Junkers Ju 52/3m της I./ KG z.b.V. 1

The interior of the transporterJu 52. Further ahaid, the bomb container mounts are discernible. The door leading to the cockpit remains closed, and the personnel seats are lowered.
The engine cowling is inverted, due to the wire from the trawl’s net.
One of the three engines remains untouched. Its propeller shows no curvature.
The MG 15 machine gun is still in its position. LocatedInside the gunner's position are the double-drum magazines type DT 15.
After clearing the nets, the cockpit of the Ju 52 became visible. Seats, instruments, as well as the closed door leading to the main body of the aircraft, are discernible. Also visible is the damage caused by time and the equipment of the fishing vessel.
The Ju 52 as seen from a northern direction.
The southern side of the Ju 52, where it bears several damages from the net and wires of the fishing vessel. In the background, the tail section is discernible, broken but not detached from the fuselage.
The tail section of the aircraft is severed from the rest of the fuselage, forming a 90-degree angle. The fishingnets' ropesarestillvisible.
A panoramic photograph where on the fuselage, the antenna for the aircraft's radio communications is visible.
The large Ju 52, the primary transport aircraft of the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War, which transported thousands of tons of supplies and personnel on hundreds of missions, sits at the bottom of the Argosaronic Gulf. None of its three engines' propellers show any curvature, indicating that it made a controlled ditching with its engines turned off.
Cross-section of the Ju 52. Damages can be seen on the wings, on the radial engine, and on the tail section from the attempts of the fishing boat to retrieve its equipment, which ultimately did not happen.
The tri-motor aircraft Junkers Ju 52 was the quintessential transport aircraft of the German Luftwaffe during World War II. In the Greek theater, it supported two significant operations, the Battle of Crete and the Battle of Leros.
Flight of German aircraft GU 52 over Athens and Piraeus. Source. Byron Tesapsides
1944. Flying Officer Wray Kirk and Flight Lieutenant W. K. Robertson view the remains of a German JU52 aircraft on Kalamaki airfield near Athens. Source. Dimis Parousis
Video from the Junkers Ju 52/3m της I./ KG z.b.V. 1

In September 2022, Antonis Grafas and his team dived on a target, the location of which had been graciously provided by Yiannis Mytilinaios. This action resulted in the identification of another German aircraft, a Junkers Ju-52/3m, in the south of Sounio. Immediately after this new discovery, systematic archival research and thorough field investigation began, aiming to document the specific aircraft and its history. With the assistance of Dimitris Galon and Nikos Vardakas, further information related to the history of losses of the German Luftwaffe in Greek territory during World War II was gathered in July 2023. Among these losses were Junkers Ju-52 aircrafts, which were lost in the Saronic area. Among these aircraft, we consider that the Ju 52 of I./KG z.b.V. 1 (I. Group of the Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen Verwendung 1), with the production number (Werknummer) 6376, which was lost on June 16, 1941, is likely the aircraft we investigated and which remains submerged to this day in the southern waters of Sounio at a depth of 63 meters.

Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen Verwendung 1

The Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen Verwendung 1 (1st Special Purpose Combat Wing), acronym “KG z.b.V. 1,” was established in August 1939 and consisted of four groups (Gruppe I.-IV.). Immediately after the start of World War II, it participated in the invasion of Poland (Polenfeldzug). In April 1940, it took part in the occupation of Norway (Norwegenfeldzug), while in April 1941, it participated in the Balkan Campaign (Balkanfeldzug). From May 20 to June 1, 1941, the KG z.b.V. 1 participated in the Battle of Crete (UnternehmenMerkur). From November 23, 1942, to February 2, 1943, it undertook the transportation of supplies to German units encircled by the Red Army at Stalingrad. In May 1943, it was renamed Transportgeschwader 1 (1st Transport Wing) and until the end of the year, it participated in providing assistance to German units in Crimea.

During the Battle of Crete, KG z.b.V. 1 had its base in Faliro and was commanded by Oberst Fritz Morzik. The commander of the 1st Group (I./KG z.b.V. 1) served from May 7 until December 1941, Major Otto-Lutz Förster.

