''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27) "''Afrika''" was a fighter

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

of the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The wing was given the name "Africa" for serving in the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

predominantly alone in the period from April 1941 to September 1942. Elements of JG 27 fought in every major theatre of operations in which the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

operated. Stab JG 27 was created in October 1939 and assigned two ''gruppen'' (groups) in the

Phoney War The Phoney War (; ; ) was an eight-month period at the outset of World War II during which there were virtually no Allied military land operations on the Western Front from roughly September 1939 to May 1940. World War II began on 3 Septembe ...

. The wing's first campaign was Fall Gelb, the battles of the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

and France. In the second half of 1940 JG 27 received a third ''gruppe'' and fought in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. In 1941 it returned to Germany then fought in the

German invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Fü ...

and

Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasi ...

in April 1941. The wing was then separated with two ''gruppen'' sent to support

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the invasion of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in June 1941. I. ''Gruppe'' was sent to

Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...

beginning JG 27s

from mid-April 1941. It was joined by II. ''Gruppe'' which was withdrawn from the Eastern Front after less than two weeks and transferred to Africa. III. ''Gruppe'' joined the other ''gruppen'' in North Africa in late 1941. JG 27 fought as a complete wing in Africa and

Battle of the Mediterranean The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945. For the most part, the campaign was fought between the Kingdom of Italy, Italian Reg ...

, supporting the Siege of Malta, until December 1942. I. ''Gruppe'' returned to France and spent the rest of the war serving in the

Defence of the Reich The Defence of the Reich () is the name given to the military strategy, strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany over German-occupied Europe and Germany during World War II against the Allied Strategic bombing ...

, Channel Front, and Western Front theatres. III. and the newly created IV. ''Gruppe'' remained operating in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

until March 1944. In the final year of the war JG 27 fought the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

in June 1944 and supported the last major German offensive in the West in December. As the

Ardennes Offensive The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

failed, it took part in the disastrous

Operation Bodenplatte Operation Bodenplatte (; "Baseplate"), launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the German Luftwaffe to cripple Allies of World War II, Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the World War II, Second World War. The goal of ''Bodenpl ...

on 1 January 1945. For the remaining months of the war it separated again, with elements surrendering to the British in northern Germany while the bulk surrendered to the Americans in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, on 8 May 1945. Current supporter of Jagdgeschwader 27 is Czech politician Filip Turek showing it publicly. Journalists have uncovered photos of Turek, in which he was wearing a white racing helmet with a symbol used by the aerial-warfare branch of the Wehrmacht

and a fighter wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II Jagdgeschwader 27.

Organisation

A Luftwaffe ''Geschwader'' (wing formation) was the largest homogenous flying formation. It typically was made up of three groups (''gruppen''). Each group contained approximately 30 to 40 aircraft in three squadrons (''staffeln''). A ''Jagdgeschwader'' (hunting squadron) could field 90 to 120

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

. In some cases a wing could be given a fourth ''gruppe''. Each wing had a ''

Geschwaderkommodore ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (short also ''Kommodore'') is a ''Luftwaffe'' position or appointment (not rank), originating during World War II. A ''Geschwaderkommodore'' is usually an OF5-rank of ''Oberst'' (colonel) or Kapitän zur See (naval captain ...

'' (wing commander) supported by three '' Gruppenkommandeur'' (Group Commanders). Each squadron was commanded by a ''

Staffelkapitän ''Staffelkapitän'' is a command appointment, rather than a military rank, in the air force units of German-speaking countries. The rank normally held by a ''Staffelkapitän'' has changed over time. In the present-day German ''Luftwaffe'' – p ...

'' (squadron leader). The ''staffel'' contained approximately 12 to 15 aircraft. The identification in records were different depending on the type of formation. A ''gruppe'' was referred to in

roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ea ...

s, for example I./JG 27, while ''staffeln'' were described with their number (1./JG 27). The wing could be subordinated to a ''Fliegerkorps'', ''Fliegerdivision'' or ''Jagddivision'' (Flying Corps, Division and Fighter Division) all of which were subordinated to ''Luftflotten'' (Air Fleets). The use of ''Fliegerdivision'' became redundant and the description ''Fliegerkorps'' supplanted it until the use of ''Jagddivision'' later in the war.

Formation

The '' Geschwaderstab'' of JG 27 (command unit) was formed on 1 October 1939 by dividing the ''Geschwaderstab'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). ''

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

'' Max Ibel was appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore''. Initially, Ibel was supported by his adjutant ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' Joachim Schlichting until he was replaced by ''Hauptmann''

Adolf Galland Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland (19 March 1912 – 9 February 1996) was a German Luftwaffe general and flying ace who served throughout the Second World War in Europe. He flew 705 combat missions and fought on the Western Front and in the Defenc ...

on 15 February 1940. ''Hauptmann'' Helmut Riegel was appointed '' Gruppenkommandeur'' to command I. ''Gruppe'' at Münster-Handorf Airfield. The command ''staffel'' and I. ''Gruppe'' remained the only combat units in existence prior to World War II. JG 27s situation was typical of the Luftwaffe's unpreparedness for war in that few of the combat wings had three groups operating in September 1939. Other ''Jagdgeschwader'' had no command staffel at all, and were subordinated to those that did. JG 27 was an example, and was infused with other ''gruppen'' from differing fighter wings. I./JG 1 was merged with JG 27, and formally became III./JG 27 in 1940. II. ''Gruppe'' was formed on 3 January 1940 at

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

-Ost and commanded by Erich von Selle. I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) arrived at

Carquebut Carquebut () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Sainte-Mère-Église.Joachim Schlichting founded III. ''Gruppe'' at

Carquebut Carquebut () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Sainte-Mère-Église.Kalamaki, Attica from 25 May 1943, until September 1943. ''Hauptmann'' Rudolf Sinner was given command. 10. and 11. ''Staffel'' were new, but 12./JG 27 was formed from 8. ''Staffel''. Bernhard Woldenga designed the I. ''Gruppe'' badge. 15. ''Staffel'' was added to III./JG 27 and staffed by Spanish volunteers. Angel Salas Larrazábal led the unit and claimed 17 aerial victories.

World War II

JG 27 was located in western Germany during the

period. A single action with

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...

light bombers of the

RAF Advanced Air Striking Force The RAF Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) comprised the light bombers of 1 Group RAF Bomber Command, which took part in the Battle of France during the Second World War. Before hostilities began, it had been agreed between the United Kingdom ...

(AASF) on 30 September 1939 was their only success. I./JG 21, which was subordinated to Stab/JG 27, claimed four of the British bombers. Among the claimants was ''

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

'' Heinz Lange, future commanding officer of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). The Blenheims were brought down in the Quakenbück region and belonged to No. 18 Squadron RAF. During the "

", JG 27 and two attached ''gruppen'' from JG 21 and JG 1 were allocated to ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's VIII. ''Fliegerkorps''. Stab and I./JG 27 were based at

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Netherlands, Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, th ...

with I./JG 27. I./JG 1 was based at Gymnich; all were equipped with the

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

E. The air corps were under the command of

Albert Kesselring Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German military officer and convicted war crime, war criminal who served in the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. In a career which spanned both world wars, Kesselring reached the ra ...

's ''Luftflotte'' 2. The VIII was a specialist ground attack corps which was to support

Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...

, predominantly, and also

Army Group B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German Army Group, army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France ...

during the Fall Gelb phase of the

Battle of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands (), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands (), was a military campaign, part of Battle of France, Case Yellow (), the Nazi German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Neth ...

Battle of Belgium The invasion of Belgium or Belgian campaign (10–28 May 1940), often referred to within Belgium as the 18 Days' Campaign (; ), formed part of the larger Battle of France, an Military offensive, offensive campaign by Nazi Germany, Germany during ...

and

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

. Army Group B was ordered to invade the

drawing in the powerful

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

and supporting

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. Once the Allied armies were ensconced in the Low Countries, Army Group A planned to strike northwest, across

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and lower Belgium across north-eastern France and to the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

; or alternately strike towards

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The ''

Oberkommando der Wehrmacht The (; abbreviated OKW ː kaːˈveArmed Forces High Command) was the Command (military formation), supreme military command and control Staff (military), staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf ...

'' chose the former encirclement option, and Richthofen's airmen supported the advance. For the offensive, Stab/JG 27 could muster four Bf 109s (all operational). I./JG 27 under Riegel could field 28 operational Bf 109s from 39. I./JG 1, under Schlichting, had only 24 from 46 Bf 109s combat ready. I./JG 21 commanded by Fritz Werner Ultsch commanded 46 Bf 109s, with 34 serviceable on 10 May 1940.

France and the Low Countries

Richthofen's air corps supported the attack on

Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...

positions along the

Albert Canal The Albert Canal (, ; , ) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Des ...

on 10 May to allow the 3rd Panzer Division to cross. JG 27 and its ''gruppen'' began combat operations at 05:05 that morning. The wing was primarily engaged in fighter escort duties for

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced during 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted int ...

transports dropping

Fallschirmjäger The () were the airborne forces branch of the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They were commanded by Kurt Student, the Luftwaffe's second-in-comman ...

units at the

from their bases around

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. Five fighters from the '' Aviation Militaire'' had been claimed; one by an emerging pilot Hans-Ekkehard Bob, who served with I./JG 21. von Selle's II. ''Gruppe'' operated further north against the

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal Air Force") is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the ''Luchtvaartafdeling'' () of the Dutch Army, which was founded ...

, claiming two Fokker C.X south of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. 5. ''Staffel'' came into contact with

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) aircraft for the first time when a reconnaissance Blenheim from No. 40 Squadron RAF was shot down. The AASF requested

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...

send more airstrikes against German transport airfields during the Battle of the Hague. 40 Squadron, No. 110 Squadron RAF and No. 604 Squadron RAF struck at

Ypenburg Leidschenveen-Ypenburg () is a Vinex-location and district of The Hague, located in the southeast. It is geographically connected to the main body of the city by only a narrow corridor. It consists of four quarters: Hoornwijk and Ypenburg on the ...

, which was covered by 6./JG 27. The first British wave were intercepted and lost three bombers, the second accounted for at least four Ju 52s and bombs fell on the abandoned transports at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. I./JG 1, I./JG 21 and 3./JG 27 inflicted heavy losses on the 1st and 3rd Belgian Fighter Regiments. Over

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

, I./JG 1 claimed a first victory, while three fell to I./JG 21 and two to 3./JG 27. It cost the Germans one fighter badly damaged. I./JG 21 accounted for two more

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed privat ...

s in the Tirlemont while two more reconnaissance Blenheims from 18 Squadron failed to return; one certainly fell to II./JG 27. The 10 May cost the Luftwaffe 10 aircraft over Belgium while German pilots claimed 30 Belgian destroyed on the ground, 14 in the air, plus two RAF aircraft. II-JG27

The following day, 4./JG 27 were operating in the far north at

Buiksloot Buiksloot is a former village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is now a neighbourhood of Amsterdam-Noord. Buiksloot was a separate municipality from 1811 until 1921, when it was merged with Amsterdam. From 1888 to 1956, Buiksloot had ...

