''Kampfgeschwader'' 1 (KG 1) (Battle Wing 1) was a German
medium bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized bombloads over medium range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. Mediums generally carrie ...
wing that operated in the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
KG 1 was created in 1939 as the Luftwaffe reorganised and expanded to meet
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's rearmament demands. It was founded in May 1939 and by December 1939, had three active ''Gruppen'' (Groups). In August 1940 a fourth ''Gruppe'' was added. KG 1 operated the
Heinkel He 111 medium bomber and later the
Heinkel He 177
The Heinkel He 177 ''Greif'' (Griffin) was a long-range heavy bomber flown by the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. The introduction of the He 177 to combat operations was significantly delayed, by both problems with the development of its ...
heavy bomber
Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...
.
KG 1 served in the
Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
on 1 September 1939 which began the war in Europe. It spent the
Phoney War
The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...
on
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
operations and
dropping propaganda leaflets over
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. In May and June 1940 it fought in the
Battle of Belgium and
Battle of France. In July 1940, the force took part in the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
and
The Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
.
In June 1941 it supported
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, the invasion of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. Elements of the bomber wing remained on the
Eastern Front for the duration of the conflict. KG 1 also served intermittently in the
Italian Campaign from March–August 1943. All KG 1 ''Gruppen'' ceased to exist by September 1944 and were merged with other Luftwaffe units before the German capitulation in May 1945.
History
Kampgeschwader 1 (KG 1) was formed from ''Stab''/KG 152 'Hindenburg' at
Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland.
The city is famous for its ...
on 1 May 1939. ''
Generalmajor''
Ulrich Kessler was its first commander (''
Geschwaderkommodore''). The ''
Geschwader'' (Wing) was named after the deceased
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...
. The unit was assigned the Hindenburg family crest as its emblem.
I./KG 1 was formed from IV./KG 152 at
Kolberg. The ''Gruppe'' (group) was assigned the
Heinkel He 111 medium bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized bombloads over medium range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. Mediums generally carrie ...
. The first batch of aircraft were E variants, with traditional stepped-cockpit, in contrast to the widely recognised
Stepless cockpit of the later
He 111P and -H models. The ''Gruppe'' was placed under the command of ''
Gruppenkommandeur'' (Group Commander) ''
Oberstleutnant
() is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedi ...
''
Robert Krauss
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
.
II ''Gruppe'' were formed from the disbanded I./KG 152 at Breslau-Schöngarten (today
Copernicus Airport Wrocław
Copernicus Airport Wrocław ( pl, Port Lotniczy Wrocław im. Mikołaja Kopernika, Port lotniczy Wrocław- Strachowice) is an international civil-military airport in Wrocław in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwestern Poland. It is Poland’s ...
),
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
. It is possible this ''Gruppe'' was to be used as I.(K)./LG 3 (''Lehrgeschwader''—Learning Wing). It was formed on 18 September 1939, with the war in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
already underway. ''Oberstleutnant'' Benno Kosch was its first commanding officer.
Elements of I. and II. ''Gruppen'' provided the personnel for founding III./KG 1 on 1 December 1939. ''Major'' Otto Schnelle was given command. The Stab. and I. ''Gruppe'' were placed into training which lasted throughout the summer, 1939. KG 1, with only one full ''Gruppe'' active in September 1939, remained at Kolberg.
Operational history
Stab./KG 1 was assigned to
''Luftflotte'' 4, commanded by
Alexander Löhr
Alexander Löhr (20 May 1885 – 26 February 1947) was an Austrian Air Force commander during the 1930s and, after the annexation of Austria, he was a Luftwaffe commander. Löhr served in the Luftwaffe during World War II, rising to commander o ...
under the 2nd ''Fliegerdivision'' at Kolberg. I. ''Gruppe'', still with the He 111E was also at Kolberg, was subordinated to Löhr also. On 14 September 1939, both were transferred to 1st ''Fliegerdivision'', under the command of
''Luftflotte'' 1 headed by
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Luftwaffe during World War II who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. In a military career that spanned both world wars, Kesselring beca ...
. The two commands combined fielded 47 He 111s, with 41 combat ready. Löhr began the invasion with 729 aircraft. All nine of Stab./KG 1's were operational. The command unit was equipped with the H variant.
Invasion of Poland and Phoney war
KG 1 was based on the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
coast. Its mission was to support the
4th Army's invasion of the "Polish corridor", capture of
Gdynia
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...
, and assist the
3rd Army, advancing from
East Prussia, in destroying the
Pomorze Army The Pomeranian Army ( pl, Armia Pomorze) was one of the Polish armies defending against the 1939 Invasion of Poland. It was officially created on March 23, 1939. Led by General dywizji Władysław Bortnowski, it consisted of 5 infantry divisions, ...
.
On the opening day, 1 September 1939, the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
invaded. The Luftwaffe planned an enormous air attack on
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, codenamed Operation ''Wasserkante'', while also destroying the
Polish Air Force on the ground. The plan was revised after complaints from the General Staff of the Wehrmacht (
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht). ''Luftflotte'' 4 was impeded by severe mist which covered its airfields on that morning. Nevertheless, I./KG 1 were one of only four ''Gruppen'' to take off on time. The group struck at airfields in
Puck,
Rumia
Rumia (; Kashubian: ''Rëmiô''; German until 1945: ''Rahmel'') is a town in northern Poland, in the Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship, with some 45,000 inhabitants. It is a part of the Kashubian Tricity (Rumia, Reda, Wejherowo) and ...
and
Toruń
)''
, image_skyline =
, image_caption =
, image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg
, image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg
, nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town
, pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
. It also bombed
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...
forces at
Kościerzyna
Kościerzyna ( Kashubian and Pomeranian: ''Kòscérzëna''; formerly german: Berent, ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with some 24,000 inhabitants. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomerania ...
and
Starogard Gdański
Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; csb, Starogarda; formerly german: Preußisch Stargard) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004).
Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. It is ...
. Polish forces at
Bydgoszcz and
Danzig, were also bombed on 3 September. The
Bydgoszcz Główna railway station was probably the target. On 3 September KG 1 attacked the
Polish Navy, in support of the
Kriegsmarine. With II. and II./
StG 2
''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 2 (StG 2) ''Immelmann'' was a Luftwaffe dive bomber-wing of World War II. It was named after the World War I aviator Max Immelmann. It served until its dissolution in October 1943. The wing operated the Junkers Ju 87 ...
, IV(St)./
LG 1, 3./KüFlGr 706 and 4.(St)/TrGr 186, it bombed the Naval Aviation ''Dyon'', the
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
''Mazur'', tender ''Nurek'', damaging the
''Wicher'' and the minelayer
''Gryf'', which were later finished off by 4.(St)/TrGr 186.
Polish targets in the Toruń and Bydgoszcz regions were attacked again on 4 September and the ''Gruppe'' moved to
Ziethen, Brandenburg later in the day. From its new operating base it flew
rail interdiction operations northeast of Warsaw on 5 September and
Kutno
Kutno is a city located in central Poland with 42,704 inhabitants (2021) and an area of . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship since 1999, previously it was part of Płock Voivodeship (1975–1998) and it is now the capital of Kutno County.
Dur ...
the following day. Road and rail interdiction missions were flown against Polish traffic along the
Rava-Ruska
Rava-Ruska (, translit. ''Rava-Rus'ka''; ; , Rave) is a city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It is a border town between Ukraine and Poland. The border checkpoint is situated west of the city, along the international autoroute ...
lines on 8 September. It moved back to Schongarten on 8 September and flew against targets east of the
Vistula
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
from 8–12 September. Along with II./
KG 26
''Kampfgeschwader'' 26 (KG 26) "Löwengeschwader" (in English ''Bomber Wing 26'' aka ''"Lions' Wing"'' by virtue of its insignia) was a German air force Luftwaffe bomber wing unit during World War II.
Its units participated on all of the fronts ...
, I./
KG 53
''Kampfgeschwader'' 53 "Legion Condor" (KG 53; English: ''Condor Legion'') was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
Its units participated on all of the fronts in the European Theatre until it was disbanded in May 1945. At all times it o ...
and I./
KG 2
''Kampfgeschwader'' 2 " Holzhammer " (KG 2) (Battle Wing 2) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during the Second World War. The unit was formed in May 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17 light bomber, Dornier Do 217 and Junkers Ju 188 heavy bo ...
it bombed
Iłża
Iłża () is a small town in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. In 2006 Iłża had approximately 5,165 inhabitants. The town belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland, and from its foundation until 1795, it was part of Lesser Poland’s Sandom ...
, to break up the concentred forces of the
Prusy Army
The Prusy Army ( pl, Armia Prusy) was one of the Polish armies to fight during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Created in the summer of 1939 as the main reserve of the Commander in Chief, it was commanded by Gen. Stefan Dąb-Biernacki. The word ' ...
, and operated in the
Battle of Radom
The Battle of Radom, also known as the Battle of Iłża, was part of the Invasion of Poland during the Second World War. It lasted from 8 September 1939 to 9 September 1939. Polish troops of the Prusy Army, under General Stanisław Skwarczyńsk ...
. Against, Löhr's objections,
incendiary bomb
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, t ...
s rather than
high explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ...
bombs were used.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-317-0043-17A, Flugzeug Heinkel He 111](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-317-0043-17A%2C_Flugzeug_Heinkel_He_111.jpg)
KG 1 also bombed Polish troop concentrations in the
Battle of Bzura.
