KG 27

'Kampfgeschwader' 27 ''Boelcke'' was a Luftwaffe medium bomber wing of World War II.

Formed in May 1939, KG 27 first saw action in the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. During the Phoney War—September 1939 – April 1940—the bomber wing flew armed reconnaissance missions over France. In May 1940 it fought in the Battle of Belgium and Battle of France through to the end of the campaigns in June 1940.

In July 1940, KG 27 fought in the Battle of Britain and The Blitz until June 1941. In June 1941 the unit's ''Gruppen'' participated in Operation Barbarossa and spent the next years on the Eastern front until 1944, until it was withdrawn to assist the evacuation of the German-occupied Greece and Yugoslavia. It returned to the Eastern Front until November 1944.

At this time, all three combat groups remained operational but were converted to fighter units for Defence of the Reich duties. It is not known when KG 27 was disbanded. An anti-locomotive staffel was known to have operated as a bomber unit into April 1945. The date given for Oberstleutnant Rudolf Kiel's relief of command is 10 April 1945. Kiel was the wing's final commanding officer.

Formation

Stab. (command staffel – squadron)/KG 27 was formed at Hannover-Langenhagen Hans Behrendt was appointed as the first ''Geschwaderkommodore''. On 1 September 1939 it mustered five operational bombers from six.

I./KG 27 was formed from I./KG 157 at the same base. ''Oberstleutnant'' Fritz Graumnitz was appointed as the group's commander. The group could field 31 from 35 operational bombers. ''Major'' Sigismund Freiher von Falkenstein led the group from 1 October 1940 to 21 May 1940. He was succeeded by Gerhard Ulbricht on 3 June 1940, with Konrad Aschenbrenner acting as commander in between.

II./KG 27 was formed at Wunstorf, with Major Arno deSalengre Drabbe in command on 32 (of 35) combat-ready bombers.

III./KG 27 was formed at Delmenhorst by the redesignation of III./KG 157. Otto Sommer was placed in the command. All three groups were equipped with the Heinkel He 111 and trained through the summer to reach operational readiness. Third group was the largest with 33 airworthy bombers from a total of 36. Sommer was replaced on 30 June 1939 with Oberstleutnant Andreas Nielsen until 24 February 1940.

War Service

KG 27 was fragmented and placed unto different divisions and air fleets. Stab./KG 27 was placed under IV Fliegerkorps under the command of Luftflotte 2 at Hannover-Langenhagen" (which one is unknown), Pembroke, Braunton">Pembroke, Pembrokeshire">Pembroke, Braunton, St Athan">Braunton.html" ;"title="Pembroke, Pembrokeshire">Pembroke, Braunton">Pembroke, Pembrokeshire">Pembroke, Braunton, St Athan, Clydeside, Nottingham and Derby.

I./KG 27 switched to anti-shipping operations in the last week of April. All three groups returned to bombing operations for the final time on 4/5 June 1941. I and II./KG 27 attacked Birmingham while third group struck at Bristol alone; the Filton, Colerne and Hucclecote area were hit.

Eastern Front

KG 27 transferred to Romania in mid-June 1941. Stab., I., and II./KG 27 were based at Focșani. III./KG 27 was moved to Zilistea. All remained under the IV Fliegerkorps and were assigned to Luftflotte 4 to support Army Group South. Third group mustered 25 serviceable He 111s from 28 at the outset; second group, 21 from 24; first group 22 from 30. Little is known of I. and III./KG 27 operations until early September 1941.

On 22 June Operation Barbarossa began. KG 27 flew against Red Air Force airfields in the Bălți, Kamenets and Podolsk sectors. The front-line along the Soviet-Romanian border was not as fluid as elsewhere in the first ten days of the war. KG 27 remained the air corps' only bomber unit. The VVS Southern Front was KG 27's main adversary.

It supported the advance in Bessarabia from 24 June and Operation München. Bombed targets in Stanislau, Kirovograd, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk and the Stalin Line. The main concern was rail interdiction. Rail yards at Zhmerinka were hit on 3 July, as well as Khotyn on 5th day and roop concentrations near Mogilev. Over Moldavia on 7 July KG 27 claimed to have destroyed 70 lorries for no loss. The following day III./KG 27 suffered five bombers and damaged and then on 10 July lost its commanding officer Fritz Reinhard killed in action.