, near

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. The Bf 109s claimed one

Fokker D.XXI The Fokker D.XXI Fighter aircraft, fighter was designed in 1935 by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in response to requirements laid out by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (''Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-In ...

for one loss. Operating at the far north of the German offensive, JG 27 came into contact with

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

for the first time. North-west of Rotterdam, 5./JG 27 claimed one

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

from No. 54 Squadron RAF; the pilot was killed. The Belgians made an effort to bomb the Albert Canal bridges on 11 May. Nine

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Ha ...

s from 5/III/3, escorted by six Gladiators from 1/I/2. Only three badly damaged bombers returned, the rest having been shot down by 1./JG 1 and 1./JG 27. German pilots claimed seven. Two Fairey Fox bombers were claimed trying to attack

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

the same day. 110 Squadron joined the attempt but one fell to 3./JG 27 in the process. By 14 May the ''Aviation Militaire'' had ceased to exist. Ibel's airmen were involved in fighting the first

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

bombing raid of the war. Over Maastricht, 12

Lioré et Olivier LeO 45 Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 45 was a French medium bomber that was used during and after the Second World War. It had been designed for the new ''Armée de l'air'' as a modern medium bomber capable of performing independent strategic operations, unlik ...

from GBI/12 and GBII/12 (''Groupe de Bombardment''), escorted by 18 Morane-Saulnier M.S.406s of GCIII/3 and CGII/6 ('' Groupe de Chasse'') appeared. Four Moranes fell in combat with I./JG 1. I./JG 27 were responsible for at least one of the seven Battles lost by No. 88 Squadron RAF and No. 218 Squadron RAF sent to bomb Wiltz, beyond Sedan. Only one Battle returned. No. 139 Squadron RAF attacked the bridges at Maastricht at first light on 12 May. Seven of the nine unescorted were shot down in flames by 2./JG 1 and 3./JG 27. Six more from No. 12 Squadron RAF followed up the raid and were provided with

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

escorts from No. 1 Squadron RAF. 16 2./JG 27 Bf 109s intercepted. In the ensuing battles, four Hurricanes were claimed and two Battles. One Bf 109 was 45 percent damaged in a forced-landings. II./JG 27 was still active over the Netherlands, and claimed two Fokker C.X light bombers. JG 27 and its subordinated JG 21 group put nearly 100 fighters over the bridges on 12 May. As many as three Bf 109s may have been lost in the action. RAF records state three Hurricane losses and two damaged in combat with JG 27. During the course of the day,

led the Stab/JG 27 into action with

No. 87 Squadron RAF No. 87 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during the First World War and Second World War. World War I 87 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was first formed on 1 September 1917 at RAF Upavon, Upavon from elements of t ...

which accounted for two British aircraft. 2./JG 27 shot down two No. 107 Squadron RAF bombers. The logistics strain on the Luftwaffe was already showing. From 10 to 12 May, the number of serviceable machines in JG 27 fell from 90 to 85. On 13 May, the Luftwaffe began an intensive bombing campaign along French positions at Sedan. The

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Napoleon III, Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and ...

was the crucial breakthrough for German forces, their thrust aimed north of the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...

and south of Allied mobile armies. The bombing opened up the way for German assault engineers from the 1st Panzer Division,

2nd Panzer Division The 2nd Panzer Division (English: 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II. Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in Austria after the Anschluss ...

and 10th Panzer Division to cross the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

. Over the course of 14 and 15 May German units broke through into the French rear and were in a position to race for the English Channel. JG 27 was among the fighter wings earmarked for fighter escort duties to protect the German bomber formations on 13 May and protect the bridges at Sedan from Allied bombers on 14 May. The AASF conducted an all-out attack against the Sedan bridges on 14 May. JG 27, along with ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 (JG 26–26th Fighter Wing) were sent by Richthofen to ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 3, a small independent fighter command, to protect the bridges. The fighter defence of Sedan was so successful, the Luftwaffe coined the phrase "the day of the fighters." One of the premier German fighter units responsible for the heavy loss rate was ''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing), which later fought off French attacks. The air attacks failed as they were uncoordinated. Along with fighter aircraft, the Germans had assembled powerful flak concentrations in Sedan. ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 3's ''gruppen'' claimed 69 enemy aircraft, including 21 fighters. The British lost 48 bombers; a 44 percent loss rate. The French contributed to 60 of the 93 ineffective fighter escort

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...

s. A further 65 were heavily damaged. AASF fighters were airborne and reported 20 losses. The cost to the German contingent was nine Bf 109s. On 16 May, Richthofen,

Hans Jeschonnek Hans Jeschonnek (9 April 1899 – 18 August 1943) was a German military aviator in the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' during World War I, a general staff officer in the ''Reichswehr'' in the inter–war period and ''Generaloberst'' (Colonel-General) and a ...

and

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

agreed to shift VIII. ''Fliegerkorps'' south to support the advance through southern Belgium and into France. There was a chronic shortage of suitable forward-airfields to allow the short-range Bf 109s to keep pace. Single-engine fighter units from three ''Fliegerkorps'' struggled to find landing grounds. JG 27 ejected ''Jagdgeschwader'' 2 (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) from

Charleville-Mézières Charleville-Mézières () is a commune of northern France and the prefecture of the Ardennes department, in the Grand Est region. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the river Meuse. History Charleville and Mézières were ori ...

. Stab/JG 27 with ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 77 (StG 77—77th Dive Bomber Wing) moved on 16 May. Richthofen ordered JG 27 to cover ''Kampfgeschwader'' 77 (KG 77—77th Bomber Wing) and ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 2 (StG 2—2nd Dive Bomber Wing) as

Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...

's armour neared the Channel coast from 18 to 19 May. On 22 May, JG 27 was still operational over the ports, claiming 18 Allied aircraft between Calais and Dunkirk. The JG 1 component of JG 27 were particularly successful;

Wilhelm Balthasar Wilhelm Balthasar (2 February 1914 – 3 July 1941) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and wing commander during World War II. As a fighter ace, he is credited with seven aerial victories during the Spanish Civil War and further 40 aerial ...

was the second fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe to be awarded the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

. All Fighter Command's losses, however, have been accounted for and attributed to other units by post-war analysis and cannot be confirmed for JG 27 or the subordinated ''gruppen''; ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 26 (ZG 26—26th Destroyer Wing), ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 76 (ZG 76—76th Destroyer Wing), JG 26, JG 51, JG 2 and I.(J) ''Gruppe'' of ''Lehrgeschwader'' 1 (LG 1—1st Demonstration Wing) were responsible for the RAF aircraft lost in fighter-versus-fighter combat. The remainder have been credited to German bomber units. The transfer to forward airfields were not smooth. Supplies were few as logistics stretched. JG 27 took to impounding every Bf 109 that landed from other units, syphoning fuel to keep its units operational. Near

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

on the 16th, 85 Squadron and 1./JG 27 clashed with each side losing two fighters. On 19 May, JG 27 were involved in large battles over

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. II./JG 27 encountered 87 Squadron, and lost at least one Bf 109 to No. 213 Squadron RAF protecting bombers from ''Kampfgeschwader'' 54 (KG 54—54th Bomber Wing). 145 Squadron clashed with 3./JG 27,

Gerhard Homuth Gerhard Homuth (20 September 1914 – 2 August 1943) was a World War II Luftwaffe fighter ace. He scored all but two of his 63 victories against the Western Allies whilst flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109, and was one of the top scoring aces in th ...

claimed a victory. I./JG 27 and III./ZG 26 could not prevent RAF fighters claimed three of the KG 54 bombers they were escorting that day. RAF communications broke down necessitating the use of

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British Army cooperation aircraft, army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operat ...

, No. 26 Squadron RAF, to ferry messages to other bases. One such aircraft was shot down by II./JG 27. Logistics were stretched and communications were in a parlous state. I./JG 21, attached to JG 27, reported 30 Bf 109s available on 23 May, just three days after German spearheads reached the Channel. JG 27 moved into bases around the

Pas de Calais The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait, historically known as the Dover Narrows, is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, and separating Great Britain from continental ...

. Kleist reported heavy RAF activity as the Germans besieged Calais and fought the Battle of Boulogne. JG 27 came into contact with

's No. 11 Group RAF. The battles over these ports from 21 May cost JG 27, then attached to ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 2, 10 Bf 109s; the British lost six. Ibel lost I./JG 21 and I./JG 1 to other ''geschwader''. To compensate II./JG 27 was brought down from the north to support I./JG 27. II. ''Gruppe'' had claimed 14 enemy aircraft over the Netherlands, mainly near Rotterdam in for first 72 hours. In the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was fought around the French Third Republic, French port of Dunkirk, Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies of World War II, Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle ...

, the last port in Allied hands, JG 27 claimed seven RAF fighters on 2 June 1940. II./JG 2 claimed one, II./JG 26 six, III./JG 26 four, and I./JG 51 one. Fighter Command's total losses were 10 fighters destroyed and one damaged. Stab and I. ''Gruppe'' operated over Dunkirk until the end of the battle, claiming 22 enemy aircraft for one loss. After the Dunkirk failure, in which the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated to England along with large numbers of French soldiers, JG 27 was redeployed to support the final phase of the French campaign, Fall Gelb. Before the offensive began on 5 June, JG 27 was peripherally involved in

Operation Paula (Operation Paula) is the German codename for a operation to destroy the remaining units of the (AdA, French Air Force) during the Battle of France in 1940. On 10 May the German armed forces () began their invasion of Western Europe. By 3 June ...

, an air offensive against airfields and factories in the

area. On the first day of the offensive, I./JG 27 claimed seven French fighters north of Paris of one loss; the pilot entering temporary captivity. I. and II./JG 27 claimed another seven between them the following day. On 9 June I./JG 27 claimed another five while II./JG 27 claimed four in their last major action with the French. The success came at the price of six Bf 109s and two pilots killed. They were the first II. ''Gruppe'' fatalities of the war. For the remainder of the campaign JG 27 claimed 12 more, but most missions were patrols or

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

flights. I. and II./JG 27 supported the advance to the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

until the

Armistice of 22 June 1940 The Armistice of 22 June 1940, sometimes referred to as the Second Armistice at Compiègne, was an agreement signed at 18:36 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, France by officials of Nazi Germany and the French Third Republic. It became effective a ...

ended the battle in France with a general cease-fire declared on 25 June.

Battle of Britain

Hitler failed to bring the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

to terms after the fall of France. The decision was taken to invade the United Kingdom, codenamed

Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (), was Nazi Germany's code name for their planned invasion of the United Kingdom. It was to have taken place during the Battle of Britain, nine months after the start of the Second World ...

. A prelude to this undertaking required air superiority over the Channel and

Southern England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...

. The OKL began tentative steps to organise Luftlfotte 2 and

Luftflotte 3 ''Luftflotte'' 3For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organisation (Air Fleet 3) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed on 1 February 1939 from ''Luftwaffeng ...

for an aerial offensive to destroy RAF Fighter Command. I. and II./JG 27 returned to Germany to rest and refit for a brief time. JG 27 were reassigned to VIII. ''Fliegerkorps'' at the outset of the

. II./JG 27 was based at

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

, before moving to

Crépon Crépon () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territ ...

, while III./JG 27 based at

Carquebut Carquebut () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Sainte-Mère-Église.Plumetot. The Luftwaffe began the first phase of the battle by attacking convoys passing through the English Channel, to draw Fighter Command out and deplete its strength as well as closing the Channel to shipping and deny the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

the chance of interfering with an invasion fleet. The German airmen referred to this period as the

Kanalkampf The (Channel Battle) was the German term for air operations by the against the Royal Air Force (RAF) over the English Channel in July 1940, beginning the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. By 25 June, the Allies of World War II, A ...