Piątek was targeted by KG 1 on 13 September. On 14 September KG 1 was placed under the command of
Bruno Loerzer
Bruno Loerzer (22 January 1891 – 23 August 1960) was a German air force officer during World War I and World War II. Credited with 44 aerial victories during World War I, he was one of Germany's leading flying aces, as well as commander of ...
and 1st ''Fliegerdivision'', under the command of ''Luftflotte'' 1, to support the
14th Army Fourteenth Army or 14th Army may refer to:
* 14th Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army
* 14th Army (Wehrmacht), a World War II field army
* Italian Fourteenth Army
* Japanese Fourteenth Army, a World War II field army, in 1944 converted ...
's attacks in southern Poland, alongside KG 26 and
KG 55
''Kampfgeschwader'' 55 "Greif" (KG 55 or Battle Wing 55) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. was one of the longest serving and well-known in the Luftwaffe. The wing operated the Heinkel He 111 exclusively until 1943, when only ...
. KG 1 bombed rail lines near
Kowel
Kovel (, ; pl, Kowel; yi, קאוולע / קאוולי ) is a city in Volyn Oblast (province), in northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion (district). Population:
Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runi ...
on 15 September, and then it moved to Krosno. Its last recorded operations were flown against rail traffic between Kowel and Luzk on 16 September 1939. The group was taken out of operations no later 21 September.
I./KG 1 spent the
Phoney War
The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...
in training. It moved to
Faßberg Air Base
Faßberg Air Base (german: Heeresflugplatz Faßberg) is a Bundeswehr base located northeast of the municipality of Faßberg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The air base is jointly used by the German Army (''Heer'') and the German Air Force (''Luftwaff ...
on 16 October 1939 and to
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...
on 10 November. At Giessen it trained in
mine-laying until 2. ''Staffel'' (squadron) left to become the nucleus of KGr 126 on 21 February 1940. The unit was renamed III./KG 26. At that time, I./KG 1 replaced 1./
KG 4
''Kampfgeschwader'' 4 "General Wever" (KG 4) (Battle Wing 4) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II. The unit was formed in May 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17, Junkers Ju 88 and Heinkel He 111 medium bombers, with later serv ...
, which began to train on air supply missions. I./KG 1 began its training on 10 February. The reorientation to mine-laying occurred because Hitler refused
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
's request to attack ports in the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
until he had ordered
Fall Gelb
(Case Yellow), the invasion of France and the Low Countries
, scope = Strategic
, type =
, location = South-west Netherlands, central Belgium, northern France
, coordinates =
, planned = 1940
, planned_by = Erich von ...
. Instead, Hitler issued Directive 9, which called for attacks on British sea communications. The Luftwaffe was to focus on mining operations until the land offensive began. 2. ''staffel'' was later refounded at
Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to:
* Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany
** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district
**Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city
* Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen)
* Narost ...
. From 25 March 1940 I. ''Gruppe'' began
dropping propaganda leaflets over eastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
II. ''Gruppe'' moved to Neubrandenburg on 21 September and on to Delmenhorst on 1 October. Until April 1940 it remained in training. From 16 October 1939 it was based at
Lüneburg
Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...
. From at least 20 April 1940, it began
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
and leaflet dropping over France. After briefly transferring to
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
, it moved to Kirtorf/
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...
on 9 May 1940. III./KG 1 spent the winter, 1939–40 working up and training. It moved to Nordhausen and became fully operational on 2 February 1940. From 20 April 1940, it also flew night
sorties, reconnaissance and leaflet dropping missions over eastern France.
The Stab./KG 1 flew operations on 1 September 1939 against targets along the
Vistula River
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
. Thereafter it was moved to Ziethen from
Kolberg on 4 September. It was placed under the command of
''Luftflotte'' 4 at
Breslau on 8 September. It may have taken part in the
Battle of Bzura on 10 September but was moved to the 2nd ''Fliegerdivision'' on 14 September. After relocating to
Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland.
The city is famous for its ...
it was placed under 1st ''Fliegerdivision'', belonging to
''Luftflotte'' 1 on 20 September. It was based at
Delmenhorst
Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district ('' Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the ...
from 1 October,
Lüneburg
Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...
from 16 October, and then
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...
on 10 November 1939 under the
IV. ''Fliegerkorps''. Over the winter the Stab./KG 54 was moved to
I. ''Fliegerkorps'' (
''Luftflotte'' 3) with five bombers, three operational, on 10 May 1940.
Western Europe
KG 1 was assigned to
''Fliegerkorps'' IV on 10 November 1939. The date at which it was transferred to
''Fliegerkorps'' I, subordinated to
''Luftflotte'' 1 by 10 May 1940. The ''Fliegerkorps'' was placed under the overall command of
''Luftflotte'' 3, commanded by
Hugo Sperrle, just prior to the offensive. Based at Giessen Stab./KG 1 had three of five He 111H bombers operational. Ulrich Kessler had relinquished command on 17 December 1939 to ''Oberst'' Ernst Exss, who assumed leadership of KG 1 on 18 December. The command of I./KG 1 was taken over by ''Major'' Ludwig Maier in November 1939. All other ''Gruppen'' retained their commanding officers. I. ''Gruppe'' could muster 25 operational Heinkels from 35. II./KG 1, at
Kirtorf
Kirtorf () is a town in the northern Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Through the town runs the ''Deutsche Märchenstraße'', or German Fairytale Road, a touristic route joining many of the places commonly associated with the Brothers Grimm's tal ...
, had 35 at its disposal with 23 operational. III. ''Gruppe'' at
Ettinghausen on 9 May, contributed 27 serviceable bombers from 33. All three ''Gruppen'' possessed the H variant.
On the morning of 10 May 1940, ''Fall Gelb'' began. I./KG 1 took off and attacked the
La Fère
La Fère () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in France.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Aisne department
The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne.
The communes coope ...
and
Amiens – Glisy Aerodrome
Amiens – Glisy Aerodrome (french: Aérodrome d'Amiens - Glisy, ) is an airport serving Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is t ...
. It also bombed rail stations at
Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
During the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel was close to the front line, near many attacks, especially during the Battle of the Somme, one of the larg ...
, France and
Philippeville
Philippeville (; wa, Flipveye) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. The Philippeville municipality includes the former municipalities of Fagnolle, Franchimont, Jamagne, Jamiolle, Merlemont, N ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. II./KG 1 bombed four airfields:
Cambrai-Niergnies Airport,
Liège Airport
Liege Airport, nl, Luchthaven Luik, german: Flughafen Lüttich , previously called Liege-Bierset Airport,, nl, Luchthaven Luik-Bierset is an international airport located west of the city of Liège, Wallonia in Belgium. The airport mainly fo ...
,
Albert – Picardie Airport and
Valenciennes-Denain Airport. III./KG 1 bombed the same targets and an aircraft factory near Albert. No 60 Wing RAF engaged III./KG 1 with
No. 85 Squadron RAF
("We hunt by day and night")
, colors=
, colors_label= Post-1950 aircraft insignia
, march=
, mascot=
, equipment=
, equipment_label=
, battles=
, anniversaries=
, decorations=
, battle_honours= Western Front, 1917–1918; France & Low Countrie ...
, and claimed three bombers shot down. 6. and 7. ''Staffeln'' lost a bomber each to
No. 607 Squadron RAF
No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron is an auxiliary squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1930 as a bomber unit in the Auxiliary Air Force and changed in 1936 to the fighter role. It fought in that role during the Second World War in ...
, of the 61st Wing RAF with both crews. III./KG 1's attack on the
Potez
Potez (pronounced ) was a French aircraft manufacturer founded as Aéroplanes Henry Potez by Henry Potez at Aubervilliers in 1919 in aviation, 1919. The firm began by refurbishing war-surplus SEA IV aircraft, but was soon building new examples of ...
factory near Albert was met by
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...
s and 607 claimed another three of the German bombers. German records shot show III. ''Gruppe'' suffered the loss of five on 10 May with another two seriously damaged. Two complete crews were killed and one captured. The biggest casualty was ''Major'' Schnelle. The ''Gruppenkommandeur'' was shot down and killed two miles east of
Saint-Quentin, Aisne. In later operation, I./KG 1 flew more missions in the
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
-
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
-
Antwerp area and it lost another bomber. The purpose was to support the
4th Army in southern Belgium. It continued to do so from 11 to 16 May.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-385-0586-16, Flugzeug Heinkel He 111](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-385-0586-16%2C_Flugzeug_Heinkel_He_111.jpg)
II. ''Gruppe'' supported the 4th Army's advance over the same period. It was ordered to support the drive into the
Loire Valley by attacking tank concentrations and rail targets along the line of the advance. The ''Gruppen'' switched to
Cologne Butzweilerhof on 20 May. KG 1's activities in the intervening period are uncertain, but II./KG 1 operated over
Cambrai on 17 and 18 May. I. and II ''Gruppen'' began night attacks on
Boulogne in the
battle for the port. All three ''Gruppen'' undertook bombing and armed reconnaissance operations as the
Battle of Calais
The Battle of Calais took place in 1350 when an English force defeated an unsuspecting French army which was attempting to take the city. Despite a truce being in effect the French commander Geoffrey de Charny had planned to take the city b ...
and
Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on t ...