From 12 to 19 July rail lines in the Zhmerinka area near Vinnitsa were hit. From 20 to 21 July the rail line between Cherkassy and Dolinskaya, and also traffic on the Balta and Vapnyarka lines were "shot up." On 20 July alone KG 27 claimed the destruction of 20 trains despite opposition from the Soviet 131 IAP which damaged at least one aircraft. KG 27 disrupted the Soviet supply lines and Soviet fighter forces were unable to cover them. KG 27 flew in support of the Battle of Uman. Odessa Harbour on 24 July and trains in the Pervomaisk area were likely hit on 27 July.

In August, I./KG 27 attacked the Melitopol- Zaporozhye rail line. From 15 to 18 August it attacked airfields around the former and assisted the XXX Corps in crossing the Dnieper 30 August. The Simferopol-Sivash rail line in the crime was attacked on 21 August. II./KG 27 operated in the same areas. In September the main effort seemed to be against airfields, although Perekop was attacked on 25 September. III./KG 27 operated in the western and central areas of Ukraine. It had lost only six aircraft by 15 August.

In late August and September KG 27's focus shifted to Odessa and the Crimea. It was ordered to destroy shipping, and with StG 77, to dispose of the Black Sea Fleet. I. and II./KG 27 began "rolling attacks" against Odessa in support of the German 11th Army. 97 tons of bombs were dropped on the port by 60 aircraft. On 18 September KG 27 was ordered to interdict all naval traffic from the Crimea to Odessa. The following day, Wolfgang Skorczewski, of 3./KG 27, sank the transport ''Udarnyy'' east of the port and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The emphasis shifted back to airfields and air superiority in the Crimea. On 27 September KG 27 lost three bombers in these raids for little return. Major General Yermachenkov's VVS ChF frustrated the German air and land advance.

KG 27 submitted claims for six ships sunk and another eight damaged on 16 October. Only one ship (1,412-t ''Bolshevik'') was sunk, and by neighbouring I./KG 28. The Axis air forces were unable to prevent the evacuation of 350,000 soldiers and civilians and 200,000 of arms and material during the Siege of Odessa, although the city did fall. Soviet fighter and anti-aircraft defences were very strong and contributed to a prolonged defence which disrupted Army Group South's advance.

In the month of September KG 27 flew 871 sorties, claimed 15 aircraft destroyed, one destroyer and three freighters sunk, 243 vehicles and three trains destroyed.

In October KG 27 continued operating on the Black Sea and over the Caucasus. II./KG 27 flew a night attack against Kacha airfield on the night of 2 October and attacked Yeisk harbour on the Sea of Azov on 7 October. From 4 to 12 October, the group attacked troop columns, trains, airfields, and harbours in the Melitopol, Berdyansk, Rostov area. From 15 to 27 October it flew against shipping in the Crimea and against Saky airfield. The group was withdrawn to Germany in early November. I./KG 27 assisted in attacks against shipping from 18 to 31 October.

On 12 November nine He 111s suffered a loss when a MiG 3 piloted by Lieutenant Yakov Ivanov brought down Wilhelm Hofmann's bomber by ramming as the bombed the port of Gelendzhik. In November, KG 27 flew 503 sorties, claimed 53 aircraft, one destroyer, 12 freighters, seven trains, three tanks and 294 vehicles destroyed. KG 27 supported German forces in the Battle of Rostov.

Black Sea and Stalingrad

The main activities of KG 27 in the winter, 1941/42, revolved around the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula. I./KG 27 was based at Kirovograd from 29 December 1941 and did not return to Germany. Mine laying was carried out by the group from 1 to 18 January 1942. The ports of Feodosiya and Sevastopol. Kerch harbour was also mined. Trains and rail targets were attacked of the 22 to 22 January in the Izyum area. Until March rail and troop concentrations remained a priority in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine. II./KG 27 was moved to support Army Group Centre. It dropped supplies to the Demyansk pocket and Kholm. It flew support operations around Lake Ilmen and Staraya Russa until 29 March. The group was mostly likely withdrawn to Germany until June 1942 when it returned to Ukraine and southern Russia. III./KG 27 remained in Crimea. It flew against targets in the Izyum area and the ports of Novorossisk (7 March), Sevastopol, Feodosiya mainly. In November 1941 one of the group's aircraft crashed killing General der Jagdflieger Werner Mölders.

The Black Sea campaign intensified in the spring. On 18 March I./KG 27 damaged a transport and a floating battery in the port of Kerch. KG 27 flew 606 sorties in March 1942. KG 27 was rushed north in May 1942 as a Soviet offensive began the Second Battle of Kharkov. It arrived on 13 May. KG 27 formed part of Fliegerkorps IV's contribution to the battle. The air corps claimed 596 aircraft in the air, through fighter units, and 19 on the ground by the conclusion of the battle. Another 227 tanks, 3,083 motor vehicles, 24 artillery batteries, two anti-aircraft batteries, 49 artillery pieces, 22 locomotives, six complete trains were also destroyed for the cost of 49 aircraft.