The Junkers Ju 52/3m with production number 6376

According to an entry in the War Diary of the 7th Seenotstaffel (7th Rescue Squadron) of the Luftwaffe, “on June 16, 1941, the crew and passengers of a Ju 52 aircraft, with production number 6376, which was forced to ditch in the sea area of Attica, were rescued.” This aircraft, according to archival sources, ditched due to a mechanical problem and sank without any loss of life.

The list of losses of the German Luftwaffe (source: Quartiermeister 6.) mentions a total of eight losses of Ju 52 aircraft in the wider sea area of Attica:

17.05.1941 Ju 52 with production number 1305
16.06.1941 Ju 52 with production number 6376
24.11.1941 Ju 52 with production number 5983
18.12.1941 Ju 52 with production number 5611
18.12.1941 Ju 52 with production number 6877
28.07.1943 Ju 52 with production number 130512
28.11.1943 Ju 52 with production number 7098
18.02.1944 Ju 52 with production number 130866

The only loss that matches the specific characteristics of the finding by Antonis Grafas’s team is the loss of the Ju 52 on June 16, 1941, with production number 6376.

The Wreck

The wreckage of the Ju 52/3m aircraft, located south of Sounio, lies on a sandy seabed. The axis of the fuselage (engine cowlings – tail fin) has a northeast direction. The propellers of all engines show no deformation, indicating that they were not in operation during the ditching. The door on the left side is open and lies on the seabed next to the aircraft. This, combined with the absence of bones and remains of the life raft inside the aircraft, indicates that there were no casualties during the ditching, and that the occupants probably abandoned theJu 52’s using the life raft.
Penetration into the aircraft’s fuselage showed that it has two bomb container mounts (Ger. Bombenschächter) on its right side, just behind the cockpit. This directly links this specific Ju 52 to the Battle of Crete, as well as to the Battle of Leros (Unternehmen Leopard), where bomb container mounts were extensively used. The only aircraft with such mounts found in Greek territory to date are Ju 52/3m, with production number 640187, of the VI./Transportgeschwader 4. (6th Squadron of the 4th Transport Wing) of the Luftwaffe, which was lost on November 14, 1943, in the area of “PanoZymi” in Leros, and the Ju 52/3m of Sounio. Another Ju 52, with production number 7098, lost on November 28, 1943, cannot be the Sounio wreck as, according to German sources, this aircraft “crashed in Faliro immediately after takeoff.” The presence of bomb container mounts on the Ju 52 of Sounio automatically places it in the time periods “Spring of 1941” or “Autumn of 1943.” The fact that the only Ju 52 lost in the Saronic area, in the autumn of 1943, is the Ju 52 with production number 7098, which crashed in Faliro, automatically elevates the Ju 52 of Sounio as lost in the spring of 1941.

The Ju 52 of Sounio is in very good condition, although the engine cowling has suffered damage from the wire of a fishing net. Damage from the same wire has also occurred on the fuselage, in the area of the tail fins. The machine gun, type MG 15, is in its position, while inside the fuselage, double-drum magazines of type DT 15 are distributed in their place.
Usually, the absolute identification of an aircraft lost years ago, in wartime conditions, arises from finding the plate with its production number. Although due to the intense development of the seabed, the plate with the production number of this specific aircraft was not located, through archival findings and field research, it became possible to designate it as the main candidate among the Junkers Ju 52 aircraft lost in the wider area of Attica, the aircraft with production number 6376 of the 1st Squadron of the 1st Special Purpose Combat Wing of the German Luftwaffe. This aircraft, in our opinion, claims the identity of the Ju 52 of Sounio, and possibly in the future, new evidence may emerge that will further clarify its identity.
DG

Sources

Kriegstagebuch General der Luftwaffe beim Oberbefehlshaber der Marine, O.Q. 12.1943
General Quartiermeister 6., Abteilung Flugzeugunfälle und Verlustebei den fliegenden Verbänden 01.09.1939-31.12.1943
Piekalkiewicz, Janusz: Die Ju 52 im ZweitenWeltkrieg
Tesapsides, Byron: Die deutsche Luftwaffe in Griechenlandim II. Weltkrieg 1941-1945, Thessaloniki 2011
Thürling, Horst: Die 7. Seenotstaffel 1941 – 1944, Rudower Panorama Verlag & Medien GmbH 1997