. KG 1 began
maritime interdiction
Maritime Interception (or naval interdiction) operations (MIOs) are naval operations, that aim to delay, disrupt, or destroy enemy forces or supplies en route to the battle area before they do any harm against friendly forces, similar to air interd ...
operations to prevent the
Dunkirk evacuation from 21 to 31 May 1940. On 27 May, the first full day of the evacuation, KG 1 bombed the east
mole
Mole (or Molé) may refer to:
Animals
* Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America
* Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
, with
KG 54
''Kampfgeschwader'' 54 "Totenkopf" (, KG 54) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II. It served on nearly all the fronts in the European Theatre where the German Luftwaffe operated.
KG 54 was formed in May 1939. The bomber wing was equ ...
, though the latter probably sank the 8,000-ton
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
steamer ''Aden''.
On 3 June 1940 II./KG 1 took part in
Operation Paula as did III./KG 1. Six other bomber wings took part in the attack;
KG 2
''Kampfgeschwader'' 2 " Holzhammer " (KG 2) (Battle Wing 2) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during the Second World War. The unit was formed in May 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17 light bomber, Dornier Do 217 and Junkers Ju 188 heavy bo ...
,
KG 3,
KG 4
''Kampfgeschwader'' 4 "General Wever" (KG 4) (Battle Wing 4) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II. The unit was formed in May 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17, Junkers Ju 88 and Heinkel He 111 medium bombers, with later serv ...
,
KG 30
''Kampfgeschwader'' 30 (KG 30) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
Service history
Formed on 15 November 1939 in Greifswald. I Gruppe formed 1 September, II Gruppe on 23 September and III Gruppe on 1 January 1940, based in Greifswal ...
, KG 54 and
LG 1.
JG 2
Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen" was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 2 operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 single-seat, single-engine interceptor aircraft.
Named after the famed World War I flying ...
,
JG 53
''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 (JG 53) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. It operated in Western Europe and in the Mediterranean.
''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 - or as it was better known, the "Pik As" ''(Ace of Spades)'' Geschwader - was one of the ...
,
JG 54
''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 (JG 54) was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during the Second World War. JG 54 flew most of its missions on the Eastern Front where it claimed more than 9,600 aircraft shot down. It was the second-highest scoring wing in the Luftw ...
,
JG 77
''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77) ''Herz As'' ("Ace of Hearts") was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during World War II. It served in all the German theaters of war, from Western Europe to the Eastern Front, and from the high north in Norway to the Mediter ...
and
ZG 26, provided
fighter escort
The escort fighter was a concept for a fighter aircraft designed to escort bombers to and from their targets. An escort fighter needed range long enough to reach the target, loiter over it for the duration of the raid to defend the bombers, and ...
. The German bomber stream was sighted over
Reims-
Coulommiers, and Cambrai. A French
Potez 630
The Potez 630 and its derivatives were a family of twin-engined, multirole aircraft developed for the French Air Force in the late 1930s. The design was a contemporary of the British Bristol Blenheim (which was larger and designed purely as a ...
from GC I/3 shadowed the formation. It reported the height and direction of the bombers via radio to the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "' ...
. The message was garbled and many French fighter units failed to understand it and scrambled too late. Large air battles developed but losses of KG 1 are unknown. 15 factories were hit, but only three suffered significant damage. 254 civilians and 652 were injured.
The airfields hit were damaged. On the 13 airfields, only 16 aircraft were destroyed and six damaged. Six runways had been put out of action, and 21 motor vehicles destroyed. Twenty-one military personnel were killed. The commander of
KG 51
''Kampfgeschwader'' 51 "Edelweiss" (KG 51) (Battle Wing 51) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
The unit began forming in May 1939 and completed forming in December 1939, and took no part in the invasion of Poland which start ...
,
Josef Kammhuber, was shot down and captured during ''Paula''. He would later command KG 1, albeit for only five days. German bomber losses amounted to just four. Six German fighters were lost. 35 French aircraft were lost in total.
On 4 June I and II ''Gruppe'' moved to Amiens – Glisy Aerodrome, KG 1's target on the opening day of the offensive. III./KG 1 moved to
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...
–
Vendeville
Vendeville () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department ...
. II. and III. ''Gruppen'' supported the 4th Army's drive into the Loire Valley and the advance to
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
from 5–11 June in support of
Fall Rot
''Fall Rot'' (Case Red) was the plan for a German military operation after the success of (Case Yellow), the Battle of France, an invasion of the Benelux countries and northern France. The Allied armies had been defeated and pushed back in th ...
, the second phase of the offensive. I. ''Gruppe'' attacked targets in
Orléans
Orléans (;["Orleans"](_blank)
(US) and [Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...]
and
Cherbourg harbours from 15 to 19 June 1940. On the night of the 18/19 June 1940, III./KG 1 and II. and III./
LG 1 bombed the port of
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
and flew 30 sorties the following day involving flights of up to 480 kilometres.
II. and III./KG 1 supported the effort against the ports. III. ''Gruppe'' moved to
Rosieres-en-Santerre Airfield
Rosieres-en-Santerre Airfield is a former World War II airfield, located 1.8 km east of Rosières-en-Santerre in the Picardy region, France.
History
Rosieres-en-Santerre Airfield was built by the Royal Air Force for the British Expeditiona ...
, after operating from forward strips near Boulogne from 20 June. It transferred six days after the French surrender on 1 July 1940.
Battle of Britain
After the
Armistice of 22 June 1940
The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed at 18:36 near Compiègne, France, by officials of Nazi Germany and the Third French Republic. It did not come into effect until after midnight on 25 June.
Signatories for Germany included Wilhelm Keitel ...
, the Luftwaffe settled into airfields along the French, Belgian and Dutch coasts. The British refusal to surrender or come to terms with Germany, precipitated Adolf Hitler's order for
Operation Sealion
Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...
, an amphibious invasion of Britain which was to take place after Luftwaffe had secured
air superiority over the English Channel. The German Air Staff,
Oberkommando der Luftwaffe
The (; abbreviated OKL) was the high command of the air force () of Nazi Germany.
History
The was organized in a large and diverse structure led by Reich minister and supreme commander of the Air force (german: Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaf ...
(OKL), was ordered by
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, to begin attacks on targets in southern England after the publication of his 30 June directive.
Stab./KG 1 and all three ''Gruppen'' remained under the command of ''Fliegerkorps'' I. The command unit was based at Amiens – Glisy on 11 June, and remained there until 13 August. I. ''Gruppe'' was based at
Montdidier and
Clairmont in late June. It began night sorties over the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
from 22 June 1940 to test
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...
night fighter
A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...
defences. It flew an operation over
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on 4 July. II./KG 1 also engaged in probing attacks on shipping in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. It carried out bombing operations on some industrial targets and airfields, in what the Germans referred to as the
Kanalkampf
The (Channel Fight) was the German term for air operations by the against the British Royal Air Force (RAF) over the English Channel in July 1940. The air operations over the Channel began the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. By ...
phase of the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
. III. ''Gruppe'' was reorganised into an operational training unit, similar to
RAF organisations. It had little direct part in the air war over Britain, although it was sent on a small number of air raids against RAF airfields and industrial targets at night from 17 to 25 August. On 15 July it possessed 32 Heinkels, with 15 operational. Stab./KG 1 had all four bombers operational. I. and II ''Gruppen'' had 23 operational from 27 and 29 from 31 respectively.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-385-0593-05, Flugzeug Heinkel He 111](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-385-0593-05%2C_Flugzeug_Heinkel_He_111.jpg)
The probing attacks cost KG 1 its first casualties on 5 July. One II. ''Gruppe'' bomber force-landed at Amiens to engine failure and at 6:30, 8 ''staffel'' lost a He 111 shot down and the crew
killed in action, when it was intercepted by a
Supermarine Spitfires from
No. 65 Squadron RAF. The crew were the first KG 1 fatalities of the campaign.
The Battle of Britain opened on 10 July. On this first day, the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF) sent
Bomber Command
Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...
to attack Luftwaffe airfields in France. II./KG 1's base at Amiens was attacked by
No. 607 Squadron RAF
No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron is an auxiliary squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1930 as a bomber unit in the Auxiliary Air Force and changed in 1936 to the fighter role. It fought in that role during the Second World War in ...
. The six
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...
's began there attack in cloudy weather but it was not sufficient to protect them.
Anti-aircraft artillery shot five of the six down before German fighters could intervene. The following day 1. ''Staffel'' lost two bombers destroyed and another severely damaged when KG 1 attempted to bomb the
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...
. The bomber formation was intercepted by Hurricanes from
No. 145 Squadron RAF and Spitfires from
No. 601 Squadron RAF
Number 601 (County of London) Squadron is a squadron of the RAF Reserves, based in London. The squadron took part in the Battle of Britain, during which the first Americans to fly in World War II were members of the squadron.
Reactivated in 2017 ...
. The former accounted for both destroyed aircraft. On 12 July 1940, KG 1 lost its ''Geschwaderkommodore'' Ernst Exss, who was shot down and posted
missing in action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
.
Josef Kammhuber, the future commanding officer of the German night of fighter force, took his place until 17 July. On 3 August KG 1 sent a small number of Heinkels over
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. The intruders avoided interception and one bomb struck a
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 Decembe ...
post at
Higham. The following day 7., 8. and 9. ''Staffeln'' suffered one damaged bomber each to unknown causes.
The battle moved inland on 13 August with
Adlertag
''Adlertag'' ("Eagle Day") was the first day of ''Unternehmen Adlerangriff'' ("Operation Eagle Attack"), which was the codename of a military operation by Nazi Germany's '' Luftwaffe'' (German air force) to destroy the British Royal Air Fo ...
. On 16 August II./KG 1 attacked
RAF Duxford
Duxford Aerodrome is located south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Mus ...
