22. Luftlande-Division

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Questions on 22. Luftlande division. This was, according to wikipedia, a division trained for rapid deployment over recently captured airfields, and it performed in that role during the battle of the Netherlands

my questions are:
what was its OoB? did it carry 75mm guns (as it is implied in game?)

was it fully deployed via transport planes? or did only a part of it landed? were there enough Ju-52 to carry it in a few days?

thanks in advance

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury

Questions on 22. Luftlande division. This was, according to wikipedia, a division trained for rapid deployment over recently captured airfields, and it performed in that role during the battle of the Netherlands

my questions are:
what was its OoB? did it carry 75mm guns (as it is implied in game?)

was it fully deployed via transport planes? or did only a part of it landed? were there enough Ju-52 to carry it in a few days?

thanks in advance

warspite1

This site may help

http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php? ... troduction

I lifted this:

The entire German plan was most ambitious. It involved a little less than 15,000 men, of which almost 4,000 were airbornes of the 7th Flieger Division, 9,500 men airlanding troops of the 22nd Luftlande Division and about 1,000 men airlanding troops of the attached 72th Infanterie Regiment. The latter had not been trained for airlanding operations and were an operational reserve unit that would be flown in during the later stages of the battle.

and:

The total fleet that was available for the Dutch theatre was not larger than about 450 transporters, all of the Ju-52/3 type, with only a modest reserve of a few dozen planes. These Ju-52 planes could carry 12-14 fully equipped airbornes or 14-16 equipped air-landing troops, but flights with equipment would demand much capacity too. It meant that - taken some losses into account and bearing in mind that plenty of heavier equipment, weapons and ammo had to flown in continously - at least three full waves had to be executed to bring in the bulk of the men with their equipment.

There is mention of the 75mm - but I don't know whether that was used in conjunction with the Fallschirmjager or luftlanding troops. My guess would be that these heavier weapons were flown in - the Ju-52 fleet took a battering in Holland but its difficult to find precise info.

May be worth asking in the GD forum as I know some of the forumites have said they have books on German OOB and individual units.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Thanks I will

I was just surprised to see a fully equipped division parachuted into Holland, probably more an oversight of the game than reality


I mean 3 of these battalions is a bit too rich

[DeriKuk]

I just happened to be reading about 'Unternehmen F' last night. The operation had two main parts:

1) Den Haag (the capital)

2) Rotterdam and the bridges to its south - Dordrecht, Moerdijk, etc.

Part One can simply be described as a complete failure. The parachutists landed, but were lightly armed. They [mostly] captured their three target airfields but were too lightly armed to hold them against Dutch counterattacks. While the parachutists were in control of the airfields, 22.Luftlande units were to follow up by landing at the fields. The initial plane landings appeared to be going well but almost all of the Ju52s on the ground were soon sinking into the soft sod ... up to their bellies. There were several Ju52s that were shot down on their landing approach as well, adding to the carnage of planes on the airfields. A few scattered planes landed on roads and beaches, but nowhere could the numbers of invaders be concentrated enough to be effective. Most were captured, but some -including general Sponeck - consolidated into a besieged group in Ockenburg Wood and awaited relief. Allied air and (Dutch) artillery counterattacks wrecked a large number of the stranded transports on the runways ... so the airfields became unusable, and all subsequent landings had to be diverted to ....

Part Two, (Waalhaven Airfield) which was generally very successful. They held their captured objectives - reinforced by the assets diverted from Den Haag - and waited for overland relief over the following few days. The end came on May 14, in a tragic chain of errors that resulted in the deaths of 814 Rotterdam civilians ... and changed the face of war through twisted propaganda.

The Luftwaffe lost almost half of its available transports in the debacle in Holland on the first day (220/412). They later recovered only 53 planes from the Dutch airfields for repair and use. With demands for transports from other fronts, and with so many lost, huge parts of 22.Luftlande division never got into battle - most notably its 22.Artillery regiment.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Would it be safe to assume that only the "mobile" elements of the division were supposed to be air transported?
I just don't see a big 75mm cannon being transported in a Ju52, not to mention the trucks or horses required to move it


Also surprised they didn't replace the Ju-52s with something a bit more modern, I mean by 1940s the Allies were fielding DC-3s which were a generation above

Then my best guess is that they kept the Ju-52 because it used the old BMW engine, while any replacement would likely need a DB601s, a Jumo or a BMW801 and we know these were all in high demand and tight supply.

[Rusty1961]

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury

Would it be safe to assume that only the "mobile" elements of the division were supposed to be air transported?
I just don't see a big 75mm cannon being transported in a Ju52, not to mention the trucks or horses required to move it


Also surprised they didn't replace the Ju-52s with something a bit more modern, I mean by 1940s the Allies were fielding DC-3s which were a generation above

Then my best guess is that they kept the Ju-52 because it used the old BMW engine, while any replacement would likely need a DB601s, a Jumo or a BMW801 and we know these were all in high demand and tight supply.

Funny you say that about the Ju-52s. The French used them well into their Vietnam days in the 50s.

[Rusty1961]

Then you have the Swiss AF use:
"The Swiss Air Force also operated the Ju 52 from 1939 to 1982, when three aircraft remained in operation, probably the last and longest service in any air force.[38] Museums hoped to obtain the aircraft, but they were not for sale.[39] They are still in flying condition and together with a CASA 352 can be booked for sightseeing tours with Ju-Air.[40] During the 1950s, the Ju 52 was also used by the French Air Force during the First Indochina War as a bomber. The use of these Junkers was quite limited.[41]"