Luftwaffe Penal Units

[SpanischeSS]

Hi..


Can anyone direct me to or please give the information on how many Luftwaffe Penal units there were, I know of z.b.V 5 and 6. Where can one find the detailed information on their history and areas they fought in?

[Larry deZeng]

Hi..


Can anyone direct me to or please give the information on how many Luftwaffe Penal units there were, I know of z.b.V 5 and 6. Where can one find the detailed information on their history and areas they fought in?

The German author Hans-Peter Klausch has pursued this subject for the past 30 years and written numerous books and articles on the subject. None of his books are directed exclusively at the Luftwaffe, but I believe the last one listed below has some coverage of the Luftwaffe's probationary units. Anyway, it's a place to start. You might also do a search over on the Axis History Forum where this subject has in the past been discussed extensively.

KLAUSCH, Hans-Peter. Die Geschichte der Bewährungsbataillone 999 unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des antifaschistischen Widerstandes. 2 Bände. Köln: 1987.

KLAUSCH, Hans-Peter. Die 999er - Von der Brigade "Z" zur Afrika-Division 999: Die Bewährungsbataillone und ihr Anteil am antifaschistischen Widerstand. Frankfurt: 1986.

KLAUSCH, Hans-Peter. Die Bewährungstruppe 500: Stellung und Funktion der Bewährungstruppe 500 im System von NS-Wehrrecht, NS-Militärjustiz. Bremen: Temmen, 1995. 560 S. mit 18 Abb. u. 22 Dokumenten., Pbd.

--BHS1956

[JUNGCO]

In the early part of the war the penal unit was the LW-Jaeger-Komp.z.b.VV. 14. This was disbanded in August 43 and the new units were Sonderkomp.z.b.V.1 (Luftflotte1), sonderkomp.z.b.V.2 (Luftflotte 6) and Sonderkomp.z.b.V.3 (Luftflotte 4). If successful, they were sent to LW.Feld-(jaeger) Batl z.b.V. (or their original unit but different Komp.). If unsuccessful, they were sent to a military prison or concentration camp. In Sept. 44 Gren. Batl z.b.V.291 and 292 were created for the Luftwaffe-
feld-Korps IV. These are the only ones I know of for the Luftwaffe except the field units could also use the Army penal units if necessary.
Jeff

[Larry deZeng]

Jeff -

Could you please provide a source for your information? It conflicts to a significant degree with information I have.

What you say about Sonder-Kp.d.Lw. z.b.V. 1, 2 and 3 is largely correct, but that appears to be only part of the story.

I question whether there ever was a Lw.-Jäger-Kp. z.b.V. 14 that served as an independent unit. It seems more likely that it might have been 14./Lw.-Jäger-Rgt. z.b.V. 1.

There were 9 (and possibly 10) Lw.-Jäger-Btl. z.b.V. numbered 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. There does not seem to have been one with the number "1". These battalions were all probationary or rehabilitation (Bewährungs-) units consisting of demoted Luftwaffe officers and men who were required to "prove" themselves in combat before being permitted to return to their former units. About half of them fought in Russia and the other half in Italy, particularly against communist partisans in northeastern and northern Italy.

[Source: AFHQ Intelligence Notes No. 56, dated 25 April 1944].

Finally, I have never heard of a Grenadier-Btl. z.b.V. 291 and 292, which is not to say that they didn't exist.

Since your information appears to be largely focused on the Luftwaffen-Feldeinheiten, I am guessing that you got your information from Tony Muñoz's book, Göring's Grenadiers?

--BHS1956

[JUNGCO]

I actually got the information from Luftwaffe Verordnungsblatt 1943 p.903 section 1667. Lw.Jaeger-Komp.z.b.V.14 was in Pruefungslager der Luftwaffe Dedelstorf. The Ersatz units they were to be released to (for training) before they went to their original units or the Lw-Feld (jaeger) Btal z.b.V is even more complicated. 291 and 292 came from Tessin.
Jeff

[Larry deZeng]

I actually got the information from Luftwaffe Verordnungsblatt 1943 p.903 section 1667. Lw.Jaeger-Komp.z.b.V.14 was in Pruefungslager der Luftwaffe Dedelstorf. The Ersatz units they were to be released to (for training) before they went to their original units or the Lw-Feld (jaeger) Btal z.b.V is even more complicated. 291 and 292 came from Tessin.
Jeff

Verordnungsblatt d.Lw.: thanks for providing that, Jeff. You are a lap ahead of me on that one. I recall thumbing through them 20 years ago at the Library of Congress, but the benefit derived for the time invested in looking through them wasn't worth it to me at the time. Perhaps I should reconsider. I do not recall seeing the Verordnungsblatt d.Lw. listed in the NARA Guides for T-321, T-405 and T-971, but perhaps I missed them. Do you happen to know if they exist on microfilm?