. KG 1 bombed
RAF Biggin Hill
London Biggin Hill Airport is an operational general aviation airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. The airport was formerly a Royal Air Force station RAF Biggin Hill, and a small ...
on 18 August—known as
The Hardest Day because of high losses. KG 1 dispatched 60 He 111s from Amiens to conduct a high-level attack on Biggin Hill.
KG 76, based in airfields to the north of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, was to attack RAF Kenley. KG 76 fielded 48
Dornier Do 17
The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing a ...
s and
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...
s for a low-level attack. Fighter escort was provided by
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 dev ...
,
JG 26
''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 (JG 26) ''Schlageter'' was a German fighter-wing of World War II. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran, Freikorps member, and posthumous Nazi martyr, arrested and executed by the French for ...
,
JG 51
''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51) was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 51's pilots won more awards than any other fighter wing of the Luftwaffe, and operated in all major theatres of war. Its members included Anton Hafner, Heinz Bär ...
,
JG 52
''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52) was a German World War II fighter ''Geschwader'' (wing) that exclusively used the Messerschmitt Bf 109 throughout the war. The unit originally formed near Munich in November 1938, then moved to a base near Stuttga ...
,
JG 54
''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 (JG 54) was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during the Second World War. JG 54 flew most of its missions on the Eastern Front where it claimed more than 9,600 aircraft shot down. It was the second-highest scoring wing in the Luftw ...
and
ZG 26. The ''Jagdgeschwader'' were ordered to carry out free-hunting and close escort from bases in the
Pas-de-Calais. The mission went awry, and KG 76 suffered heavy losses. KG 1 lost two bombers; one each from 1. and 2. ''Staffeln'' in combat with 65 Squadron. JG 54 prevented
No. 610 Squadron RAF from inflicting more losses while KG 1 was on its bomb-run, but 65 Squadron was able to intercept with the German fighter unit was locked in combat.
II. ''Gruppe'' flew night operations against industrial areas from 17 to 25 August. III. ''Gruppe'' were among the few German units to fly on 27 August 1940 because of deteriorating weather conditions. Near
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
in the early morning,
Flying Officer Peter O'Brian and
Pilot Officer William Beaumont from
No. 152 Squadron RAF, engaged and shot down a III./KG 1 bomber flown by ''Gruppenkommandeur'' Major Willibald Fanelsa, who was killed with his crew. Fanelsa had been appointed to replace Hans Steinweg only days earlier. ''Hauptmann'' Otto Stams took command on 1 September 1940. The following day, KG 1 was involved in the morning air battles and lost one bomber fifty percent damaged after action with
No. 79 Squadron RAF. 4. ''Staffel'' lost one bomber and two crew members killed and two wounded when an external bomb fell off during take-off and detonated.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-317-0045-11A, Flugzeug Heinkel He 111](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-317-0045-11A%2C_Flugzeug_Heinkel_He_111.jpg)
On 30 August 30 He 111s from II./KG 1 targeted the
Royal Aircraft Establishment. Escorted by
Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...
s, the ''Gruppe'' flew up the
Thames Estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain.
Limits
An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
but was intercepted by 26 Hurricanes of
1,
242
Year 242 (Roman numerals, CCXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratus and Lepidus (or, less frequently, year 995 ...
and
501 Squadrons. The bomber force penetrated as far at
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
, where 10 bombs were dropped on the
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
plant. The projectiles killed 53 people and caused 113 casualties in total. In the retreat to France KG 1 lost five He 111s. 5. ''Staffel'' bore the brunt of the losses with four and 6. ''Staffel'' lost one bomber. The battle was joined by
56 and
253 Squadrons, which were credited with one bomber each. 1 Squadron was also credited with a bomber destroyed while 242 Squadron destroyed two of the 5. ''Staffel'' bombers. 1 Squadron's victim was ''
Staffelkapitän
''Staffelkapitän'' is a position (not a rank) in flying units ( ''Staffel'') of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a ''Staffelkapitän'' is of '' Oberstleutnant'' or ''Major'' rank.
In the ...
'' ''Hauptmann'' Baess, commanding 5. ''Staffel'', who was killed in ''Werknummer'' 2720, V4+BV.
On 1 and 4 September 1940 I./KG 1 bombed
Tilbury
Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...
docks. One 6. ''Staffel'' bomber was sixty percent damaged by RAF fighters on the first operation. ''Major'' Ludwig Maier, ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of I ''Gruppe'' was killed on the night of the 4/5 September. Herrick and Pugh, crewing a Blenheim night fighter, shot down Maier and his crew at 02:15. ''Werknummer'' 3324, V4+AB, crashed and all the crew were killed. ''Hauptmann'' Hermann Crone replaced him.
On 7 September 1940, the Luftwaffe shifted its attention to
Greater London. On this morning the
London Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
began with an assault upon the city by five ''Kampfgeschwader''—1, 2, 3, 26 and 76. Bf 110s from ZG 2, and Bf 109s from JG 2, 3, 51, 52, 54, I./JG 77 and I. and II./
LG 2
''Lehrgeschwader'' 2 (LG 2) (Demonstration Wing 2) was a Luftwaffe unit during World War II, operating three fighter, night fighter, reconnaissance and ground support ''Gruppen'' (groups).
''Lehrgeschwader'' were in general mixed-formation unit ...
were sent to escort them. KG 53 was added as another eight ''Gruppen'' of 318 He 111s and Do 17s struck the capital. 306 people died and 1,337 were injured in the capital and another 142 killed in the suburbs. Two bombers from 3. and 4. ''Staffeln'' were lost, and ''Geschwaderkommodore'' Koch was wounded by RAF fighters. By 7 September, I ''Gruppe'' reported 22 from 36 He 111s operational.
On 9 September KG 1 mounted the single largest raid on this date. It appears the target was Farnborough again. II./KG 1 committed 26 bombers to the attack supported by 20 Bf 110s from
ZG 76 ZG, Zg, or zg may refer to:
Arts and entertainment:
* Z-G, a collectible action figure game
* ZOEgirl, a pop rock band
* Zubeen Garg, Indian singer and actor, known as ZG.
Places:
* Aspen and Pitkin County, Colorado (former vehicle plate code ZG) ...
and 60 Bf 109s from JG 3. The German intruders headed on a westerly course, to avoid the main concentration of RAF bases at Biggin Hill,
RAF Kenley
The former Royal Air Force Station Kenley, more commonly known as RAF Kenley was an airfield station of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and the RAF in the Second World War. It played a significant role during the Battle of Britai ...
,
RAF Croydon
Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main airpo ...
and
RAF Northolt
("Ready to carry or to fight")
, pushpin_map = Greater London
, pushpin_label = RAF Northolt
, pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London
, coordinates =
, type = Royal Air Force station
, code =
, site_area =
, height =
, owner ...
. The approach failed and nine RAF squadrons engaged the German flights. The British made a head-on-attack with around 70 fighters. The Bf 110s adopted a
Lufbery circle and one ''staffel'' of bombers jettisoned their bombs over
Purley and
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
, and turned back. The fleeing bombers joined up with 40
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...
s from
KG 30
''Kampfgeschwader'' 30 (KG 30) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
Service history
Formed on 15 November 1939 in Greifswald. I Gruppe formed 1 September, II Gruppe on 23 September and III Gruppe on 1 January 1940, based in Greifswal ...
, which was under attack from 253 and
No. 303 Squadron RAF. KG 30 lost five bombers. KG 1 suffered only three He 111s damaged—two with around sixty percent damage and one with thirty-five. III./ZG 76 lost three fighters and one damaged and JG 3 lost another three protecting KG 1.
KG 1 suffered heavier losses on 11 September. In an attack on London, 6./KG 1 suffered one bomber damaged as did 3. ''Staffel'', which also lost one crew killed. Another crew were lost, and a third from the Stab./KG 1—for a total of three bombers destroyed and two damaged. On
15 September
Events Pre-1600
* 994 – Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes.
* 1440 – Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him ...
the Luftwaffe carried out large-scale attacks on London. KG 1 was involved and only 1. ''Staffel'' reported the loss of an aircraft. KG 1 are recorded in action on 29 September and 3. and 5. ''Staffeln'' lost one bomber and one damaged each. One more bomber was lost and two damaged in landing accidents on 3 October.
On a raid to London on night of the 4/5 October another II. ''Gruppe'' bomber was lost and a second damaged. Three
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...
s, now beginning to arrive in KG 1 were destroyed in accidents in the following days. Accidents in night operations remained high. I. and II. ''Gruppe'' lost a bomber to ground fire on the night of 17 October. I./KG 1 persisted with attacks on airfields attacking
RAF Horsham St Faith
RAF Horsham St Faith is a former Royal Air Force station near Norwich, Norfolk, England which was operational from 1939 to 1963. It was then developed as Norwich International Airport.
RAF Bomber Command use
The airfield was first developed ...
and
RAF West Raynham
Royal Air Force West Raynham or more simply RAF West Raynham is a former Royal Air Force station located west of West Raynham, Norfolk and southwest of Fakenham, Norfolk, England.
The airfield opened during May 1939 and was used by RAF Bomb ...
on 27 and 29 October. I. ''Gruppe'' received support from III./KG 1, and both groups lost a bomber each night. II./KG 1 bombed airfields in the
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
area on 29 October. II. and III. ''Gruppen'' began wholesale conversion to the Ju 88 at the end of October 1940.
