KG 200

''Kampfgeschwader'' 200 (KG 200) (" irCombat Squadron 200") was a German ''Luftwaffe'' special operations unit during World War II. The unit carried out especially difficult bombing and transport operations and long-distance reconnaissance flights, tested new aircraft designs and operated captured aircraft.Geoffrey Thomas: ''KG200: Luftwaffe's Most Secret Squadron'', Hikoki Publications, August 2004, Günther W. Gellermann: ''Moskau ruft Heeresgruppe Mitte … – Was nicht im Wehrmachtbericht stand – Die Einsätze des geheimen Kampfgeschwaders 200 im Zweiten Weltkrieg'', Bernard & Graefe, 1988, in German, P. W. Stahl/Manfred Jäger: ''Geheimgeschwader KG 200'', 1984, in German,

History

The unit's history began in 1934, when the Luftwaffe formed a reconnaissance squadron under Oberst Theodor Rowehl and attached it to the ''Abwehr'', Germany's military intelligence department. As the ''Abwehr'' started to lose Hitler's goodwill during the war, a new reconnaissance unit, the ''2nd Test Formation'', was formed in 1942 under the command of Werner Baumbach. This unit was combined with ''1st Test Formation'' in March 1944 to form KG 200 on 20 February 1944.

On 11 November 1944 Baumbach became ''Geschwaderkommodore'', all aerial special-ops missions were carried out by KG 200 under Baumbach's command.

Missions

The unit carried out a wide variety of missions:

Long-range reconnaissance

Before the beginning of the war, aerial reconnaissance was usually carried out by civilian Lufthansa planes equipped with cameras. This practice was continued throughout the war as long as civilian airlines remained operational; later on, recon missions were most often carried out by Junkers Ju 86s flying at very high altitudes or by flying boats. Due to the lack of German aircraft with sufficient range, some recon missions used captured American B-17s or B-24s and Soviet Tu-2s. For the most part, these machines were used for re-supply roles (dropping in supplies to German forces operating behind enemy lines), or transporting important personnel.

The ''Mistel'' program

Beginning in 1942, to compensate for its lack of heavy bombers, the ''Luftwaffe'' started to experiment with packing some of its war-weary Junkers Ju 88 bombers with enormous shaped-charge warheads and guiding them to their targets with a fighter airplane mounted on the back of the unmanned bomber. Although not as effective as the Luftwaffe planners had hoped, the Mistel program continued to be developed through 1944. However, few effective operations were flown. The unit was originally intended to attack naval installations at Gibraltar, Leningrad or Scapa Flow in Scotland, but the Allied Operation Overlord diverted efforts to Normandy.

On the night of 24 June 1944, Mistels of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 101 were dispatched to bomb targets in the English Channel. Although one of the Ju 88s had to be jettisoned prematurely, the remaining four pilots had successful launches and sank several block ships. Interest in the Scapa Flow attack was maintained, and in August 1944 ''Mistel'' forces were concentrated at Grove in Schleswig-Holstein. On 11 November 1944 RAF Lancasters attacked the German battleship ''Tirpitz'' and caused her to capsize. With ''Tirpitz'' out of commission there was no requirement for capital ships to be held in the Atlantic theatre, and soon those with the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow were on their way to the Pacific war, leaving the Mistels no worthwhile targets in Scapa Flow.

All Mistels were placed under the command of KG 200 and Oberst (Colonel) Joachim Helbig. By late 1944 emphasis was placed on an all-out attack on Soviet armaments and power plants but by March 1945 the bases had been overrun by the Soviet advance. was ordered to concentrate ''Mistel'' operations against the bridges over the Oder and Neisse

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