This text is a continuation of an abridged translation of the book Luftwaffe'45. Letzte Fluge und Projekte”by a colleague of NF68 who has translated many interesting topics related to the German Air Force. The illustrations are taken from the original book, the literary processing of the translation from German was done by the author of these lines.
Subjected to powerful enemy attacks, the unit flew over Hannover towards Lüneburg. Passing over Schwerin, continued on its way to Husum. As early as May 4, 1945, some of the crews of the night attack squadron continued sorties, delivering the last desperate blows to the British ground forces. NSGr night stormtroopers squadron. 1 (Süd) was in Upper Bavaria by the end of the war. On May 3, the squadron's flight units were based in Albing. At the same time, the ground personnel of this squadron took part in battles, unusual for them, against the enemy ground forces. NSGr night stormtroopers squadron. 1 (Süd) ceased fighting on May 9, 1945 in Bad Reichenhal. NSGr night stormtroopers squadron. 2 was also part of the Hallensleben combat unit. After the disbandment of this unit, the squadron acted independently. The airfields in Ostheim and Köln-Wahn, where the squadron was based, had to leave soon because of the approaching American units, and in the first days of March 1945 the NSGr. 2 moved to the area near Westerwald (from Westerwald). From mid-March 1945, the NSGr. 2 and NSGr. 1 to the west of the Rein River, they fought jointly in an attempt to destroy the bridge at Remagen. On March 13, the airfields of both squadrons were attacked by American B-26 and P-47 aircraft from the 9th Air Army. During these attacks, the enemy destroyed 22 of the 26 Ju-87 D-5s on the taxiways. After the squadron left the intermediate base in Oberhessen and Westerwald, it was relocated to southern Germany. Then, at the end of March, the NSGr squadron. 2 was relocated to the well-prepared airfield at Bayreuht. Further, from April 19, one group of the squadron was based at the airfield in Straubing. Dangerous deep penetrations by enemy tanks along the Autobahn in the direction of Regensburg posed a danger to the group, and on May 2, 1945, the last crews with their Ju-87 D-5s returned back to the airfield in Albing (Albing). Some of the crews were based at the Holzkirhen airfield, where on 8 May the crews blew up almost all of the surviving aircraft. NSGr night stormtroopers squadron. 4 from the end of 1944 managed to achieve great success, but at the same time the losses of the squadron turned out to be sensitive. October 15, 1944 aviation group 1 / NSGr. 4 was based in Lübben. The 2nd squadron of this group was mostly armed with aircraft of the Ju-87 D-3 "N" and D-5 "N" types with flame arresters and additional navigation equipment, which made it possible to operate at low altitudes at night. On February 1, 1945, the air group headquarters had an additional Ju-87 5 D-5 and five Si-204 D-1 aircraft.
In total, the air group, despite the losses in recent weeks, had more than thirty aircraft of the Ju-87 type. In January and February, the 3rd squadron of the group in the battles of Ober-Glogau, Stephansdorf, Neise-Möckendorf and Bömmischdorf again lost many crews. Until February 27, the surviving crews flew from the Kamenz airfield southeast of Dresden, striking in the Bautzen area. In the early days of March, Ju-87 D from the 1 / NSGr.4 took part in heavy fighting in the Kolberg area, but due to bad weather, the participation of stormtroopers in the battles brought little success. Most of the bombs dropped from the AB 250 and AB 500 containers did not hit the target. Meanwhile, the formations of the Red Army, due to the fact that the length of the front line was shrinking every day, managed to significantly increase the concentration of anti-aircraft artillery, primarily this affected mobile and tank formations, therefore, striking the enemy for the crews of Ju-87 D became more and more dangerous. On March 21, the squadron was armed with two Ju-87 D aircraft and 3 Si 204 aircraft. Another 16 Ju-87 aircraft were in the 1st Squadron, 12 aircraft in the 2nd Squadron and 19 aircraft in the 3rd Squadron. 1st squadron of the group. From the report of the NSGr squadron. 4 it follows that in March 1945 the aircraft of this squadron attacked the transport communications of the Soviet troops. However, the surprisingly quickly organized opposition of the Soviet troops led to the fact that attempts at night raids began to pose a threat to the German aviation itself, while the Red Army paid special attention to protecting bridges and important areas from air strikes.
