Jagdgeschwader 52

Emblem: The flying, victorious sword.

Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52; 52nd Fighter Wing) was the most successful Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II, with a claim total of more than 10,000 victories over enemy aircraft. It was home to the top three scoring fighter aces of the Luftwaffe (and also the highest of all time), Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn (de) and Günther Rall (de).

History

Officers and NCOs (among them Ján Režňák and Izidor Kovárik) of the 15th (Croatian) Fighter Squadron of Fighter Wing 52 (JG 52) of the Croatian Air Force Legion on the Eastern Front.

Combat mission (Feindflug) of a typical fighting finger formation of four aircraft (Vierfinger-Schwarm or doppelter Rottenflug)

By the end of the First World War, fighter aircraft and bombers were a common part of the military vocabulary and a vital part of military operations. Air-to-air combat (Luftkampf) had a new generation of “knights” that took to the air and engaged in single combat. Manfred von Richthofen set a high bar, scoring 80 kills before his luck ran out. The exploits of his “Flying Circus” – Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing) 1 – became the inspiration for a new generation of would-be fighter pilots. The Second World War saw air power reach new and decisive heights of destructive power and the evolution of the Jagdgeschwader reached its peak. By the end of that war, there was one unit – Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) – that held the title of the deadliest fighter unit ever. In numerical terms, JG 52 destroyed over 10,000 aircraft and boasted amongst its ranks the three highest-scoring aces, including Günther Rall (275 kills), Gerhard Barkhorn (301 kills) and Erich Hartmann (352 kills) the highest-scoring ace of all time.

On 19 August 1939, the first commodore of the fighter wing, Major Hubert Merhard von Bernegg, received the order to set up the wing headquarters. However, personnel and material will only be assigned to the staff in the course of September 1939. The wing received its name on 20 March 1939 in Böblingen near Stuttgart. The number 52 meant the 2nd fighter wing in the 5th Air Fleet.

JG 52 was officially formed in May 1939 in a Luftwaffe reorganisation, from a previous unit formation, JG 433. Several of the early leaders were veterans of Spain, including Adolf Galland. A Jagdgeschwader comprised 150 aircraft divided into three “Gruppe” of 40 – 50 aircraft. Gruppe was split into three “Staffel” – essentially squadrons – of approximately 12 aircraft. JG 52 was formed of I, II and III Gruppe. JG 52 operated the Bf 109, one of the most famous fighter aircraft of the Second World War. It was designed by Willi Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser in the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (the “Bf” in the Bf 109) in the early 1930s. It ended up being the most-produced fighter aircraft in history. A distinctive feature of its armament, in addition to wing-mounted machine guns, was a powerful 20mm cannon mounted in the nose. This potent weapon, even though the number of rounds was limited, was absolutely devastating at close range. JG 52 played a primarily peripheral and largely undistinguished part in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. Its three “Gruppe” were used in an ad hoc fashion: sometimes homeland defence, and other times in France. There was certainly no hint of things to come. In twenty-four hours in late July 1940, III Gruppe managed to lose eight aircraft – and four squadron leaders – for only two Spitfires. Chastened, the Gruppe was withdrawn to Germany. When I Gruppe returned to Germany to refit, only four of the original thirty-six pilots remained. By Barbarossa, the Luftwaffe was a highly advanced, confident and powerful weapon of war, not yet ground down by endless combat, attrition or retreats. It had men with real combat experience – Spain, Poland, France and the Battle of Britain. Pilots that arrived at a frontline Staffel in 41-42 were perhaps in the “sweet spot” of the Luftwaffe’s training programme: Erich Hartmann started fighter training in October 1940 and did not deploy operationally until October 1942.

On 22 June 1941, the assault on the Soviet Union began. The panzergruppe plunged forwards, Luftwaffe in close support: many early JG 52 victims were lined up neatly on Soviet airfields. The blitzkrieg initially seemed as devastatingly effective as the attacks against Poland and France. The three Gruppe of JG 52 fought in the north, centre and south, moving rapidly, hopping from muddy field to grassy airstrip to keep pace with the advances. [...] Things became more fluid and more desperate in the closing months, the Soviet and Anglo-American front lines squeezing the Germans like toothpaste in a tube. It was not uncommon for American and Soviet pilots to encounter each other in the air over the remains of the German Reich. On more than one occasion, JG 52 pilots witnessed “friendly fire” dogfights between the Allies, both sides confused, as they chased German planes in a swirling melee. The remnants of JG 52 were gathered in Bohemia as the end came. Hartman shot down a Yak-9 on the 17 April for his 350th combat victory. On 30 April, Hitler committed suicide. On 4 May, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of German forces in the Netherlands, northwest Germany and Denmark. But some units were still resisting. The last JG 52 mission occurred on 8 May, perhaps inevitably by Hartman, from an improvised airstrip hosting the remnants of I and III Gruppe. Over Brunn (modern-day Brno), he encountered a group of Yak-9 fighters. When one looped too close, Hartmann pounced and sent it spinning to the ground. The victory was meaningless. Destroying their aircraft, the men of JG 52 marched into Soviet captivity. The pilots and crew of JG 52 spent traumatic years in Soviet prison camps, the survivors only returning years later. Several JG 52 veterans joined the West German Air Force, bringing extensive experience to a new generation of young pilots and a new era of jet aircraft technology. Hartmann became a squadron leader, commanding the first German all-jet fighter unit, equipped with F-86 Sabres. His new outfit was JG 71. In 1961, the squadron received the honorary title “Richthofen”, in honour of the highest-scoring German ace of another war.

