Kampfgeschwader 200

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Kampfgeschwader 200


caption=
dates=1934-1945
country=Germany
allegiance=
branch=Luftwaffe
type=Dornier Do 335, Arado Ar 232, Heinkel He 111, Junkers Ju 290, Junkers Ju 390, Junkers Ju 188, Heinkel He 115, Dornier Do 24, Dornier Do 18, Arado Ar 196, Siebel Si 204, Arado Ar 240
captured aircraft: B-17, B-24, SM.75, LeO H-246
role=Reconnaissance, Test-flights, Special missions
size=Air Force Wing
command_structure=
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
identification_symbol=
march=
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders= Werner Baumbach
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=

Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) (Battle Wing 200) was a secret Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. The unit was the Luftwaffe's special operations wing that carried out long-distance reconnaissance flights, tested new aircraft designs and tested and flew special missions with captured aircraft.

History

The unit's history began in 1934, when the Luftwaffe, impressed with Colonel Theodor Rowehl's aerial reconnaissance missions over Poland, formed a special squadron under Rowehl's lead that was attached to the "Abwehr", Germany's military intelligence department. As the "Abwehr" started to lose the Führer's goodwill during the war, a new reconnaissance unit, the "2nd Test Formation", was formed in 1942 under the command of Werner Baumbach. This unit was combined with "1st Test Formation" in March 1944 to form KG 200. On 11 November 1944 Baumbach became "Geschwaderkommodore", all aerial special-ops missions were carried out by KG 200 under Baumbach's command. [Thomas 2003, p. 128.]

Organization

KG 200 consisted of 2 operational squadrons; several other squadrons were planned but did not become operational before the end of the war. The squadrons operated in complete secrecy from several bases spread out over all of Europe; individual squadron members and their airbases' ground crews knew little if anything at all about the extent of KG 200's organisation.Fact|date=August 2007

*1st squadron was responsible for delivering secret agents and spies to their destinations behind enemy lines. It operated under direct command of the Sicherheitsdienst.

*2nd squadron was in charge of all other missions, including long-range reconnaissance, delivery flights to Japan and special bombing missions.

*3rd squadron was to use Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters armed with torpedoes for coastal defense.

*4th squadron was used for pilot training and for flights on a long-range units using operational Junkers Ju 90 and Ju 290 and planned Ju 390 and Me 264 planes. Had it become operational, this squadron would have been responsible for reconnaissance flights and delivery of agents and bombs to the United States.

*5th squadron (also known as "Leonidas Squadron") was recruited for planned test flights and suicide and near-suicide manned missions on the flying bomb and rockets.

Missions

The unit carried out a wide variety of missions:

Long-range reconnaissance

Before the beginning of the war, aerial reconnaissance was usually carried out by relatively inconspicuous civilian Lufthansa planes equipped with cameras. This practice was continued throughout the war as long as civilian airlines remained operational; later on, recon missions were most often carried out by Junkers Ju 90s flying at very high altitudes or by flying boats. Due to the lack of German aircraft with sufficient range, some recon missions even used captured American B-17 and B-24 bombers. For the most part, these machines were used for re-supply roles (dropping in supplies to German forces operating behind Soviet lines), transporting important personnel. [Thomas 2003, p.153-154]

The "Mistel" program

Beginning in 1942, to compensate for its lack of heavy bombers, the Luftwaffe started to experiment with packing some of its war-weary Junkers Ju 88 bombers with enormous shaped-charge warheads and guiding them to their targets with a fighter airplane mounted on the back of the unmanned bomber. Although not as effective as the Luftwaffe planners had hoped, the Mistel program was continued to be developed thorough 1944 but flew few effective operations. [ [http://www.2worldwar2.com/kg200.htm KG 200 history at "2 World War 2" site] ]

By late 1944 emphasis was placed on an all-out attack on Soviet armaments and power plants but by March 1945 the bases had been over-run by the Soviet advance. KG 200 was ordered to concentrate "Mistel" operations against the bridges over the Oder and Neisse rivers. By April all available "Mistel" units had been utilised and aircrew dispersed to nearby fighter units. [Thomas 2003, p. 156 - 161.]

uicide and near-suicide missions

In the last months of the war, a small number of high-ranking German officers pressed for a suicide fighter program as a last-ditch effort to stop Allied bombing runs over the Reich. This program, known as "Selbstopfer" ("self sacrifice"), was intended to use piloted the "Fieseler Fi 103 Re Reichenberg IV" ("Selbstopfer"), a manned version of V1 pulsejet cruise missiles, to attack enemy bombers and ground targets. Several test flights were carried out by Leonidas Squadron KG 200, and mass production of the converted rockets had begun, but the program was stopped due to intervention from Baumbach who felt that these missions would be a waste of valuable pilots.

As part of the Aktion 24 operations, Dornier Do 24 flying boats were modified and loaded with explosives, with the intention that they would be landed on the Vistula River and exploded against river bridges used by Soviet forces. Experienced pilots were to be used to fly the aircraft to a point upstream where it would be left to a "suicide pilot" to ensure a collision with the bridge and ignite the explosives. The assumption that Soviet forces would not react and the ability of the aircrew to return to German-held territory after delivery made the concept highly dubious. The modified aircraft were destroyed on the ground during air raids. [Thomas 2003, pp. 86 - 88.]

pecial missions

The unit also carried out a variety of special missions, like parachuting spies behind enemy lines, operating radar-jamming aircraft, carrying out long-range transport flights to Japan, clandestine bombing missions and infiltrating American bomber formations with captured aircraft in an attempt to spread confusion. However, most of the information concerning these missions come from a single POW and are doubted by several aviation history researchers. On 1 December 1943 a B-17 was sighted with the letters "D" above another identification letter "B". It also had a square marking, that of the 303rd Bomb Group. This was the identity of B-17F-111-BO 42-30604 "Badger Beauty V". This machine was captured but it was never repaired or used by the "Luftwaffe". When re-captured the B-17 was preserved in Boeing's museum. On the same day, a lone B-24 joined a bomber formation from the 44th Bomb Group. It was reported to have been a machine carrying the markings of a 392nd Bomb Group aircraft. However this unit did not become operational until the 9 December. [Thomas 2003, p. 53.]

During one of those missions, on 27 June 1944, a B-17 of KG.200, Luftwaffe number A3+FB, landed in Manises airport (Valencia) and was interned by the Spanish government. [Thomas 2003, p. 135.]

References

Literature

* Geoffrey J Thomas, Barry Ketley: "KG 200: The Luftwaffe's Most Secret Unit", Hikoki Publications, 2003, ISBN 1-902109-33-3.
* Peter Wilhelm Stahl: "KG 200: The true story", Jane's, 1981, ISBN 0531037290. German original: "Geheimgeschwader KG 200: D. Wahrheit nach uber 30 Jahren", Motorbuch-Verlag, 1977, ISBN 387943543X (later edition co-authored by Manfred Jäger). P.W. Stahl had served in the KG 200 unit.

External links

* [http://www.2worldwar2.com/kg200.htm KG 200 history at 2 World War 2]
* [http://history1900s.about.com/library/prm/blsecretkg1.htm "World War 2 magazine" article about KG 200]
* [http://www.bill-freeman.net/me/eighthaf/punchboard.htm B-17 "Punchboard" 42-39974 aka KG 200 A3+BB {For reference only}]
* [http://www.luftarchiv.de/luftwaffe/anhang.htm German WWII air war archive site with many pictures of captured aircraft]