(Channel struggle). On 4 July 1940, III./JG 27 flew fighter escort for Ju 87s in an attack on Convoy OA 178. On 7 July, 70 Bf 109s from JG 27 protected 45 Do 17s belonging to I. and II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 2 (KG 2—2nd Bomber Wing) as they bombed convoys. 64 Squadron intercepted but lost three Spitfires. Eight days later, twenty-four hours after the opening of the battle through a KG 2 attack on a convoy, III./JG 27 accounted for the first claims in a series of patrols which killed a 609 and 501 pilot. Eight days later, two Hurricanes 43 Squadron were lost, with one pilot killed and the following day 152, 236,

238 __NOTOC__ Year 238 ( CCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pius and Pontianus (or, less frequently, year 991 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 238 ...

and 501 lost aircraft in combat with elements of JG 27. The battle of 20 July occurred when JG 27 was called to provide escorts for bombers attack "Convoy Bosom". I./JG 27 sent around 50 Bf 109s fighter escorts and a few Bf 110s, with Bf 109s from I. and II./JG 51 in support. The most notable German loss this day was ''Hauptmann'' Riegel, commanding officer of I./JG 27. Among the successful RAF pilots was James "Ginger" Lacey shot down two Bf 109s. On day 21, a 43 Squadron pilot was killed in a collision with a JG 27-flown Bf 109. JG 27 were engaged in protecting bombers from further attacks against "Bosom". 601 Squadron were known to have lost a pilot to JG 27 on 26 July. The peak of the Kanalkampf occurred on 8 August as the Luftwaffe tried to destroy "Convoy Peewit". The battles over the convoy cost JG 27 nine Bf 109s, with three damaged. 145 and 238 Squadrons were responsible for three apiece. 257 Squadron downed two of their Bf 109s but lost three pilots killed in return. Four pilots were reported killed or missing, but four were saved by

Heinkel He 59 The Heinkel He 59 was a twin-engined German biplane designed in 1930, resulting from a requirement for a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft able to operate on wheeled landing gear or twin-floats. Development In 1930, Ernst Heinkel bega ...

floatplanes. II. ''Gruppe'' commanding officer Walter Andres was among the survivors. It was costliest single day of the battle for JG 27. Acting as cover for withdrawing bombers on 11 August, JG 27 were involved in combat against 238 and 145 Squadrons again. JG 27 lost three of its number but the German fighters destroyed four 238 Hurricanes and killed four pilots while damaging another. 145 suffered two damaged and two destroyed; two pilots were killed. JG 27 claimed 13 victories, but the day severely depleted the ''gruppen''. On 13 August 1940, the Luftwaffe began

Operation Eagle Attack ''Adlertag'' ("Eagle Day") was the first day of ''Unternehmen Adlerangriff'' ("Operation Eagle Attack"), an air operation by Nazi Germany's ''Luftwaffe'' (German air force) intended to destroy the British Royal Air Force (RAF). The operation c ...

on Fighter Command airfields and supporting structures. JG 27 formed part of the 173-strong Bf 109 force (with support from JG 53 and JG 3) that flew combat patrols from dawn, ahead of the German bomber formations. Later, ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 2 (ZG 2—2nd Destroyer Wing) and JG 27 escorted

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

s from LG 1 and Ju 87s from StG 77 over England. No JG 27 losses are recorded. JG 27 submitted five claims. The next major action occurred on 15 August, known as "Black Thursday" in the Luftwaffe, and "The Greatest Day" to the British, due to the scale of the losses. German forces from Norway and Denmark attacked northern England and took heavy losses. JG 27 escorted Ju 87s from I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 1 (StG 1—1st Dive Bomber Wing) and II./StG 2 to Portland, where 18 Hurricanes from 87 and 213 Squadron flying from RAF Exeter engaged them. Two 87 Squadron pilots were killed and two wounded.

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

T G Lovell-Gregg was killed. The Luftwaffe kept up the pressure the following day. One I. ''Gruppe'' aircraft was damaged and two more from II./JG 27 collided killing one pilot while the other was rescued. The Hardest Day 18 August was another series of large-scale air battles and losses for either side. JG 27 lost six Bf 109s (three each from I. and II./JG 27) in action against No. 85 Squadron RAF. Three pilots were killed, two were posted missing presumed dead and the other was picked up in the Channel by a He 59 air-sea rescue aircraft. JG 27 committed 70 Bf 109s to an escort a series of Ju 87 dive-bomber operations. Spitfires from No. 234 Squadron RAF engaged the 25-strong Bf 109 escort commanded by ''Hauptmann'' Karl-Wolfgang Redlich. I./JG 27s commander, Eduard Neumann heard the battle developing, but communications were poor and he decided to let Redlich, one of his most experienced ''

'' (Squadron Leaders) fight alone. In the resulting combat, three Bf 109s were shot down. II./JG 27 were positioned too far away to help their charges, Ju 87s from StG 77. III./JG 27 claimed four Spitfires from 602 Squadron destroyed. Spitfires from No. 234 and Hurricanes from 213 Squadron each destroyed one Bf 109. The running air battles had cost the Ju 87 units heavily. The lack of protection for I./StG 77 had cost it 10 Ju 87s with one damaged beyond repair. II./StG 77 lost three Ju 87s to fighter attack and one damaged beyond repair, five crewmen dead and one captured. III./StG 77 also lost two Ju 87s and two damaged with four men killed. The Bf 109s of JG 27 lost six fighters. Two pilots were saved. Another source gives eight Bf 109s destroyed. JG 27 claimed 14 victories, a probable an exaggeration. Only seven were allowed to stand by the Luftwaffe. JG 27 suffered no known combat losses from 19 August through to 25 August. The following day was another day of heavy aerial fighting and III./JG 27 reported a Bf 109 missing from a sortie over England. On 28 August three Bf 109s were reported damaged in accidents, and a

Gotha Go 145 The Gotha Go 145 is a German World War II-era biplane of wood and fabric construction used by ''Luftwaffe'' training units. Although obsolete by the start of World War II, the Go 145 remained in operational service until the end of the War in Eu ...

from Stab/JG 27 got lost while flying from

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

to Germany and landed on

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

racecourse; the pilot was captured. On 30 August five of the wing's aircraft were shot down and another damaged. No. 253 Squadron RAF were responsible for most, while No. 616 Squadron RAF accounted for another in the vicinity of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

. In the first days of September, JG 27 reported no loss until a 5./JG 27 machine was destroyed in combat with 43 Squadron on 5 September while the following day six fighters were destroyed and three damaged. III./JG 27 lost their commanding officer Joachim Schlichting who was posted

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

. Their opponents were mostly from No. 303 Squadron RAF. Schlichting was one of 22 JG 27 pilots captured. In September JG 27s ''gruppen'' moved to Fiennes, Pas-de-Calais, and then on 24 September to Saint-Inglevert Airfield. At Fiennes on a clear day it is said that the British could observe Bf 109s taking off and landing. One notable change was Wolfgang Lippert, who took command of II./JG 27 on 4 September. The month started successfully. On the first day II./JG 27 claimed seven Spitfires over

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

without loss. The 7 September 1940 saw the OKL change the emphasis from bombing airfields to attacking

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, beginning

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

. The air raids took Fighter Command by surprise and reduced Luftwaffe losses. JG 27 were in action on this date for I. ''Gruppe'' reported one loss over London. At the conclusion of the days fighting, Stab and I. ''Gruppe'' reported four and 27 Bf 109s on strength respectively with one and six of them unserviceable at

Étaples Étaples or Étaples-sur-Mer (; or ; formerly ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, northern France. It is a fishing and leisure port on the Canche river. History Étapl ...

. At

Montreuil, Pas-de-Calais Montreuil-sur-Mer (; or ; ), Montreuil-on-the-Sea, is a subprefecture in the Pas-de-Calais Department in northern France. Though commonly called by this name since at least the twelfth century, it was legally known as Montreuil until 31 Decembe ...

. II./JG 27 reported four of its 33 Bf 109s non-operational while III./JG 27 at Sempy had all but four of its 27 combat ready. The Battle of Britain Day was the climax of the day fighting in the Battle of Britain. JG 27 flew and fought and during its course suffered two casualties, one possibly against

No. 19 Squadron RAF No. 19 Squadron (sometimes written as No. XIX Squadron) is a Squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to operate the Supermarine Spitfire. It currently operates the UK's Control and Reporting Centre from RAF ...

. JG 27 claimed only one British fighter that day. The days missions were spent escorting bombers from ''Kampfgeschwader'' 76 (KG 76—76th Bomber Wing). Daylight operations continued on 17 September. Eduard Neumann, JG 27 future commanding officer, claimed two Hurricanes from 607 Squadron near

Gatwick Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwick was the second-bu ...

. Fighter Command records confirm only one loss. The following morning 1./JG 27 suffered one killed and one damaged, the first to an accident. 2. ''Staffel'' reported one loss and 9. ''Staffel'' reported two missing over London in action with 41 Squadron which suffered no loss. The next day cost 9./JG 27 another pilot in action with 92 Squadron, though the British lost two pilots killed in action with Bf 109s. On a mission over London a week later, 3./JG 27 lost two Bf 109s destroyed and one damaged in action with 19 and 222 Squadron. Two pilots were killed and one rescued. The battle cost 19 Squadron five Spitfires, two pilots killed and two wounded. 222 Squadron lost one pilot killed. On the last day of September, five of the wing's Bf 109s were destroyed and three heavily damaged. Their opponents were from 41, 92 and 303 Squadron. 41 Squadron lost one fighter and another damaged, while 92 also suffered damage to one Spitfire. II. and III. ''Gruppen'' claimed six between them. The month had cost JG 27 29 Bf 109s. By October 1940 the Luftwaffe had lost its strategic purpose. German tactics changed through the month but achieved little military gain. On 7 October, 5. and 9./JG 27 carrying bombs attacked targets in southern England. Four were shot down, two from each unit. Their assailants from 606 and 501 suffered one pilot killed in the latter unit. On day 11 One pilot was rescued after being shot down by 41 Squadron's Eric Lock, and single losses were reported on the 15th and 22nd. The Blitz and ensuing fighter sweeps over England in the last few months of 1940 could not dent British defences or ultimately the country's war effort. I. ''Gruppe'' was removed from the Channel area on 1 October, having lost 26 Bf 109s and 19 pilots since July. III./JG 27 commanded by Max Dobislav, who succeeded Schlichting after his capture on 7 September, left their base at

Guînes Guînes (; ; ) is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. Historically, it was spelt ''Guisnes''. On 7 January 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French pioneer in hydrogen-balloon flight, completed the first aerial crossi ...

on 10 November. The ''Gruppe'' were based at Guînes throughout September and had lost two pilots captured and one missing in the final month; they claimed five enemy aircraft. The two captured men were the only ''Staffelkapitäne'' lost by JG 27 in the battle. One day after the official end to the Battle of Britain, Lippert achieved arguably the most notable victory of the wing when he shot down the leading RAF ace Archie McKellar. III./JG 27 moved to

Vechta Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta (district), Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta. It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every ...

in Germany, while

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

. I./JG 27 was dispatched to

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Brittany, Breton town and a commune in France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Inst ...

in northwestern France on 21 October, after resting at

Stade Stade (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (, ) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the Stade (district), district () which bears its name. It is located roughly to the wes ...

near

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

from 1 October. On 4 December the captured Schlichting was awarded the Knight's Cross for his success in protecting bomber formations at the expense of achieving personal victories.

Balkans and Eastern Front

The three ''gruppen'' of JG 27 were all returned to Germany in the winter 1940/41. The entire ''geschwader'' remained inert until April 1941. I. ''Gruppe'' were stationed at

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

-Thalerhof under ''Fliegerführer Graz'', II. ''Gruppe'' transferred to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

and then Vrba. III. ''Gruppe'' moved through those bases but were at Belica/

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

in early April. The latter ''gruppen'' were placed in Richthofen's VIII. ''Fliegerkorps'', separate from I./JG 27 which came under the control of

Luftflotte 4 ''Luftflotte'' 4For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organisation (Air Fleet 4) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed on 18 March 1939, from Luftwaffenkomm ...

. JG 27 formed part of the Luftwaffe fighter force for the

and simultaneous attack on Greece. On 6 April, 3./JG 27 opened their campaign by strafing hangars at

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

airfield. During the mission an unknown Oberfähnrich pilot Hans-Joachim Marseille was hit by

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

but returned to Graz. The action was the only noteworthy contribution to the invasion in the north. Over the Rupel Pass in the south, 8./JG 27 ran into a Hurricane squadron led by Pat Pattle, probably the leading Western Allied fighter pilot of the war who may have accounted for one JG 27 pilot killed. RAF Blenheims were active attacking German army units from dawn. Over

Lake Prespa The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greec ...

