Kampfgeschwader 4

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Kampfgeschwader 4


caption=
dates=1939-1945
country=Germany
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
branch=Luftwaffe
type=Bomber Squadron
role= Tactical and Direct Ground Support.
size=Air Force Wing
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current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= General Wever
patron=
motto=
colors=
identification_symbol=
march=
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=

Kampfgeschwader 4 "General Wever" (KG 4) (Battle Wing 4) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. The unit was formed in May 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17, Junkers Ju 88 and Heinkel He 111 medium bombers. The wing was named after General Walther Wever, who was killed in an aircraft accident in 1936.

History

"Stab"/KG 4 and I./KG were formed on 1 May 1939 at Erfurt and was initially equipped with the He 111 Ps, borrowed from KG 253. The unit spent most of the summer training and recruiting personnel from the flight schools.

War Time Service

=Poland=

On 25 August the unit was transferred to Langenau under the Command of "Luftflotte 4".It began the Polish Campaign attacking airfields and railway yards. "Stab"/KG 4 was withdrawn on 20 September.I.KG 4 attacked airfields at Dęblin and Krakow on 1 September and again on 2 September. From 3-6 September rail targets in Eastern Poland were attacked, and between 6-9 September bridges along the Vistula River and in Warsaw itself were bombed. From 6-14 September rail targets were again bombed. Troop concentrations became the main targets after this until the Polish surrender [de Zeng "et al" 2007, p. 50] .II. KG 4 also supported 10."Armee" over Kutno in mid September. After the campaign the unit behan training in night flying and began to lay mines of the Norewgian coast in January 1940, in preparation for the Norwegian Campaign.III./KG 4 participated in the Battle of the Bzura in which the Polish Army was surrounded and destroyed (largely by the "Luftwaffe") [de Zeng "et al" 2007, p. 56.] .

=Denmark and Norway=

On 1 February 1940 KG 4 transferred to Quakenbrück in northern Germany. II./KG 4 were part of the bomber fleet that flew a "demonstration of strength" raid over Copenhagen on 9 April 1940. [de Zeng "et al" Vol 1 2007, p. 50.] The unit attacked rail and airfield targets as well as anti-shipping strikes. A "Staffel" of Ju 88s of III./KG 4 desrtoyed the airfield at Stavanger-Sola, sank the Norwegian destroyer "Aeger" near Stavanger on 9 April [de Zeng "et al" 2007, p. 56] .

=France and the Low Countries=

KG 4 helped neutralise Dutch air power on 10 May 1940 by striking at airfields and Dutch AA positions and airlifted supplies to the "Fallschirmjäger" units in the Netherlands. After the quick surrender of the Dutch KG 4 shifted its attention to Belgium. KG 4 helped paralysis Allied rail networks over Belgium. KG 4 also flew sorties over Dunkirk.After the Belgian capitualation KG 4 took part in operation "Paula" stiking at airfields in and around Paris. By the 5 June French aerial resistance, while never effective and sporadic, ceased.After the French surrender on 25 June 1940 the unit was ordered to Soesterberg, the Netherlands in July 1940, to begin operations over Great Britain.

Battle of Britain

Before the French campaign was over, KG 4 struck at British ports and targets in Wales. on the night of 18/19 June KG 4 lost six Do 17s, including "Major" Dietrich Von Massenbach, "Kommandeur" of II./KG 4, who was shot down over Newcastle-upon-tyne. [Hooton 2007, p. 91.] The Battle of Britain was a costly failure. KG 4 had operated a minelaying unit along the British coast,and participated in the Blitz and the raids on Coventry on the night of the 14/15 November. Bombing missions continued into 1941. On 4 September II./KG 4 had 37 He 111s (30 serviceable). II./KG suffered light losses during this perido, due to flying at night. [de Zeng "et al" 2007, p. 49.] III./KG 4 had 25 Ju 88s on strength with 23 serviceable on 13 August 1940. By 4 September that had shrunk to 14 combat ready out of a total of 30 machines, due to losses. [de Zeng "et al" 2007, p. 57.]

=Balkans Campaign and Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres=

On 29 March 1941 the unit relocated to Wien-Aspern in Austria to begin operations over Yugoslavia and Greece for the coming Balkans Campaign. During the Yugoslavian invasion, II./KG 4 participated in the bombing of Belgrade, with 25 He 111s (out of 28 serviceable) on 6 April 1941. II. "Gruppe" mined the waters off Alexandria and the Suez Canal. A detachment, 4."staffel", under the command of "Hauptmann" Schwanhauser, was sent to Iraq to support the uprising against the British during the Anglo-Iraqi War. [de Zeng "et al" 2007, p. 54.]

=Russia=

"Stab". KG 4 supported Army Group North during its advance to Leningrad. In January 1942 the unit relocated to Pskov. On 22 January 1942 it helped drop supplies to the Kholm pocket, and in February-March it flew supply missions over the Demyansk Pocket suffering heavy losses and extensive aircrew exhaustion. I. "Gruppe" was committed to supporting Army Group Centre II. "Grupe" began its aerial offensive over the city on 1 October. During the winter the unit also flew bombing raids over Moscow [de Zeng "et al" 2007, p. 51.] . II. "Gruppe" supported Army Group South and its offensive into the Ukraine. II. "Gruppe" flew its 10,000th sortie on 9 March 1943. A notable success occurred on 14 March when the "Gruppe" attacked a Soviet airfield around Kursk destroying 40 enemy machines and damaging 23 others. [de Zeng "et al" 2007, p. 55.] . II "Gruppe" also flew strategic bombing missions, against the Tank factory at Gorki and missions against the rubber factories near Yaroslavl. III. "Gruppe" was committed to the Southern wing of the front and managed to hit targets over Astrakhan.In October 1943 the unit was partially equipped with the Heinkel He 177.In the period 1943-45 the "Kampfgeschwader" covered the continuous retreat of the Wehrmacht until the end of the war, in the tactical and supply role.Based at Schleswig-Holstein on 8 May 1945 the unit surrendered to British forces.

Organisation

Stab. Gruppe

Formed 1 May 1939.Disbanded 8 May 1945.

I. Gruppe

Formed 1 May 1939.

II. Gruppe

Formed 1 May 1939 III. Gruppe

Formed on 1 May 1939 IV(Erg). Gruppe

Formed on 18 June 1940. Dissolved on 15 August 1944

14. Gruppe

Formed mid-October 1942. Disbanded in January 1943.

Commanding officers

Geschwaderkommodore

* Oberst Martin Fiebig, 1 September 1939 - 10 May 1940
* Oberst Hans-Joachim Rath, 30 May 1940 - June 1942
* Oberstlt Hans Detlef-Herhudt von Rohden, 2 June 1940 - ? (acting)
* Oberst Dr. Gottlieb Wolff, 16 June 1942 - 11 January 1943
* Oberstleutnant Heinz-Joachim Schmidt, 12 January 1943 - 9 May 1943
* Oberstleutnant Werner Klosinski, 10 May 1943 - December 1944
* Major Reinhard Graubner, 4 December 1944 - 8 May 1945

References

Bibliography

* Bergstrom, Christer (2007). "Barbarossa - The Air Battle: July-December 1941". London: Chervron/Ian Allen. ISBN 978-1-85780-270-2.
* de Zeng, H.L; Stanket, D.G; Creek, E.J. "Bomber Units of the Luftwaffe 1933-1945; A Reference Source, Volume 1". Ian Allen Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-85780-279-5