Kampfgeschwader 200 - Organization

Organization

KG 200, unusual for a Geschwader-designated Luftwaffe unit, only consisted of two operational Gruppen; several others were planned but did not become operational before the end of the war.

I./KG 200 operated a total of three of four Heinkel He 115s and were responsible for dropping Abwehr agents behind enemy lines. The largest number of agents dropped was in July 1944, when a total of 260 men and women were dropped, mainly using automatic parachutes. It operated under direct command of the Sicherheitsdienst. I./KG 200 was divided into three squadrons ("Staffeln"): 1st Staffel operated in long-range missions ("Ferneinsätze") while 2nd Staffel flew missions in nearer short-range areas ("Naheinsätze").The 3rd Staffel consisted of Navy pilots ("Seeflieger") with one He 115, located in Rissala, Finland.

II./KG 200 was in charge of all other missions, including electronic warfare, long-range reconnaissance, delivery flights and special cargo missions to Japanese-held Northern China. II./KG 200 had one Staffel for commando raids, the 3rd Staffel. They were located and trained in Dedelstorf, Germany.

• Luftwaffe special forces parachute trained commandos of II./KG 200 were an arm of the Fallschirmjäger parachute forces and were listed on II./KG 200's ORBAT as the 3rd Staffel. In September 1944, this Staffel was no longer under the command of KG 200, but under the Army Paratrooper's command as Bataillon Schäfer.

III./KG 200 was to have fitted Focke-Wulf Fw-190 fighters with torpedoes but was never inaugurated.

IV./KG 200 was used for pilot training and for flights of long-range units using operational Junkers Ju 90 and Ju 290 and planned Ju 390 and Me 264 planes. Had it become operational, this squadron would have been responsible for reconnaissance flights and delivery of agents and bombs to the United States.

V./KG 200 aka 5th Gruppe (also known as Leonidas Squadron) was recruited for planned test flights and suicide and near-suicide manned missions using the piloted V-1 flying bomb and various partly expendable rocket interceptor designs.