Leonidas Squadron

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The Leonidas Squadron was formaly know as 5th Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 200 and had originally been formed to fly the Fieseler Fi 103 Re Reichenberg (Selbstopfer), a manned version of the V-1 flying bomb that never got beyond the experimetnal stage.^[1]

During the Battle for Berlin the Luftwaffe flew "Self-sacrifice missions" (Selbstopfereinsatz) against Soviet held bridges over the Oder River. These 'total missions' were flown by pilots of the Leonidas Squadron under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Heiner Lange. From 17 April until 20 April 1945, using any aircraft that were available, the Luftwaffe claimed that the squadron destroyed 17 bridges, however the military historian Antony Beevor when writing about the incident thinks that this was exaggerated and that only the railway bridge at Küstrin was definitely destroyed. He comments that "thirty-five pilots and aircraft was a high price to pay for such a limited and temporary success". The missions were called off when the Soviet ground forces reached the vicinity of the squadron's airbase at Jüterbog and were in a position to overrun it.^[2]

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Muller, Richard R.; Losing air superiority: a case study from the Second World War orignially published in Air & Space Power Journal, Winter, 2003. Generaloberst Günther Korten "ordered the formation of the Leonidas Squadron, which would operate aging bombers, attack gliders, and manned flying bombs in this manner. The unit ultimately disbanded after extensive training and political indoctrination (source: Gellermann, Gunther W.; Moskau ruft Heeresgruppe Mitte (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe, 1988), 42--60.)."
Noy, Uri; Luftwaffe Bomber Wing KG 200 (a blog site) "The new unit, nicknamed the Leonidas Squadron, also became part of KG 200."