Interrogation of Oberstleutenant Bär
At Kaufbeuren, Germany, 21 September 1945
The briefing always took place in the unit’s briefing room with the Gruppe Kommandeur presiding. Present were the pilots, Staffel COs, the Technical Officer, the Weather Man and the operations officer. An example of a typical briefing follows:
Around 6:45 AM the assembly of pilots and the reporting of strength to the Gruppe CO takes place. At 7:10 physical training is given with torso bare, including body bends, twisting exercises, arm exercises, knee bends and a short run. At 7:15 the briefing begins.
1.The meteorologist draws a large weather map with bright crayons. Using this he predicts the possibilities of attack from the West and South. Further he describes the direction and condition of fronts, lifting of fog, dangerous areas (low clouds, heavy rain, and fog), areas where bad weather can be detoured, the prediction for the next day, winds at altitude, and icing altitudes. The CO gets various pilots to repeat the general weather situation.
2.The technical officer gives the CO a chart of serviceable aircraft by Staffeln and announces any special technical points to be watched for.
3.The signals officer turns over charts of the Y-Aircraft which are serviceable and mentions any special points to watch about signals traffic.
4. The actual briefing by the Gruppe CO now begins. In general he has already had a briefing from the Division. In it the Division explained to him the possibilities of missions from the west and south on the basis of weather and Listening Service reports.
‘Assuming that a mission is expected from the north, the Gruppe will lead the Gefechtsverband in case the north mission materializes. Sequence: Staff leading, 7th Staffel on the left, 8th on the right, and 9th behind. The Staffeln will be slightly below the one ahead. Attacks from head on are to be flown. Remember, approach from same altitude as the bombers, aim well, don’t shoot from long range and remember to pull up and slip away after the attack. Assembly after the attack will take place according to the situation as to sun and enemy fighters. The second Gruppe will follow us and third Gruppe will provide cover, with its light (no external armament) fighters. The Geschwader will assemble at 3000 feet. The second assembly with two light Gruppen of J.G. 4 will take place over Dummer See, at 25,000 feet. I will lead the Gefechtsverband and my deputy will be the CO of 7th Staffel. The following airfields are to be used for intermediate landings after the mission, all well supplied with mechanics and facilities: Oldenburg, Delmehorst, and Rothenburg. The senior pilots on these fields are responsible to me for immediate servicing of aircraft and reporting to Division of the aircraft on the field for a second possible mission. Further, make sure all the aircraft are rendered serviceable as soon as possible so they can return to our base here. Take care on landing on these intermediate fields, watching for enemy fighters and bomb craters. Disperse your aircraft immediately after landing and camouflage them. All pilots but the senior ones will remain with their aircraft and the senior pilots will go to field operations to report to Division how many aircraft and who have landed, their successes, and how many are ready to start again.’
Then comes the check of the papers of the pilots, their emergency packets, with burn bandages and salve, and rubber tourniquets for arterial bleeding. Pilots who make emergency landings are to return at once by train, bringing their radio with them. The safety and guarding of the aircraft is to be taken into account. In case of hospitilization, notify the unit, if possible, through the doctor.
The special subjects – especially assembly places and airfields, intermediate landing fields, and emergency landing regulations – the formation leader has repeated by one of the pilots. It is also recommended that from time to time the Staffel COs hold these briefings under the supervision of the Gruppe CO, since the Staffel CO may some day have to replace the Gruppe CO.
At the conclusion of the briefing the pilots go to the unit dispersal areas, where their aircraft are standing ready for take-off. There, the Staffel COs assign the aircraft and appoint the Schwarm and Rotte leaders. Workshop flights are also carried on. By good weather, the Gruppe is usually in 30 minute readiness and cannot leave the field, as ordered by the Division. For this reason the Staffel usually fitted out their dispersal or parking areas very liveably, often with a small kitchen, sport facilities, and washing facilities improvised out of drop tanks. Until the take-off, everyone stays in the dispersal areas.