KG 27 supported the German 6th Army attack on Volchansk, to acquire a staging area for Operation Blue. KG 27 were active in the battle for the Don Bend. The Soviet 2nd and 15th Air Army, with the 1st and 101st Fighter Regiments offered stiff resistance. KG 27's airfields were also targeted. KG 27 supported the Battle of Voronezh. KG 27 flew from daylight to evening in the prolonged battle and reported Soviet air forces attacked their bases and some losses From 8 to 17 August, I./KG 27 crews flew up to four missions per day. On 29 June I./KG 27 managed to destroy an ammunition train of some 40 rail cars.

KG 27 was sent south soon after to support the 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. The bombers supported the carpet bombing of the city from 23 August. II./KG 27 also attacked shipping moving along the Volga River north of Stalingrad. I./KG 27 bombed rail targets west and east of the Volga. The group was selected to carry out long-range bombing operations against the Baku- Armavir. With second group, it bombed shipping and barges evacuating machinery from Stalingrad on 3 August. KG 27 also returned to the Voronezh area bombing bridgeheads on the east bank of the Don; in one day I./KG 27 flew 14 missions against targets heavily defended by anti-aircraft artillery. First group possessed 22 aircraft by 20 September; only 13 were operational. Second group's condition was much worse; only eight aircraft from 18 remaining were combat ready. Third group still had 25 He 111s, but with only 12 operational. Second group was pulled out from 4 to 14 October to rest and refit in Germany at Hannover.

After the Soviet Operation Uranus surrounded Axis forces in the city, the remaining groups took part in desperate counterattacks. Even medium bombers were used in close air support. With other units, KG 27 inflicted heavy losses to Soviet infantry and horses on 25 November in action along the Chir river. KG 27 assisted with the failed airlift but third group was sent to Hannover to rebuild and rest from December 1942 until 14 January 1943. The group returned to combat operations as Army Group South sought to prevent a total collapse of the front. II./KG 27 is known to have supported the recapture of Kharkov and Belgorod in March 1943.

Crimea to the Balkans

KG 27 flew support for the 17th Army at the Kuban bridgehead, around the Taman Peninsula in April and May 1943. It bombed rail, roads, bridgeheads and troop concentrations south of Novorossisk. On 30 May it bombed targets in the Krasnodar area. In June it assisted in the strategic bombing effort against Gorki and the tank factory located there on 5 June and the rubber plant at Yaroslavl from 4 to 13 June as well as rail targets. II./KG 27 bombed the rubber plant on 20 June and suffered damage to one bomber from a Soviet night fighter.

On 5 July 1943 the Battle of Kursk began. Until 15 July it supported offensive operations. After the rapid failure of the offensive I./KG 27 supported the 1st Panzer Army and the reformed 6th Army against the Soviet Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev until 5 August when it left for Germany. The previous day KG 27 suffered against air superiority, losing six bombers.

II./KG 27 supported the 1st Panzer Army and 8th Army along the Mius River and the defences at Vitebsk Gomel until mid-October. It bombed a variety of targets in the Kirovograd and Kiev areas in November and December 1943. III./KG 27 remained until early September 1943 when it was moved south to support the 17th Army's evacuation of the Kuban. On 27 September KG 27 lost another six bombers in this sector.

I./KG 27 returned to Ukraine in January 1944 and flew attack and air-supply missions in the Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket. Second and third groups were probably involved also. I./KG 27 also assisted in the evacuation of Odessa from 23 March to 9 April 1944. The group retreated to Focsani, Romania on the latter date. From there KG 27 flew supply missions to Sarabuz. They also flew anti-tank missions; on 11 April crews claimed 44 Soviet tanks in operations over the Perekop Isthmus. II./KG 27 was sent to Sarabus in Crimea and flew support operations until ordered to Königsberg to rest and refit on 30 May 1944. It remained inactive due to fuel shortages. By 31 July it had 38 He 111s and was sent to Athens, Greece to help evacuate German forces from the country, and then Yugoslavia until 7 October 1944. It was ordered to Horsching, Austria where it was renamed II./KG(J) 27 and became a fighter unit from 23 November.