, No. 211 Squadron RAF Blenheims were intercepted by 6./JG 27 and led by Hans-Joachim Gerlach. In a short engagement, all six were shot down and only two men survived. Gerlach was shot down and captured attacking airfields on 14 April. He was the only ''gruppe'' casualty in Greece. The following day six fighters from the 24 ''Mira'',

Hellenic Air Force The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; , sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (''Hellenic'' being the endonym for ''Greek'' in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 1 ...

were claimed over Kalambaka. A strafing attack at Niamata by II./JG 27 disabled several No. 113 Squadron RAF Blenheims. Retreating British Commonwealth forces retreating across the

Thessalian plain The Thessalian plain () is the dominant geographical feature of the Greek region of Thessaly. The plain is formed by the Pineios River and its tributaries and is surrounded by mountains: the Pindus mountain range to the west, which separates The ...

were dive-bombed by 40 Ju 87s from StG 2 and ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 3 (StG 3—3rd Dive Bomber Wing) on 19 April. Pattle's No. 80 Squadron RAF attacked the Ju 87s and destroyed two before II./JG 27 could intervene. In the air battle that followed, the Bf 109s damaged one Hurricane for no loss. On 20 April ''Geschwaderkommodore'' Wolfgang Schellmann, Ibel's principal successor, led Stab/JG 27 over Khalkis harbour to support the bombing of Allied ships evacuating Greece. He personally accounted for one 80 Squadron Hurricane and another badly damaged. II./JG 27 strafed

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

airfield, destroying the remaining Greek fighters, along with two No. 33 Squadron RAF Hurricanes, and a petrol bowser for the cost of one pilot captured. II./JG 27 was involved in the " Battle of Athens", Gustav Rödel claiming three during the days intensive air fighting. Stab and II. ''Gruppe'' lost a pilot each on 22 April before the battle on the Greek mainland ended on 30 April. Stab, II. and III./JG 27 stayed with VIII. ''Fliegerkorps'' and were subordinated to Kesselring's Luftflotte 2 in June 1941. The two ''gruppen'' were still equipped with the Bf 109 E and based at Subolevo. They formed the core of the fighter force in the air corps with II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing). The ''geschwader'' was tasked with supporting

, the invasion of the

which began the war on the Eastern Front. On the opening day, 22 June, II./JG 27 escorted StG 2 against the

Alytus Alytus () is a city with Town privileges, municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, sixth-largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, 14th-largest city in the Baltic ...

aerodrome. Wolfgang Schellmann led Stab/JG 27 into combat but was forced to bail out over Soviet lines and was never heard from again. He was the only JG 27 commanding officer killed in action. The Western Front ordered aerial counter-attacks against

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre () was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

. Waves of unescorted bombers were sent against German forces. 27 Ilyushin DB-3 bombers of the 53 BAP were sent to attack German forces at

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

on 24 June. They were intercepted by II./JG 27 and nine were shot down; nine to the Bf 109s. The next day all three JG 27 units moved to

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

and found 56 aircraft wrecks from the 57 SAD. Once again, large numbers of unescorted Soviet bombers tried to bomb the airfield but JG 27 and JG 53 repulsed them. 53 DB-3 and Tupolev SBs were destroyed at the cost of one Bf 109. ''Leutnant'' Gustav Langanke accounted for seven. There were Soviet success; on 29 June nine Soviet DB-3s managed to attack Vilnius and destroy 10 aircraft, belonging to both ZG 26 and JG 27. The action left II./JG 27 with only 10 serviceable Bf 109s and the decision was taken to remove it from the Eastern Front after only seven days. The remaining Bf 109s were given to III./JG 27. III./JG 27 fought in the Battle of Smolensk in July, and encountered the new

Petlyakov Pe-2 The Petlyakov Pe-2 ( — nickname «Пешка» (Pawn); NATO reporting name: Buck) was a Soviet Union, Soviet twin-engine dive bomber used during World War II. One of the outstanding tactical attack aircraft of the war,Ethell 1996, p. 152. it ...

bomber when it engaged 411 BAP/OSNAZ. The group claimed two. On 20 August Richthofen moved strike and fighter aircraft to Spasskaya Polist, 40 km north-east of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

to support the drive to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. III./JG 27 and II./JG 53 followed to the new bases. Experienced pilots now emerged as

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

on the Eastern Front. Erbo Graf von Kageneck claimed 14 Soviet aircraft in August 1941, the second-highest of the month. On 25 September JG 27 lost the 29-victory ace Franz Blazytko killed in combat with

Polikarpov I-16 The Polikarpov I-16 () is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it is a low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear, and the first such aircraft to attain operational status. It "in ...

s. Two days later the ''gruppe'' provided six Ju 52 transport groups with air cover reinforcing Lyuban. Soviet fight units attempted to intercept but did not achieve success. In late September the ''Escuadrilla Azul'' (" Blue Squadron") was created as 15. ''Staffel'' (Span) in JG 27 made of Spanish volunteers. The Spanish pilots claimed 160 aircraft destroyed until October 1943, for the loss of 20 killed. III. ''Gruppe'' deployed to support Army Group Centre's southwest thrust against Moscow. Erbo Graf von Kageneck, the wing's most successful pilot in the Soviet Union, achieved the last victory for JG 27 on 12 October 1941 and his personal tally stood at 65. He was the first member of the ''geschwader'' to receive the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. Stab and III./JG 27 returned to Germany to equip with the Bf 109 F and then moved to

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

to reunite with the rest of JG 27. The German units returned to Döberitz and left 15.(Span)/JG 27 behind. The Spanish were later attached to JG 51 and JG 52.

North Africa and Mediterranean

On 10 June 1940

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

brought the

Italian Empire The Italian colonial empire (), also known as the Italian Empire (''Impero italiano'') between 1936 and 1941, was founded in Africa in the 19th century. It comprised the colonies, protectorates, concession (territory), concessions and depende ...

into the war on Germany's side. Mussolini hoped to capitalise on the rapid fall of France by entering the conflict before its conclusion and receiving a share of the territorial gains. The

Italian invasion of France The Italian invasion of France (10–25 June 1940), also called the Battle of the Alps, was the first major Fascist Italy, Italian engagement of World War II and the last major engagement of the Battle of France. The Italian entry into the war ...

ended with a German victory in Fall Rot. The second land offensive occurred in September 1940 with the

Italian Invasion of Egypt The Italian invasion of Egypt () was an offensive in the Second World War from Italian Libya, against British, Commonwealth and Free French in the neutral Kingdom of Egypt. The invasion by the Italian 10th Army () ended border skirmishing on th ...

, and in October with the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian campaign in Greece, Italian invasion of Greece, and War of '40 in Greece, took place between Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. This conflict began the Balk ...

. The campaigns failed, compelling German support in Africa and Greece. The

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

were swift to achieve victory in Greece. Hitler sent the ''Deutsches Afrika Korps'' to

in March 1941 to forestall an Italian collapse in the wake of

Operation Compass Operation Compass (also ) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British metropolitan, Imperial and Commonwealth forces attacked the Italian and Libyan forces of ...

Operation Sonnenblume Operation Sonnenblume (, "Operation Sunflower") was the name given to the dispatch of German and Italian troops to North African campaign, North Africa in February 1941, during the Second World War. The Italian Tenth Army (Italy), 10th Army () ha ...

succeeded in stabilising the Axis position in North Africa. The Luftwaffe sent

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engined (de ...

heavy fighters from III./ZG 26 to support the Italian African Army from January 1941. The unit claimed its first success on 19 February. JG 27 arrived in April, in the form of I. ''Gruppe'' under the command of Eduard Neumann. The ''gruppe'' arrived at

Gazala Gazala, or ʿAyn al-Ġazāla ( ), is a small Libyan village near the coast in the northeastern portion of the country. It is located west of Tobruk. History In the late 1930s (during the Libya as Italian colony, Italian occupation of Libya), th ...

on 14 April, and first engaged in combat five days later. Karl-Wolfgang Redlich and Werner Schröer claimed the first victories in Africa, but Schröer had the distinction of being the first German Bf 109 pilot shot down in Africa. The first day of combat operations yielded four claims for one loss. JG 27 soon moved to airbases in the vicinity of

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

to support the

Siege of Tobruk The siege of Tobruk () took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the World War II, Second World War. An Allies of World War II, Allied force, consisting mostly of the 9th Division ...

. From 21 to 21 April the

Desert Air Force The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allies of World War II, Allied tactical air force ...

had the best of fighting. The bombers assisted in breaking up several of Rommel's early tank attacks. The situation rapidly deteriorated for the RAF in mid-April. Air Commodore Raymond Collishaw, commanding 204 Group RAF (renamed the Desert Air Force), wrote to Air Marshal Arthur Tedder on 24 April. The arrival of JG 27 and ZG 26 near Tobruk allowed the German formations to arrive at great height within ten minutes of an air raid warning, leaving British fighters at lower altitude and a great disadvantage. He remarked attrition had caused "a serious reduction in our fighter force." Air Marshal Arthur Longmore cabled the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

in London. He told London that to maintain patrols, the fighters were forced to refuel at

Sidi Barrani Sidi Barrani ( ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of its Zawiya, the village ...

granting Axis air units a free hand over Tobruk but arguing that without patrols to defend fighter squadrons refuelling at Tobruk on the ground, they were "hostage to a fortune we cannot afford." On 1 May, for example, No. 274 Squadron RAF lost all six Hurricanes it sent on a single mission when a flight of Bf 109s from JG 27 led by

, and containing the most successful fighter pilot in Africa, Hans-Joachim Marseille, engaged them from a superior altitude over Tobruk. JG 27 opposed the aerial element of

Operation Brevity Operation Brevity was a limited offensive conducted in mid-May 1941, during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global c ...

. The operation was called off within 48 hours after strong German resistance. JG 27 accounted for four British aircraft, one of them was piloted by Noel Agazarian who was killed. The Tobruk defenders were hard-pressed against Luftwaffe fighter operations and on 21 May; 73, 213 and 274 Squadrons were their main units. Joachim Müncheberg arrived with 7./JG 26 on 1 June to assist JG 27. In the build-up to

Operation Battleaxe Operation Battleaxe (15–17 June 1941) was a British Army offensive during the Second World War to raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-capture eastern Cyrenaica from German and Italian forces. It was the first time during the war that a signific ...

, RAF bombers attacked airfields at Gazala. I./JG 27 were forced to decamp personnel to the beach, and pitch camps between the dunes. 2 ''staffel'' Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt may have sunk a 200-ton

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...

, the eight crew washed up in German territory and were captured. In early June, pilots were pressing for the arrival of the Bf 109 F. The Bf 109 E, which the Hurricane could match under some circumstances, was grossly inferior to the newer Bf 109. On the eve of Battleaxe, the Luftwaffe could muster 7./JG 26, I./JG 27, several ''staffeln'' from LG 1, two ''gruppen'' of Ju 87s from StG 1 StG 3. At the beginning of the battle another well-known and long-serving pilot began to achieve success; Ludwig Franzisket, future ''Geschwaderkommodore''. Twenty-four British aircraft were shot down and three badly damaged in the brief fighting. JG 27 lost two pilots killed. The 17 June was particularly successful; eight Hurricanes were shot down. Over the next weeks, a stalemate developed with the Luftwaffe attempting to bomb Tobruk into surrender by destroying seaborne supplies. JG 27 fought virtually daily battles with the RAF,

RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the governor-general of Aus ...

and

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

Commonwealth forces for control of the skies until September 1941. Bf 109Es JG 27 on flight over North Africa c1941

On 14 September II./JG 27 arrived in Africa. The unit comprised three ''Staffeln'' which had claimed 75 victories over France in 1940, 60 in the Battle of Britain, 17 in Greece and 39 in ten days in the Soviet Union. They were led by the experienced Wolfgang Lippert. Among the squadron leaders were Gustav Rödel,

Ernst Düllberg Ernst Düllberg (28 March 1913 – 27 July 1984) was a former German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Ernst Düllberg was credited with 45 victories in 650 combat missions, 36 over ...

