Jagdgeschwader 5
| Jagdgeschwader 5 | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the 5th Jagdgeschwader | |
| Active | 1942–45 |
| Country |  National Socialist Germany
|
| Branch |  Luftwaffe
|
| Type | Fighter aircraft (Jagdflugzeuge) |
| Role | Air superiority |
| Size | Air Force Wing |
| Nickname | Eismeer |
Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5; 5th Fighter Wing), informally named Eismeer, was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing that served during World War II. As the name Eismeer (Ice Sea) implies, it was created to operate in the far North of Europe, namely Norway and northern parts of Finland, all nearest the Arctic Ocean (Eismeerfront). Just over two dozen fighter aircraft that once served with JG 5 during the war still survive to the present day in museums, more than from any other combat unit in the Axis air forces of World War II.
Throughout its operational history, JG 5 found itself faced with overwhelming numbers of Soviet aircraft. Often groups of 100 to 200 bombers and fighter planes had to be met with 20 to 30 German fighters. The losses suffered by JG 5 were remarkably low in comparison to the losses they inflicted on the enemy. However, total losses of pilots (dead, captured or wounded) was at least 380 – essentially the entire operational strength replaced twice over three years. Total claims for aircraft shot down appear to be approximantely 3,200. In addition to the 208-kill flying ace Heinrich Ehrler (de), JG 5 boasted several other high scoring aces, including Theodor Weissenberger (de), who scored 208/209 victories and Walter Schuck (de) who scored 206 victories. All three were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves.
Contents
History
1942
JG 5 was formed when elements of the I. Gruppe/Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77), already stationed in Norway, were redesignated as I. Gruppe/JG 5 in January 1942. The II. Gruppe was newly created and III. Gruppe was formed from elements of I./Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) in May. The unit had the responsibility for providing fighter-cover over occupied territories under Luftflotte 5, and also to provide fighter-support for the Heer (Wehrmacht) units fighting on the Arctic front in the Murmansk area. JG 5 also had the important task of disrupting traffic on the Murmansk rail-line, as this was the main artery of the Karelian Front defenders.
I. Gruppe was based on the west coast of Norway, in Stavanger, to defend against Allied anti-shipping attacks. II. and III. Gruppe was stationed at Petsamo in Finland, to support operations in the East against the Red Army and it's air force. JG 5 had to cope with challenges that were unique within the Luftwaffe, from 24-hour days during summer when the sun never set, to the complete darkness and extreme cold of the Polar winter.
By the beginning of Polar Summer of 1942, Luftflotte 5 had been reinforced and by July 1942 possessed a total of 250 serviceable aircraft. Operationally, these were controlled by Fliegerführer Nord-Ost Oberstleutnant Walter Lehweß-Litzmann, responsible for operations over the front-line and by Fliegerführer Lofoten, Oberst/Generalmajor Ernst-August Roth, responsible for anti-shipping operations. Due to the air superiority established by II. and III./JG 5 early in the year, Luftflotte 5 enjoyed a numerical and considerable qualitative superiority, and the Soviet opposition amounted to just 170 serviceable combat aircraft. Fliegerführer Nord-Ost also benefited from a "Freya" early-warning radar network.
During the Summer, the Soviets brought in new units, including 20 IAPs (Fighter Aviation Regiments) equipped with the new Yak-l and an effective counter to the Bf 109 F. On 19 July 1942, 7. Staffel/JG 5's Leutnant Bodo Helms and Oberfeldwebel Franz Dörr claimed one Yak-1 each, and Unteroffizier Werner Schumacher claimed two fighters shot down. Further Soviet losses were a MiG-3, three Bell P-39 Airacobra and Kittyhawks, and a Hawker Hurricane (Lend-Lease Act). In return, JG 5's Feldwebel Leopold Knier and Unteroffizier Hans Dobrich (14 victories) were shot down. Both German pilots baled out. Knier was taken prisoner, but Dobrich walked back to his own lines.
Luftflotte 5 recorded 26 combat losses in July 1942, while the VVS (Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) lost 32 of its own aircraft shot down or missing, mainly due to JG 5. On 21 August 1942, 6. Staffel/JG 5 claimed 14 Soviet fighters shot down. JG 5 lost two Bf 109s, one flown by Staffelkapitän of 6./JG 5, Oberleutnant Hans Dieter Hartwein (16 Kills), posted missing. JG 5 claimed some 72 victories in August 1942, but Soviet propaganda records indicate only c. 50.
As 1942 wore on, the increased Allied air pressure towards Norway meant that a part of III. Gruppe and the newly created IV. Gruppe had to be stationed around Trondheim. A second part of III. Gruppe was stationed in Kirkenes, both to provide cover from marauding Soviet Air Force formations, and to help with the intensifying attacks against the Arctic convoys. Leutnant Heinrich Ehrler (6./JG 5) was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 September for 64 victories (Luftsiege).
