Award Doc question

[Marc Garlasco]

I have an award document for a Flak Badge for a guy in Flak Abt 442 on 5 June 1943 - they should have been at the Le Creusot armament factory by my info. But the award doc is from Luftgau Holland. Any thoughts?
Marc

[Ypenburg]

He went there for training is a option.

[Marc Garlasco]

Good point - thanks!
Marc

[Larry deZeng]

gem.Flak-Abt. 442(o) (Kdr. Obstlt. Hans Pöttker), as was the case with many of the Flak-Abteilungen, rarely served as a cohesive whole in a single location. It Batterien were detached at different locations, often widely scattered. For example, on 2 June 1942, 1. and 5. Bttr. of 442 were deployed in the Rotterdam area. My guess is that a year later some of its batteries were still in Holland while the Abteilungstab was being shown in France, and therefore these detached batteries came under the authority of Luftgaukommando Holland.

A careful review of the Flak-Karten in BA-BA Freiburg Signatur RL 40/Kart. and the surviving Flak records at BA-MA or in NARA WashDC RG 242, Microcopy T-321, T-405 and T-971 will corroborate what I have said, above.

Most published and internet material on the Flakartillerie follow the Abteilungstäbe and not the individual batteries so when we are given a location we assume it's for the entire Abteilung. In practice, some of its batteries could be elsewhere.

--Lorenz

[Marc Garlasco]

Thanks - great info! it is really hard writing captions for some of the documents I have in my book when the available records I am looking at are so incomplete.
Marc

[Larry deZeng]

Here you are, Marc:

Luftgaukommando Holland
(FpN: L 04147)

Kommandierender General
Gen.Lt. Alfred Haubold (10 May 40 - 30 Jun 40)
Gen.d.Flieger Hans Siburg (1 Jul 40 - 6 Aug 43)
Gen.d.Flieger Egon Doerstling (7 Aug 43 - 1 Jan 44)

Subordination:
Luftflottenkdo. 2 (Jun 40 - Jun 41)
Luftflottenkdo. 3 (Jun 41 - Dec 43)

Subordinate Commands:
Kommando Flughafenbereiche (airfield regional commands) and Fliegerhorstkommandanturen (air base commands), Luftnachrichten (air force signals), Sanitäts (medical), Flak (antiaircraft), numerous ground service and support units located within its territory of authority. These changed frequently and in the absence of surviving source documentation it is not possible to list them accurately or completely.

Formation and History. (Jun 40 - Dec 43)
Ordered formed o/a 1 June 1940 in Amsterdam by renaming an unidentified Luftgaustab z.b.V., probably Luftgaustab z.b.V. 11. In command of all airfields, servicing and support units in occupied Holland and variously under Luftflotte 2 to the beginning of June 1941, and then Luftflotte 3.

Holland
The headquarters (Stab) remained in Amsterdam through December 1943.
1 Jan 44: renamed Feldluftgaukommando Belgien-Nordfrankreich Aussenstelle Holland.


So SIBURG is evidently your man.

Cheers,

--BHS1956

[Marc Garlasco]

Thanks, but
The signature looks like FISCHER. I will post it in a few...
Marc

[Marc Garlasco]

OOPS! You are right! I was looking at the wrong doc.

MANY THANKS!
Marc

PS - can you help me with the other docs for my book...