Grenadier-Btl. z.b.V. (Bewährung) 291 u. 292: I have checked on these, Jeff, and concluded that they are not Luftwaffe units. In Tessin Band 9, pp.32 and 36, you will see where he has listed then in the Heer section under Infanterie, and not in the Luftwaffe section. This is because they were not set up until September 1944, and by that time the IV. Lw.-Feldkorps no longer belonged to the Luftwaffe. On 1 November 1943 when the Lw.-Felddivisionen were turned over to OKH and became Felddivisionen (L), they lost all connection to the Luftwaffe. Of the four Lw.-Feldkorps, II, III and XIII (formerly I) were retained under Luftwaffe control and re-designated, while the last one, the IV. Lw.-Feldkorps, was taken over by the Heer as a Heer Generalkommando in command of Heer divisions in South Alsace. (See Werner Haupt, Die deutschen Luftwaffen-Felddivisionen 1941-1945 (Friedberg/Hessen: Podzun-Pallas, 1993), p.34). So 291 and 292 had no connection to the Luftwaffe and cannot be considered Luftwaffe units. Any former Luftwaffe personnel in them would have been involuntarily transferred from the Luftwaffe to the Heer by September 1944.

And yes, straightening this all out can get complicated! For example, there is another series of Luftwaffe units that I have never been able to get much information on: Flieger-Kp. z.b.V. These were all set up under Feldluftgaukommando Westfrankreich in March 1943 and numbered consecutively 1 through 40. There may have been more than 40, but that's the highest number I've found. I think they may have been Luftwaffe recruits used as an auxiliary airfield guard force, but that is just a guess. Have you ever head of these?

--BHS1956

[JUNGCO]

You're right. What was I thinking. The LW Feld units were changed over to Heer in 1943. Interesting about the Flieger-Kp.z.b.V., in the Luftwaffeverordnumgsblatt I refered to, the Ersatz unit for the Penal unit had been crossed out by hand and Flieger-Er.Batl z.b.V was written in! Probably no connection.
Jeff

[Larry deZeng]

So, Jeff, I guess the Luftwaffen-Verordnungsblatt series isn't available on microfilm as far as you know??

I've never run across the Flieger-Ersatz-Btl. z.b.V. These were numbered after the Luftgau they served, so I have a I, III, IV, V, VI, VII, (probably an VIII, but I have yet to encounter it), XI, XII and XVII. There were additional series for other than Fliegertruppen:

Feld-Ers.Btle. d.Lw.
Lw.-Bau-Ers.Btle.
Flak-Ers.Abt.
Ln.-Ers.Kpn.

Lots of Ergänzungs- Btle. u.Kpn. d.Lw.
Lots of Lw.-Ausb.-u.Ers.Kpn. z.b.V.
etc.

Here is another addition to the probationary/penal/punishment units: Strafvollstreckungs-Züge d.Lw. There were at least 50 of these. Every Luftgaukdo. and Feldluftgaukdo. had a few and each Kdo.Flughafenbereich had one or two. These penal platoons were employed in their local area doing hard labor and the prisoners were treated roughly. They were not used in combat as far as I know.

[JUNGCO]

I don't know about the microfilm as I have a copy of that page from the time I was at the Bundes Archiv in Freiburg.i.Br.
Jeff

[Luft 76]

Thanks to both for these very interesting informations.

[PaulR]

I have read on this forum that Penal units(with the Heer anyway) were stripped of insignia and the unit cadre had no waffenfarbe...

I was told that this set could be from a cadre member of the penal units. I know next to nothing on these units nor have I been able to find any first hand information about these men or their uniform regulations.

What are your thoughts?

[PaulR]

Larry,

Just resurrecting this thread. I have found in Angolia, Vol 1 that the insignia I listed last year(previous post) is indeed for a disciplinary unit, Luftgau X1! The posted insignia are for the inmates. The Cadre wore their parent unit's waffenfarbe. This is the only Disciplinary Unit insignia I have EVER seen anywhere. I would love to see if there is more out there!

[Larry deZeng]

Paul R. -

Those are probably for one of the Strafvollstreckungs-Züge d.Lw. from Luftgau XI.

Here is another addition to the probationary/penal/punishment units: Strafvollstreckungs-Züge d.Lw. There were at least 50 of these. Every Luftgaukdo. and Feldluftgaukdo. had a few and each Kdo.Flughafenbereich had one or two.

--Larry

[PaulR]

Thanks Larry. Have you ever seen such insignia before? It is a spooky story as to how I accumilated this collection of insignia.

Now, the tabs came from a huge lot of misc LW items I bought four years ago. I had no idea what they were. I was beginning to think that they were messed with SA tabs, but they were not shaped correctly for SA, so I kept them as a mystery. The shoulder straps were being sold on the Collector's Guild for a mere 110 dollars. They languished on the site for about a year. I finally caved and bought them last year because they were so strange and I could not find anything about them. Peter had them listed as Reserve Flak EM straps. One day, I was reading in vol one of Anglolia's LW series. All the way in the back, tucked away in a solitary paragraph was a description of both the gray tabs and the straps I bought from Peter being IDed as Disciplinary Unit insignia!!!! I am surprised that this was tucked away, without reference in the waffenfarbe area of his book. Unless someone read the book from cover to cover, this tidbit would have NEVER been found!! This is the only true pieces of Disciplinary unit insignia I have ever seen. The fact that an entire set was formed from two sources without knowing what they even were is like a once in a lifetime event for me. It is almost like the items were begging to be together.

I am still excited about it and my discovery is about 5 months old!! LOL Have you seen any insignia like this in your searches?

[Larry deZeng]

Sorry, Paul, I'm not a collector so I tend to be unobservant when it comes to uniforms, tabs, insignia, emblems and medals.

Best,

--Larry