1943
By January 1943, I. and IV. Gruppe/JG 5 were stationed in Southern Norway, being equipped with the Fw 190 A-2, A-3 and A-4. I. Gruppe/JG 5 had its bases in Lista, Sola, Kjevik and Herdla in the southern part of Norway. IV. Gruppe/JG 5 was distributed on bases around Trondheim, and was equipped with Bf 109Fs and Fw 190As. II. and III. Gruppe faced the Soviets on the Polar Sea Front; at this time they were equipped with the Bf 109 F-4. Stab, 4. Staffel/JG 5 and 6. Staffel/JG 5 were stationed in Alakurtti, 5., 8., and 9. Staffel/JG 5 were stationed at Kirkenes and 7. Staffel/JG 5 was based at Petsamo. As early as March 1943, 6. Squadron/Staffel (commanded by Heinrich Ehrler) reached 500 victories.
In early 1943, a Jagdbomber or Jabo (fighter-bomber) squadron was formed within JG 5. 14.(J) Staffel/JG 5 was equipped with modified Fw 190A's and commanded by Hauptmann Friedrich-Wilhelm Strakeljahn. In May 1943, the unit was responsible for the sinking of two submarines and two naval freighters within three days and by the end of 1943 had sunk over 39,000 tons of Soviet merchant shipping in over 1,000 sorties.
In June 1943, commander Gotthard Handrick was transferred to 8. Jagd-Division, and replaced by the Gruppenkommandeur III./JG 5, Major Günther Scholz. Mid 1943 also saw JG 5 at its maximum strength. It consisted of 14 Staffeln; 12 regular single-engined fighter squadrons equipped with the Bf 109 and Fw 190, one Bf 110-equipped Zerstörer squadron and finally the Jabo unit with the Fw 190. 1943 was also the last year in which JG 5's four Gruppen (groups) had any sense of operational unity. I and II. Gruppe left Norway and Finland for good in late 1943 to fight the rest of the war away from their parent Geschwader.
In November 1943, I. Gruppe transfered to Romania as protection for the vital Ploiesti oil refineries. The wing group was placed under the command of Luftflotte 1 for the remainder of 1943. Gruppenkommandeur since February 1943 was Hauptmann Gerhard Wengel. He fell (⚔) defeinding Sofia in combat with the USAAF on 10 January 1944, when, after I. Gruppe/JG 5 fighters destroyed three Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, his Bf 109 crashed near Radomir. On 26 March 1944, Hauptmann Horst Carganico was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 5 participating in the Reichsluftverteidigung (defense of the Reich). After combat with USAAF B-17's on 27 May 1944, he was killed in action when his Bf 109 crashed after hitting high tension cables while force-landing near Chevry, France. Carganico had claimed 60 kills.
1944
In 1944, I. Gruppe was redesignated as III. Gruppe/JG 6 and sent to France (Invasion in Normandy), and it was never replaced. In June/July 1944, Gruppenkommandeur Theodor Weissenberger was credited with 25 victories over Normandy (half the total score by the whole unit during this period). II. Gruppe was transferred to Northern Russia under the command of Luftflotte 1, and then redesignated as IV. Gruppe/Jagdgruppe 4 (JG 4) and sent back to the Reich in early 1945.
IV. Gruppe/JG 5 and 14. Staffel/JG 5 were transferred to the Arctic Front from Southern Norway in August 1944. The Gruppe joined the first of several large air battles commencing on 9 October 1944, opposing the final Soviet offensive against Petsamo. When the day was over, III. and IV. Gruppe/JG 5 had claimed 85 Soviet aircraft shot down (among them the 3,000th victory for JG 5) against the loss of only one pilot killed in action. On 1 August 1944, Major Heinrich Ehrler was promoted to Geschwaderkommodore of JG 5. In November 1944, IV. Gruppe/JG 5 returned to Southern Norway. Up to the end of the war this unit formed the air defence against the Allied raids on targets in Norway, principally the U-Boot bases at Trondheim and Bergen.
The Sinking of the Tirpitz
On 12 November 1944, Avro Lancaster bombers of 9 and 617 Squadrons (Royal Air Force) raided the Tirpitz (Schlachtschiff „Tirpitz“) in Tromsö fjord (Operation Catechism). The command and control center at Bardufoss was informed shortly before 08:00 that three Lancasters had been sighted at 07:39 in the vicinity of Mosjøen heading east. At 08:18 the Luftwaffe fighter control center was informed which issued an air alarm for the area of Bodø. At 08:34 further four Lancasters were reported but plotted in the wrong Planquadrat (PQ—grid reference) of the Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz). Due to this error, neither Ehrler nor Dörr were informed of the approaching bombers.