The Blitz
The night offensive over Britain began, in earnest, in the month of October 1940. The Germans utilised navigational aids such as ''Knickebein'', ''X-Gerät'' and ''Y-Gerät''. The systems allowed the German bombers to navigate to target cities hundreds of miles from their bases. Pathfinder aircraft, from
KG 55
''Kampfgeschwader'' 55 "Greif" (KG 55 or Battle Wing 55) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. was one of the longest serving and well-known in the Luftwaffe. The wing operated the Heinkel He 111 exclusively until 1943, when only ...
and
Kampfgruppe 100
''Kampfgruppe'' 100 (KGr 100) was a specialist unit of the Luftwaffe during the early stages of World War II. It is best known as the first unit to use the "pathfinder" concept, with its aircraft being equipped with the latest radio navigation ai ...
, were also used to guide the
bomber stream
The bomber stream was a saturation attack tactic developed by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command to overwhelm the nighttime German aerial defences of the Kammhuber Line during World War II.
The Kammhuber Line consisted of three layers of ...
to the target area. RAF night fighters were equipped with
Airborne interception radar, but very few in number.
All three ''Gruppen'' of KG 1 were involved in bombing London on 1/2 November 1940 and carried out their assignment as the lead bomber formation that night (20:00–20:50). KG 76,
KG 77, I. and II./LG 1, I./
KG 27
'Kampfgeschwader' 27 ''Boelcke'' was a Luftwaffe medium bomber wing of World War II.
Formed in May 1939, KG 27 first saw action in the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. During the Phoney War—September 1939 – April 1940—the ...
, 1./KG 54, II./KG 54, KGr 806, I./KG 55, II./KG 55, III./KG 55 supported the bombing operation. Other targets were bombed elsewhere this night. KG 1 returned to London on 4/5 November. III. ''Gruppe'' bombed
Swanton Morley
Swanton Morley is a village and civil parish situated in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated in the heart of Norfolk 18 miles from the centre of Norwich and three miles from Dereham, at the geographical centre of Norfolk. It covers an ...
and
West Raynham on 5 November. On night of the 6/7 November KG 1 was involved in the first and last waves of bombings from dusk till dawn. I./KG 1 attacked the city from 19:30–21:15 while II./KG 1 completed its attacks between 06:12 and 07:15. On 7 November II./KG 1 targeted
Bacton–Norwich railway line. II. ''Gruppe'' bombed London again on 7/8 November while 7. ''Staffel'' bombed
Honington on 8 November. On 9 November, in the early hours, KG 1 led I. and III./KG 77 to bomb
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
. It was KG 1's first operation in the
Birmingham Blitz
The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German '' Luftwaffe'' of the city of Birmingham and surrounding towns in central England, beginning on 9 August 1940 as a fraction of the greater Blitz , which was part of the Battle of Br ...
. The following night, 9/10 November, KG 1 flew two operations, both in full strength, against London.
In the early hours of 12 November I./KG 1 carried out five operations, the only group of KG 1 to do so. It bombed
Brighton, London,
Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...
,
Dover and
Horsham. III./KG 1 did the same on 13 November, against Woodford in
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
and
Newton Heath
Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883.
Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial R ...
. On 14/15 November KG 1 flew in full strength in a highly effective
attack on Coventry, codenamed Operation ''Mondscheinsonate'' (Moonlight Sonata). I. ''Gruppe'' flew three further operations: against
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
,
Newhaven and
Ramsgate. "Pathfinders" from 12
''Kampfgruppe'' 100 (Bomb Group 100 or KGr 100) led 437 bombers from KG 1, KG 3, KG 26, KG 27, KG 55 and LG 1 and they dropped of high explosive, of incendiaries, and 127 parachute mines. Other sources say 449 bombers and a total of of bombs were dropped. The raid against Coventry was particularly devastating, and led to widespread use of the phrase "to conventrate".
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-388-0990-37, Frankreich, Ju 88](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-388-0990-37%2C_Frankreich%2C_Ju_88.jpg)
London was targeted again on 15/16 November while KG 1 flew a full-strength bombing attack against
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
. On 16/17 November two three-''Gruppen'' attacks were made against London while I./KG 1 bombed Birmingham and
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
again on 18/19 November. On 19/20 and 20/21 November KG 1 bombed Birmingham again with all three groups. I. ''Gruppe'' flew a second sortie to London while all three groups attacked an airfield in the north of London. KG 1 mounted particularly heavy air attacks on 22/23 November. It flew one full-strength operation against Birmingham and London. A third operation was carried out
against Portsmouth, although
Eastney
Eastney is a district in the south-east corner of Portsmouth, England, on Portsea Island. Its electoral ward is called Eastney and Craneswater. At the 2011 Census the population of this ward was 13,591.
History
Barracks and fortifications
Ea ...
and
Eastleigh
Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census.
The town lies on the River Itchen, ...
were hit instead. A fourth mission was flown against Eastbourne. On 24/24 November KG 1 turned to bombing
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, Birmingham and Coventry.
On 27/28 and 28/29 November KG 1 began all-group attacks over
Plymouth and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
; London (29/30 November), Bristol (2/3 December), Birmingham, London (3/4 December) by I./KG 1, Birmingham and
Sheerness (11/12 December),
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
and
Ramsgate (12/13 December), London (21/22 December and 22/23 December) with I. and III./KG 1 respectively,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and London (23/24 December). KG 1 bombed London again on 29/30 December, a night which is referred to as the
Second Great Fire of London
The Second Great Fire of London in December 1940 was caused by one of the most destructive air raids of the Blitz during World War II. The Luftwaffe raid caused fires over an area greater than that of the Great Fire of London in 1666, leading ...
because of the damaged caused by the Luftwaffe. Over 27,499 incendiaries and over 100 tonnes of bombs were dropped on London by 136 aircraft that night which caused a
firestorm
A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...
devastated the old
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
.
The Luftwaffe targeted ports in January 1941. In February port-targets became top priority, but planners persisted in operating against cities in the interior. III. ''Gruppe'' bombed
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
and
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of ...
on 2/3 January,
Dungeness
Dungeness () is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the hamlet ...
(3/4 January), Hastings (9/10 January), Portsmouth (10/11 January),
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
(19/20 January). III ''Gruppe'' completed January operations with bombing operations against
Stechford,
The Wash
The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it is fed by the riv ...
, twice on 22 January, Stetchford–
Margate
Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook.
The town has been a significan ...
–
Hayes and Portsmouth on 28 January. On 29 and 30 January 1941 III. ''Gruppe'' bombed
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
and then Stechford and London respectively. Night operations were complicated at this time with the emergence of Wing Commander
Edward Addison
Air Vice Marshal Edward Barker Addison, (4 October 1898 – 4 July 1987) was a senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer who served as Air Officer Commanding No. 100 Group from 1943 to 1945 during the Second World War. The group jammed Axis radar ...
's
No. 80 Wing RAF which was dedicated to the jamming of high-frequency German beams; though the success of British countermeasures in 1940 and 1941 were minimal.
KG 1 used III. ''Gruppe'' to maintain pressure on Plymouth and Birmingham on 9/10 February. It was the only group operational that night. Stab and I./KG 1 flew against London on 14/15 February. Before midnight on 17 November,
Sternford and
Leominster
Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster i ...
were bombed; again III./KG 1 was the only element to fly operations. On 19/20 February KG 1 flew a full-strength attack on Southampton with KG 28, and also alone against Brighton. Port-operations were maintained on 20/21 with an attack on Swansea, Portsmouth, Eastbourne and Cardiff; a further all-out effort against Brighton, Cardiff and Southampton was made on 26/27 February.
KG 1 remained on operations into March 1941. Cardiff was bombed III./KG 1 on 1/2 March and by I./KG 1 on 3/4 March. Southampton was bombed by I. and III. ''Gruppe'' on 3/4 March. London was attacked by I. ''Gruppe'' on 8/9 and 9/10 March and by III./KG 1 on the latter date. I and III ''Gruppen'' also bombed Portsmouth on consecutive nights from 9–11 March. III ''Gruppe'' continued operation on 12/13 March against Liverpool, Eastbourne and Brighton. With first group, it made the ''Geschwader's'' first contribution to the
Glasgow Blitz on 13/14 March; the group also attacked Margate,
Grantham
Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...
and
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
. I. and II. ''Gruppen'' flowed suite on 14/15 March, while I./KG 1 bombed Southampton. II./KG 1 completed the night's operations with an attack on
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
. KG 1 continued to support the bombing operations and flew in the
Hull Blitz
The Hull Blitz was the bombing campaign that targeted the English port city of Kingston upon Hull by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War.
Large-scale attacks took place on several nights throughout March 1941, resulting in over ...
for the first time on 18/19 March while I./KG 1 targeted
Harwell.
KG 1 began April with an attack on Birmingham by third group on first night and
Poole on the night of the 3rd and 4th. II./KG 1 were busiest on the night of 7/8; bombing Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow. They were supported by III./KG 1 in the latter operation. KG 1 focused on the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
; bombing Coventry and Birmingham from 8/9 to 10/11 April. On 15/16 April III. and II. ''Gruppen''
attacked Belfast,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
for the first time. From 16 to 29 April London, Liverpool and Plymouth were the main targets for all three ''Gruppen''. On the night of the 19/20 April,
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's 52nd birthday, London was attacked by 712 aircraft, the largest deployment of the month. It surpassed the 685 aircraft used on the 16/17 April attack.
