Kommando Petersen flew approximately six sorties a night to the Suez and the Red Sea area for a very limited period of time, probably during 2 to 10th September, after which, the Fw.200s returned to France.
During that short period of time, the unit didn't see any success and even suffered a loss due to a landing accident.
The year 1942 saw successes for the Condors as they were responsible for calling a combined aerial and submarine attack on four convoys between March and April. Later, on 27th June, the convoy PQ-17 suffered greater losses when they were ordered to scatter. The Condors were direct responsible for the sinking of 23 out of 34 ships that composed PQ-17. Given that the Condor could remain airborne for up to 14 hours, the Luftwaffe could shadow the individual ships for destruction. However, for the PQ-18 convoy, as it was better protected, they managed to sink only 13 out of 40 ships. During the last months of 1942 KG.40 was dispersed and expanded with one unit, 9. Staffel, being sent to Lecce, south-eastern Italy, to perform transport duties, while a new group, V. Gruppe, was formed for long-range fighter duties.
The Condor was, however, intended to be replaced by the Heinkel He.177. In fact, I.KG.40 was already testing the He.177 operationally, however, due to the increasing problems in the type, they soon reverted back to the Condor.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Fw_200_Condor
2. Osprey Publishing - Combat Aircraft 115 - Fw 200 Condor Units of World War II
3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 13 - Focke-Wulf Fw.200 Condor
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