Flak-Regiment 155

[protze]

Hi Kurt,

What you see in the background of this image is a Heinkel K6 catapult. Walter erected this catapult in 1939. The company used this catapult, in order of the RLM, for testing the increase of the velocity of air-launched rocket propelled Lufttorpedo's. The catapult uses compressed air.

[pucha]

Refering to Heidelager-Blizna.
There were 2 catapults built, however one was never completed, and the other was used to launch 30 flying bombs on April 1944.
Photo of the catapults (15.IV.1944), couple of days before trials took place:

v-1_blizna.jpg (31.62 KiB) Viewed 2371 times

Those were the only V 1 launchings in Blizna - strange because it certainly took a lot of effort to build all the infrastructure.

The question: as far as I know, the trials were conducted by Flak-Regiment 155 - do you know any more details on this event?

regards
Piotr

[kstdk]

Hello

What´s up - has everybody who contributed to this tread stopped researching Flakregiment 155 (W)??

No new findings?

Regards
Kurt
kstdk

[dweb6]

we certainly have not stopped researching out local historybut sources seen to dry up.
we still want to know which units were active in pappdeckel within "Festung Holland" and also what these units actually managed to do around Lisse Bloemendaal Heemstede Bentveld.

[kstdk]

Hello

You probably already know this Dutch site:

http://v1.wimme.net/

[Andrzej Ditrich]

Hi,

here is a photo of catapult in action:
http://www.zenza.se/vw/vw%20bilder/vw0088_b.jpg
source: http://www.zenza.se/vw/index.html

Brgds
@ndrew

[kstdk]

Hello

Someting mentioned of the operations from Holland here:

http://books.google.dk/books?id=AkRnX4z ... el&f=false

And here is the "Gerätehandbuch Teil 1 bis 7" for download:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.ph ... pdf&page=1

Some more V1 related here:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:V-1


Regards
Kurt
kstdk

[Larry D.]

So, Kurt, would you say the Zaloga/Johnson V-Weapon Sites book includes new material not found in earlier books, or is it largely a rehash of what is already known?

[kstdk]

Hello Larry

I would think its all rather "old stuff" - as said before here we have come to a "dead end" regarding being able to find material as we are in the time frame of late war (march - april - may 1945) and it seems that all info stops at end of march 45!!

Not much more to be found?

Regards
Kurt
kstdk

[Larry D.]

You are probably correct, Kurt. The only "new" material might be a few stray captured documents and more numerous P/W interrogations, reports and studies 1944 - c.1948 that are still buried in the U.S. National Archives, and perhaps in the British National Archives, too. The material in Washington would be difficult to get at because so much there is uncatalogued. Even if someone could find this material, I doubt if it would reveal any significant new information. The V-Weapons subject was a priority for the Allies so there is already a lot in print in English, German, French and several other languages.

Larry

[SES]

but we still have this mystery:
http://www.gyges.dk/fliegerhorst_grove16.htm
to solve.
bregds
SES

[Larry D.]

Hi SES - I couldn't read it all because your pages are twice the size of my computer screen making it necessary to keep moving the slide left to right back and forth which, unfortunately, makes me nauseous. I have a 24-inch Dell monitor, but I still frequently run into oversize screen images.

I am missing something here re V 1s at Grove. It simply appears that Grove was prepared for He 111 operations with V1s. Why is that a mystery?

Larry

[SES]

Hi Larry,
This is the mystery:

As mentioned earlier seven V-1 crashed in Denmark in MAR - APR 1945. The only known ground location, where they could have been launched from, was Cuxhaven/Altenwalde, where V 1 ramps had been constructed in 1944. From here experiments were conducted with an extended range version of the V 1. One V 1, however came down near Silkeborg in central Jutland, that is quite a distance from Altenwalde. Please note that one German expert witness categorically denies that V 1's were ever launched from this area. On the other hand the evidence indicating ground launches from this site is overwhelming. The other possibility of course is that these missiles had been fired from the air. But it is the considered opinion of all experts, that airborne V-1 launches ceased in JAN 1945, when KG 53 stopped the launches over the North Sea. According to "Die V 1" by W. Hellmold one FlH in Jutland was "prepared" as an V 1 operating base. did a few airborne (test) launches with aircraft originating from Grove actually take place in Danish airspace in MAR-ARP 1945?

bregds
SES

[Larry D.]

Thanks for the summation, SES. This will also provide those who follow on this thread a neat, concise summary of the riddle to be solved, and one they can be referred back to as the number of pages increase.

The answer, or at least additional facts, can probably be found in the great mass of HW material at the British National Archives, either in the form of Enigma intercepts that the meaning of which might have been misinterpreted at the time, or in the form of Pearl/ZIP reports, of which there were 21 different kinds. Several of these reports covered the intercepting and plotting of the take-offs, movements and landings of every Luftwaffe aircraft. By March-April 1945, very few aircraft were missed. The RAF Sigint people would have been particularly attentive to KG 53 and any aircraft believed to be taking part in experimental flights. So, if the aircraft did not maintain radio silence or the V1 omitted some sort of a radio signature, then the intercept people should have picked it up. Each entry was analyzed and an opinion as to the nature of the aircraft's activity given in the report.

A review of this material would be manageable because only those reports for March-April would need to be examined. I would guess that perhaps a week at Kew would do it.

L.

[SES]

Hi Larry,
Thanks a lot for your response.
bregds
SES