I./KG 27 flew night combat missions against rail and airfields during the Soviet summer offensive Operation Bagration. Gomel, Rovno, Korosten, Minsk, Sarny, Kazatin were attacked over June and July 1944. By 30 June it could muster 41 He 111s but fuel shortages reduced flying time and at Raffelding Austria, it was renamed 27 and committed to Defence of the Reich duties from 23 November 1944.

III./KG 27's operations are not known. It did fly supply missions to Vilnius in Lithuania from 12 to 15 July and to German forces isolated by the Soviet offensive (23 July). By 31 August, the group's 32 Heinkels were sent to Athens to help evacuate German forces from the Balkans. At Wels, on 23 November 1944, it became KG 27's third fighter group.

Other units

IV.(Erg)/KG 27 was formed in June or July 1940. Erganzungsgruppe./KG 27 was the initial designation but it was renamed on 24 November 1940. It was probably formed at Avord, France. The main purpose of the group was to provide reserve aircraft and crew to resupply the three bomber groups. It remained in France until August 1942. The group was four staffel (squadron) strong; numbers 10 to 13 were under its command by August 1942. It saw some action in the west; for example it flew a bombing raid on Southampton on 7 July 1941, and Birmingham from 27 to 31 July 1942. It took a peripheral part in the Battle of Stalingrad, and bombed Kalach on 30 November (12 Staffel). It was based at Poltava but then transferred to Vinnitsa in January 1943. It moved to East Prussia in May 1943 and stayed for exactly a year in training. It moved to Dijon, France and then Czechoslovakia on 26 July 1944. Pilots and radio operators were retrained and the group was dissolved on 23 November 1944.

14.(Eis)/KG 27 was an independent staffel and specialised in anti-locomotive operations. It was formed at Kiev in either December 1942, or January 1943. In March 1944, the unit was part of VIII ''Fliegerkorps'' but by 26 June was under the command of IV Fliegerkorps. It fought around Kiev, Voronezh and Zhitomir. It withdrew to Szolnok, Hungary, wit 11 aircraft on 23 September, under I Fliegerkorps. On 10 October it had 7 serviceable aircraft from 10 in western Hungary. It remained in Hungary, fighting in the Siege of Budapest and then disbanding in April 1945.

Commodores

* Oberst Hans Behrendt, 1 May 1939 – 21 June 1940
* Oberstleutnant Bernhard Georgi, 22 June 1940 – 17 July 1940 ( KIA)
* Oberst Gerhard Conrad, 26 July 1940 – 6 October 1940
* Major Gerhard Ulbricht, November 1940 – December 1941
* Oberst Hans-Henning Freiherr von Beust, January 1942 – 25 November 1943
* Major Karl-August Petersen 29 September 1943 – 4 November 1943
* Oberstleutnant Rudi Kiel, 5 November 1943 – 10 April 1945

Notes and references

Citations

Bibliography

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Further reading

* Bergström, Christer; Mikhailov, Andrey (2001). ''Black Cross / Red Star Air War Over the Eastern Front, Volume II, Resurgence January–June 1942''. Pacifica, California: Pacifica Military History. .
* Brooks, Andrew. ''Air War Over Russia''. Ian Allan Publishing. 2003.
* Dierich, Wolfgang. ''Kampfgeschwader "Edelweiss" : The history of a German bomber unit, 1935–45''. Allan; London. 1975.
* Echternkamp, Jörg (2014). ''Germany and the Second World War Volume IX/II: German Wartime Society 1939–1945: Exploitation, Interpretations, Exclusion''. Oxford OUP.
* Goss, Chris. (2000a). ''Luftwaffe Fighters and Bombers: The Battle of Britain''. Stackpole, London.
* Goss, Chris. (2000b). ''The Luftwaffe Bombers' Battle of Britain''. Crecy, Manchester.
* Hooton, E.R. (1997). ''Eagle in Flames: The Fall of the Luftwaffe''. Arms & Armour Press.
* Hooton, E.R. (2016). ''War over the Steppes: The air campaigns on the Eastern Front 1941–45''. Osprey Publishing.
* Jackson, Robert. ''Air War Over France, 1939–1940''. Ian Allan, London. 1974.
* James, T.C.G and Cox, Sebastian. ''The Battle of Britain''. Frank Cass, London. 2000.
*
* Parker, Nigel (2013). ''Luftwaffe Crash Archive: Volume 1: A Documentary History of Every Enemy Aircraft Brought Down Over the United Kingdom, September 1939 – 14 August 1940''. Red Kite, London.

{{Subject bar
, portal1=Aviation

Kampfgeschwader 027
Military units and formations established in 1939
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945