From the very moment the Estonian state appeared on the map of Europe, it was obvious to the local government that without the early formation of national armed forces, the young republic would disappear in the shortest possible time. True, hardly anyone could foresee the thorny path along which they had to go.
Independent Air Force
The backbone of the future People's Army of Estonia was largely formed under the tsar - during the World War, about two thousand Estonian officers served in the Russian army, not counting the lower ranks. So it was not difficult to start forming Estonian units in the spring of 1917. Among the military equipment, which ended up in the hands of the fighters, there were also several airplanes, inherited from the Imperial Air Force. These were rather worn out, mostly incomplete vehicles, some of the pre-war model (for example, Avro 504). However, their presence made it possible to form the first "half-company flight" on October 21, 1918, and soon - a flight school. Four and a half hundred of its graduates joined the ranks of the Estonian Air Force by 1940. In addition, this country was gradually trying to establish its own aircraft industry. Of coursethere was no talk of creating high-tech record machines. More and more light auxiliary and training airplanes were built. Some of them (for example, training PON-1) were assembled under license even abroad, in neighboring Latvia.
But, as you know, the Air Force is not alive by "training". The British and, to a lesser extent, the Germans and the Finns took an active part in recruiting the Estonian aviation. A contract was even awarded for the supply of sixteen Supermarine Spitfires, the newest fighters in the early forties. True, the British, anxious about the rapid slide of Europe into a new war, requisitioned vehicles already prepared for dispatch. And soon the Estonian state ceased to exist altogether, and with it the corresponding air force.
On June 17, 1940, gallant Red Army soldiers marched through the streets of Tallinn. All Estonian aircraft, including civilian ones, were requisitioned. Several of them, together with pilots, letnabs, gunsmiths and mechanics, became part of the 22nd corps air squadron of the Red Army Air Force, formed on the territory of the newly formed Soviet Socialist Republic. The shoulder straps were spattered from the uniform and the insignia of the red military flights were sewn. In the fall, exercises began in accordance with Soviet military instructions, and on the Day of the Red Army (February 23, 1941), the entire 22nd Rifle Corps, along with the pilots, took the Soviet Oath.
From the Red Army to the Luftwaffe
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I must say, the Estonians swore the oath without much enthusiasm. The pilots were not too happy with the Soviet regime. It just so happened that the issuance of salaries (now called salaries) in Soviet rubles instead of the kroon hit their financial well-being, somehow sharply eliminating the feeling of "elitism."
In addition, thousands of people in Estonia were arrested and deported within a few months. This mainly concerned, of course, "class enemies" - property owners, former civil servants and landowners. Tellingly, every third exile died suspiciously quickly. And that's not counting those executed. Well, their property, of course, was confiscated in favor of the new government.
At the same time, very many of the Estonian pilots, who were now considered beautiful, had relatives and friends precisely from wealthy farmers, small (and not so) shopkeepers, police officers and civilian officials of the Republic of Estonia, in general, from those whom the Soviet government considered unreliable.
And yet, the actual composition of the 22nd Corps and, accordingly, its squadron was not particularly affected by repression. Even the commander was originally appointed an Estonian - General Gustav Ionson. However, in the summer he was summoned to Moscow, removed and arrested. Not that he was some kind of ardent anti-Soviet, but after all, the People's Commissar Tymoshenko ordered to "cleanse the unreliable elements" of the formed national divisions.
Nevertheless, the NKVD did not have time to deploy large-scale "cleansing" among the troops on the territory of the Baltic Special Military District …
Already on the fifth day of the German offensive, the pilots of the 22nd squadron (this was how the squadron was called by that time) had to leave for the territory of the RSFSR. Civilian pilots received a similar order. It was announced that all of them should undergo some kind of "retraining". But the Estonians took this order in their own way.
