1 January 1945

The night reconnaissance unit 3.(F)/Nacht was renamed 1.(F)/123 with immediate effect.

2 January 1945

On this date the Luftwaffe decided that 1. (F)/100 and 1.(F)/123 should be deployed in the West in support of Army Groups B and G and that their moves to Biblis and Rheine respectively could take place as of the 15th.

These regular Staffeln were to replace the two small Ar 234 Kommandos drawn from the Versuchsverband OKL which had been operating on the Western Front since the previous Autumn. The 1.(F)/123 would take over from Hptm. Horst Götz’s Kdo. Sperling [Sparrow] and 1.(F)/100 from Kdo. Hecht [Pike] led by Oblt. Erich Sommer. The second of these detachments had been in Biblis since November 1944 and by 8 January it had only a single aircraft serviceable.

12 January 1945

The war diary of the General der Aufklärungsflieger, Generalmajor Karl-Henning von Barsewisch, records that all Ar 234 Staffeln in the West are to grouped under FAG 123. Major Traubert, Kommodore of FAG 1 is to take over FAG 123 and will therefore to convert on to the Ar 234 at Burg near Magdeburg. (Plans had changed by 28 January with Traubert moved to II.(F)/Erg.Aufkl.Geschw. 1, although his familiarisation with the Ar 234 was still to go ahead).

13 January 1945

An exchange of signals in late afternoon revealed that two of four Ar 234s bound for Bilblis had landed at an intermediate airfield and were expected to finish their journey next day.

14 January 1945

On the morning of 14 January, two Kommando Sperling pilots who would later figure in the efforts to provide Ar 234 reconnaissance in Italy flew successive missions over the Western Front, Obltn. Werner Muffey (T9+KH) and Ltn. Günther Gniesmer (T9+CH).

15 January 1945

By evening the two Arados mentioned earlier had arrived in Biblis, bringing the strength there to three: T9+EH (Sommer’s machine, WNr. 140344), T5+EH and T5+HH. While Sommer’s machine carried the codes of the Versuchsverband OKL, the other two bore those of the incoming 1.(F)/100.

16 January 1945

From 13.31 hrs. Erich Sommer in T9+EH flew a photographic mission in cloudless skies, covering Luxembourg, Thionville and Metz. He encountered hostile fighters shortly before landing but came through unscathed.

20 January 1945

Three of Götz’s Arados flew missions on the 20th, including Götz himself in T9+GH. Although up for almost 100 minutes his task was not accomplished owing to bad weather.

29 January 1945

Günther Gniesmer took off in T9+CH at 07.57 hrs. only for a search to be instituted three hours later when he had not returned from his sortie. As we shall see, this was not the end of his flying career.

Another mishap followed when an Oberleutnant (almost certainly Sommer) took off at 08.55 hrs in T9+EH. According to the partially intercepted signal, the machine crashed on take-off albeit with no casualties. Clearly this “crash” was not serious for a later message reported that Sommer took off in the same aircraft at 15.04 hrs.

30 January 1945

The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe gave out orders that Erich Sommer and all of Kdo. Hecht’s ground personnel were to transfer to Italy.

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