April 1, 1945 headquarters of the NSGr night attack squadron. 4, being in the area of responsibility of the 3rd Aviation Division of the 6th Air Fleet, used at least 2 or 3 Si-204 D-1 aircraft with bomb containers for night strikes. On the night of April 8, 1945, 6 Ju-87 aircraft were to drop 2,040 kg for the encircled Breslau garrison. ammunition and equipment, enclosed in containers, but due to bad weather in the area of the city, three aircraft were forced to return to their airfield. At the same time, 16 Ju-87 Ds, accompanied by 8 piston fighters, flew to Küstrin. A little later, this group of aircraft struck at Soviet troops moving along the Reichsautoban in the section between Breslau and Liegnitz. On April 9, 1945, this relatively powerful squadron of night attack aircraft still had more than forty-five Ju-87 D-3, Ju-87 D-5 and Si-204 D-1 aircraft. On April 13, 8 aircraft from this squadron flew to search for suitable targets in the Reichsautobahn area near Breslau, and on April 17, 23 aircraft of the Ju-87 D type from the 2nd and 3rd groups of the NSGr squadron. 4 attacked enemy forces in the Ratibor area. One Si-204 D-1 in the Brünn area from two AB 250 containers dropped 8 SD 70 bombs on enemy positions.
Heavy aircraft torpedo bomb VT 1400
On the night of April 24, 16 Ju-87s, supported by Ju-88s that dropped lighting bombs, attacked enemy forces in the Rathstock area. In this case, containers were used primarily AB 250 and AB 500. May 3, air group 2 / NSGr. 4 was based in Olmutz-Süd, Air Group 3 / NSGr. 4 was based in Ludwigsdorf. At that time, the previously mentioned Otto Weiß 3rd Squadron was part of the Weiß combat formation and operated in the area of responsibility of the 17th Ground Army. This squadron was based at the Werneuchen airfield. Squadron NSGr. 8 was transferred from Norway near Frankfurt / Oder, from where it delivered strikes of particular importance against enemy forces in the Berlin area and in the front sector along the Oder River. On February 1, 1945, Ju-87 D-5 aircraft and some types of light auxiliary aircraft were used to attack the enemy (the 4th squadron was mainly armed with outdated Ar-66 and Go-145 aircraft). Until February 27, all three squadrons were based at the Werneuchen airfield. On the night of March 23-24, 48 Ju-87 squadron NSGr. 8 attacked the enemy bridgehead at Görlitz, thereby somewhat alleviating the plight of their ground forces in this sector of the front. On March 25, the same aviation squadron successfully struck at the enemy positions, which attacked the 712th Infantry Division. In addition, precise strikes against the enemy at Lebus (Lebus) temporarily reduced the onslaught of the Soviet units. During the seven days of March, a total of 187 Ju-87s and two Go 145s hit the enemy.
Biplanes were used on the Eastern Front until the end of the war. Pictured Go 145
Many times these aircraft during combat missions were accompanied by Ju-88 and Ju-188, aiming strike aircraft at targets, while dropping LC 50 lighting bombs. On 1 April alone, German aircraft made 37 sorties. For more, German aviation was no longer capable of due to lack of fuel. NSGr night stormtroopers squadron. 8 dropped bombs using 61 AB 500 containers, 143 AB 250 containers with SD 10 bombs and 262 AB 250 containers with SD-1 bombs. In addition, bombs were also dropped from two AB 70 containers. Later, the crews of German aircraft dropped six SC 500 bombs, 19 SD 250 bombs and 250 SD 70 bombs. On April 11, 1945, during the last heavy strike against the enemy, 32 Ar 66, Go 145 and several Ju-87 D-5s. The attacks were directed at the enemy troops stationed in the Görlitz area, after which the entire squadron was transferred to northern Germany, where from time to time minor blows were inflicted on the enemy. For a larger squadron, due to lack of fuel and ammunition, it was incapable. In early May, the high command of the Luftwaffe at Schleswig disbanded the still operational group. In defensive battles, the NSGr. 9 played a special role. Despite the fact that the squadron was a rather weak formation, the experienced crews of this squadron inflicted sensitive blows on some columns of the American and British ground forces. Alas, the lack of fuel and spare parts reduced the efficiency of this squadron.