According to various sources, either ten or twelve people arrived at the assembly points. The rest "disappeared", settling on distant manors, forests and swamps. Fortunately, the end of June, the weather was warm. The NKVD officers had no choice but to destroy the remaining aircraft and retreat as quickly as possible, losing their archives and composure. For a while they forgot about the Estonian pilots … In Moscow, of course. But in Berlin, they made certain plans for them. Gerhard Buschmann, an Eastsee German and local native, was sent to Tallinn. He, as an Abwehr officer, had special powers to work with the inhabitants of the "Reichskommissariat Ostland". Arriving, he found that not all planes in Estonia were destroyed. At least two training vehicles of local production remained in a completely "flyable" state,three more required minor repairs. Not that all of them were quite suitable for use in the Air Force, but they should have become the first in the Sonderstaffel Buschmann - "Buschmann Special Squadron."
However, it took a long time to coordinate the details with the command of the Kriegsmarine, the Luftwaffe and ultimately the SS. Nobody wanted to take full responsibility for the new formation. In the end we agreed. The aircraft of the squadron carried the onboard designations of the Luftwaffe, had to carry out the tasks of the naval command, but at the same time the flight crew and ground personnel were listed as a "police detachment" and received appropriate allowances.
The Estonian pilots also agreed to the "police" status. They perceived their service in the Sonderstaffel as a continuation of their service to their homeland. Even those of them who tolerated Estonia's joining the USSR quickly became disillusioned with the new government and enthusiastically joined the fight against the communists. All of them hoped for the restoration of Estonian statehood after the war.
Battles for the glory of the Reich
The technical staff of the staff turned out to be very motley - apart from the Estonian ones, it included all kinds of "aviation exotics" from all over Europe, from Great Britain to Latvia. And not every one of these machines was fully suitable for the patrol and liaison service. In addition, there was not enough ammunition, radio stations, and the Germans were somehow in no hurry to arm the new allies. In addition, a latent (and sometimes quite open) confrontation between the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine had long existed in the Reich. In many respects it concerned naval aviation. Goering was very jealous of the fact that the fleet could get at its disposal aviation that did not obey him, Goering. Learning that Buschmann had "knocked out" four He-60s for his squadron, which were to carry out the tasks of the naval leadership, the commander of the German Air Force flew into a rage. It doesn't matter that these machines were considered obsolete,were discontinued and gradually withdrawn from the Luftwaffe. Goering was not going to concede the sky to the sailors. He immediately about (ratified to his old friend Adolf Hitler.
Moreover, "Nazi number two" cheated. He decided to play on the Nazi pathos of the Fuhrer. "How is it that some Estonians receive aircraft from the Luftwaffe for national units, as if they are our allies ?!" - something like that was the question. The demoniac immediately liquidated the Sonderstaffel with his own rescript. The naval command only managed to "intercept" several Estonian pilots. They became part of the Kriegsmarine liaison air group in the Baltic.
Meanwhile, Buschmann did not give up the idea of forming an Estonian national aviation formation. The new unit received the name Aufkl. Gr in the Luftwaffe. 127 (See) - 127th sea group of seaplanes. The composition of the group changed several times. Its planes directed "hunters" to Soviet submarines in the Baltic Sea, carried out reconnaissance and night bombing missions near Leningrad … Discipline and fighting qualities of Estonian pilots were assessed by the command as "invariably high". "For the courage and tirelessness shown in the performance of missions, I express my gratitude and my personal gratitude to the flight and ground personnel," said the message of the Commander of the First Luftwaffe Air Fleet on January 6, 1944, on the occasion of the thousandth combat sortie of the 127th group … But, as you know,there is no limit to perfection. To improve flight skills during this period, a training and combat night aviation group "Ostland" was formed, the instructors of which were mainly Estonians and Latvians. Cadets honed their skills in instrument flying, attacking ground targets and confronting enemy fighters. The best were sent to Luftwaffe bases for retraining as fighter pilots. Tellingly, of the first ten such "legionnaires", three did not return. They crashed as a result of the accidents of their Messerschmitts.attacking ground targets and confronting enemy fighters. The best were sent to Luftwaffe bases for retraining as fighter pilots. Tellingly, of the first ten such "legionnaires", three did not return. They crashed as a result of the accidents of their Messerschmitts.attacking ground targets and confronting enemy fighters. The best were sent to Luftwaffe bases for retraining as fighter pilots. Tellingly, of the first ten such "legionnaires", three did not return. They crashed as a result of the accidents of their Messerschmitts.
