JG 3

''Jagdgeschwader'' 3 (JG 3) "Udet" was a ''Luftwaffe'' fighter wing of World War II. The ''Geschwader'' operated on all the German fronts in the European Theatre of World War II. It was named after Ernst Udet, an important figure in the development of the Luftwaffe, in 1942.

History

1940

Jagdschwader 3 "Udet" was formed on 1 May 1939 in Bernburg/Saale from JG 231. JG 3 was one of the ''Luftwaffes fighter units that took part in the Battle of France.
A particularly fruitful period over France occurred from 14 to 17 May 1940. Allied sorties over the area of German advance had attempted to prevent the German armour from crossing the Meuse and sent waves of inadequately protected bombers to do the job. As a result, 90 Allied bombers were shot down and the 14 May became known as the "day of the fighters" within the ''Luftwaffe''. I./JG 3 destroyed seven fighters without loss on this day. On 15 May five were destroyed, again for no losses. On 17 May an entire formation of 13 Bristol Blenheims were shot down by I./JG 3. A total of 19 Allied aircraft were shot down by I./JG 3 alone on that day. The unit claimed some 179 aircraft shot down. '' Oberleutnant'' Lothar Keller was top claimant with 10 kills, and I./JG 3 ''Gruppenkommandeur'' Maj. Günther Lützow scored 9. I./JG3 was the most successful ''Gruppe'', with 88 enemy aircraft destroyed for ten Bf 109s lost while six pilots were killed and one wounded.

JG 3 later flew intensively in the Battle of Britain. On 21 August 1940, ''Oberstleutnant'' Lützow was appointed ''Kommodore'' of JG 3. He recorded 8 more victories during the aerial battles over England. Lützow was awarded the ''Ritterkreuz'' (Knights Cross) on 18 September. By the end of 1940 its most successful pilots were Oblt. Erwin Neuerberg (11 claims) and Lt Helmut Meckel (9 claims). The Geschwader lost some 51 pilots killed or POW July–December 1940. I ''Gruppe'' alone had destroyed exactly 50 enemy machines, but in exchange of 32 Messerschmitts of which 20 were lost to enemy action. Ten pilots were killed or missing while a further 11 were captured.

1941

The ''Geschwader'' took part in Operation Barbarossa from 22 June 1941 onwards, and during the offensive against the Soviets JG 3 claimed its 1,000th aircraft destroyed on 30 August. Lützow became the second ''Experte'' to achieve 100 victories when he downed three Russian fighters near Moscow on 24 October. Lützow was then grounded. On 27 June 1941, ''Hauptmann'' Gordon Gollob was made ''Gruppenkommandeur'' II./JG 3, following the mid-air collision death of ''Hauptman'' Lothar Keller. He claimed 18 victories in August and achieved 37 victories in October, including 9 aircraft shot down over the Perekop Isthmus on 18 October and 6 aircraft on 22 October. He was awarded the ''Eichenlaub'' (Oak Leaves) on 26 October for 85 victories. He led II./JG 3 until November 1941.
In the period 22 June – 5 December 1941, the unit destroyed 1,298 Soviet aircraft in return for 58 losses in aerial combat and losing 10 aircraft on the ground.

II./JG 3, under the command of Captain Karl-Heinz Krahl was transferred to Comiso on Sicily in January 1942 to bolster JG 53 and the ''Regia Aeronautica'' which were carrying out sustained attacks against Malta. At this time the unit was equipped with Bf 109F-4 Trops. At the end of April II ''Gruppe'' departed Sicily for a brief stay in Germany before being redeployed to the Eastern front.

1942

In mid-September, I./JG 3 were ordered back to Germany for rest and refit. However, a number of I. ''Gruppe'' pilots remained in Russia serving with III./JG 3. After refitting with Bf 109F-4 fighters, I./JG 3 was ordered to relocate to bases in the Netherlands in December 1941. On 6 January 1942, it became II./ JG 1, with a new I. ''Gruppe'' being raised.

By early 1942, JG 3 was awarded the honour name "Udet" (after Ernst Udet) and was then often simply referred as "Jagdgeschwader Udet" thereafter. In May 1942, Lützow led most of JG 3 back to Russia and commenced operations in the Kharkiv