At the end of December 1944, 12 Ju-87 aircraft remained in the squadron. From the beginning of January 1945, all combat-ready aircraft were concentrated in the headquarters squadron and in the 2nd and 3rd squadrons, which made it possible to strengthen the connection. In the next six nights, the squadron's aircraft made another 90 sorties. On February 2, the squadron headquarters was moved from Bovolone to Villafranc. The first squadron was equipped with FW-190 F-8 aircraft.
FW 190 F-8 from III./KG 200, returning from a combat mission. Noteworthy are holes in the hull, formed as a result of shell hits.
Unexpectedly, by the end of February, 12 high-speed fighter-bombers of the 1 / NSGr air group were sent to the squadron. 9. Both other squadrons and the group's headquarters flew conventional Ju-87 D. On March 1, there were still 26 aircraft in the group. Despite the fact that everything in the German armed forces had already been destroyed, the number of Ju-87 D night attack aircraft in the NSGr squadron. 9 by the end of March increased to 27 units. On April 1, the number of aircraft in the squadron increased to 60, including 40 Ju-87 D. According to the GenQ 6 department of the Luftwaffe, on April 9, 1945 in the NSGr squadron. 9, there were still 35 serviceable aircraft FW-190 and Ju-87 in service. The last time these aircraft flew combat missions on April 22 and 23, when a mixed group of 20 FW-190 and Ju-87 D aircraft struck enemy forces near Moden at dusk. On April 27, the last five FW-190 F-8s and 13 Ju-87 D-3 / D-5s were transferred under enemy pressure to Innsbruck, where the squadron remained until the end of the war. NSGr night stormtroopers squadron. 10 from mid-September 1944 was on the southern wing of the Eastern Front in the north of the Balkans. Then this squadron took part in the battles in Hungary. At the end of March 1945, the headquarters of the NSGr squadron. 10 had two Ju-87 D-5s, and on March 30 these aircraft took part in the last major operation. The next day, Group 1 / NSGr.10 had seventeen Ju-87 Ds. Group 2 / NSGr.10 was then relocated westward and, as of May 3, 1945, was based in Wels, where it was disbanded. In order to reduce the pressure on the German troops from the Allied aviation on the Western Front, the German command organized a special aviation formation on September 16, 1944. Lieutenant Colonel R. Hallensleben was appointed commander of this unit. This unit included the third group of the KG 3 squadron, the KG 51 squadron and 2 squadrons from the NSGr squadron. 2. Later, the group "Schenk", equipped with Me 262 (3 / KG 51) aircraft, joined this formation. On November 26, this unit was subordinated first to the Second Aviation Corps, and then to the 15th Aviation Division. December 31, 1944The Hallensleben compound had 87 Ju-87 D-3 and D-5 aircraft, although the enemy's night fighters were increasingly attacked by German attack aircraft. In mid-December, the German offensive in the Ardennes came to the fore. In addition to strikes against numerous targets in the communications and positions of the enemy, individual crews of German aircraft successfully bombed enemy ships sailing along the Maas River. The German offensive in the Ardennes by the end of December failed, and the Allied forces regained their former positions. In early January 1945, fierce fighting took place in the cauldron at Baston, where the enemy was slowly pushing the German forces eastward. Despite numerous losses in recent weeks, at the beginning of January 1945 on this sector of the front, out of 86 Ju-87s, 49 aircraft were still serviceable. Despite the constant attacks of enemy aircraft on German aircraft manufacturing enterprises, in January 1945 the troops received 29 more aircraft, and by the end of January 90 Ju-87 D-3 and D-5 aircraft were transferred to the flight units in total. Soon, the losses of formations from the influence of the enemy amounted to 13 aircraft in the air, and another 31 aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Of these, 17 belonged to the NSGr squadron. 1 and 14 per squadron NSGr. 2. As the losses increased, the number of aircraft in the German air units decreased. Until mid-February, German aviation at night struck enemy troops, and on February 21 this unit was disbanded. Over 3,100 sorties, more than 140 aircraft were lost, and 30 of them were lost as a result of air attacks. The losses of the crews of German aircraft forced more and more to shorten the training time for new crews, at the same time, enemy aircraft became more and more numerous. Remnants of the NSHr squadrons. 1 and NSGr. 20 were transferred to the 14th Aviation Division. In addition to its FW-190s, there were several Ju-87s in the night squadrons of this aviation division. At the same time, the Me-262 A-1 / Bo A-2 aircraft from the Schenk formation were again returned to the SG 51 Edelweiß squadron.
