Luftwaffen Legion - Lettland
Liepāja

Liepaja

Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...

-Grobiņa

Grobina

Grobiņa is a town in western Latvia, eleven kilometers east of Liepāja. It was founded by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century. Some ruins of their Grobina castle are still visible. The town was given its charter in 1695....

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

Under an OKL order of August 11, 1944 the Latvian Flying Units were combined into the Luftwaffen-Legion Lettland. The training centre at Liepāja-Grobiņa became Erg. Flg.Gr. Lettland (Latvian Replacement Training Group)
Obstl. Jānis Rucels (a Latvian) was appointed commander of the Luftwaffen-Legion Lettland. 80% of the Latvian flying personnel had been decorated with the Iron Cross

Iron Cross

The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

. Lt. Teodors Abrams was the most combat-experienced Latvian Airman. He was recommended for the German Cross in Gold (DKG).
An order was made for disbandment of this group as there were (unfounded) fears the Latvian Airmen could abscond to Sweden.

Fw Zanis Tamsons of 1./NSGr.12(lett)the most decorated
Latvian night harassment (Bomber Group) October 8, 1944 made his
way to Gotland with an Henschel Hs 126

Henschel Hs 126

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6....

 (6A+NL) taking his Mechanic with him.

A new Fighter Group was organized of two groups of 5 Latvian Airmen. These were:

JUNE 1944	JULY 1944
Oblt. Eduards Millers	Uffz. Vītolds Berķis
Lt. Arnolds Mencis	Uffz. Valdemārs Līvmanis
Lt. Jānis Lecis	Uffz. Jūlijs Stars
Uffz. Haralds Makars	Flg. Roberts Dumpis
Uffz. Harijs Klints	Flg. Edgars Lazdiņš

The first group were sent to the Jagdfliegervorschule in Parow (near Stralsund

Stralsund

- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...

) afterwards the five Airmen were posted to Plathe, Lignitz and Sagan (now Żagań

Zagan

Zagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

) for training on the Focke-Wulf Fw 190

Focke-Wulf Fw 190

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...

As. The second group were mainly assigned to low level ground support tasks.

(Source: Alex Vanags-Baginskis, who was there)