𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗱𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗸 𝗞𝘂𝗻𝗼 𝗜

The field of German late war production is a fascinating aspect of Luftwaffe history – from underground facilities such as mines or tunnels to so-called “Waldwerke” – literally “forest factories“. Examples of these were the Kuno I Waldwerk set up to turn out Me 262 jet fighters. Allied bombing raids starting early in 1944 with “Big Week“ set about dislocating aircraft and aero engine production. At their Augsburg and Regensburg plants Messerschmitt quickly organised the ‘relocation’ and ‘dispersal’ of some of their manufacturing capacity.

Kuno I was one such ‘plant’ established in pine forests in the vicinity of Leipheim. Issue 16 of “Luftwaffe in Focus“ gives a description of the production ‘facilities’ in the KUNO I Waldwerk set up to turn out the Me 262. So-called Waldwerke usually comprised a production line set up on a long forest road, so-called “Holzrückewege”. Concentration camp internees – production line workers – would be housed in wooden barracks alongside the “production line“. Paint shops and compass platforms were all built under cover with various airframe components arriving at different points along the ‘road’ for final assembly. On completion airframes were towed out of the forests onto a stretch of the nearby A8 Stuttgart – München Autobahn comprising a two kilometre long straight which was also camouflaged with green paint from where the freshly turned out Me 262s were flown off to Memmingen or Leipheim to be handed over to the Luftwaffe.

With dispersed facilities under heavy cover, the Kuno I forest complex was turning out five completed Me 262s per day from late April 1944 in complete impunity from prowling American Jabos almost right up until the complex was captured by American troops on 21 April 1945.
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Text-Source: protothema.gr