. The pilot contingent contained Otto Schulz and a number of other airmen who had claimed five to 19 aerial victories. On 18 November 1941, the British Eighth Army began

Operation Crusader Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert campaign during World War II by the British Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) against the Axis forces (German and ...

which lifted the siege of Tobruk. JG 27 was in the process of converting to Bf 109 Fs and on the eve of the offensive I./JG 27 could muster a single ''staffel''. II./JG 27 had only three ''staffeln''. A fighter-bomber ''staffel'' (10./JG 27) was attached. Aside from III./ZG 26 with three Bf 110 ''staffeln'', JG 27 was the only fighter unit available. On 19 November, Rödel found a column of armoured units moving toward Tobruk and reported it. Neumann did not believe the report and took off himself to see. Once found, he started his stopwatch at the head of the column and ten minutes passed before he reached the end of it. All available Axis aircraft were ordered to attack the column, which turned back. The British advance did not falter. On 21 November the garrison broke out heading for Ed Duda while Sidi Rezegh fell. The following day heavy air fighting took place. In a notable action I./JG 27 sent 15-20 Bf 109s to engage No. 3 Squadron RAAF

Curtiss P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

s and Blenheims from No. 45 Squadron; three of the former and four of the Blenheims were shot down. Commanding officer of II./JG 27, Wolfgang Lippert was shot down and captured but died of his wounds in hospital. Sidi Rezegh was back in German hands on 30 November, once again isolating Tobruk. On 3 December Rommel sent scouting forces into Egypt but they were repulsed with heavy losses. At this time, the Luftwaffe was suffering from chronic fuel shortages and was not able to send large forces into combat. The 5 December was a bad day for the Ju 87 units which suffered heavy casualties; JG 27 succeeded in inflicting heavy losses to No. 250 Squadron RAF and accounted for seven Allied fighters. On 8 December, British forces made contact with the garrison again, and on 9th Rommel began to withdraw. III./JG 53 was rushed to Africa to reinforce JG 27. On 24 December 1941, JG 27 could muster just six operational Bf 109s between all three ''gruppen''. The lack of fuel and loss of ground crews in the retreat contributed to its decline. That same day, another of the top-scoring JG 27 pilots was shot down. Erbo Graf von Kageneck was grievously wounded and died in Italy the following month. At the time of his death he was the wing's leading fighter pilot. Stab and III./JG 27 arrived from the Soviet Union early in the month and I./JG 27 had returned from Germany after re-fitting. Even so, on 16 January 1942 Stab had three Bf 109s (two combat ready), I. ''Gruppe'' six from 23, II. ''Gruppe'' 7 from 25, and III. ''Gruppe'' three from 19. Technically, the Luftwaffe held the advantage in Africa. When Bf 109s from JG 27 first appeared over Libya, senior RAF commanders called for Spitfires to be sent to the region immediately. The Bf 109 E proved to be all the Hurricane could handle, but the appearance of the Bf 109 F made the requests more urgent for this type exposed the inferiority of the Hurricane's general performance. British fears of a Soviet collapse had faded by the end of 1941. The Battle of Britain would not be resumed, and Fighter Command began to send Spitfire squadrons to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in March, then to Africa in mid-1942. Until the Spitfires arrival, the Desert Air Force relied on the

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

in the air superiority role. The Allied air forces built an enormously efficient support facility in Egypt for maintenance and repair which the Luftwaffe did little to disturb. Conversely, the Italian supply system was poor. The German supply situation was consistently stretched in 1942. Throughout the desert war, the Germans were short of

manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

and

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

. German fighter pilots remained in battle, and those that showed an aptitude for aerial combat were sent to where the fighting was heaviest with the best available equipment for the job. They always flew in preference to newer pilots who were not relied upon to achieve results. The Luftwaffe could ill-afford to keep its best men out of action because of the numerical disadvantage it suffered over Africa. The ''experten'' ("experts") were rarely rested, unless wounded, and flew more often. Those that lived were able to build vast amounts of experience and consequently the top-rated German pilots tended to claim far more aerial victory totals than Allied airmen. In mid-1942, Werner Schröer remarked that in the desert during June 1942, methods for detecting an enemy attack were primitive. There was no radar, so a pair of Bf 109s on patrol and a

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch The Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (, "stork") is a liaison aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Fieseler. Its nickname of '' Storch'' was derived from the lengthy legs of its main landing gear, which gave the aircraft ...

scouting aircraft had to be used to spot danger. Missions varied from protecting coastal shipping to their own bases. According to Schröer, these types of defensive tactics put the Germans at an altitude disadvantage. In early 1942, Hans-Joachim Marseille surpassed the achievements of Lippert and von Kageneck. In February 1942 he was awarded the Knight's Cross and continued to claim multiple victories through to May when Rommel prepared to resume the offensive. During the month JG 27 claimed 52 British Commonwealth aircraft; Marseille claimed 16. The front had been static until May 1942, and by the 10th JG 27 exactly 100 Bf 109s in three groups. JG 53 had been withdrawn and two ''staffeln'' of ZG 76 remained to support them. On 20 May, III./JG 53 returned to Martuba. Rödel took command of II./JG 27 when Erich Gerlitz was moved to command the JG 53 contingent. Air fighting escalated from 22 May as each side sought to gain air superiority. On 23 May an interception by JG 27 against No. 223 Squadron RAF ended in the unescorted British bomber unit being destroyed. II./JG 27 carried out the bulk of the combat and heavy claims were made which have proven difficult to verify. Two days later, the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala, also the Gazala Offensive (Italian language, Italian: ''Battaglia di Ain el-Gazala'') was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, f ...

began. JG 27 and the supporting III./JG 53, which reinforced the German fighter force through the battle, were able to exact a heavy toll of British aircraft. On 31 May 1942 they shot down 16; from 29 to 31 May, 39 were reported lost by the British Commonwealth air forces. While the top-rated fighter pilots, Marseille, Homuth, Schultz, Stahlschmidt claimed high numbers of aircraft during mid-1942, the vast majority were fighters. This has led some analysts to question the military effectiveness of German fighter units which left British bombers untouched to wreak havoc on Axis ground forces and supply lines. On 6 June 1942, for example, British fighter-bombers destroyed 70 vehicles. The "tankbuster" Hawker Hurricanes of No. 6 Squadron RAF alone flew 37 sorties from 10 to 16 June and claimed 31 German tanks and large numbers of vehicles. JG 27 claimed 136 aircraft from 26 May–21 June 1942, nearly all of them fighters. On 22 June, III./JG 53 and III./JG 27 moved forward to Gambut. Captured Me 109F JG27 at El Alamein 1942

Captured Me 109F JG27 at El Alamein 1942

Neumman took command of JG 27 on 8 June from Bernhard Woldenga, and Homuth replaced Neumman in command of I./JG 27. On the 9th, JG 27 was involved in large-scale fighter escort duties for ''Stukas'' in the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Marseille left Africa two days later to receive the Swords to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves for achieving 100 victories. On 21 June Rommel captured Tobruk. The battle was marked by the loss of the 51-victory ace Otto Schulz, killed in combat with the Canadian pilot

James Francis Edwards James Francis Edwards, CM, DFC & Bar, DFM, CD (5 June 1921 – 14 May 2022), later known as Stocky Edwards, was a Canadian fighter pilot during World War II. With 19 confirmed aerial victories, Edwards was Canada's highest scoring ace in t ...

on 17 June. Rommel attempted to exploit the victory in the First Battle of El Alamein, and break into middle Egypt to capture

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Four days into the battle JG 27 lost another fight leader, Friedrich Körner, captured on the fourth day of the battle, which ended on the 27th in German defeat; air fighting had subsided by 28 July. In Marseille's absence, Stahlschmidt led the successes table with 24 Allied aircraft claimed in July 1942. In July 1942 JG 27 claimed 149 Allied aircraft in combat. Only a single one was a bomber, and two were transports. The remainder were fighters. In August 1942 JG 27 pilots claimed 102 aircraft; just two were bombers. On 19 August Stab/JG 27 and II. ''Gruppe'' were based at Sanyet El Qotaifiya, I. ''Gruppe'' at Turbiya, and III. ''Gruppe'' at Haggag Qasaba with 2, 24, 23 and 24 Bf 109s respectively. The most notable success of JG 27, was the interception and destruction of a

Bristol Bombay The Bristol Bombay was a British troop Military transport aircraft, transport aircraft adaptable for use as a medium bomber flown by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the World War II, Second World War. Design and development The Bristol Bomba ...

transport carrying

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

William Gott. Emil Clade shot it down killing Gott.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

had appointed Gott to lead the British Eighth Army that day. Gott was replaced by

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...

. The failure to break through British Commonwealth lines forced Rommel to conserve his strength, and build up his supplies from the distant port of Tobruk. At the end of the month, he attempted a three-pronged attack at the

Battle of Alam el Halfa The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. '' Panzerarmee Afrika'' (''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel), attempted an envelopme ...

and JG 27 were in action over the battlezones. By the start, Marseille had returned and on 1 September, as the ground battle bogged down, JG 27 experienced one of its most successful days in Africa. JG 27 claimed 26 aircraft destroyed for three losses, one pilot missing, one wounded and one died of wounds (one each from 1., 6. and 7./JG 27). Marseille alone claimed 17. Commonwealth units lost 13 in aerial combat or to unspecified reasons, and 10 damaged. A single P-40 was lost from the recently arrived US 57th Fighter Group. The ''

Regia Aeronautica The Royal Italian Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') (RAI) was the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Regio Esercito, Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was ...

'' 23rd, 10th and 9th ''Gruppo'' claimed nine between them. The following morning JG 27 claimed 10 Allied fighters for one Bf 109. 13 Allied fighters were shot down and one damaged. Specifically, six were credited to Bf 109s. The Italians claimed eight fighters for three pilots. JG 27 claimed 18 the next day, while the Italians believed they had destroyed seven Allied fighters for certain. Nine were attributed to Bf 109s by the British plus one damaged. The German attack failed, and the battle ended on 5 September. Over the next 48 hours, JG 27 lost two of its most prominent fighter pilots. On 6 September 1942 Günter Steinhausen, a 40-victory ace was killed in combat, followed on 7 September by Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt, who had claimed 59 British Commonwealth aircraft destroyed, all in North Africa. September proved a costly month, for on the final day, Hans-Joachim Marseille, who had claimed 151 aerial victories in Africa, and whose total of 158 credited victories against the

Western Allies Western Allies was a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It primarily refers to the leading Anglo-American Allied powers, namely the United States and the United Kingdom, although the term has also be ...

would not be surpassed, was killed in a flying accident. Morale sank in JG 27 following the deaths, and shortly afterwards, I./JG 27 was ordered out of Africa. I./JG 27 located to Pachino,

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

on 8 October 1942. The ''gruppe'' also supported the final air attacks on the besieged island of Malta. Over Malta they claimed seven Spitfires for two Bf 109s and returned to Africa later in the month. Only the two remaining two ''gruppen'', with III./JG 53 remained to oppose the British build-up at Alamien. The

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

precipitated the collapse of the Axis front in Egypt and by mid-November 1942 the ''Afrika Korps'' was streaming back west into Libya. As the battle drew to a close, the Anglo-American

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

landed in

French North Africa French North Africa (, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is a term often applied to the three territories that were controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In contrast to French ...

(modern day

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

), collapsing the Axis-friendly

Vichy French Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against G ...

governments there. German reinforcements forestalled the American advance into Tunisia, beginning the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

with the Axis facing American forces to the west and British to the east, culminating in the destruction of the remaining Axis forces in North Africa (

Panzer Army Africa The Panzer Army Africa (German language, German: ''Panzerarmee Afrika''; Italian language, Italian: ''Gruppo Corazzato Africa'') was a joint German-Italian field army that fought in the North African campaign during World War II. It consisted of ...

) on 13 May 1943. JG 27 did not remain long enough to oversee the final defeat, and most ''staffeln'' left Africa by 12 November. On that day Neumman left with the ''Stabschwarm'' in a

Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Dornier Flugzeugwerke. Large numbers were operated by the ''Luftwaffe'' throughout the Second World War. The Do 17 was designed during ...