In May, aside from previous targets, KG 1 was deployed against
Great Yarmouth twice, and Hull, (3/4 May),
Woodley (4/5 May), and Newcastle on 6/7 May with KG 76. From 8–10 May KG 1 bombed
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
twice, and
Upper Heyford. On 11/12 April II./KG 1 bombed
Watton and
Sutton Bridge
Sutton Bridge is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A17 road, north from Wisbech and west from King's Lynn. The village includes a commercial dock on the west bank of th ...
. From 19 to 27 May
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
,
Lowestoft,
Harwich,
Dover,
Hunstanton were bombed. KG 1's last Blitz operation came on 1/2 June 1941, when II. ''Gruppe'' assisted in a large attack on Manchester.
Eastern Front
KG 1 was relocated
Powunden,
East Prussia in early June 1941. Stab. II., and III./KG 1 were assigned to
General der Flieger
''General der Flieger'' ( en, General of the aviators) was a General of the branch rank of the Luftwaffe (air force) in Nazi Germany. Until the end of World War II in 1945, this particular general officer rank was on three-star level ( OF-8), e ...
Helmuth Förster, commanding ''Fliegerkorps'' I. The air corps was subordinated to ''Luftflotte'' 1 under
Generaloberst
A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank was ...
Alfred Keller
Alfred Keller (19 September 1882 – 11 February 1974) was a general in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during the Second World War who commanded the ''Luftflotte 1''. His career in the Imperial German Armed Forces began in 1897; he served a ...
. Keller's command existed to support the attack of
Army Group North
Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...
into the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. The invasion, codenamed
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, began on 22 June 1941. The noticeable exception was I./KG 1. The ''Gruppe'' was sent to begin training for maritime interdiction for
Battle of the Atlantic in March 1941. On 1 April 1941 it was re-designated I./
KG 40
''Kampfgeschwader'' 40 (KG 40) was a Luftwaffe medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II, and the primary maritime patrol unit of any size within the World War II Luftwaffe. It is best remembered as the unit operating a majority of the four-eng ...
. It would not be reformed until 8 June 1942.
II. ''Gruppe'' reported 27 from 29 Ju 88s operational and the third group, 29 from 30. On the first day, KG 1, with KG 76 and KG 77 rendered critical air support to
XXXXI Panzer Corps
XXXXI Panzer Corps (also written as: XLI Panzer Corps) was a Panzer (armoured) corps in the German Army during World War II.
Operational history
The corps was originally formed, as the XXXXI Corps, on 5 February 1940 in ''Wehrkreis'' VIII (Sile ...
under the command of
Georg-Hans Reinhardt
Georg-Hans Reinhardt (1 March 1887 – 23 November 1963) was a German general and war criminal during World War II. He commanded the 3rd Panzer Army from 1941 to 1944, and Army Group Centre in 1944 and 1945, reaching the rank of colonel general ...
. The German tank force was engaged by forces led by
Fedor Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov ordered the mobilisation of the
Baltic Military District
The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet armed forces in the Baltic states, formed briefly before the German invasion during the World War II. After end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's con ...
(later named the
Northwestern Front
The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-cr ...
) to defend the
Baltic States, annexed by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
in 1939. The
3rd and
12 Mechanised Corps moved to initiate a
pincer movement
The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanks (sides) of an enemy formation. This classic maneuver holds an important foothold throughout the history of warfare.
The pin ...
as the Germans advanced on
Siauliai. German air attacks destroyed 40 motor vehicles or tanks. The 23rd Tank Division and 12th Mechanised Corps sustained particularly heavy losses. Over the next three days, as the battle raged, the
medium bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized bombloads over medium range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. Mediums generally carrie ...
force was asked to provide
close air support because ''Luftflotte'' 1 lacked such aircraft. All three bomber groups suffered the collective loss of 18 aircraft to heavy Soviet
anti-aircraft artillery. Keller was forced to repeat these operations on 28 June. Southwest of
Riga, KG 1 lost six Ju 88s this way. KG 1 was moved to Mitau, a forward base in the
Daugavpils–Riga area, to support the
4th Panzer Army
The 4th Panzer Army (german: 4. Panzerarmee) (operating as Panzer Group 4 (german: 4. Panzergruppe) from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, when it was redesignated as a full army) was a German panzer formation during World War ...
's breakout from the Daugavpils bridgehead. A notable loss for KG 1 was the commander of second group, Otto Stams, who was
wounded in action
Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...
on 27 June. Stams was replaced by Emil Enderle.
III. ''Gruppe'' was heavily involved in operations. It bombed
Red Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
airfields at
Ventspils
Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...
,
Liepäja,
Jelgava
Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Du ...
and Riga from 27 to 28 June. From 1–4 July it bombed Soviet troop concentrations at Jelgava and over southern
Latvia. After the capture of Jelgava it moved there on 5 July to support attacks on airfields in
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
. The group also interdicted rail lines between
Lake Ilmen and
Lake Peipus
Lake Peipus ( et, Peipsi-Pihkva järv; russian: Чудско-Псковское озеро, Псковско-Чудское озеро, Chudsko-Pskovskoye ozero, Pskovsko-Chudskoye ozero); is the largest trans-boundary lake in Europe, lying on ...
. The group attack
Luga on 10 July. On this day a formation from KG 1 was intercepted by
Polikarpov I-16
The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ...
s from 154 IAP. Pilot Sergey Titovka carried out a ''taran'' attack on ''Feldwebel'' Paul Kempf's bomber. KG 1 reported the loss of three Ju 88s.
II./KG 1 carried out similar operations and it bombed
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
on 3 July. It extended its sphere of operations into the Baltic Sea and
Gulf of Finland, attacking Soviet shipping and the
Baltic Fleet. Both groups moved to
Saborovka. It focused on rail and road targets near
Bologoye Bologoye () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Bologoye, Tver Oblast, a town in Bologovsky District of Tver Oblast
;Rural localities
* Bologoye, Omsk Oblast, a '' selo'' in Rozovsky Rural Okrug of Russko-P ...
on 23 July while supporting the general advance to Leningrad. Attacks against Soviet shipping took priority in late August: between
Narva
Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 54 ...
and
Kronstadt
Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...
. In September attacks on naval traffic on
Lake Ladoga and in the Gulf of Finland became the focus of KG 1's operations. KG 1 was also active against the
Soviet evacuation of Tallinn
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. On 28 August KG 77 and KGr 806 sank the steamer ''Vironia'', the Lucerne, the ''Atis Kronvalds'' and the ice breaker ''
Krišjānis Valdemārs
Krišjānis Valdemārs (in Germanized spelling as Christian Waldemar or Woldemar) (2 December 1825 at Vecjunkuri in Ārlava parish (now Valdgale parish, Courland, Latvia) – 7 December 1891 in Moscow, Russia) was a writer, editor, educator, poli ...
'' (). The rest of the Soviet fleet were forced to change course. This took them through a heavily mined area. As a result, 21 Soviet warships, including five destroyers, struck mines and sank. On 29 August, the Ju 88s accounted for the transport ships ''Vtoraya Pyatiletka'' (), Kalpaks () and ''Leningradsovet'' () sunk. In addition, the ships ''Ivan Papanin'', ''Saule'', Kazakhstan and the ''Serp i Molot'' were damaged by I./KG 4, which also sank three more. Some 5,000 Soviet soldiers died.
KG 1 was also active in the Luftwaffe's traditional interdiction role.
Gerhard Baeker's III./KG 1 severed the rail lines to Luga on 16 August. The success of the attack forced the Soviets to abandon
Kingisepp. II. ''Gruppe'' was removed from the front on 12 September to re-equip with the Ju 88A-4 until 9 October. All remaining aircraft were handed over to III./KG 1. As Army Group North neared Leningrad, all the bombers of the first air fleet began bombing operations against the centre of the city: beginning the
Siege of Leningrad. On 8 September 27 Ju 88s dropped 6, 327
incendiary bomb
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, t ...
s, starting 183 fires. The targets were the Badayevo warehouses holding supplies for the trapped Soviet forces and the city's civilians. An entire reserve of sugar weighing 2,500 tons was destroyed. Bombing commenced around the clock, a systematic attempt to destroy the city. Most
air raids were confined to the night, because of heavy ground fire and the arrival of 5, 7, 44 and 191 IAP fighter regiments.
On 28 September and into early October operations against rail lines in the Lake Ilmen. It moved to
Dno airbase on 17 October. It continued interdiction, or disruption, operations against
Tikhvin
Tikhvin (russian: Ти́хвин; Veps: ) is a town and the administrative center of Tikhvinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River in the east of the oblast, east of St. Petersburg. Tikhvin ...
(29 October),
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...
(31 October),
Shum (19 December) and
Chudovo
Chudovo (russian: Чудово) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Chudovo, Chudovsky District, Novgorod Oblast, a town of district significance in Chudovsky District of Novgorod Oblast
;Rural localities
* ...
on 29 December 1941. II. ''Gruppe'' returned to Saborovka on 9 October and bombed rail lines southeast of Leningrad from 9–13 October. It moved to
Staraya Russa
Staraya Russa ( rus, Старая Русса, p=ˈstarəjə ˈrusːə) is a town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased o ...
on 23rd. It was in action over Bolshoi-Dvor lines on 17 December. Both groups fought against Soviet counteroffensives in the Lake Ilmen area until the end of December, and the ultimate failure of ''Barbarossa''. Before the year was out, II./KG 1 lost its second commander, Emil Enderle, posted
missing in action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
on 3 November.