- That day, Ehrler had preemptively ordered 9. Staffel of JG 5 at Bardufoss airfield on three-minute readiness while the Kommandostaffel was still undergoing training and had been placed on 15-minute readiness. Ehrler, who had planned to fly to Alta, entered his command post at 08:50, unaware of the unfolding events. As he was just about to leave the command post, Tirpitz signaled that they heard aircraft engine noise of unknown origin and altitude, Tirpitz did not report approaching enemy bombers. At 09:18, Ehrler ordered cockpit readiness for 9. Staffel and placed the Kommandostaffel on three-minute readiness. The situation remained unclear for Ehrler until 09:21–09:23 when a second aircraft noise message arrived. He then at 09:23 sounded the alarm and scrambled 9. Staffel. In parallel, Dörr who was alarmed by the fighters taking off, arrived at the command post and took charge of the Kommandostaffel. Ehrler was airborne at 09:25 while takeoff of 9. Staffel was delayed by five minutes due to a landing Junkers Ju 52. Adding to the confusion, when the British aircraft were detected by the German air defence staff at Tromsø, they asked the airfield command if any fighter aircraft were ready for takeoff. The question was affirmed, but the JG 5 staff thought the enquiry concerned the flight to Alta. The naval officers on board Tirpitz were notified Erhler was airborne before the British began their attack at 09:38. Dörr, who was in the command post and waited until further information became available, led the Kommandostaffel and took off at 09:36 heading for Tromsø. According to Forsgren, Dörr may have intercepted and shot down an unidentified aircraft 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of Bardufoss that day. This aircraft may have been a Soviet Supermarine Spitfire aerial reconnaissance aircraft.[2]
Kommodore Major Ehrler, together with fighters from the 9. Staffel of the III. Gruppe under Franz Dörr, scrambled to intercept at the head of a formation of JG 5 Bf 109 G's, but the fighters would come too late. After takeoff, the German fighters were directed north-east towards Alta, but then it was reported that the bombers had turned to Bodø to the south-west. Confusion spread and it was reported that the bombers were going to a completely different target: Håkøya. The intercept mission failed. Only after landing did Ehrler learn the true extent of the disaster: The Tirpitz was sunk with the loss of a thousand sailors.
From a military historical point of view it is clear that Ehrler and his pilots did not know that the Tirpitz had been moved to Håkøya, which was reported to the British by Norwegen partisans. The fighters were deprived of any opportunity to intercept the enemy fighter planes in time by the instructions of the flight control on the ground, which was also not sufficiently informed by the Kriegsmarine for reasons of secrecy, which ultimately contributed to the success of the British bomber mission.
Ehrler was court martialed during the trial before the Reichskriegsgericht on 17, 18 and 20 December 1944 and sentenced to three years fortress imprisonment (Festungshaft), suspended until the end of the war, and stripped of his command.
But his comrades of the fighter wing gathered evidence, and one of the squadron leaders of JG 5, Walter Schuck, appealed on Ehrler's behalf. The loyalty of his men paid off: After further investigations, Ehrler was acquitted and the withdrawal of the medals and decorations was reversed. His return to the war front was nevertheless described as a "rehabilitation opportunity".
1945
Heinrich Ehrler
On 27 February 1945, his friend squadron commander Major Theodor Weissenberger brought him to the newly formed Fighter Wing 7 (Jagdgeschwader 7), which was equipped with the Me 262 jet fighter, for probation at the front. The conversion to the jet fighter proved not always easy and time-consuming, but the Reich ran out of time. From 21 to 24 March 1945, Ehrler, as a member of the squadron staff, shot down five Allied bombers, three B-17s and two B-24s.
On 4 April 1945, Ehrler shot down two bombers, was out of ammunition and rammed another B-24 (B-24H-30-FO 42-95298 „Trouble in Mind“). His last words over the radio to Weissenberger while another friend, Walter Schuck, was listening, were:
- "Theo, this is Heinrich. Just shot down two bombers. I'm out of ammo, going to ram now. Goodbye, see you in Valhalla!”
Geschwaderkommodore
- Oberst Carl Schumacher: 10 January 1942 – March 1942
- Oberstleutnant Gotthard Handrick: March 1942 – 31 August 1943
- Oberstleutnant Günther Scholz: 1 September 1943 – 26 July 1944
- Major Heinrich Ehrler: 1 August 1944 – December 1944
- delegated with the deputy leadership in May 1944
- Oberstleutnant Günther Scholz: January 1945 – 8 May 1945
External links
- Jagdgeschwader 5 'Eismeer', asisbiz.com
- Jagdgeschwader 5 (various pictures)
- Jagdgeschwader 5 – Kommandeure
- Jagdgeschwader 5, genannt "Eismeer", und 7
Further reading
- Toliver, Raymond F. / Constable, Trevor J.,[3] Horrido! Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe, 1970
- German version: Das waren die deutschen Jagdflieger-Asse 1939–1945, Motorbuch, Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3879431939 (countless editions)
References
- ↑ Hauptmann Franz Dörr
- ↑ Forsgren, Jan (31 July 2014). Sinking the Beast: The RAF 1944 Lancaster Raids Against Tirpitz. Fonthill Media
- ↑ Trevor J. Constable and Colonel Raymond F. Toliver were American authors who produced 10 non-fiction books on the fighter aces of World War II. Toliver was a U.S. Air Force pilot and official historian of the American Fighter Aces Association.
