Jagdgeschwader 7
Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7) was formed on 25 August 1944 in Königsberg by reorganizing Kampfgeschwader 1 "Hindenburg" (KG 1) with a wing staff headquarters and two groups. The plan was to equip the wing with two fighter groups flying the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. However, since these aircraft were unavailable, the OKL (High Command of the Luftwaffe) decided in October 1944 to equip the wing with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-14. But these aircraft were also unavailable, so it was decided that Jagdgeschwader 7 would be the first wing to be equipped with the Messerschmitt Me 262. In the wake of Walter Nowotny's death ⚔, the first operational jet fighter wing was named in his honour: Jagdgeschwader 7 "Nowotny" and was deployed in the Defence of the Reich.
History
On 19 November 1944, the Nowotny command located in Lechfeld was subordinated as the III. Group/JG 7. The wing was relocated to Brandenburg-Briest. Starting December 1944, the entire squadron was to be equipped with the Messerschmitt Me 262 A. By 10 January 1945, the III. Group had reached a strength of 19 aircraft. However, the group's operational activity in January and February 1945 was severely restricted in favor of internal refresher training for the pilots. By the beginning of February 1945, the pilots of the I. Group had essentially completed their conversion training on the Messerschmitt Me 262; only full-scale unit training and close-range air traffic control exercises remained.
The II. Group of Jagdgeschwader 7 was formed on 12 February 1945 by renaming the IV. Group of Jagdgeschwader 54, which was subsequently to convert to the Messerschmitt Me 262. Theoretical instruction of the pilots on the new aircraft type began at the end of February 1945, followed by the commencement of practical training at Lechfeld on 15 March 1945. The retraining of the first group of pilots was completed in early April 1945. On 11 April 1945, the wing staff relocated to Saatz, where the remnants of the individual groups of the squadron also arrived and gathered at the end of the war.
On 3 May 1945, Jagdverband 44, originally under Adolf Galland, later, after Galland was wounded on 26 April 1945, under Oskar-Heinrich Bär, was renamed IV. Gruppe des Jagdgeschwaders 7 (IV Group of Fighter Wing 7) and subordinated to the wing. However, due to the course of the war, Jagdgeschwader 7 never actually assumed command of the group.
