''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 4 (NJG 4) was a Luftwaffe

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 ...

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

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 opposin ...

. NJG 4 was formed on 18 April 1941 in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

. The unit's objective was to counter RAF Bomber Command's strategic night-bombing offensive. The unit's commanding officers included Oberstleutnant

Wolfgang Thimmig Wolfgang Thimmig (4 October 1912 – 6 November 1976) was a Germans, German Luftwaffe night fighter ace during World War II. By the end of the war he had achieved 24 aerial victories, reached the rank of Oberstleutnant, and was Geschwaderkommodor ...

(October 1943 – November 1944) and Major

Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (16 February 1922 – 15 July 1950) was a German Luftwaffe night-fighter pilot and the highest-scoring night fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. A flying ace is a military aviator credited with shootin ...

(20 November 1944 – 8 May 1945).

Commanding officers

''Geschwaderkommodore''

*Major Rudolf Stoltenhoff, 18 April 1941 – 20 October 1943 *

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 Swedis ...

, 20 October 1943 – 14 November 1944 *Major

, 14 November 1944 – 8 May 1945

''Gruppenkommandeur''

I. ''Gruppe''

*Major Wilhelm Herget, 1 September 1942 – December 1944 *Hauptmann Johannes Krause, December 1944 – 8 May 1945

II. ''Gruppe''

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

Theodor Rossiwall The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military of the Third Reich during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of ...

, 1 October 1942 – 13 January 1943

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{Subject bar , portal1=Aviation , portal2=Military of Germany , portal3=World War II , commons=y , commons-search=Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 Nachtjagdgeschwader 004 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945