Kampfgeschwader 200
| Kampfgeschwader 200 | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1934–45 |
| Country |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Branch |
 Luftwaffe
|
| Type | Special operations |
| Role | Reconnaissance, test flights, special missions |
| Size | Air Force Wing |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Werner Baumbach |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |
Geschwaderkennung of A3 |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Bomber |
Dornier Do 335, Arado Ar 232, Heinkel He 111, Heinkel He 177, Junkers Ju 290, Junkers Ju 390, Junkers Ju 188, Heinkel He 115, Dornier Do 24, Dornier Do 18, Arado Ar 196, Siebel Si 204, Arado Ar 240 captured aircraft: B-17, B-24, SM.75, LeO H-246, Short Stirling, de Havilland Mosquito, Bristol Beaufighter |
| Fighter | captured: Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Polikarpov I-16, Supermarine Spitfire |
| Transport | Arado Ar 232, Blohm & Voss BV 222, Messerschmitt Me 323, Junkers Ju 252, Junkers Ju 352 Herkules, Gotha Go 244 |
Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) (in English Fight Squadron 200) was a German Luftwaffe special operations unit during World War II. The unit carried out especially difficult bombing and transport operations, long-distance reconnaissance flights, tested new aircraft designs and operated captured aircraft.
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 the Führer'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.
The unit carried out a wide variety of missions:
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 Soviet lines), or transporting important personnel.
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. The feasibility of the Scapa Flow attack remained, 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.
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