Flak-Regiment 155

SES · Post by **SES** » 11 Jan 2006 09:44

kstdk wrote:Hello

See this site:

http://www.sitesv1du-nord-de-la-france.com/

Enter the site and in the top menu go:

Carte du Déploiment

And see Flak.Reg.155 - 1 to 9

Regards
Kurt
kstdk

Thank you Kurt,
An outstanding Site, thanks for sharing.
bregds
SES

kstdk · Post by **kstdk** » 11 Jan 2006 10:49

Hello SES

Thanks, you´re welcome !!

I did not now that you were interested in V1 Sites ( as well and anong many other things ) ??

Have you been researching any deeper into this ?? And can you provide any clarification on anything, you are most welcome to join in to solve this !!

In respect of your other work, i would very much hope you are able to "cast some light" on this.

Regards
Kurt
kstdk

SES · Post by **SES** » 11 Jan 2006 11:13

Hi Kurt,
I find the operational history and constructions of both the V-1 and -2 facinating. And there are a number of little known, not widely published details.
Everybody associates the V-1 employment with ground launches from Normandy and little is it known, that they were also ground launched from sites in Germany way into 1945.
But I have just scratted the surface compared to my other work.
bregds
SES

RS 1800 · Post by **RS 1800** » 11 Jan 2006 11:31

I looked in few books and i found something interesting in book by Alain Chazette and Alain Destouches, 1944: Le mur de l´atlantique en normandie. He states that none of the bases in Normandy was operational in time for d-day. Also on page 316-318 in Chester Wilmots book, The struggle for europe, the 155 regiment had been ordered not to stock up the batteries with rockets, since this would make them an easy target for the allied bombers, the bombs where stored in ammunition dumps in northern france, belgium, and germany. Most railroads in normandy was probably destroyed in time for d-day, so transporting the rockets from these dumps must have been very troublesome. (Some parts in Wilmots book are based on the war diarys of the 155)

Carrels book, Invasion theyré coming should have some references to the rocket batteries on the cotentin, since he describes the fighting on the peninsula in great detail (not always correct though), but he only mentions the launches from the Pas-de-Calais area.

I found this picture of Wachtel:

(Source: Grenville, Les armes secretes de Allemandes Les V1)

kstdk · Post by **kstdk** » 11 Jan 2006 11:45

Hello

Thats also what SES indicates, that these "fast moving" light sites were closed due to allied advance after the landings in Normandy.

The V1 sites were operational right to the end of the war, but after 6 june 1944 they operated only from light field sites that were moved backwards and inland - along the coastline of France into Belgium, Holland and Germany.

That goes also for the V2 firing sites, only the V3 vere closed and terminated due to the closing of the massive sites they vere in, but some other tests and efforts to use the V3 were done, for instance in Poland and Eastpommern until they were disturbed by the advance of the Russians.

One can find traces of these sites all along the route / enroute !

And....we will keep on digging for information on this one, and by united efforts we will - most hopefully - come up with some conclusions.

Some links for further reading:

http://maridor.free.fr/francais/macro.htm

http://members.home.nl/almeloliberated/V1.HTM

http://www.t04.de/Projekte/Projekte.htm

http://users.skynet.be/fb061479/frames.htm

http://hortenxx.free.fr/index.htm

http://www.sitesv1du-nord-de-la-france.com/

Regards
Kurt
kstdk.

RS 1800 · Post by **RS 1800** » 11 Jan 2006 15:27

Here is an aerial photo (Source IGN) of V1 base no. 18 on the Cotentin, i have also attached a map of the same base from Grennevilles book).

Pictures are rather big.

Aerial photo
http://www.jm-motorsport.se/ww2/no-17-aerial.jpg

Map
http://www.jm-motorsport.se/ww2/no-17-map.jpg

SES · Post by **SES** » 11 Jan 2006 15:47

Hi,
Nice aerial photo. Are the cows real or decoy?
And this is not a joke. These "creatures" were commonly used to conceal the military utilization of large open spaces. There are accounts from Denmark where they were also placed on the grass area between the runways at airfields. They were emplaced early in the morning and "withdrawn" at nightfall.
"Daddy what did you do during the war". "I was a senior decoy-cow maneger".
Picture from: "Secret Agents, Spies and Saboteurs" by Janusz Piekalkiewicz.
bregds
SES

RS 1800 · Post by **RS 1800** » 11 Jan 2006 15:56

Hilarious, never seen that before.