11 men, 1,676 victories (Luftsiege):
Kommodore Oberstleutnant Dietrich Hrabak
Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn, Wilhelm Batz, Otto Vönnekold, Franz Schall,
Karl Gratz, Adolf Borchers, Friedrich Obleser, Hans-Joachim Birkner, Anton Resch

Knight's Cross recipients of JG 52

Adolf Hitler with officers of the Luftwaffe after a Knight's Cross award ceremony (oak leaves or swords to the RK) at the Berghof; from left to right: Werner Streib, Gerhard Barkhorn, Erich Walther, Kurt Bühligen, Hans-Joachim Jabs, Bernhard Jope, Reinhard Seiler, Erich Hartmann respectively Hansgeorg Bätcher (concealed by the Führer), Horst Ademeit, Johannes Wiese, Fritz Petersen (Flak-Artillerie), Dr. Maximilian Otte and Walter Krupinski, 4 April 1944

Those Aces with over 100 victories were exceptional; to reach 200 victories was a spectacular achievement. Yet two men went even further shooting down more than 300 enemy aircraft which placed them in a league of their own. They were the elite of the elite, and their names are legendary – Erich Hartmann and Gerhard Barkhorn. It is no surprise that these iconic Aces scored their victories whilst flying with the legendary fighter wing JG52 and the Geschwader boasted some of greatest Luftwaffe pilots of WWII among its ranks – including the top three Aces of all time. Such renowned pilots as Gunther Rall (275 victories), Wilhelm Batz (237 victories), Hermann Graf (212 victories) and Helmut Lipfert (203 victories) helped this formidable unit notch up more than 10,000 victories making it the most successful fighter wing in history.

Name	Knight's Cross	Oak Leaves	Swords	Diamonds
Leesmann, Karl-Heinz	23 July 1941
Steinhoff, Johannes	30 August 1941	2 September 1942	28 July 1944
Köppen, Gerhard	18 December 1941	27 February 1942
Graf, Hermann	24 January 1942	17 May 1942	19 May 1942	16 September 1942
Steinbatz, Leopold	14 February 1942	2 June 1942	23 June 1942
Dickfeld, Adolf	19 March 1942	19 May 1942
Roßmann, Edmund	19 March 1942
Wachowiak, Friedrich	5 April 1942
Zwernemann, Josef	23 June 1942	31 October 1942
Gratz, Karl	1 July 1942
Grislawski, Alfred	1 July 1942	11 April 1944
Simsch, Siegfried	1 July 1942
Steffen, Karl	1 July 1942
Barkhorn, Gerhard	23 August 1942	12 January 1943	2 March 1944
Dammers, Hans	23 August 1942
Schmidt, Heinz	23 August 1942	16 September 1942
Rall, Günther	3 September 1942	26 October 1942	12 September 1943
Semelka, Waldemar	4 September 1942
Süß, Ernst	4 September 1942
Resch, Rudolf	6 September 1942
Graßmuck, Berthold	19 September 1942
Hammerl, Karl	19 September 1942
Bennemann, Helmut	2 October 1942
Füllgrabe, Heinrich	2 October 1942
Krupinski, Walter	29 October 1942	2 March 1944
Miethig, Rudolf	29 October 1942
von Bonin, Hubertus	21 December 1942
Freuwörth, Wilhelm	5 January 1943
Wiese, Johannes	5 January 1943	2 March 1944
Denk, Gustav	14 March 1943
Nemitz, Willi	24 March 1943
Trenkel, Rudolf	19 August 1943
Korts, Berthold	29 August 1943
Hartmann, Erich (the highest scoring ace ever)	29 October 1943	2 March 1944	2 July 1944	25 August 1944
Quast, Werner	31 December 1943
Waldmann, Hans	5 February 1944
Petermann, Viktor	29 February 1944
Obleser, Friedrich	12 March 1944
Batz, Wilhelm	26 March 1944	20 July 1944	21 April 1945
Fönnekold, Otto	26 March 1944
Sturm, Heinrich	26 March 1944
Lipfert, Helmut	5 April 1944	17 April 1945
Bunzek, Johannes	6 April 1944
Hoffmann, Gerhard	14 May 1944
Düttmann, Peter	9 June 1944
Sachsenberg, Heinz	9 June 1944
Bachnick, Herbert	27 July 1944
Birkner, Hans-Joachim	27 July 1944
Wolfrum, Walter	27 July 1944
Schall, Franz	10 October 1944
Resch, Anton	7 April 1945
Ewald, Heinz	20 April 1945
Haas, Friedrich	26 April 1945

Literature

• Bernd Barbas: Das Jagdgeschwader 52
• John Weal: Jagdgeschwader 52 – The Experten, Aviation Elite Units, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 978-1841767864

External links

• Jagdgeschwader 52, asisbiz.com