''Jagdgeschwader 302 (JG 302)'' was a ''

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 ...

'' 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 ...

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 ...

. ''JG 302'' was formed on 1 November 1943 in Stade, Germany with a theoretical establishment of ''

Stab STAB or stab or stabs may refer to: *Stabbing, penetration or contact with a sharp object Places *Stab, Kentucky, US * St. Anne's-Belfield School, a college preparatory school in Charlottesville, Virginia, US People and characters * Staff capta ...

'' and three ''Gruppen'' (groups) known as a "'' Wilde Sau''" (wild boar) single-seat night fighter unit. After re-equipping with the Focke-Wulf 190 A-8, ''I./JG 302'' was redesignated ''III.''/''

JG 301 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 301 (JG 301) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. The order to form JG 301 was issued on 26 September 1943 and formed on 1 October 1943 in Neubiberg with '' Stab'' and three ''Gruppen'' (groups) as a " Wilde Sau" (wi ...

'' on 30 September. ''JG 302'' made a known total of at least 348 air victory claims

Operations 1944

The unit's primary mission, when formed in late 1943, was to intercept

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)

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 at night, flying modified single-engined day fighters. Eventually ''JG 302'' also engaged

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) bombers by day. Initially, the pilots recruited were a mix of former bomber pilots and instructors, experienced in night and instrument flying. During the night of 22 November, ''Hauptmann'' Heinrich Wurzer (26 victories, 24 by day, all with ''JG 302'') shot down a RAF

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

bomber for his first victory and on 14 January 1944 was appointed ''

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 ...

'' of ''1./JG 302''. On 6/7 February 1944 the Soviet Long-Range Bomber Force (ADD) launched a series of large scale air raids against

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. Thus, early in 1944 elements of I./JG 302 were temporarily transferred North to ''Nachtjagd-Kommando Helsinki'' to assist in the city's defence. On 12 February 1944, 12

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 ...

G-6/R6 night-fighters of ''I. Gruppe'' arrived at Malmi airfield from Jüterbog in Germany. Using the "Wilde Sau" method, ''I./JG 302'' shot down two Soviet aircraft on 16/17 February. On 26/27 February the unit shot down another four bombers. In April 1944 ''I./JG 302'' lost three planes in flying accidents and had had just seven fighters operational. The unit returned to Germany for Reich defence duties on 15 May 1944. On 16 April 18 Bf 109G-6s of ''I gruppe'' intercepted USAAF bombers over Plattensee. Some six bombers, two

P-51 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 ...

s and a

P-38 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 ...

were claimed for three JG 302 fighters downed. On 2 July ''I./ JG 302'', led by Hptm. Richard Lewens, attacked 603

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 ...

s of the 15th Air Force, attacking targets near

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 ...

; they were escorted by 270 fighters. Combats ranged from Budapest into Southern Slovakia. ''I./ JG 302'' claimed 19 B-24s and two P-51s, but lost 12 Bf 109s and 10 crewmen killed in the battle. Unteroffizier Willi Reschke was JG 302's most prolific ace, scoring 14 of his eventual 26 combat claims with JG 302. He achieved his first success when he shot down two B-24s over Budapest on 2 July. Reschke rammed a B-24 on 7 July when his guns malfunctioned, successfully baling out of his stricken fighter. On 8 July 1944 I./JG 302 took off from Götzendorf under Hpt. Heinrich Würzer to intercept 15th Air Force heavy bombers over

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

and

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. ...

. The unit claimed nine B-24s and three

B-17 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 ...

s, with I./ JG 302 losing one pilot killed and four wounded. On this day Hpt. Wurzer shot down two B-24s. However, he was wounded in the right arm during this combat and had to make an emergency landing with his Bf 109 G-6 near the Götzendorft airfield. On 25 July 1944 420 B-17s and B-24s bombed the tank factories in

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 ...

while other bombers hit the

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marshalling yards. Nearly 200 Luftwaffe fighters opposed the attacks, drawn from ''II./

JG 27 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27) "''Afrika''" was a fighter wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II. The wing was given the name "Africa" for serving in the North African Campaign predominantly alone in the period from April 1941 to Septembe ...

, Stab, I. and II./

JG 300 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 300 (JG 300) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. JG 300 was formed on 26 June 1943 in Deelen as Stab/Versuchskommando Herrmann, from July 18, 1943 as Stab/JG Herrmann and finally renamed on August 20, 1943 to Stab/ ...

'' and ''I./ JG 302''. 16 bombers were downed, while the USAAF bombers and escort fighters claimed over 60 fighters shot down. ''I./ JG 302'' lost four killed, two wounded, and 12 planes lost for six bombers claimed destroyed. On 24 August, Reschke claimed a further B-24 but shortly afterwards, during an attack on a second, his aircraft was hit by return fire, and he baled out when P-51 fighters attacked his Bf 109. Hpt. Wurzer was appointed ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of ''I./JG 302'' on 28 August 1944. In September ''I./JG 302'' was reformed as ''III./JG 301'' and re-equipped with the Fw 190 A-8. A new commander, '' Ritterkreuz'' holder Hpt. Wilhelm Fulda (one victory), was appointed to lead the unit.

Commanding officers

*''Major'' Ewald Janssen, November 1943 – February 1944 *''Major'' Kurd Peters, February 1944 – June 1944

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * Reschke, Willi (2011). ''Chronik Jagdgeschwader 301/302 "Wilde Sau"'' (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. . {{Knight's Cross recipients of JG 30X Fighter wings of the Luftwaffe 1933-1945 Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944