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Info Eduard - February 2011
Page 27
HISTORY
and Borfunker Uffz. Heinz Mehlhorn went missing in
the area of Neusiedler See. They ew Bf 110G-2 W.Nr.
6338.
Not much more about the use of Erprobungskommanda
25 is known. Kommando was established on the 1st of May,
1943, at Wittmund Airbase. The rst Kommandoführer
was Maj. Heinz Nacke, who was substituted by Hptm.
Horst Geyer on May 26th, 1943. It had three Staffeln:
Jagdstaffel/Er.Kdo. 25 (Staffelkapitän Lt. Wilhelm
Sbresny; Bf 109 F-2, G-1, G-5 and G-6, Fw190A-5 and
G-3), Zerstörerstaffel/Er.Kdo. 25 (Staffelkapitän Hptm.
Eduard Tratt until October 10th, 1943, then Oblt. Erwin
Hardtke; Bf 110G-2 and G-3, Me 210 A-1 and Me 410
A-1) and Kampfiegerstaffel/Er.Kdo. 25 (in summer 1943
under the leadership of Oblt. Franz Frodl; Ju 88 S-1, Do
217K-2 and M-0, He 177 A-3).
Besides the Bf 110Gs with the R1 mod, Zerstörerstaffel
Kommando also tested underwing W.Gr. 21 rockets. An
interesting fact is that some R1 modied Bf 110s with
the Flak 18, also carried rockets under the wings, which
reduced the speed of an already slow aircraft. Fire power
was amplied, but at the cost of maneuverability and
speed. Kommando tested also Messerschmitts Bf 110s
and Me 410s with Flak 43 37 mm guns, rearward-ring
rocket launchers, and time fused 500kg bombs carried
under the fuselage. Known are also planes with the
aforementioned double W.Gr. 21 rockets under each
wing and fuselage, different types of sights such as the
ZFR 3, ZFR 3A and ZFR 4. By the end of its existence,
30 mm W.Gr. rockets and upward ring 120 mm rocket
launchers were tested on Bf 110s. However, of most
of these tested ‘gunships’, the most frequently used in
combat were those that mounted Flak 18 and 37 cannon,
and ultimately, the BK 5.
In the middle of August, 1943, the high command of the
Luftwaffe decided to reestablish Zerstörergeschwader 76
(ZG 76) and send it into action against US heavy bomber
formations. The new Stab of II. Gruppe was formed at
Wertheim. The new Gruppenkommndeur was Hptm.
Max Oskar Gehring, a former pilot of ZG 1. To gain
combat strength in terms of numbers of personnel,
crews of 3. Staffel Nahaufklärungsgruppe 4, 3. Staffel
Aufklärungsgruppe 11 (attached to ZG 76 already on
9.8.1943) and 3./NAGr.6 were used. These formed the
foundation for the new 4th, 5th and 6th Staffel of II.
Gruppe ZG 76. Based on current research, evidently
some other units freed up some personnel for ZG 76.
These were I./ZG 1, ZG 101, and the already mentioned
Panzerjägerstaffel 110. Pilots of the last named unit most
probably arrived together with their aircraft, some of
which were equipped with the Flak 18. In August, II./ZG
76 owned a few Bf 110 with the R1 modication.
The rst weeks were dedicated to formation ying,
and by the beginning of October, 1943, the unit was
combat ready. At least, that was the idea in the heads of
high command. The baptism of re came for the crews
on October 4th, 1943. At a minimum, the aircraft of the
Gruppenkommandeur was R1 modied with a Flak 18.
During their approach to enemy heavy bombers, escort
ghters of the 56th Fighter Group attacked formations
of ZG 76. The crew comprising Hptm. Gehring and his
Bordfunker Fw. Fritz Casper (the same Bordfunker
mentioned with Fw. Brandl) was shot down and crashed
near Lessenich. Here the remains were excavated after
many years by local researchers, and it included also the
remains of a Flak 18. The rst combat mission of ZG 76
was a asco. Thunderbolt pilots of ‘Hub’ Zemke’s 56th
5. Staffel ZG 76 readied at Wertheim in the autumn of 1943. The silhou-
ette of the near aircraft is accentuated by the Flak 18 barrel, and the far
aircraft carries the code letter ‘N’.
Bf 110G-2/R1 coded ‘M8+NP’ of 6./ZG 76
This aircraft carries a standard camouage. It is interesting to compare the width
of the identication band of the Defense of the Reich units with aircraft of 4. Staffel.