To Stalingrad
II. and III. ''Gruppen'' remained on operations opposing the Soviet winter offensives. On 2 January, with KG 4, it bombed the ice roads and unloading port of
Osinovets. In January 1942, KG 1 bombed targets around Staraya Russa, Kholm and the
Volkhov River
The Volkhov (russian: Во́лхов) is a river in Novgorodsky and Chudovsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Kirishsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia. It connects Lake Ilmen and Lake Ladoga and forms pa ...
into February and until 20 March. From 26 March–3 April 1942, KG 1 flew bombing and
supply
Supply may refer to:
*The amount of a resource that is available
**Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers
**Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission
*Supply, as in confidenc ...
missions over the
Demyansk Pocket
The Demyansk Pocket (german: Kessel von Demjansk; russian: Демя́нский котёл) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. Th ...
. ''Luftflotte'' 1 carried out 3,185 sorties in the first month of 1942. KG 1. and I./KG 4 flew 913 bomber sortied in the Volkhov and 473 in the Demyansk area. The wing commenced Operation Eisstoss, against Kronshtadt port on 4 April and continued to support trapped
German Army units in the
Kholm Pocket. KG 1 remained mostly active around Kholm–particularly in opposition to the
Toropets–Kholm Offensive
The Toropets–Kholm offensive was a military operation conducted south of Lake Ilmen by the Red Army during World War II, from 9 January–6 February 1942. The operation contributed to the formation of the Kholm Pocket and the encirclement of ...
–and the Volkhov front in April and May 1942, with sporadic attacks on Lake Ilmen (22 April) Leningrad (24 April).
II./KG 1 returned to Germany to rest and refit in May. III./KG 1 retained a small contingent at Pskov, but moved to
Insterburg
Chernyakhovsk (russian: Черняхо́вск) – known prior to 1946 by its German name of (Old Prussian: Instrāpils, lt, Įsrutis; pl, Wystruć) – is a town in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, where it is the administrative center of C ...
, East Prussia on 21 April. The group returned rapidly and were apparently in the Kholm area by 30 April. III. ''Gruppe'' moved to Rozhkopolve from 21 May to 1 June. By 8 June the group was back at Dno with II ''Gruppe''. I./KG 1 was re-created on 8 June at
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...
-Blankensee but was sent to
Avord
Avord () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.
Geography
A farming area comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of the river Yèvre, some east of Bourges at the junction of t ...
in France. From there it flew night operations over
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
from 5 August (
Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of aerial attacks in April and May 1942 by the German ''Luftwaffe'' on English cities during the Second World War. The name derives from Baedeker, a series of German tourist guide books, inclu ...
), including bombing operations against the
Dieppe Raid. The group returned to the Eastern Front on 3 September 1942. That same day ''Geschwaderkommodore'' Hans Keppler was killed in action and replaced with Heinrich Lau.
From 22 June 1942 II./KG 1 flew armed reconnaissance over the Gulf Finland. In July 1942 the group moved to
Bryansk
Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population:
Geography Urban la ...
on
Army Group Centre's front. Several ''Staffeln'' flew
anti-tank operations. from 10 to 27 July. Within the same timeframe, 11 to 16 July, it attacked rail, troop and tank concentrations in the Sukhinichi, Kozelsk and Belev sectors. By 20 July the group was operating in the
Pola River
The Pola () is a river in Andreapolsky and Penovsky Districts of Tver Oblast and in Maryovsky, Demyansky, and Parfinsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast of Russia. It is a tributary of Lake Ilmen. It is long, and the area of its basin . The princ ...
and combated Soviet breakthroughs in the
Battles of Rzhev
The Battles of Rzhev (russian: Ржевская битва, Rzhevskaya bitva) were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between January 8, 1942, and March 31, 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place ...
from 7 August 1942. Acting as fire-brigade support in the north, the group supported Operation Wirbelwind; a counteroffensive east of Roslavl near Sukhinichi from 9–27 August. By 20 September it could must 10 operational Ju 88s, from the 26 available to it. III./KG 1 repeated these operations but spent slightly longer operating over Bryansk (7–27 July) and Operation Wirbelwind. In September it flew support for the army in Demyansk and Lake Ilmen, before moving to Morosovskaya on 6 October, to support
Operation Blue
Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the German Armed Forces' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of the Cauca ...
, and Army Group South in the Battle of Stalingrad before withdrawing to East Prussia again on 31 October.
II. ''Gruppen'' was joined by I./KG 1 in the south under the command of Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's ''Fliegerkorps'' VIII. The first group returned to the East and began operations over the familiar Demyansk area. Its operational condition was better than the other ''Gruppen'' and it could employ 21 of the 33 Ju 88s available to it. On 7 October both groups began operations over Stalingrad and the northern Caucasus. It bombed Grozny on 10 October and Stalingrad on 16th before being removed to the Orsha on the central sector, and subordinated to ''Fliegerdivision'' 1 on 3 November. KG 1 responded to Richthofen's 14 October call for an all-out attack on the city. In 2,000 sorties the Germans dropped a total of 600 tons of bombs. KG 1 lost three Ju 88s. II./KG 1 was pushed deeper in the south as the Battle of the Caucasus reached a climax. It bombed Astrakhan on 18 October but was withdrawn to Orsha on the same day as I./KG 1. Consequently, KG 1 missed the final stages of the battle which ended in the Operation Uranus, destruction of Axis armies in Stalingrad. Nevertheless, II./KG 1 lost ''Gruppenkommandeur'' Heinz Laube killed in an accident on 8 December.
Final operations in the East
I. ''Gruppe'' returned under the command of ''Oberstleutnant'' Hellmut Schalke until July when ''Major'' Werner Dahlke took command. It was rushed into action in the Battle of Rzhev, Summer 1942, Rzhev sector into November. On 26 November 1942, KG 1 flew its 20,000th mission. In December 1942 it fought in the Battle for Velikiye Luki. From Orsha, it moved to Kharkov and Volchenko on 25 December to bolster the defences on the Don River (Russia), Don River. It abandoned the area on 17 January 1943 to avoid being overrun. During the transfer it moved to IV. ''Fliegerkorps'' and conducted a fighting withdrawal against infantry and tank targets. Based at Kiev, from 5 February, the group flew in the Third Battle of Kharkov. It also operated from Poltava Air Base before moving north, to Kolty near
Narva
Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 54 ...
. On consecutive nights from 19 to 21 March, the airfield was bombed costing two Ju 88s destroyed and four damaged. The group bombed targets around Lake Ladoga from 23 March and left the Soviet Union until May 1944. II./KG 1 carried out similar operations, differing only in its earlier retirement to Königsberg for rest and refit from 19 to 30 December. The group did not return to the Eastern Front until June 1944.
III./KG 1 handed its aircraft to II ''Gruppe'' when it left for East Prussia on 31 October 1942. It returned in January 1943 and remained on the Eastern Front until July. ''Hauptmann'' Werner Kanther became the last-but one commanding officer in October 1942; he held command until the first disbandment of the unit in April 1944. On 9 March, (Eis)/KG 1 was created. It was equipped with the Ju 88C and trained for specialised train-busting operations. It remained supporting Army Group North until June 1943 until it was transferred to ''Luftflotte'' 6. It served on the Volkhov, Kolpino and Kholm. It assisted German forces hold the line at Krasny Bor, Tosnensky District, Leningrad Oblast, Krasny Bor after the Battle of Krasny Bor. On 2 June KG 1 bombed the rail station at Kursk, in preparation for Operation Citadel; it also bombed Leninsky District, Russia, Leninsky, Yelets and Voronezh.
The command staff of the Luftwaffe used this idea to free their service from the air support role. Robert Ritter von Greim's Luftflotte 6, with support from ''Luftflotte'' 4, was assigned seven bomber wings to carry out a strategic bombing offensive—
KG 55
''Kampfgeschwader'' 55 "Greif" (KG 55 or Battle Wing 55) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. was one of the longest serving and well-known in the Luftwaffe. The wing operated the Heinkel He 111 exclusively until 1943, when only ...
,
KG 3,
KG 4
''Kampfgeschwader'' 4 "General Wever" (KG 4) (Battle Wing 4) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II. The unit was formed in May 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17, Junkers Ju 88 and Heinkel He 111 medium bombers, with later serv ...
,
KG 27
'Kampfgeschwader' 27 ''Boelcke'' was a Luftwaffe medium bomber wing of World War II.
Formed in May 1939, KG 27 first saw action in the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. During the Phoney War—September 1939 – April 1940—the ...
,
KG 51
''Kampfgeschwader'' 51 "Edelweiss" (KG 51) (Battle Wing 51) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
The unit began forming in May 1939 and completed forming in December 1939, and took no part in the invasion of Poland which start ...
,
KG 53
''Kampfgeschwader'' 53 "Legion Condor" (KG 53; English: ''Condor Legion'') was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
Its units participated on all of the fronts in the European Theatre until it was disbanded in May 1945. At all times it o ...
and KG 100. Factory Number No. 466 at Nizhny Novgorod, Gorkiy with five percent total and one-tenth of all fighter engine production were the targets. Three of the five ball bearings plants were in range, the synthetic rubber plant at
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...
