Help with Luftwaffe Regiment... "Regiment Kapuste"

[Ian Jewison]

Gents,

Does anyone have any information on the following Luftwaffe Regiment:

Regiment Kapuste (December 1942-March 1943)

I think it could well be a short lived training unit as this is in a Soldbuch that I have and by doing a Google search I have found two more examples of Luftwaffe members transferring from Flieger Regiment 71 to Companies of Regiment Kapuste in Winter 1942/43.

Flieger Regiment 71 was based in Carcassonne, France at the time.

Of interest in one of the examples he then transferred from Regiment Kapuste to Flieger Regiment 32, this Regiment was in fact commanded by Generalmajor Gotthardt Kapuste and was based in Rochefort, France which is 483 Km from Carcassonne!

However, looking at OOB's I see no reference to this Regiment anywhere else and even if it is named after the same Generalmajor! It does not seem to have been used to form a new unit as such from what I can see....perhaps a temporary transfer unit!?!?

Any help would be greatly appreaciated!

Thanks in advance,
Ian

[Larry deZeng]

Kapuste commanded Flieger-Rgt. 32 for 4½ years (very unusual!!) and no other unit at the same time. So "Regiment Kapuste" was just a nickname for Fl.Rgt. 32. I saw it occasionally referred to by this nickname in the surviving records of Feld-Luftgaukommando Westfrankreich.


KAPUSTE, Gotthardt. (DOB: 17.06.94 in Reichenbach/Schlesien). 01.03.34 designated an Erg.-Officer (Luftwaffe) with a rank of acting Oblt. 01.09.34 attended a reactivation course at Schleissheim. 01.10.34 activated and promo to Hptm. 16.09.34 appt Nachrichten-Offizier at the Fliegerschule Braunschweig. 01.05.35 appt Nachrichten-Lehrer (instructor) at the Fliegerschule Braunschweig. 01.07.35 promo to Maj. 01.03.37 appt Staka Aufkl. St. Prenzlau. 01.08.37 appt Kdr. Aufkl.Gr. 122, Prenzlau and Kdt. Fl.H. Prenzlau. 01.10.37 promo to Obstlt. 01.08.38 appt Offizier z.b.V. des RLM und Ob.d.L. (pending assignment). 01.11.38 appt Kdr. Aufkl.Gr. 121 and Kdt. Fl.H. Prenzlau. 14.11.39 appt Kdr. Aufkl.Gr. 22 (and, concurrently, Ergänzungs-Aufkl.Gr. Ob.d.H.?). 01.04.40 appt Kdr. Fl.Ausb.Rgt. 32. 01.06.40 promo to Oberst. 01.12.43 promo to Gen.Maj. 01.11.44 granted leave. 15.11.44 appt Kdr. 2. Fliegerschuldivision. 20.02.45 appt Kdr. 2. Fl.-Ausb.-Div. 05.05.45 became U.S. POW. 1947 released. †19.05.51 in Kirchheim-Teck.


Flieger-Rgt. 32

Formation
Formed 1 March 1939 in Uetersen as Fliegerausbildungs-Rgt. 32 and eventually had five Bataillonen (I., II., III., IV. and V.). It conducted a 6 to 12 month basic training course for Luftwaffe recruits, except for those intended for the Flakartillerie branch, and was the thire such regiment formed in the Luftflotte 2 area in northwestern Germany.

History
Feb 40: moved from Uetersen to the Luftgau XVII area (Austria, Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia).
1941: transferred to Rochefort on the Bay of Biscay in western France and reassigned to Luftgaukdo. Westfrankreich.
Oct 43: Regimentsstab in Rochefort - IV./Fl.Rgt. 32 renamed I./Fl.Rgt. 94 and V./Fl.Rgt. 32 renamed I./Fl.Rgt. 91. During 1943 and 1944, the Regiment made one of its training battalions (at least) available for guarding airfields, coastal strongpoints, signal and radar installations while the other two focused mainly on training.
1 Jul 44: Regimentstab and III. Btl. in Angers, I. Btl. in Brest, Lorient and Vannes, and II. Btl. in Angoulême/c.100 km NNE of Bordeaux. Total strength of the Regiment this date was 41 officers and 2,300 men.
Aug 44: the Regiment carried out a fighting withdrawal from western France toward the Metz area in late August, with III. Btl. suffering an estimated 400 casualties up to mid-September. Meanwhile, I. Btl. remained behind in the surrounded Fortress St-Nazaire to 8 May 1945.
Sep 44: together with the other training regiments under 1. Flieger-Ausb.Div., the Regiment began turning over its personnel to the Fallschirmjäger (paratroops) and the Heer (Army).
Oct 44: Regimentsstab last identified in the Nancy area where it was being disbanded.

FpN: (L 00513)

Kommandeur:
Oberst Herbert Sonnenburg (1 Mar 39 - 31 Mar 40)
Gen.Maj. Gotthardt Kapuste (1 Apr 40 - 31 Oct 44)


Sources:
Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der Deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS 1939-1945; Norbert Kannapin - Die deutsche Feldpostübersicht 1939-1945, 3 Bde (I – III) (Osnabrück, 1980-82); K.Mehner/R.Teuber-Die deutsche Luftwaffe 1939-1945: Führung und Truppe; PRO London: AIR 40 Air Ministry intelligence reports and lists based on ULTRA, “Y” Service intercepts, captured documents and PoW interrogations; NARA WashDC: RG 242 (T-311 roll 71); (T-971 which contains a long report filed by the 1. Fliegerausbildungsdivision in October 1944 that gives a full account of its activities from January to October 1944); Luftwaffen-Revue magazine, Heft 2/1994, p.38.

[Ian Jewison]

Thanks very much Larry,

I thought I was on the right track but things just didn't add up.....the location of Rgt. 71 to 32! Also why it was named after the commander when it was already in existance as Fleiger Regiment 32 from August 1942!

Incidentally Larry, where did you get the info on Kapuste, looks like Keilig's format or is it your own references?

Cheers
Ian

[Larry deZeng]

Ian wrote:

Incidentally Larry, where did you get the info on Kapuste, looks like Keilig's format or is it your own references?

I have a huge data base with career entries for c.25,000 Luftwaffe officers who were promoted to the rank of Hauptmann or above by war's end. The information comes mainly from primary sources such as Personalveränderungen, Dienstaltersliste, Lw.-Personalamt documentation, etc. However, the data for the Lw.-Generale is mostly from the 3-volume set on the generals of the Luftwaffe published by Biblio Verlag:

Hildebrand, Karl Friedrich. Die Generale der deutschen Luftwaffe: 1935-1945 (Osnabrück: BiblioVerlag, 1990).

Cheers,

--Larry

[Luft 76]

Interesting question about a Lw unit in France and very impressive answer !!
Thanks !