Last flights from Berlin ?

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Simon Gunson
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Re: Last flights from Berlin ?

#16

Post by Simon Gunson » 05 Jan 2009, 12:40

I seem to recall reading about Hans Baur's deputy George Betz who did not survive the break out from the Chancellery few in from Reichlin. Berlin was surrounded on 21 April. Ten aircraft flew out Hitler's staff about the night of 21 April from Templehoff as the Soviets reached the field. This was called "Geheimoperation Serail" (Secret Operation Harem, also called Seraglio).

The last of these ten aircraft a Ju-352 werke number 100003 KT+VC crashed on it's escape flight. Aboard this flight piloted by Major Freidrich Gundelfinger were Rear Admiral Karl-Jesko von Puttkammer, Hitler's secretaries Johanna Wolf and Christa Schroder along with a collection of letters and documents intended to embarrass world leaders after the war. Hitler's most trusted aide Sergeant Ardnt was also on the flight and when Hitler learned of his death Hitler openly cried.

The improvised runway was on the Unter den Linden Ost West Achse from the Brandenberger Tor gate to the Victory gate of 1870-1871. The argument with Albert Speer occurred on 24 April 1945 as he went to depart in a Fi156 Storch. General Karl Koller began flying a fleet of 15 Ju-52 into Berlin from 23 April onwards.

Von Greim and Reitsch flew in by Fi-156 but flew out on an Arado Ar96.

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phylo_roadking
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Re: Last flights from Berlin ?

#17

Post by phylo_roadking » 05 Jan 2009, 16:28

Speer obviously had more scruples than the British government. In the early 1960s they cut down all the elms in St. James' Park in London - supposedly for fear of Dutch Elm infestation...and created a nice little STOL runway in the process :wink:


Simon Gunson
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Location: Wellington, New Zealand

Re: Last flights from Berlin ?

#18

Post by Simon Gunson » 10 Jan 2009, 03:34

DrG in private correspondence pointed out to me that I was mistaken in my last post as the two secretaries I named did survive the war.

I read this from a book about Hans Baur. The book worded it's account of Operation Seraglio in a confusing and ambiguous manner saying that the two secretaries were on the last flight out and then commented that the last flight crashed. What the book's author meant was the last successful flight out.

Also I am now confused about which aircraft in Seraglio was shot down as I have since come across mention of a Deutsch Luft Hansa Focke Wulf FW200B D-ASHH shot down 21 April 1945 on a flight to Spain with documents and staff from the Chancellery at Berlin.

Can anybody enlighten me please if this aircraft had flown from Templehoff or from Munich ?
Was this the same aircraft shot down with Sergeant Ardnt on it ?

Simon Gunson
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Posts: 784
Joined: 23 Mar 2004, 01:25
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

Re: Last flights from Berlin ?

#19

Post by Simon Gunson » 12 Jan 2009, 01:44

NARA has a file named "ENTRY 216 boxes 250/64/34/02 (box 8)" which details Hitler's proposed escape to India in 1945. Has anybody ever heard of this ?

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