NSGr was formed on the basis of two squadrons of the 127th air group. 11 (estnisch) - a purely Estonian group of night bombers. It was equipped mainly with light multipurpose Ag.66. These machines were in many ways similar to the Soviet U-2 VS and performed the same functions. Yes, the Germans quickly learned and "pulled up" their "allies". Moreover, those could be equipped with outdated equipment quite normally.
In the summer of 1944, on the basis of the Ostland group, two new ones were formed: Estonia and Latvia. In addition, by order of May 31, 1944, the Luftwaffe command ordered the formation of Estonian and Latvian fighter squadrons. There were no national air units for Lithuanians.
By mid-1944, the mood in the Estonian air units began to change. The flow of volunteers gradually began to dry up. The mobilization of men born in 1924 and older was announced. Not that they were very opposed to the call, because few people wanted the "second coming" of the communists. Nevertheless, their attitude was incomparable with the enthusiasm of the volunteers of the first years of the war.
End of the squadron
However, the "veterans" were no longer the same. That is, they continued to delight the command with "exemplary performance of the assigned tasks." But it became obvious to everyone long ago that Estonians could not hope for the restoration of Estonian statehood, or even for broad autonomy within the borders of the Reich.
In addition, supply interruptions began. Despite the fact that they had to fight in obsolete vehicles, the Estonian crews of night bombers were eager to fight. But by the end of the summer of 1944, fuel supplies began to decline rapidly, and salaries became irregular.
With the beginning of the Baltic operation of the Red Army, it became finally clear that the Sovietization of Estonia was a matter of time. At the end of September, all Estonian pilots left their homeland. Bombers from NSGr. 11 were stationed in Liepaja, and the 127th air group (by that time - the naval reconnaissance, SAGr. 127) was ordered to relocate to Pillau (today - Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region).
On September 22, when the order to relocate was received, three SAGr.127 crews decided that the war was over for them. Instead of Pillau, they flew to neutral Sweden. Eight days later, two more aircraft followed.
The Chief of Staff of the 1st Air Fleet of the German Air Force ordered the termination of all flights of German crews and radioed to Berlin: “I petition for the dissolution of all Estonian units. I propose to leave here some of the most reliable Estonian volunteers, and send the rest of the staff to the SS or use in auxiliary units."
Despite the ban on taking to the air, Estonians continued their flights to Sweden. At least one case is known when even an aircraft mechanic, not wanting to remain in the German forces, hijacked an aircraft (three-engined flying boat Do.24). So what to do? It was already obvious to everyone that there was neither the strength nor the means to drive the Soviet troops out of Estonia. The Estonians were not eager to die for the greatness of the “Aryans”. But not everyone was lucky to fly over the Baltic. Many pilots and mechanics were captured by the Soviet Union. The situation of the most unlucky of them was aggravated by the fact that at the final stage of the war they were transferred to SS units. And with the SS men "the most humane and fair court" did not stand on ceremony. Those who avoided a short acquaintance with the commissar's revolver usually received a "standard" sentence - 25 years of labor camp with confiscation of property and disqualification. Not every one of them made it to the 1955 amnesty … Well, a few words about Estonian fighter pilots. Despite the fact that the Quartermaster General of the Luftwaffe ordered the creation of a separate squadron specially for them, this was never done.
Most of them ended the war as anti-aircraft gunners. Some of them managed to sit down at the wheel of the Focke-Wulf. I must say that they did not achieve any particular success - some died in the last days of the fighting, others flew to the Swedes or Americans. Finally, there is information that some of the Estonian pilots returned to their homeland with forged documents and lived there happily ever after. But that's a completely different story …
Magazine: War and Fatherland # 1 (42). Author: Pavel Zaikin