. Elements of II./JG 27 lingered until December. I. ''Gruppe'' went to Germany, the bulk of III. ''Gruppe'' retired to

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and Greece for a short period. All combat units moved to Berca Airfield, until ready to depart. Bf 109s were handed to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). JG 27 fought in action from 23 October through to 9 November 1942, claiming successes and reporting casualties; 50 British Commonwealth aircraft were claimed to 9 November. JG 27 retreated into Libya. On 6 December 1942, ''Leutnant'' Hans Lewes, 6./JG 27, claimed the last aerial victory of JG 27 in Africa. All personnel began leaving between 12 and 18 December. The ground-crews were purportedly delighted at leaving and departed for Tripoli on 12 December. JG 27 claimed 1,166 Allied aircraft shot down over North Africa by the end of 1942. Claims made throughout the war amounted to 1,799. Stab/JG 27 claimed 34, I. ''Gruppe'' 684, II. ''Gruppe'' 558 and III. ''Gruppe'' 523. JG 27 losses in North Africa stood at 37 killed in combat (two by ground fire), 25

(23 in aerial combat), 27

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

(26 aerial combat) and 24 seriously

wounded in action Wounded in action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

(18 in aerial combat).

Air war over Italy, Greece and Yugoslavia

I. ''Gruppe'' moved to Germany, then to France, and did not return to the Mediterranean. II. and III. ''Gruppe'' returned to Germany briefly but returned to

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

late February 1943, rebasing in Sicily. II. ''Gruppe'' returned via

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

on 28 February 1943 to their new bases at

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. 4./JG 27 was equipped with the Bf 109 G-6. The ''gruppe'' was in action the following morning over

Ragusa, Sicily Ragusa (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Ragusa, on the island of Sicily, with 73,778 inhabitants as of 2025. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, Cava San Leonardo ...

and achieved its first success. The ''gruppe'' reported that since their arrival in Sicily, Spitfire strafing and fighter-bomber operations over the island had declined by the end of March 1943. III. ''Gruppe'' was known to be operational by 6 April, for the unit suffered its first combat loss of the period in action with No. 126 Squadron RAF. Stab. and II./JG 27 provided fighter escort for convoys sailing between Italy and Tripoli in February 1943 based at

Santo Pietro Santo Pietro is a small village (''frazione'') of the Comune of Caltagirone, Sicily, Italy, with a population of c. 90 people. History The settlement was founded as ''Mussolinia di Sicilia'', one of several settlements across Italy founded by t ...

. Neumann's ''Stabschwarm'' still operated ageing Bf 109 F-4/Trops (tropicalised versions). These fighter units were expected to support attacks on Malta, which was no longer the besieged island of 1942, and cover convoys. Malta's forces had taken the offensive and were routinely attacking Axis targets in Sicily. On 3 March 1943, for example, 5 ''staffel'' engaged and claimed six Spitfires over their own base in Sicily. 7. and 9. ''Staffel'' transferred to

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

in March to convert onto the Bf 109 G-2. 5./JG 27 were operating the Bf 109 G-6 at Trapani by March 1943. In combat over an Axis convoy on 3 March, 39-victory ace pilot Rudolf Sinner, II./JG 27, reported the failure of his mission when the largest ship was hit and burned after a low-level attack by American

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

s. The entire ''gruppe'' reassembled at

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

on 3 April. The personnel set up camp on the slopes of

Monte Erice Monte Erice, or ancient Greek Mount Eryx, is a mountain of Sicily, in the province of Trapani. Location The mountain is to the east of Trapani and encompasses an area of 18.3 km2. The Lenzi River has its source on the mountain. The city ...

, overlooking the airfield. III./JG 27 moved to San Pietro the same day, though they used Trapani frequently after returning from Crete. The ''gruppe'' claimed six American aircraft on 5 April, countering the first raids of Operation Flax. II./JG 27 experienced the first American attack on its base this day, necessitating the withdrawal of their headquarters several miles from the airfield. In the midst of these activities, Gustav Rödel assumed command of JG 27 on 22 April 1943, replacing Neumann who moved to the staff of the '' General der Jagdflieger''. This very day II./JG 27 reported the loss of 16

Messerschmitt Me 323 The Messerschmitt Me 323 ''Gigant'' ("Giant") was a German military transport aircraft of World War II. It was a powered variant of the Messerschmitt Me 321, Me 321 military glider and was the largest land-based transport aircraft to fly during ...

s it was escorting; analysis confirms 14. JG 27 sources described the air battle as a "massacre." The following morning II./JG 27 landed in Africa for the first time since December 1942. It operated from

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

during this day, but experienced damage to three Bf 109s which were left behind. The group experienced the dire conditions in Tunisia; incessant bombing attacks, few spares, and an acute fuel shortage. II./JG 27 operated off the coast of Africa during 1943. On 23 March, for example, II./JG 27 fought with I./JG 53 over Ras Jebel against the US 1st Fighter Group. A

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

was claimed. On 31 March, II./JG 27 scored a success when intercepting

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

s of the 321st Bombardment Group escorted by P-38s of the US 82nd Fighter Group. A

from III./ KG 76 lured the fighters away and the Bf 109s were able to break up the formation, force the American bomber pilots to jettison their bombs, though they lost only two aircraft. II./JG 27 changed missions on 9 April. It was ordered to Sainte Marie du Zit Airfield for two-days operations over the frontline. Wilhelm Kientsch, a 53-victory pilot (killed January 1944) claimed a

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

over Trapani.

, commander-in-chief of the North African and Mediterranean Theatre, was travelling by air to the base and personally offered to be a witness. The B-17s were from the 91st Bombardment Group and 301st Bombardment Group. The Americans reported two losses. On 19 April, II. ''Gruppe'' attempted to escort Ju 52s to Africa, but the transports flew too low for evasive movements and in large open formations making it impossible for Bf 109s to cover them all. 15 were shot down. 24 Bf 109s from the ''gruppe'' were airborne but claimed no victory. On 29 April 160 Axis fighters covered the convoys over the coast in a desperate bid to keep the flow of supplies getting to Axis forces. On 5 May 1943, the commanding officer of 7./JG 27, the 41-victory pilot Gunther Hannack, recently transferred from JG 77, was forced down over Malta and captured. The convoy duties cost the two ''staffeln'' six Bf 109s, and soon after they moved to Tanagra, northwest of Athens to join 8./JG 27. 5./JG 27 claimed a last victory in support of supply operations on 13 May, the same day Axis forces surrendered at Tunis. The claim, made near

Marettimo Marettimo (; Sicilian: ''Marrètimu'') is one of the Aegadian Islands in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily, Italy. It forms a part of the municipality (''comune'') of Favignana in the Province of Trapani. It takes about an hour to reach the ...

is unconfirmed. III. ''Gruppe'' claimed a first victory in several months, on 6 May over Tunis. The ''Gruppe'' was split, with ''staffeln'' on Crete—they claimed successes over Aegean on 13 May. II. and III. ''Gruppen'' remained in Sicily until the latter moved to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

mid-month. II. ''Gruppe'' remained until the third week in June 1943, before it abandoned Sicily and withdrew to mainland Italy in the face of intensive attacks on their airfields. The ''Gruppe'' supported anti-shipping operations; on 10 June it escorted II/ SG 2 on such missions. III./JG 27s brief stay on the mainland was spent protecting military targets in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

. Reinforcements increased fighter strength from 190 in mid-May to 450 in early July 1943. Close to 40 percent of all fighter production from 1 May to 15 July 1943 went to the Mediterranean Theatre and two new fighter wings, scheduled for Germany's defence, went south. The movement of fighters to redress Allied

air superiority An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmospher ...

achieved only a rise in German losses, which reflected the superiority of Allied production. From 16 May to 9 July Allied forces flew 42,147 sorties and lost 250 aircraft to the Axis' 325 as the air offensive gradually rendered airfields in Sicily inoperable. On 20 June II. ''Gruppe'' moved to

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

on the heal of Italy. The move brought scant relief, the US

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Forc ...

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...

s were biting deeper into continental Europe. The ''gruppe'' moved San Vito dei Normanni, as bombing rendered Lecce untenable. On 16 July 1943 they fought a last major action over the region; four days after

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, the Allied invasion of Sicily before leaving the Mediterranean permanently. The pitched battle was against the 376th Bombardment Group and 389th Bombardment Group over

. The Germans claimed nine, the Italian 21 ''Gruppo'' claimed three. JG 27 reported two pilots killed. III./JG 27 left Italy in late July to return to Vienna. The ''gruppe'' returned to the Mediterranean on 23 September, but located to Argos, near Athens in Greece; it remained engaged in combat operations in this theatre until March 1944. A fourth group was added to JG 27 in June. IV. ''Gruppe'' was created in Greece and placed under the command of Hauptmann Rudolf Sinner. This ''gruppe'' remained in action over Greece and the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

until March 1944. The Allied invasion of Italy,

Operation Avalanche Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but ...

had considerable impact on JG 27 ''gruppen'' operating in southeast Europe. Allied air forces operating from Italy from September 1943, faced only the barrier of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

. Allied bombers began to make frequent raids into the Axis-held Balkans until the end of the war. Among the JG 27 pilots to emerge in the air battles over Greece was Heinrich Bartels, drafted from ''Jagdgeschwader'' 5 after service in the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. In October 1943, III. ''Gruppe'' was left to cover Greece and Crete while IV. ''Gruppe'' moved to

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

, Yugoslavia. Later in October, elements of III. ''Gruppe'' flew combat operations over

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

, and were based at

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

briefly. In combat over

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, IV. ''Gruppe'' doubled its total but lost their recently appointed commanding officer, the 188-victory ace Joachim Kirschner killed on 17 December. Kirschner was the second of group's commanders to die, after acting commander Dietrich Boesler. JG 27 flew in support of the Dodecanese campaign. There were light Luftwaffe losses during the operation, in which JG 27 flew some 70 sorties and the strike forces flew 134, dropping 110 tons of bombs. III. ''Gruppe'' claimed 15

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufor ...

s in the first two weeks, November 1943, but IV. ''Gruppe'' was claimed the greatest number of victories and suffer the heaviest losses in the region. By March 1944 the US

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

was threatening to gain air superiority over Germany proper. The battles over the country from January to April 1944 ensured the Luftwaffe lost the air war over the homeland and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. With I./JG 5, III. and IV. ''Gruppe'' were assigned to ''Jafü Ostmark'' (Fighter Leader Austria). They were immediately added to

Luftflotte Reich Luftflotte ReichFor an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organisation (Air Fleet ''Reich'') was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II World War II or the Second Wor ...

order of battle.

Defence of the Reich and the Western Front

I. ''Gruppe'' moved to France after its withdrawal from Africa. It was moved to Jagdfliegerführer 3 at

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

from 2 January 1943. The formation was ordered to defend the

area but was still not at full combat effectiveness, in what was to become a demanding combat environment. The group experienced its first combat on 8 March and five days later its commander Hauptmann Heinrich Setz was killed in action with Spitfires. A series of air raids against

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

and

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

took place that day, covered by 16 RAF Squadrons and the US

4th Fighter Group The 4th Fighter Group was an American element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force during World War II. The group was known as the Debden Eagles because it was created from the three Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Forc ...