(23 percent of output) and oil refineries along with steel plants were all considered. Surviving intelligence maps show the crude oil and ball bearing plant at Saratov was also considered. In the end phase, the production of tanks and armoured vehicles received the weight of the attacks. The facilities at Nizhny Novgorod, Gorkiy drew most attention for it produced 15 percent of T-34s and was the largest plant west of the Urals. In error, planners targeted the State Motor Vehicles Plant No. 1 Molotov, the largest automobile plant in the country which produced the less threatening T-60 and T-70. The Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112 was targeted because of its production of munitions.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-676-7972A-04, Heinkel He 177](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-676-7972A-04%2C_Heinkel_He_177.jpg)
Third group was the only element of KG 1 to take part, from 5 to 8 June. It bombed the synthetic rubber plant on 20 June. It lost two aircraft. During repeated attacks between 4 and 22 June, all of the plant's 50 buildings, 9,000 metres of conveyors, 5,900 units of process equipment and 8,000 engines were destroyed or damaged. Russian authorities have still not disclosed how many people were killed. German wartime estimates are 15,000, but are not supported. Owing to failed intelligence and targeting, the attacks against the Molotov factory disrupted the T-70 light tank. Roughly half of the Soviet light tank production—5, 134 from 9, 375 in 1942, was made there. Factory Number 112, produced the T-34 tank, which was only lightly affected by the raids. Repair was rapid, and completed within six weeks. Night fighter and search light defences were also increased. The factory was fully operational by 18 August. In the fourth quarter of 1943, it superseded production quotas by 121 percent.
When Citadel began III./KG 1 carried out bombing operations until 13 July. It moved to Bryansk on 14 July and attacked Soviet armour when Operation Kutuzov broke through to Orel on 20 July. The ''Gruppe'' lingered on the Eastern Front until 2 August 1943, when it appears to have been withdrawn. Only the specialist 9.(Eis)/KG 1 ''Staffel'' remained. On 20 July it moved back to Seshchinskaya and operated from Stari Bykhov from 18 September. In October 1943 it helped Army Group Centre contain the Orsha offensives (1943), Orsha offensives. It may have been transferred to Flensburg to convert to the Ju 88P. In mid-March it was re-designated 14(Eis)./KG 3. III. ''Gruppe'' disbanded in mid-April 1944. 7. and 8. ''Staffeln'' re known to have retrained as anti-tank units at Flensburg until 12 August and the aircraft were given to 9.(Eis)./KG 1. Only one month later, the ''Gruppe'' was reformed by the re-designation of I./KG 100. It began training on the
Heinkel He 177
The Heinkel He 177 ''Greif'' (Griffin) was a long-range heavy bomber flown by the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. The introduction of the He 177 to combat operations was significantly delayed, by both problems with the development of its ...
but never became operational again. It was dissolved at Prowehren East Prussia, on 25 August 1944.
II./KG 1 returned to the front under the command of IV. ''Fliegerkorps'' after action in Italy and the Mediterranean. Equipped with the He 177s, the bomber group flew against railheads from June 1944, as the Operation Bagration, Soviet summer offensive opened. It was ordered by ''Reichsmarschall''
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
to attack tanks and act as close air support. Using the
heavy bomber
Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...
in this way was disastrous: ''Oberstleutnant'' Horst von Riesen carried out the orders with reluctance and lost two on the 26th, another two on 27th and a fifth bomber on 28 June. It bombed rail yards at Kalinkovichi and Gomel, and at Velikaya Luki on 26 June. Fuel shortages forced the group to be withdrawn and disbanded on 28 July at Brandis. Flight personnel were sent to I./JG 7, operating the Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter jet. It was formally renamed I./JG 7 on 5 September 1944.
In July KG 1 made its last substantial contribution in Lithuania. It counted the Soviet Vilnius Offensive and slowed preparations for the Kaunas Offensive. The Soviet supply base at Molodechno, southeast of Vilnius, at Minsk, Velikiye Luki and Novosokolniki were repeatedly attacked by night bombers. On 20 July Riesen led all 70 of KG 1's operational He 177 bombers on a daylight raid against Velikiye Luki rail station. Riesen flew so high Soviet fighter aircraft could not intercept and the bombing caused mass devastation to the station and town for no loss. On 23 July, the crews struck again and reported large fires and explosions after bombing Molodechno. KG 1 was ordered to disrupt Soviet rail traffic in the Lublin sector—to contain the Lublin–Brest Offensive. On 25 July the He 177s repeated effective attacks. At the Bug River, near Brest-Litovsk, the bombers destroyed the headquarters of the Soviet 80th Army Corps, killing the commander in the process. On 28 July KG 1 carried out its last bombing mission of the war when it attacked concentrations of the 2nd Guards Tank Army.
I./KG 1 remained in Laon, France from April and June 1943 before serving in Italy. It also began training on He 177s from September 1943 and handed its Ju 88s to KG 54 and KG 76. At Burg bei Magdeburg, Burg from 18 November 1943, it made slow progress and suffered many accident losses from 15 March. By the end of April it could field 22 He 177s. Considered operational, it transferred to
East Prussia at Kaliningrad Chkalovsk, Prowehren and Seerappen in June. In June and July it attacked Soviet tank formations and on one operation, under the command of ''Major'' Manfred von Cossart, nearly bombed
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's headquarters, the Wolf's Lair. It disbanded at Brandis on 20 August 1944 and personnel were sent to JG 7.
Italian Campaign and the Mediterranean
KG 1 was rushed to Piacenza in June 1943 after the North African Campaign ended with the defeat of Axis forces. From here I./KG 1 was moved to Viterbo on 10 July. The Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) provided the bomber group with the immediate task of destroying Allied shipping the Mediterranean. From this date it attacked harbours in Algeria and Tunisia. It moved further south to Foggia on 26 July, but serviceability was poor: just five of the 18 Ju 88s were operational by 20 August 1943. Bombing operations over Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse (17, 22 July), Augusta, Sicily, Augusta harbour (21 July), Malta (22 July), Gela (27 July), Palermo (4 August) and Syracuse again on 10 August degraded operational readiness. The Allied invasion of Italy took place on 3 September and I./KG 1 recorded its last sortie off Naples on 8 September.
II./KG 1 arrived in Grottaglie on 28 March and was subordinated to II. ''Fliegerkorps'', subordinated to Luftflotte 2, ''Luftflotte'' 2. It flew supply operations to Tunisia in an attempt to overcome the effects of Operation Flax. It also flew anti-submarine warfare operations and aerial escort for convoys from 10 to 27 April 1943. It bombed Annaba, Bŏne harbour on 15 May, days after the Battle of Tunisia ended in the capitulation of Axis forces. It also bombed Oran harbour and then moved to Sardinia on 19 May. From June to August to flew against the landing in Sicily and the invasion of Italy, mainly in anti-shipping roles which decimated the group. Based at Foggia on 20 August 1943, it had 11 operational to 21 Ju 88s on strength. On 9 September it handed its aircraft to KG 54 and KG 76. The personnel temporarily acted as occupation forces near Airasca, Torino, when Italy changes sides before departing Italy for the last time on 4 November 1943 for conversion to the He 177 at Burg.
Commanding officers
The following commanded KG 1:
*''Major General'' Ulrich Kessler, Ulrich Otto Eduard Kessler, 1 May – 17 December 1939
*''Oberst'' Ernst Exss 18 December 1939 – 12 July 1940
*''Oberst''
Josef Kammhuber 12–17 July 1940 (acting)
*''Major General'' Karl Angerstein 18 July 1940 – 1 March 1942
*''Major'' Herbert Loch 2 March – 30 June 1942
*''
Oberstleutnant
() is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedi ...
'' Paul Schemmel 1 July – 14 August 1942 (
killed in action 14 August 1942)
*''Major'' Hans Keppler 15 August – 3 September 1942 (killed in action 3 September 1942)
*''Major'' Heinrich Lau 4 September 1942 – 15 March 1943
*''Obstlt'' Horst Von Riesen 17 March 1943 – 25 August 1944
References
Citations
Bibliography
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Further reading
* Bergström, Christer (2015). ''The Battle of Britain: An Epic Conflict Revisited''. Casemate: Oxford. .
* Brookes, Andrew. ''Air War Over Russia''. Ian Allan Publishing. 2003.
* Christopher Shores (2002). ''Great Air Battles of World War II''. Grub Street.
* Christopher Hough and Denis Richard (1990). ''The Battle of Britain – the Jubilee History''. Guild Publishing. Previously published by Hodder & Stoughton, 1989.
* Dierich, Wolfgang (2002). ''Kampfgeschwader 55 "Greif", Eine Chronik aus Dokumenten und Berichten 1937-1945''. Motorbuch. .
* Goss, Chris. (2000). ''The Luftwaffe Bombers' Battle of Britain''. Crecy, Manchester.
* Hall and Quinlan (2000). ''KG55''. Red Kite. .
* Joel Hayward, Hayward, Joel S.A (1998). ''Stopped at Stalingrad''. University of Kansas; Lawrence.
* Hooton, E. R (2007a). ''Luftwaffe at War: Gathering Storm 1933-1939'' Classic Publications. .
* Hooton, E.R. (2016). ''War over the Steppes: The air campaigns on the Eastern Front 1941–45''. Osprey Publishing.
* Mackay, Ron (2003). ''Heinkel He 111'' Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press. .
* Parker, Nigel (2013). ''Luftwaffe Crash Archive: Volume 1: A Documentary History of Every Enemy Aircraft Brought Down Over the United Kingdom, September 1939 – 14 August 1940''. Red Kite, London.
* Richard Townshend Bickers (1990). ''The Battle of Britain''. Salamander Books.
External links
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{{Subject bar
, portal1=Aviation
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, commons=y
Bomber wings of the Luftwaffe 1933-1945, Kampfgeschwader 001
Military units and formations established in 1939
Military units and formations disestablished in 1944