
Ju52 squadronskinpack of 2./KGrzbV102 Stalingrad & Kuban Bridgehead 1943

A semihistorical skinpack containing 12 fully marked Ju52 of 3.Staffel KGrzbV102 how it appeared during the winter in early 1943, based as well as possible on historical photographs.

The skinpack is compatible with all game versions. 


WWII luftwaffe transport units organisation:


Pre 1st of may 1943 there were KGzbV - Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen Verwendung (meaning combat wing for special purpose) and KGrzbV - Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung (meaning combat group
for special pruposes). A KGzbV was a wing consisting of a Geschwaderstab (wing staff) and several groups. Each of the groups consisted of a Gruppenstab (group staff) and four operational 
staffeln (squadrons). A KGrzbV didn't belong to a wing and therefore consisted of its staff and the four squadrons. The nominated aircraft strength of a Ju52 transport group was 53 aircraft.
5 of them served with the group staff (staff flight) and 12 each with the four squadrons.
Additionally there were a lot more of smaller transport units which served with (and belonged to) organisations like the various Luftflotte, Fliegerkorps, Fliegerfhrer etc.
I. e. the most of the Fliegerkorps had their own Transportstaffel ?./Fliegerkorps, a single Ju52 squadron but with a nominated strength of 16 aircraft. These smaller units were tasked with
supplying/supporting 
the organisation they belonged to. There were exceptions when there was a lack of available transport aircraft, i. e. Transportstaffel II./Fliegerkorps served with the regular KGzbVs and KGrzbVs 
in the MTO from late 1942 onwards, when the Afrikakorps/Panzerarmee Afrika required lots of supplies on their retreat to/in Tunisia.

Except the Poland campaign in 1939 and until early 1940, when there were real KGzbV2 and KGzbV172 additonally - each with several Ju52 groups - there was only KGzbV1 acting as a full wing with four groups.
From KGzbV172 just I./KGzbV172 remained, therefore sometimes called KGrzbV172, until 1st of may 1943. KGzbV2 was reduced to it's wing staff and controlled some KGrzbVs during large scale operations i. e.
the crete invasion. A KGrzbV3 - wing staff only - existed formally too and was controlling some KGrzbVs equally to KGrzbV2.
             
The KGzbVs and KGrzbVs were reorganized on 1st of may 1943, resulting in the creation of 5 Transportgeschwader (TG meaning transport wing). The KGzbVs were simply renamed to TGs (i. e. KGzbV1 was simply renamed
to TG1) but the KGrzbVs lost their independence and were made parts (groups) of a newly formed TG (i. e. TG3 was newly formed by renaming KGrzbV9 to I./TG3, KGrzbV50 to II./TG3, KGrzbV102 to
III./TG3 and I./KGzbV172 - the last remaining group of it's wing - to IV./TG3). Additionally there were a handful remaining TGrs meaning Transportgroups, the equivalent of the former KGrzbVs.
In january of 1944 a further reorganisation was made by removing all staff aircraft from the TGs (wings) and peplacing them with lighter aircraft types. From then on each TG was consisting of only
three operational squadrons with 16 aircraft each.
 

General Paintschemes: 

All the Ju52 front line units served with the standard rlm 70/71/65 splinter camo (pattern A and B, mirrored ones and lots of irregular patterns too). Like all luftwaffe transport units they never adopted a tropical paintscheme. The handful
of known tropical camos were experimental and limited to some few individuals. During the snow period washable white winter paint was applied over the standard camo, mostly covering the camo completely but
sometimes creating individual winter patterns as well. 
Ju52 with dark green or sometimes blackened undersurfaces are well known throughout the whole war, they usually were drawn from school or training units. These units were constantly thinned out from personell and aircraft 
to replace losses of frontine units. Theatre markings like white (MTO) or yellow (northern and eastern front) were introduced around june 1941.  
The very most Ju52 serving in the MTO had yellow engine undercowlings.


Tactical tail markings:

As there were permanent losses within the transport units there was a permanent requirement of replacement aircraft and crews. These were constantly drawn from the various school- and training units but as well by
shifting aircraft from one unit to the other. Additionally there were temporarely units formed when there was a urgent need of more transport capacity. The aircraft to form these were drawn from the same sources.
There in fact was a permanent switching of aircraft amongst the transport units. 
All these aircraft were fitted with their own factory or unitcodes, school- or training unit markings or and emblems, or such of their former or disbanded units.  
Instead of permanently overpainting and recoding replacement aircraft, which was a time consuming task especially during periods of constant losses, the tactical tailcodes were introduced in late 1941 on the eastern front.
The first unit using them was a temporarely unit called 'Einsatzgruppe Kupschuss' which painted the three digit code i. e. K2E in large characters on the vertical tail rudder. K was the unitletter and stood
for the first letter of the unit commander's last name which was Kupschuss. The number 2 stood for the 2.Staffel and the E was the individual aircraft letter. Aircraft of the stabflight used an S instead
of the squadron number.  
The system was adopted rapidly especially by all units serving in the MTO and prooved an easy way to identify the true unit an aircraft actually served with. Even aircraft with their assigned unitcodes received their
matching tailcodes. So if you see a pic showing a transport aircraft
with such an tailcode it doesn't matter which fuselage codes are painted on. The tactical tailcode alone is surely identifying the unit the aircraft belonged to. There were some exceptions
when i. e. letter H was used by two different units at the same time or a replacement rudder was fitted, but these exceptions were very rare. The tailcodes were most important during the period from late 1942 to spring 1943 and found their way
bak to the eastern front when units moved from the MTO to this theatre. After the reorganisation of the transport units on 1st of may 1943 the tactical tailcodes slowly lost their importance but were anyway
used for long by many units, additionally to their fuselage codes.
Due to the excellent research of Rudolf Hecke the very most of the tactical tailcodes and the units their were assigned to are known today.