. 3./JG 27 lost one pilot killed in the fighting. The ''gruppe'' moved to ''Jagdfliegerführer Südfrankreich'' after the Axis defeat in Africa. It stayed at Poix for a week before moving to

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

after

Case Anton Case Anton () was the military occupation of Vichy France carried out by Germany and Italy in November 1942. It marked the end of the Vichy regime as a nominally independent state and the disbanding of its army (the severely-limited '' Armisti ...

to defend the area. 2./JG 27 left Jafü 3 and the rest of I./JG 27 and transferred to Amsterdam-Schiphol Airfield, under the jurisdiction of ''Jagdfliegerführer Holland'' for a short time. I. ''Gruppe'' was the first formation moved from a peripheral theatre to defend Germany. The unit was then moved to the 7. ''Jagddivision'' near Markersdorf, from

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. It became the first unit under ''Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark'', and was later joined by III. and IV. ''Gruppe'' in Austria. Bf109 G Farbe eingezogen

On 1 October I./JG 27 was sent to intercept the Eighth Air Force's attack on the Messerschmitt factory at

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

. The US

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

was sent to bomb

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

. Luftwaffe defences were still weak in this region, and inexperienced against heavy bombers, but the ''gruppe'' and III./JG 3, with Messerschmitt Me 410s from I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 51 in support. JG 3 claimed seven and I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 27 claimed six. American records reflect the loss of ten heavy bombers. On 4 October the Eighth AF targeted

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

with 155 B-17s from the 1st Bombardment Division, while the 3rd Bombardment Division sent 168 bombers against industrial targets in the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Sarr Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

, and specifically the

Saint-Dizier Saint-Dizier () is a subprefecture of the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. It has a population of 23,382 (2018 figure) and is a subprefecture of the department. Although Saint-Dizier is marginally the most populous commune in Hau ...

airbase which housed the recently arrived I./JG 27. The ''Gruppe'' withdrew to

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

on 18 November and remained there until 13 May 1944.Ten days later, the Americans initiated a Second Raid on Schweinfurt. I./JG 27 rushed from Austria to forward airfields to refuel and reached the bomber stream claiming six. The raid was a costly failure for the USAAF, and the high commands on both sides could see it was a victory for the defenders. On 2 November the Fifteenth AF attacked the Messerschmitt factory at Wiener Neustadt again. The attack was successful; only 11 of the 112 bombers failed to return. I./JG 27, II./JG 51, II./JG 53 and the factory protection ''schwarm'' claimed successes, but Göring and '' General der Jagdflieger''

(former JG 27 adjutant) were dissatisfied and personally flew to Austria to rebuke the group commanders. In February 1944 the US Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces began "

Big Week Operation Argument, after the war dubbed Big Week, was a sequence of raids by the United States Army Air Forces and RAF Bomber Command from 20 to 25 February 1944, as part of the Combined Bomber Offensive against Nazi Germany. The objective o ...

". American bomber operations were now protected by growing numbers of long-range US single-engine fighters. On 22 February 1944, the Fifteenth was relieved of support operations in Italy and ordered to attack the

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

area, covered by the 7. ''Jagddivision'' and its Austrian Fighter Leader command. I./JG 27 flew in action to protect the Messerschmitt factories in the region. Scrambled from Wels-am-Wagram, with eight Bf 109s from the fighter leader school nearby. They assembled over Vienna and flew to

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, but some JG 27 pilots were dissatisfied with the cooperation from the leader's school. Three B-24s were claimed destroyed and two were reported as ''Herausschüsse'' ("forced from formation"), losing two killed and one wounded. The school leaders claimed one

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

without loss. The weather over

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

was clear on 22 February and the Eighth began a complex, three-pronged assault on

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a town#Germany, city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding Schweinfurt (district), district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultur ...

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

and

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. The Fifteenth supported by sending forces to

Styr The Styr (; ; ) is a right tributary of the Pripyat, with a length of . Its basin area is and located in the historical region of Volhynia. The Styr begins near Brody, Lviv Oblast, then flows into Rivne Oblast, Volyn Oblast, then into Brest ...

. The 5th Bombardment Wing was committed to the latter, with escort only on the withdrawal phase. I./JG 27, II./JG 53 and II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing) intercepted from the city. III./JG 3 and II./ZG 76 arrived as the bomb-run began. All ''gruppen'' concentrated on the 2nd Bombardment Group's 33 B-17s with over 120 fighters. This American unit lost 14 and one damaged. The 301st Bombardment Group lost three before P-38s dispersed the attacks while

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

s from the 325th Fighter Group arrived too late to influence the battle. German pilots claimed 23 B-17s, and two P-38s for ten losses. The Fifteenth sent more unescorted bombers to Regensburg on 25 February, an hour before the Eighth was due to attack it. I./JG 27 and II./ZG 1 intercepted the bombers near Klagenfurt and reported successes. III./JG 3 and JG 27 with parts of ZG 76 achieved many shoot-downs at low cost. The Americans lost 19 B-17s and 21 B-24s were destroyed; P-38s arrived to shoot down one German fighter for three losses. ''Luftflotte Reich'' was the air fleet responsible for "

" operations. These elements of JG 27 were in combat before the end of the month. On 19 March the Fifteenth Air Force hit targets around

. III. and IV. ''Gruppe'' sent 87 Bf 109s to intercept on their first combat mission. They found a

bomber stream The bomber stream was a saturation attack tactic developed by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command to overwhelm the nighttime German aerial defences of the Kammhuber Line during World War II. The Kammhuber Line consisted of three layer ...

of unescorted Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers. The pilots attacked from all directions except head-on — not a popular approach in the wing — but suffered the loss of ten Bf 109s and six pilots to American gunners. In return, the Germans claimed 27 B-24s. This was reduced to 21 "confirmed". Actual American losses were six B-17s and 12 B-24s; eight from the 454th Bombardment Group. JG 27 did not normally employ a set formation to engage heavy bombers but took advantage of the prevailing situation. JG 27 tended to attack in ''staffeln'', from the rear and sometimes from the front. On 28 May, JG 27 was in action over Central Germany as the Eighth Air Force bombed oil targets. Near

, IV./JG 27 was escorting other units into battle. The lack of US fighter cover allowed them to join the bomber-attacks. Nearly all of the B-17s they damaged went down. The 94th Bombardment Wing lost 15 bombers; only six bombed the target. JG 27 claimed 16 B-17s and one

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

for four killed and two wounded. Seven Bf 109s were destroyed. The ''gruppe'' was given credit for driving the bombers away from the target, a rare achievement and close to the literal truth. At the beginning of April 1944, the Fifteenth began operations in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Hitler's Axis ally. On 3 April, they attacked

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. Only JG 27 ''gruppen'' were near enough to engage the bombers. They pilots claimed five bombers and one P-38 without loss. Two squadrons of Bf 109s and Messerschmitt Me 210 from the

Royal Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force (, ), is the air force branch of the Military of Hungary, Hungarian Defence Forces. The primary focus of the present Hungarian Air Force lies in defensive operations. The flying units operate are organised into a single ...

took part in the defence claiming five bombers for two Me 210 and one Re 2000. American total losses were five bombers, while P-38s claimed three Bf 109s and four Me 210s. III./JG 27 was moved from Austria to Budapest the following week, stretching Luftflotte Reich further. On 13 April, the Fifteenth returned to Budapest but lost 18 bombers. III./JG 27, III./JG 3 were involved along with Bf 109 and Me 210s from Hungarian units—13 Me 210s were shot down. In mid-April the Jagdgeschwader zur besondere Verwendung was established at

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

. The fighter staff was tasked with leading a 7. ''Jagddivision'' ''Gefechtsverband'' comprising five orphaned fighter groups from southern Germany; III./JG 3, I./JG 5, II./JG 27, II./JG 53 and III. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing). The commanding officer was Gerhard Michalski, who relinquished command of III./JG 53. II./JG 27 was moved to form part of Jagdabschnitt Mittelrhein with II./JG 53 as ''Gefechtsverband Dachs''. On 12 May, while defending oil installations in Western Germany, they were attacked by P-51 Mustangs and lost 11 Bf 109s between them. After the German pilots broke free they engaged the bomber formations from either the 1st or 2nd Bombardment Division scoring successes against them over the Taunus Mountains. Rödel led the stabschwarm personal, with I. and III./JG 27 in support and engaged a bomber stream near Frankfurt. The US bombers had heavy fighter escort but JG 27 pilots claimed 24 B-17s and two P-51s for three killed, seven wounded and 14 Bf 109s. The returning American bombers had been in action with fighters from the 1 and 2. ''Jagddivision'' and most likely had already been damaged. The American oil Campaign on 12 May had achieved success, inflicting permanent shortfalls in the production of aviation fuels. On 14 May 1944, II. ''Gruppe'' was moved from 7. ''Jagddivision'' back to Fighter Leader Austria to rebuild and unite with its wing. On 29 May, I. ''Gruppe'' lost its commanding officer, Karl-Wolfgang Redlich, killed in action with US fighters. On 6 June

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

began with the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

. The invasion opened up the Western Front, dormant on land since 1940. The USAAF, RCAF and RAF and subordinated foreign elements had achieved

air supremacy Air supremacy (as well as air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of ...

over Western Europe by June 1944, and the Luftwaffe was unable to challenge their superiority. Moreover, the quality of German fighter pilots had been diminished in four years of uninterrupted fighting. Fuel shortages curtailed training programs, which were shortened to cope with the attrition of pilots sent into battle with too little instruction and experience. The cadre of experienced and successful fighter leaders that remained were wasting assets. JG 27 was among those wings rushed into Normandy to stem the invasion. The weather was bad over home bases which delayed take-offs until the afternoon. I. ''Gruppe'' suffered a disastrous transfer. 15 Bf 109s crash-landed after their pilots got lost and ran out of fuel. The new bases in France were emergency strips, short of essential equipment and inadequately camouflaged for permanent occupation. JG 27 fielded four ''gruppen'' on 31 May 1944. All for of the ''Stabschwarm''s aircraft were operational. I. ''Gruppe'' contained 41 fighters (31 operational), II. ''Gruppe'' 24 (12), III. ''Gruppe'', 26 (20) and IV. ''Gruppe'' 18 (12). The ''Stabschwarm'' and IV. ''Gruppe'' moved to Champfleury, Marne, I. ''Gruppe'' transferred to Vertus while the remaining ''gruppen'' stayed in Germany and Austria. The situation in Normandy grew so critical that ''

Reichsmarschall (; ) was an honorary military rank, specially created for Hermann Göring during World War II, and the highest rank in the . It was senior to the rank of (, equivalent to field marshal, which was previously the highest rank in the ), but ...

'' Göring tried to cut losses by introducing a scale, which permitted his squadron, group and wing commanders into battle provided they led large formations of fighters. Rödel led his three combat units into battle through Normandy, but suffered a "blood-letting" over France. Heinrich Bartels of VI. ''Gruppe'' retained his position as the formation's top-achiever with nine US fighters claimed, taking his tally to 85. The survivors fought on, but were able to claim only three more victories before being withdrawn to Germany in mid-August. ''Major''

's III./JG 27 came a close second to IV. ''Gruppe'' in the numbers of Allied aircraft destroyed over Normandy after arriving at Connantre. Luftwaffe fighter units had been withdrawn east of Paris by mid-August. These airfields were less vulnerable to attack, but put German aviators at a greater distance from the front, burned precious fuel and reduced loiter time over the front. Nevertheless, the JG 27 ''gruppen'', then assigned to the 4. ''Jagddivision'' replaced JG 1 of the 5. ''Jagddivision'' as the main units responsible for air operations west of the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

on 17 August. An order for the destruction of Paris airfields housing IV./JG 27 and III./JG 54 were made on this date in preparation for an evacuation. Bf 109 Abschuss2 1944-45

II./JG 27 had been left in Germany. With III./JG 1 it served as an assembly point for German fighter units to cover shuttling operations to France. Gerhard Schöpfel took command of an ad hoc unit (JG zbV), which became Stab of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 4 (JG 4—4th Fighter Wing). This controlled the two ''gruppen''. The ''gruppe'' was equipped with the Bf 109 G-6/AS high altitude variant and returned to RLV operations in the 8. ''Jagddivision''. The change brought immediate casualties. II./JG 27 was sent to intercept a Fifteenth Air Force raid on Budapest. Tasked with escort to

heavy fighter A heavy fighter is an historic category of fighter aircraft produced in the 1930s and 1940s, designed to carry heavier weapons or operate at longer ranges than light fighter aircraft. To achieve performance, most heavy fighters were twin-engine ...

units, it had no aircraft to escort and attacked B-24 wings over

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater rift lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the larges ...

