Die Knullenkopfstaffel

This is the story of the first staffel of reconnaissance group 123, beginning with the deployment of the unit in 1935 until the end of the war in May 1945. The reader accompanies the soldiers of the 1st (F) / 123 in the peacetime, during their first missions over France and during the Battle of Britain. At first hand he experiences the tension of the crews in a dogfight, in the heavy flak fire over Liverpool or the dramatic moments of a picture flight over London in autumn 1940.

Numerous special operations of this Fernaufklärerstaffel have been preserved in original reports and describe in an impressive form the image formation at night, guiding the speedboats in the convoy combat, combat reconnaissance over the British landing zone at Dieppe, deployments with Bf109 Jagdaufklärern over southern English ports or the discontinuation of a parachute agent over England.

Based on German and British documents, the author has managed to reconcile the entries in the War Diary of 1. (F) / 123 with personal records of crew members and thus the increasingly hopeless situation of the long-range reconnaissance on the canal front also from the perspective of the individual soldier to present impressively.

With the transfer to Italy, the losses of the squadron rise dramatically in the missions over North Africa, Malta and during the invasion of Sicily, so that the squadron in the course of the fighting in Italy is finally dissolved. At the beginning of 1945 the reorganization of the 1st (F) / 123 takes place and the squadron flies until the end of the war long-distance reconnaissance with the legendary jet aircraft Ar 234.

This extensively researched work is based on previously unpublished recordings, archive material, interviews and operational reports. 380 b/w shots, 12 maps, 10 color profiles of the flown aircraft types and the complete loss list of the squadron complete this unique story of the “Knöpfekopfstaffel” 1. (F) / 123.

Title: Die Knullenkopfstaffel
Sub title: Fernaufklärung mit der 1. Staffel/Aufklärungsgruppe 123 über Frankreich, Großbritannien, dem Mittelmeer und über dem Reich
Author: Harald Rabeder
Format 28 x 23,5 cm, gebunden mit farbigem Schutzumschlag, 336 Seiten, 402 historische Abbildungen, Deutsch
ISBN: 978-3-8035-0079-3
Typ: Buch
Web: http://www.fernaufklaerer.com

Special thanks to author for free sample of this publication.

Srecko Bradic