An example: 1Z+KQ with tactical tailcode D4Q in april 1943 - both unitcodes and tactical tailcodes are identyfing the same unit. 16./KGzbV1 was part of IV./KGzbV1 which was assigned the tailcode letter D.
16.Staffel was the fourth squadron within IV.group and therefore the tailcode number was a 4. Finally the tailcode letter K was used for the individual aircraft letter.
1Z+KQ with tactical tailcode N3A would identify the actual unit as 3rd squadron of I./KGzbV172 and the aircraft was flown by the staffelleader (A). The fuselage codes just representing the unit
the aircraft once came from.

Tail rudder markings like triangles or discs were of different meanings. They were used as unit markings (i. e. triangles of KGrzbV102 or KGrzbV105) or to designate (glider) towing hook fitted   
aircraft (i. e. discs of I./LLG1) or staffel markings (i. e. discs/rectangles KGrzbV50 and KGrzbV900). 

                 
      

The unit:
                  
KGrzbV102 (Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung 102 = combat group for special purpose 102) consisted of four staffeln (squadrons) and a staff flight (stab).
Each staffel had a strength of 12 a/c, the staff usually had 5 a/c. The assigned unit codes were G6+?C-N-P-R-S for the staff and the four squadrons, the questionmark stands for the
individual and coloured a/c letter. Staffelcolours were green-white-red-yellow-blue (stab-1.-2.-3.-4.Staffel). Tactical MTO tail code letter was E. It was still used during the period of
early to spring 1943 at the eastern front. Our 2nd squadron therefore was coded E2?, the questionmark standing fot the individual a/c letter.   
KGrzbV102 carried no more emblems on their aircraft at Stalingrad and later, but the distintive triangle markings on the leading wing edges, tail fin and - squadronleaders only -
on the back of the fuselage were still used. The triangle markings on the tailfin only remained throughout the war with III./TG3, which was formed in may 1943 by renaming KGrzbV102.     


I tried to skin all known paintscheme variations. Note not all aircraft received white snow camo, some remained in their green splinter camo.  


History:

In march 1940 KGrzbV102 was formed - like KGrzbV's 101 to 108 - for operation weserbung, the norway invasion in april 1940. All these units served with factory coded
aircraft, that means each aircraft had it's very own fuselage code consisting of four (mostly black) letters.  
In september 1940 KGrzbV102 was assigned the unitcode G6. After temporarily disbandment and several reformings from february to may 1941 the unit took part in the crete invasion.
After crete again reformings and KGrzbV102 took part in operation barbarossa, the eastern campaign against russia. It served in the central sector of the eastern front carrying all kinds of supply and personnel
to the frontline units. In november 1941 it was ordered to the southern sector of the eastern front, but in fact the squadrons were finally spread from Akkerman/Romania over Greece to Italy and
carried out transport missions even to Northern africa.
  
In january the complete group met together at brunswick/germany and was made ready for the eastern front again. There the unit served from march to june 1942 in the northern sector, then
until october 1942 in the southern sector. KGrzbV102 transferred to Italy again in october 1942 and served in the MTO until early january 1943, when it was ordered to take part in the stalingrad
airlift. After the Stalingrad disaster KGrzbV102 served at the Kuban bridgehead (Crimea) airlift operations and was reassigned III./TG3 in may 1943. 
Winter camo applied during the stalingrad and kuban bridgehead operations.      


Credits/Sources:

Foo'bar, Imme and millekmh for using their templates or parts of them
janurary 1943 

Transporter Vol.1 and 2 by Martin Pegg (classic publications)
'Transporter' wer kennt sie schon... by Karl Kssler
jet&prop aviation magazine - Rudolf Hecke, Karl Kssler
luftwaffe im focus magazine
Luftwaffe Experten Message Board - 'ebay listings', esp. Peter Evans, Gran Larsson, Chris Simmonds  
Luftarchiv.de


Most of all a very lot of thanks to Gerhard Stemmer (researcher and book author, co-author of Jochen Prien)
for his most valuable detailed informations which aren't available in any books.


As always the skins are free for noncommercial use only. Any reupload requires my permission.
Hope you enjoy these works and your feedback is much appreciated!

ATB
Cheruskerarmin


www.axis-and-allies-paintworks.com

mailto  cheruskerarmin@freenet.de
