''Nachtjagdgruppe'' 10 (NJGr 10) was a German

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 ...

night fighter ''gruppe'' (group) 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 opposin ...

. It was formed on 1 January 1944 at

Werneuchen Werneuchen () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, in the district of Barnim northeast of Berlin within the metropolitan area. Most of the population of Werneuchen commutes to Berlin. Demography File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Werneuchen.pdf, Dev ...

with 3 ''Staffel'' (squadrons). It was subordinated to the 1. ''Jagd-Division'' (1st fighter division), stationed at Döberitz. On 6 March 1945, NJGr 10 transferred to

Liebenwalde Liebenwalde is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 16 km northeast of Oranienburg, and 39 km north of Berlin (centre). In 2003, the administrative boundaries were expanded to include Freienhagen, Ha ...

and disbanded in April 1945. The remnants of NJGr 10 were absorbed by Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 (5th Night Fighter Wing). Its main task was to explore new and revised tactical deployment of night fighters, test the latest search and detection equipment in conjunction with the test site for radar equipment under combat conditions (''Erprobung von Radarsysteme für die Nachtjagd''), and place the anti- Mosquito effort under a more centralised command.

1./NJGr 10

1st ''Staffel'' was formed from parts of I/

Jagdgeschwader 300 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 300 (JG 300) was a Luftwaffe fighter aircraft, fighter-Wing (air force unit), wing of World War II. JG 300 was formed on June 26, 1943 in Deelen as Stab/Versuchskommando Herrmann, from July 18, 1943 as Stab/JG Herrmann and fi ...

(1st Group of 300th Fighter Wing) and commanded by Hauptmann Friedrich-Karl Müller. 1/NJGr 10 was stationed in Werneuchen, flying both

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...

equipped with FuG 217 ''Neptun'' (Neptune) radar and

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

fighter aircraft and used Bonn-Hangelar as a

forward airfield Advance airfield and forward airfield are military terms for a relatively primitive ad-hoc airfield used for refueling and re-arming air units as part of forward operations near the enemy. Also called advanced airfield for its advanced position, not ...

. On 28 August 1944 half of 1/NJGr 10 was redesignated 2/

Nachtjagdgeschwader 11 ''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 11 (NJG 11) was a Luftwaffe night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 11 was formed on 20 August 1944 with one ''Gruppe'' (group) consisting of 2 ''Staffeln''. Formation ''1 staffel'' was formed from elements of 6./JG 300 ...

(NJG 11—11th Night Fighter Wing). The remaining half was then based at Bonn-Hangelar and

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

Biblis Biblis is a municipality in the Bergstraße district in southern Hessen, Germany. Geography Location The municipality lies in the Rhine rift west of the Odenwald between Darmstadt to the north and Mannheim to the south; it also lies north of B ...

. On 27 October 1944, the remainder of 1/NJGr 10 was redesignated 3/NJG 11, and a new 1/NJGr 10 was formed at Bonn-Hangelar.Weal 1996, p. 39.

2./NJGr 10

2nd ''Staffel'' was stationed in both Werneuchen and

Finow Finow is a river of Brandenburg, Germany. Originally, it flowed into the Oder near Oderberg, but since the creation of the Finow Canal in the 17th century, it flows into this canal near Finowfurt. See also *List of rivers of Brandenburg A list ...

flying Bf 110s and Ju 88s.

3./NJGr 10

3rd ''Staffel'' was stationed in Finsterwalde flying the He 219s and later the

Ta 154 The Focke-Wulf Ta 154 ''Moskito'' was a fast twin-engined German night fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank and produced by Focke-Wulf during late World War II. Only a few were produced, proving to have less impressive performance than the pr ...

. In November 1944 3/NJGr 10 relocated to Jüterbog.

Commanding officers

*Major

Rudolf Schoenert Rudolf Schoenert (27 July 1911 – 30 November 1985) was the seventh highest scoring night fighter flying ace in the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Kni ...

, 1 January 1944 – 6 March 1945 *Major Lüdtke, 6 March 1945 – 30 April 1945

References

Citations Bibliography * Scutts, Jerry (1998). ''German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2''. Osprey Publishing. . * Weal, John (1996). ''Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Western Front''. London, UK: Osprey Publishing. . {{Subject bar , portal1=Aviation , portal2=Military of Germany , portal3=World War II Luftwaffe Wings Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945