HISTORY

Conclusion

The Fw 190 F-8 served with distinction under Luftflotte 4 between October 1944 and January 1945, operating against a dangerous enemy in

often terrible weather. The Luftflotte 4 ground-attack units averaged

150 sorties per day in December 1944, and 133 per day in January

1945, and this support was invaluable to Heeresgruppe Süd as it battled the persistent attacks by 2. and 3. Ukrainian Fronts. The pilots of

I./SG 2 and the various other Schlachtgruppen needed all their skill

and experience during this time, and their Fw 190 F-8s proved themselves a most effective ground-attack aircraft.

Note:

1) Briefly replaced by Generalleutnant Alexander Holle in late-August and September 1944.

2) The rest of II./SG 77 was operating further north, under VIII. Fliegerkorps and Luftflotte

6 in Poland.

3) He learned to fly back in August 1937!

Photo: Fortepan

Primary Sources

BA-MA RL 2-II/392, Morgen- und Abendmeldungen Ost.- Feindtätigkeit und eigener Einsatz: Bd. 1, Februar

1945

BA-MA RL 2-II/3853, Europa (Ost, Süd, West; ohne Skandinavien): Bd. 95, 31. Juli 1944

BA-MA RL 2-II/3890, Europa (Ost, Süd, West; ohne Skandinavien): Bd. 135, 2. November 1944

BA-MA RL 2-II/3892, Europa (Ost, Süd, West; ohne Skandinavien): Bd. 136, 23. November 1944

BA-MA RL 2-III/620, Flugzeuge: Tägliche Zuweisungen an die Luftflotten etc..- Halbmonatslisten VO-LE: Bd.

10, Februar-April 1945

BA-MA RL 2-III/733a, Personelle und materielle Einsatzbereitschaft: Bd. 61, 20. September-10. Oktober 1944

BA-MA RL 2-III/733b, Personelle und materielle Einsatzbereitschaft: Bd. 62, 20. Oktober-10. November 1944

BA-MA RL 2-III/734, Personelle und materielle Einsatzbereitschaft: Bd. 63, 20. November 1944-10. Januar 1945

NA AIR 40/2423, 343-381 Vol 28, July-August 1945

NA HW 5, Government Code and Cypher School: German Section: Reports of German Army and Air Force High

Grade Machine Decrypts, 1940-45

NARA RG 242 T-78 R-307, OKH/Gen St d H/Op.Abt.(Ia)

NARA RG 242 T-78 R-308, OKH/Gen St d H/Op.Abt.(Ia)

TsAMO Bestand 500 Findbuch 12472 Akte 323, Unterlagen der Ia-Abteilung des AOK 6: KTB, Akte A, Tägliche

Meldungen, 27.9.-23.10.1944

TsAMO Bestand 500 Findbuch 12472 Akte 345, Unterlagen der Ia-Abteilung des AOK 6: KTB, Akte A, Bd. 27:

Tägliche Meldungen, 24.10.-10.11.1944

TsAMO Bestand 500 Findbuch 12472 Akte 371, Unterlagen der Ia-Abteilung des AOK 6: KTB, Akte A, Bd. 28:

Tägliche Meldungen, 11.11.-4.12.1944

TsAMO Bestand 500 Findbuch 12472 Akte 382, Unterlagen der Ia-Abteilung des AOK 6: KTB, Akte A, Bd. 29:

Tägliche Meldungen, 5.-31.12.1944

Kriegstagebuch der Seekriegsleitung 1939-1945, Band 65

Flugzeugbestand und Bewegungsmeldungen

Dibowsky, Hermann Flugbuch

Fischer, Arno Flugbuch

Hackenberg, Kurt Flugbuch

Oechsler, Emil Flugbuch

Orzegowski, Ernst Flugbuch

Stahr, Siegfried Flugbuch

Luftwaffe Victory Claims Material

Genst.Gen.Qu.6.Abt. Luftwaffe Loss List

Summarische Verluste – Flugzeuge

Luftwaffe Loss Information via Balss, Michael & Salonen, Matti

Secondary Sources

Becze, Csaba ‘A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő harci alkalmazása a második világháborúban (1939-1945)’.

deZeng, Larry & Stankey, Douglas G. ‘Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries’, 2021.

deZeng, Henry L. ‘Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-45 Hungary’, 2014.

Erickson, John The Road to Berlin, Cssell, London, 2008.

Glantz, David M. & House, Jonathan M. When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler, University

Press of Kansas, Lawrence, 2015.

Hermann, Dietmar Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F und G: vom schnellen Jäger zum Jagdbomber und Schlachtflugzeug,

Entwicklung, Produktion und Einsatz, Stedinger, Lemwerder, 2012.

Hooton, E.R. War Over the Steppes: The Air Campaigns on the Eastern Front, 1941-45, Osprey, Oxford, 2016.

Innsbrucker Nachrichten, 21. November 1944.

Lange, Ulrich Auf Feindflug mit den Ritterkreuzträgern Erwin Hentschel und Walter Linke, self-published,

Radebeul, 2005.

Neulen, Hans Werner In the Skies of Europe: Air Forces Allied to the Luftwaffe 1939-1945, Crowood, Ramsbury, 2000.

Oechsler, Emil Überlebt: Erinnerungen eines Sturzkampffliegers, self-published, 2005.

Punka, George Hungarian Air Force, Squadron/Signal, Carrollton, 1994.

Rudel, Hans Ulrich (translated by Hudson, Lynton) Stuka Pilot, Euphorion Books, Dublin, 1952.

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Acknowledgments

Andreas Brekken, Russell Guest, Morten Jessen, Matti Salonen,

Adam Thompson, Rémi Tracanelli, Andreas Zapf, Jürgen Zapf.

Photo: Bundesarchiv via Wikimedia Commons

that, and included Hitler’s last major Eastern Front offensive, which

began on the morning of 6 March 1945 but was eventually held by the

Soviets. Luftflotte 4 would remain very active when it was able, and

train-hunting became a common task for the Fw 190 F-8s, as well

as the usual army support duties. The fighting in Hungary would end

in early April, as the last Axis troops were forced out of the country.

Hungarian anti-tank gun crew pictured in November 1944 during defense against Soviet

troops advancing towards Budapest.

Photo: Fortepan

Soviet T-34/85 tanks photographed in Hungary in early 1945.

The blasted Budapest Széchenyi Chain Bridge photographed in 1945. The bridge was blown up on January 18, 1945 by the retreating Germans. It was rebuilt, and reopened in 1949. The

bridge was designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark in 1839.

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INFO Eduard - May 2021