SES · Post by **SES** » 11 Jan 2006 16:03

I think so too. Maybe it should have been posted under "Little Known Facts", I don't want to "rock" your thread.
bregds
SES

RS 1800 · Post by **RS 1800** » 11 Jan 2006 17:23

This site http://www.sitesv1du-nord-de-la-france.com/ , wich you posted earlier Kurt, states the IV battalion was transfered to Rouen in May 1944. Unfortunately he does not provide a source for his information (in usual webpage fashion

)

Direct link to page:

http://l.bailleul.free.fr/4emeAbt.htm

kstdk · Post by **kstdk** » 11 Jan 2006 18:23

Hello

I know - i have myselve "explored" the site quite extensively these last few days !!

Maybe we schould contact him, his e-mail ( and e-mail of other contributers for the site ) is stated - so it would be alright to contsct him for further information.

We could link this discussion topic to him as well !!

Regards
Kurt
kstdk.

RS 1800 · Post by **RS 1800** » 11 Jan 2006 19:00

Perhaps we should send him an e-mail then, im not very good at writing in french though

Larry D. · Post by **Larry D.** » 11 Jan 2006 19:27

If any of you happen by a library, here are some titles that might be helpful:

Benecke, T. (ed). History of German Guided Missiles Development. Brunswick: Appelhans, 1957.
Brooks, Geoffrey. Hitler's Terror Weapons: From Doodlebug to Nuclear Warheads. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 2002.
Collier, Basil. The Battle of the V-Weapons, 1944-1945. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1964.
Cooksley, Peter G. Flying Bomb: The Story of HitlerТs V-Weapons in World War II. London: Robert Hale, 1979.
Darlow, Steve. Sledgehammers for Tintacks: Bomber Command Combats the V-1 Menace, 1943-1944.
London: Grub Street, 2002
Garlinski, Jozef. Hitler's Last Weapons: The Underground War against the V1 and V2. New York: Times Books, 1978.
Georg, Friedrich. Hitler's Miracle Weapons, volume 2: The Secret History of the Rockets and Flying Craft of the Third Reich. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company, 2005.
Henshall, Philip. Hitler's V-Weapons Sites. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2002.
Holsken, Dieter. V-Missiles of the Third Reich. Sturbridge: Monogram Aviation, 1994.
Irons, Roy. Hitler's Terror Weapons: The Price of Vengeance. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc, 2002.
Irving, David. The Mare’s Nest. London: William Kimber, 1964.
Johnson, David. V-1, V-2: Hitler's Vengeance on London. New York: Stein and Day, 1981 and 1983.
King, Benjamin and Timothy Kutta. Impact: The History of Germany's V-Weapons in World War II. New York: Da Capo Press, 2003.
Maeseneer, Guido De. Peenemunde: The Extraordinary Story of Hitler's Secret Weapons, V-1 and V-2. Vancouver, BC: AJ Publishing, 2002.
Miranda, J. and P. Mercado. Secret Wonder Weapons of the Third Reich: German Missiles, 1934-1945. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1996.
Neufeld, Michael J. Rocket and the Reich: Peenemunde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era. New York: Free Press, 1995.
Piszkiewicz, Dennis. Nazi Rocketeers: Dreams of Space and Crimes of War. Westport: Praeger, 1995.
Pocock, Rowland. German Guided Missiles of the Second World War. New York: Arco Publishing, 1967.
Zaloga, Steven J. New Vanguard 106. V-1 Flying Bomb 1942-52: Hitler's Infamous Doodlebug. Botley, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2005.

RS 1800 · Post by **RS 1800** » 11 Jan 2006 20:26

Great list! I made a search in the Swedish national library catalog, wich also includes the military library, found the follwing titles from your list, and i have requested them to my university.

Hitler's rocket sites / by Philip Henshall
Hitler's miracle weapons : the secret history of the rockets and flying craft of the Third Reich. Vol. 2, From the V-1 to the A-9 / Friedrich Georg.
Hitler's last weapons : the underground war against the V1 and V2 / Józef Garlinski
The battle of the V-weapons, 1944-45 / by Basil Collier
Nazi rocketeers : dreams of space and crimes of war / Dennis Piszkiewicz (available as ebook)

And i also found these:

institution: United States. United States Strategic Bombing Survey. Military Analysis Division
title: V-weapons (Crossbow) campaign.
year: Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1947

Die V1 : eine Dokumentation : mit 104 technischen Darstellungen und 136 Fotos / Wilhelm Hellmold

Operation Big Ben : the dive-bombing Spitfire missions, 1944-45 / Craig Cabell & Graham Thomas

Larry D. · Post by **Larry D.** » 11 Jan 2006 21:40

That's super, RS 1800, I am glad you were able to find some!