. They were only able to claim a single bomber before US escorts arrived and destroyed eight Bf 109s killing five pilots and wounding two. On 7 July it opposed American raids on

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

; the following day it fought in defence of oil installations near Vienna; on 25 July over Linz escorting II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 300 (JG 300—300th Fighter Wing) and I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 302 (JG 302—302nd Fighter Wing); 7 August over Blechhammer. As far as can be ascertained, two pilots were killed, four fighters lost for four fighters and one bomber claimed. In September 1944, JG 27 returned to the Defence of the Reich operations after the collapse in Normandy. Allied armies and air forces were now lined up along Germany's border. For the next fourteen weeks most of JG 27 fought over Germany and Austria. On 11 September six pilots were killed opposing the Eighth; during the month there were 17 casualties; 12 of them fatalities. On 12 September, II. ''Gruppe'' flew as part of Walther Dahl's ''Gefechtsverband'' from I. ''Jagdkorps'', supporting JG 300, I., IV. (Sturm)/JG 3 and III./JG 53. The initial attacks were successful, but the following waves from the II. ''Jagdkorps'' suffered heavy losses. The two fighter corps mustered, 147 fighters; 76 of them were shot down by the US 354th Fighter Group and

. 42 pilots were killed and 14 wounded; 52 percent of the attacking force. On 17 September 1944, the Anglo-Canadian

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established ...

began Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, with the aim of striking across the Rhine to the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

and ending the war that year. The operation failed, and JG 27 took no major part in it. From October through to early November 1944, the loss rate reached a peak. On 2 November 1944, JG 27 attempted to intercept an Eighth Air Force bombing raid. They failed to shoot down a single American bomber, but claimed six P-51s; the battle cost exactly 50 Bf 109s with 27 pilots killed and 12 wounded in action. It was the worst loss of the war for JG 27. JG 27 was the worst-hit Luftwaffe fighter unit on the day. Another four pilots were killed on 26 November. By mid-December 1944, another 39 pilots were killed and 14 wounded; almost 100 since 2 November. In late 1944 morale had fallen and while production replaced losses, fuel and pilots were hard to come by. ''Leutnant'' Hans-Ulrich Flade, I./JG 27 remarked that it was easier simply to get a new aircraft than have one repaired: "We simply went to the depot nearby, where they had hundreds of brand new Bf 109 G-10s, G-14s and even the very latest K models. There was no proper organisation any more: the depot staff just said, "There are the aircraft, take what you want and go away". But getting fuel, that was more difficult.". At this time, Flade recalls the 20 pilots in the ''gruppe'' were low in morale; daily missions cost two or three pilots. New pilots did not last long, for conversion time on to types was non-existent and many of the newcomers flew only two or three sorties before being shot down. Flade's ''gruppe'' was ordered to escort other fighters, to attack US escorts and force them to drop their external tanks. Flade said the standard tactics were to dive in pairs, make an attack, then break; dogfighting the numerous escorting fighters was foolish. On 5 December 1944

attacked the rail stations at

Soest, Germany Soest (, as if it were 'Sohst'; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Saust'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the Capital (political), capital of the Soest (district), Soest district. Geography Soest is located al ...

in daylight. Two ''gruppen'' of JG 27 failed to break through the Fighter Command escort; the Eighth Air Force struck at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The Luftwaffe lost 44 killed and 16 wounded plus 77 fighters. The Americans lost no bombers and 11 fighters; the RAF no bombers and one Spitfire. The 12 December improved results. The Merseburg-Leuna plant was targeted by the Eighth AF while

bombed the

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum ...

steel plant. IV. ''Gruppe'' led by Hanns-Heinz Dudeck, attempted to intercept. The pilots were inexperienced but took off from Achmer. They caught 140

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

bombers and shot down eight before the escorts intervened. Subsequently, one Bf 109 and one Mustang were lost. On 16 December Hitler gambled his remaining

Panzer Division A Panzer division was one of the Division (military)#Armored division, armored (tank) divisions in the German Army (1935–1945), army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the Blitzkrieg, ...

s, by ordering the Wehrmacht and

Waffen SS The (; ) was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. ...

to begin the

, to retrieve Germany's military situation. JG 27 would lose another 50 pilots in the last week of 1944 over Belgium. IV. ''Gruppe'' remained at Achmer, II. ''Gruppe'' at Hopsten, Stab, I. and III. ''Gruppe'' at

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...

were the JG 27 contingent. I. ''Gruppe'' were prepared for fighter-bomber missions. II and IV. ''Gruppen'' flew the Bf 109 G-14 and 10 respectively, I. ''Gruppe'' flew the G-14 and new K-4 while III. ''Gruppe'' was fully equipped with the K-4. The following morning a fight with P-38s from the 404th Fighter Group cost the wing six dead and four wounded; ''Staffelkapitan'' Herbert Rehfeld was killed. Concurrently, I. ''Gruppe'' clashed with No. 56 Squadron RAF near

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

while they provided escort for

Messerschmitt Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed (German for "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ("Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messers ...

jets from ''Kampfgeschwader'' 51. In the battle another four were killed or captured. In combat again with the 404th Fighter Group that day, I. ''Gruppe'' was able to claim 16 US fighters which matched the

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...

exactly. JG 26 and JG 27 were able to frustrate Allied domination of the air on 17 December, but it cost the Luftwaffe 68 fighters, 55 pilots killed or missing and 24 wounded. The following morning JG 27 fought in many battles over

. I. ''Gruppe'' suffered one loss to friendly fire but III. ''Gruppe'' suffered severe losses; eight are specifically known. Later, the US 365th Fighter Group and 368th Fighter Group accounted for three Bf 109 K-4s from III. ''Gruppe''. Five days later, JG 4, ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 11, JG 27 and JG 54 fought in more battles over Cologne. Among the JG 27 casualties was the 99-victory ace Heinrich Bartels. His remains were found in 1968. Rödel, ''Geschwaderkommodore'' accused 20 percent of his pilots of breaking off attacks early and retreating. He threatened courts-martial for those who did it again. The message was picked up and read by

Ultra Ultra may refer to: Science and technology * Ultra (cryptography), the codename for cryptographic intelligence obtained from signal traffic in World War II * Adobe Ultra, a vector-keying application * Sun Ultra series, a brand of computer work ...

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

brought I. ''Gruppe'' no respite and it fought high-altitude battles in support of JG 3 costing the wing another four pilots missing or killed. Later in the day the wing flew with JG 3 and ''Jagdgeschwader'' 6 against the Eighth Air Force. The German fighters shot down four B-17s, including that of Brigadier General Frederick Walker Castle.

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

was another expensive day; JG 27 lost 13 pilots without making a single claim as the Luftwaffe sought to continue to challenge for air superiority. Ludwig Franzisket led JG 27 into combat on 27 December 1944 (he replaced Rödel as ''Geschwaderkommodore'' three days later) and for the first time JG 27 outscored their opponents, claiming 10 aircraft for eight losses, one of which was the commanding officer of 7./JG 27, Gernot Stein. Three of their losses were sustained in action with No. 404 Squadron RCAF as JG 27 fought to cover German forces in the Battle of St. Vith and

Siege of Bastogne The siege of Bastogne () was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbor at Antwerp. In order to re ...

. Franzisket personally claimed a P-38 as his ''gruppe'' penetrated the US fighter screen surrounding St. Vith. JG 6, JG 27 and JG 54 engaged RAF forces on 29 December; 31 German fighters were destroyed with the loss of 20 pilots for 11 British fighters. A last major effort was made on 1 January 1945 to gain aerial superiority and restart the faltering offensive. JG 27 took part in a large air attack on Allied bases in Belgium, Netherlands and France.

ordered JG 27 to attack the Brussels— Melsbroek Air Base. On 31 December, JG 27 could only muster the following operational pilots and aircraft: 22 (22) from I., 19 (13) from II., 13 (15) from III., and 16 (17) from IV. ''Gruppe''. IV./JG 54 accompanied JG 27. It had only 21 pilots and 15 of its 23

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...

s were operational. Altogether 28 Bf 109s of JG 27 and 15 Fw 190s of JG 54 took off. Seven fighters were lost to enemy aircraft and friendly

fire before they reached the target. The pilots of JG 27 and 54 claimed 85 British aircraft destroyed and 40 damaged. German reconnaissance was able to confirm 49. JG 27 suffered unacceptable losses; 17 Bf 109s, 11 pilots killed, one wounded and three captured. IV./JG 54 lost two killed and one captured. Three Fw 190s were lost and one damaged. The Luftwaffe lost more aircraft on this day than any other through the war. The more serious losses were the fighter pilots that could not be replaced. ''Hauptmann'' Hanns-Heinz Dudeck, commanding IV. ''Gruppe'', was shot down on the return journey; the veteran pilot with ten years service survived a parachute failure and hit a tree. He was subsequently captured. On 21 January 1945, Gerhard Hoyer, commanding II. ''Gruppe'' was killed, representing the loss of another experienced veteran. The failure of the offensive in January 1945 led to the

Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied ...

in March 1945. JG 27 remained in combat in the west. On 24 March 1945, III. ''Gruppe'' reported another one-sided fight with P-51 Mustangs, claiming one for eight pilots killed and one wounded. JG 27 lost another 47 dead or missing during the month. IV. ''Gruppe'' was disbanded on the last day, reducing the wing to three ''gruppen''. Such was the superiority of the Allied air forces by mid-March that all four ''gruppen'' were not combat effective. I. and II. ''Gruppe'' moved to Grossenhain near Berlin in mid-April. II. ''Gruppe'' then transferred north to Leck where it surrendered on 8 May 1945 to the British and Canadians. I. ''Gruppe'' retreated south, surrendering at

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

on 8 May. III. ''Gruppe'' moved to Saalbach, even further away before it too capitulated the same day. Over 1,000 men in all surrendered to American forces in the south. In the last months of the war, since January 1945, 126 pilots of JG 27 were killed or posted missing in action.

Post-war analysis

Australian author Russell Brown has cast doubt on the accuracy of aerial victory claims by JG 27 pilots in North Africa. Brown, who has researched the records of individual Desert Air Force squadrons, suggests that ''Luftwaffe'' claim confirmation in North Africa was less stringent than it had been during the Battle of Britain. Brown points out specific, documented examples of spurious verification, such as one "confirmation" by a ''

Panzer {{CatAutoTOC, numerals=no Words and phrases Germanic words and phrases Words and phrases by language la:Categoria:Verba Theodisca ...

'' commander, who merely saw a "cloud of dust", after an Allied plane passed behind a sand dune. He also lists several dates on which there was significant, demonstrable over-claiming by JG 27 pilots. For example, pilots from JG 27 were credited with destroying 19 or 20

P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entr ...

s from No. 239 Wing ( No. 3 Squadron RAAF, No. 112 Squadron RAF and

No. 450 Squadron RAAF No. 450 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) that operated during World War II. Established at RAAF Base Williamtown, RAAF Station Williamtown, New South Wales, in February 1941, it was the first Australian Article ...

) on 15 September 1942. Marseille alone claimed seven kills in six minutes. However, the records of the individual Allied squadrons show a total of five aircraft lost to enemy action that day and one lost to friendly AA fire. This analysis is supported by other authors. Brown states: "Clearly in the combat of 15 September, there could not have been seven accurate eyewitness reports, let alone ''twenty'' mphasis in original but Marseille's seven victory claims were accepted without question... ndother recognised ''Experten'', Schröer, Homuth and von Lieres submitted a total of six further cceptedclaims between them.". Author Christopher Shores and his co-authors point to an interview with Eduard Neumann, commanding officer of JG 27, who insisted their work included an incident of deliberate claiming of enemy aircraft when no combat took place. A number of pilots, observed by Stahlschmidt, were seen strafing the desert surface. When he landed he reported the incident. The pilots in question, which included Karl-Heinz Bendert and Franz Stigler, had reported 12 RAF fighters destroyed. The JG 27 staff was at a loss as to what action to take. Until this time, Luftwaffe claims had taken account of possible errors and credited victory claims with reasonable accuracy. Some pilots distrusted 4./JG 27, the guilty ''Staffel'', and wished to see them punished. The pilots involved denied falsifying their claims. It was decided not to report the matter to the OKL, for it would reflect badly on the unit. The guilty men were sent to other units, their future claims treated with scepticism, and finally ejected from JG 27 when the opportunity arose. All of their claims in the war were to be deleted, but when they returned to Germany they were still given credit; Bendert was even awarded the Knight's Cross. The incident has raised some general suspicions about Luftwaffe fighter pilots in general.

Commanding officers

Gruppenkommandeure

I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 27

II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 27

III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 27

IV. ''Gruppe'' of JG 27

Notes

Citations

References

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