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30 May

The 5.(F)/123 put up one machine from 0340–0502 to photograph the East Kent coast, covering Margate – Ramsgate – Manston – Deal – Dover. Poor film quality meant that complete details of shipping in Dover Harbour and aircraft at Manston were not obtained, although 20 LCT were seen at the former which had not been there on the 24th.

During the evening, three NAG 13 planes from Dinard saw two freighters SW of Portland Bill. Toward midnight, a lone aircraft was plotted south of Scilly before returning to Brittany

Bf 109 G-6, W.Nr. 161317, white 13 was again taken over by 1./NAG 13 (see 3 May above); it had MW 50 boost, 2 x MG 131 and 1 x MG 151/20, FuG 17 and an Rb 12.5/7 x 9 camera.

The 3./NAG 13 lost another Bf 109 G-8/MW 50, W.Nr. 710124, yellow 4, in which Oberleutnant Arnold Grosser was killed after hitting an obstruction during a practice flight at Laval, at 0531 GMT.

Reporting on captured bomber crews’ morale, RAF Intelligence noted:

“… discouragement among reconnaissance units, which have been able to bring back photographs only rarely [and] the failure to carry out sufficient anti-invasion reconnaissance.”

An unnamed prisoner was quoted as saying:

“You don’t seem to understand why we do so little reconnaissance. It is because we are simply hounded out of the air”.

31 May

Nothing was heard beyond radio traffic suggesting an operation over the Central Channel around midday.

1–5 June

Five aircraft of NAG 13 flew security reconnaissance over the western part of the Channel on the 1st but there seems to have been no activity on the 2nd. R/T from a single aircraft, thought to belong to 5.(F)/123, was heard at 1919 on the 3rd, while NAG 13 put up a total of five Bf 109s during the day.

The 4.(F)/123 took over Bf 109 G-6, W.Nr. 15733 on the 1st, after repairs to crash damage. A drive was announced in Luftflotte 3 to return Bf 109 G-6 and G-8 wings needing repair to the factories since without them the supply of repaired aircraft during the month was in doubt.

On the 3rd at 1300 GMT, Maj. Hans-Friedrich Schulze-Moderow took off for 2./NAG 13 in the South of France. His place was taken by Hptm. Troebs (see above). The 1.(F)/121 took over Me 410 A-3, W.Nr. 170317 but next day passed A-1, W.Nr. 148 (VC+SL) and A-3, W.Nr. 170033 (DG+XY) to 1.(F)/33 in Saint-Martin-de-Craux.

Bad weather on 4 June led FAG 123 to cancel all operations and just one machine was heard, apparently working with Orly. From 1426 it was given warnings of the presence of hostile aircraft, and apparently diverted to Coulommiers for a landing at around 1950 GMT.

The 5th brought no more than “Slight indications from R/T of activity in the Central Channel 1548–1552 [GMT].” On an afternoon flight from St. Nazaire, Ltn. Eduard Minner of 3./NAG 13 lost orientation at Flers (when landing?) and caused 35% damage to the wings and tail of his Bf 109 G-8, W.Nr. 710073, yellow 2. The Gruppe’s 1. Staffel took over Bf 109 G-6, W.Nr. 161162 from Guyancourt.

For want of better Luftwaffe coverage of English ports, the Seekriegsleitung diary for 5 June based its deductions on Allied aerial activity instead:

The moment of the Invasion has indeed drawn nearer, however from the tempo of the air attacks it is still not imminent … Gruppe West describes landings on the Dutch and Channel coasts during the night of 5/6 June as possible.

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