Kampfgeschwader 200: The Luftwaffe’s A-Team
KG-200 was a Luftwaffe unit specialized in dangerous missions, as well as transports and reconnaissance.
The squadron operated a wide variety of planes, including captured allied machines!
Operations and Missions
Prior to the war and during the early months of the conflicts, KG-200 pilots flew civilian Lufthansa planes modified to embark cameras.
Captured American and British bombers were used for long-range reconnaissance missions over the Atlantic. Captured Soviet bombers were used for resupply drops to Wehrmacht units on the Eastern Front.
On a couple of occasions, KG-200 operated allied bombers infiltrated American bomber formations.
The Mistel Flights
KG-200 also operated most of the Mistel flights (bombers packed with explosives converted into a giant bomb “flown” toward their targets by a fighter plane) during the war.
The squadron was picked for suicide and near-suicide missions toward the end of the war, although those were not conducted in the end as they were deemed a waste of good pilots.
End of War Missions
In the dying weeks of the war, KG-200 was also involved in missions including the use of air-to-ground glide bombs against bridges within Germany.
-RBM
