which allowed the engines to keep running and Bach made it back to his base in Perugia at a some what reduced speed..

Two views of I./KG 77 machines. Note the white winter finish applied even to the prop blades in the lower picture

below; torpedo-carrying Ju 88 of I./KG 26 taking off from Bardufoss in March 1945 to attack a Murmansk convoy. Note the Schiffssuchradar - shipping search radar FuG 200 Hohentwiel. To the right of picture Oberst Ernst Kühl is seen saluting the departing aircraft. 

Chris Goss has a different caption in his Frontline " Junkers Ju 88 - the twilight years"  which reads as follows;   A Ju 88 of I./KG 26 taxying out at Bardufoss to attack an Allied convoy, RA 64, on 20 February 1945. In the crew is Oberst Ernst Kühl who had recently been given command of a Fliegerdivision based in Narvik. He was holder of the Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub and had flown 315 combat missions, most of them with KG 55.

Below; interesting cockpit views and a rare portrait of Werner Baumbach at Munich Riem during 1942..

Junkers Ju 88s of KG 26 being readied for sorties out over the Med from Sicily. Note the twin under-slung torpedoes in the first image below, each weighing approx 750 kg, of which 200 kg was explosive. To launch the weapons the Ju 88 pilot had to maintain a speed of 180 km/h at an altitude of forty metres. In theory the torpedo could be dropped up to two kilometres from the target but in practise a more realistic range was barely 800 metres. However at distances such as these the Ju 88  pilots were very much aware they would likely find themselves in a maelstrom of defensive fire.

On 22 December 1942 Ju-88s from III.Gruppe KG 26 torpedoed and damaged the British troopship Cameronia. Strikes were made all along the African coast. Allied air attacks cost the unit four aircraft on 8 February 1943 when the unit's base at Cagliari-Elmas, Sardinia was bombed. In July 1943 the unit also contested "Operation_Husky", the Allied invasion of Sicily. On 12 August the unit struck at Allied shipping in the western Mediterranean losing 10 machines for little result.

Below; Kommandeur I./LG 1 Hptm. Joachim Helbig seen in Catania, Sicily during 1941. He was awarded the Eichenlaub during January 1942 after some 200 sorties..

Deployed early on in the Mediterranean, LG 1 would soon prove to be one of the most formidable and feared opponents of the Royal Navy. Under the orders of Kommandeur Helbig, the "Helbig flyers" of I./LG 1 as they were dubbed were responsible for sending many Allied ships to the bottom. Notable actions included the sinking of three large transport vessels Clan Campbell, Clan Chattan and Rowallan Castle from the convoy MW 9, during attacks on 13–14 February 1941. On 22 May 1941 during the Battle for Crete, LG 1 Ju 88 pilot Gerd Brenner finished off the RN cruiser HMS Fiji with heavy loss of life. III./LG 1 also damaged the Australian destroyer Waterhen on 9 July 1941, sinking it on 11 July. The Geschwader supported the Afrika Korps effectively in Libya and Egypt until 1942. Bombing raids were made on the Suez Canal, Cairo during this time. On 11/12 May 1942 I.(K)/LG 1 again led by Helbig were responsible for sinking HMS Kipling, HMS Jackal and HMS Lively in the Gulf of Sollum. Helbig below on the right..

Below; Iro Ilk Staffelkapitän of 1./LG 1 during 1943 and bomber ace at the controls of his Ju 88. Both Ilk and his close friend in LG 1 Gerd Stamp were awarded the Knight's Cross with I./LG 1 for audacious attacks on British shipping in the Med, before going on to fly single engine night fighters with the wilde Sau. Ilk was shot down and killed by Spitfires as Gruppenkommandeur III./JG 300 on 25 September 1944. Post-war Stamp achieved high rank in NATO and married Ilk's widow.

Having carried out intruder attacks over Britain with some success for almost a year, the Ju 88 Cs of I./ NJG 2 were transferred to the Mediterranean and the western desert of North Africa in late 1941.  Ju 88 C-4 " R4+EL" (3./ NJG 2) came to grief during the transfer flight to Sicily and made an emergency landing near Naples. 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.

Below; seen far left Ritterkreuzträger Hptm. Hermann Hogeback, Kommandeur III./LG 1 on the occasion of a commemoration of the 5000th sortie flown by the Gruppe, Stalino, September 1942.

Three bomber aces of KG 6 with around 1,000 sorties between them, Hptm. Rudolf Puchinger, Staka 8./KG 6, Kommodore Walter Storp and Kommandeur III./KG 6 Hermann Hogeback.

Partial view of a formation of V./KG 40 Ju 88 C-6 heavy fighters seen over south-western France during early 1943. Nearest to the camera is Ju 88 C-6 "F8+RY" with Oblt. Kurt Necesany at the controls, while behind this aircraft is "F8+NY"

Diving Eagle of KG 30 seen on Herrmann's Ju 88 A-4. Early in World War II, Herrmann flew bombing missions in the invasion of Poland and the Norwegian campaign. By 1940 he was Staffelkapitän 7./KG 4 re-designated 7./KG 30 at the end of the Battle of Britain. In February 1941 his Gruppe was transferred to Sicily, from where it attacked Malta then fought in the Battle of Greece. In one attack Herrmann sank the ammunition ship Clan Fraser in the port of Piraeus. The explosion sank 11 ships and made the Greek port unusable for many months. He was appointed Kommandeur III./KG 30 and flew missions against Russia. He was a controversial figure in 'right-wing' circles post-war.

"..Herrmann was one of the most deadly Luftwaffe pilots of the Second World War and one of its most innovative air tacticians; a committed Nazi determined to fight to the end, he even formed a special unit of fighter pilots whose task was to ram Allied bombers out of the air..."

 ..from his obituary published by the British 'Daily Telegraph' in 2010. Read it in full here

The above is intended to serve as an introduction to the two Ju 88 photo volumes compiled by Chris Goss in Frontline's 'Air War Archive' series..while Volume one focused on the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain, Volume two, "the Twilight years- Biscay to the Fall of Germany" covers the activities of Ju 88 Gruppen in Russia and the Mediterranean and looks at reconnaissance and torpedo operations. Heavy fighters also receive a chapter  - 'Battle over the Bay' covers the little-known ZG 1 - and there is a small section at the end on the Misteln..