Jagdgeschwader 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 ace Manfred von Richthofen, the origins of the wing can be traced to 1934. Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 which began World War II, JG 2 served protecting the German border with France during the Phoney War. On 10 May 1940 it served in the Battle of Belgium and Battle of France. Thereafter it fought in the Battle of Britain and then remained on the English Channel front until September 1944. Elements of JG 2 fought in the latter stages of the North African Campaign, notably in the Battle of Tunisia in 1942 and 1943.

After the expulsion of German forces from France and Belgium following the Normandy landings, JG 2 served in the Defence of the Reich and fought on the Western Front, most notably at the Battle of the Bulge in the winter, 1944/45. JG 2 surrendered in May 1945.

Only three of JG 2's ten wartime ''Geschwaderkommodore'' survived World War II—four were killed while serving with JG 2, the highest fatality rate of any German fighter wing. JG 2 claimed 2,700 Allied aircraft destroyed at the cost of 750+ pilots killed or missing.

Organisation

A Luftwaffe ''Geschwader'' (wing formation) was the largest homogenous flying formation. It typically was made up of three groups (''Gruppen''). Each group contained approximately 30 to 40 aircraft in three squadrons (''Staffeln''). A ''Jagdgeschwader'' could field 90 to 120 fighter aircraft. In some cases a wing could be given a fourth ''Gruppe''. Each wing had a ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (wing commander) supporting by three ''Gruppenkommandeur'' (Group Commanders). Each squadron was commanded by a ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader). The ''Staffel'' contained approximately 12 to 15 aircraft. The identification in records were different depending on the type of formation. A ''Gruppe'' was referred to in roman numerals, for example I./JG 2, while ''Staffeln'' were described with their number (1./JG 2). The wing could be subordinated to a ''Fliegerkorps'', ''Fliegerdivision'' or ''Jagddivision'' (Flying Corps, Division and Fighter Division) all of which were subordinated to ''Luftflotten'' (Air Fleets). The use of ''Fliegerdivision'' became redundant and the description ''Fliegerkorps'' supplanted it until the use of ''Jagddivision'' later in the war.

Formation

The seizure of power by the Nazi Party in January 1933 triggered an era of military rearmament in Germany. Hermann Göring, one of leader Adolf Hitler's closest paladins, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, the aerial warfare branch of the Wehrmacht. The Nazi leadership wanted to forge a link with Germany's military past to ensure continuity between the German Empire and the Third Reich. The air base at Döberitz (''Fliegerruppe'' Döberitz) was renamed ''Jagdgeschwader Richthofen''. Hitler attended the formation ceremony and after a Swastika-laden parade declared the first group of the Luftwaffe's official existence. There was a propaganda purpose to Hitler's attendance. Foreign Secretary John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon was visiting Berlin at the time, and though the ''Richthofen'' group was the only such fighter unit in the Luftwaffe, the Nazis were sure to exaggerate the size of their air force to the press and British officials. Hitler told Simon personally that the Luftwaffe had reached numerical parity with the Royal Air Force. A flypast was arranged for 19 March and on 10 April 1936 the unit was used to celebrate Göring's marriage. ''Jagdgeschwader Richthofen'' consisted of two ''Gruppen'', and was used in the Remilitarization of the Rhineland, Hitler's first aggressive foreign policy move. Thereafter, the Richthofen groups became ''Jagdgeschwader'' 132. The first digit denoted the first unit of its type to be activated, the second the code for fighter aircraft and the last referred to ''Luftkreiskommando II'' (Air Command II), of the Berlin district. The wing was granted two groups, I. ''Gruppe'' (I./JG 132) and II. ''Gruppe'' (II./JG 132) which contained 1-3 and 4-6 ''Staffeln'' respectively. ''Major'' Johann Raithel, the first recognised commander, relinquished command to ''Oberst'' Gerd von Massow, who remained in command as ''Geschwaderkommodore'' until World War II.

Through the interwar period JG 132 was equipped with Arado Ar 65s, Arado Ar 68s and Heinkel He 51 biplanes. In mid-1937, and by the end of the summer, II./JG 132 began equipping with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 after testing with the B-1 and B-2 variant at Jüterbog. The Bf 109 initially had weak armament but the introduction of the cannon-armed E model resolved the issue and the type possessed superior high-altitude performance over conservative designs at the time. Following the Anschluss in March 1938, the ''Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte'' officer corps was screened for politically reliable personnel and some of the Austrian ''JaGschw'' 1 (Jagdgeschwader 1—Fighter Wing 1) pilots were sent to JG 132. JG 132 remained favoured by Göring who regularly asked it to host important visiting dignitaries. The majority of ''Jagdgruppe'' had Bf 109s by August 1938, but most were under strength and could field 26 fighters but many lacked radios. IV. ''Gruppe'' of JG 132, recently formed, was equipped with the Heinkel He 112. To complicate matters, JG 132 was renamed ''Jagdgeschwader'' 131 "Richthofen". On 1 May 1939 the Luftwaffe experienced a further reorganisation, and JG 131 was formally redesignated JG 2, an identity it retained for the rest of its existence.

Gerd von Massow created the '' Stabstaffel'' (headquarters unit) on 1 May 1939 at Döberitz and ''Obstleutnant'' Carl Vieck formed I. ''Gruppe'' nearby. Wolfgang Schellmann formed II. ''Gruppe'' at Zerbst on 12 December 1939. Erich Mix formed III. ''Gruppe'' on 16 March 1940 at Magdeburg, the last ''Gruppe'' to form. IV.(N)/JG 2, a night fighter unit was formed on 1 September 1939 under ''Oberleutnant'' Müller, and later Blumensaat, but the formation was short-lived and merged into 10.(N)/JG 26, 10.(N)/LG 2 to form a single entity which was eventually subsumed into NJG 1. The night fighters were a mixed group of Bf 109 Ds and Arado biplanes, even in September 1939. Bf 109 Es equipped I., II. and III. ''Gruppen'' at the beginning of the war. On 1 September 1939, Stab and I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 2 had 52 operational fighters including all three Bf 109s from the ''Stabstaffel''. This figure was one short of full establishment considering JG 2 consisted of one ''Gruppe'' at the time.

World War II

On 1 September 1939 the Wehrmacht initiated the German invasion of Poland in agreement with the secret protocol, the Nazi-Soviet Pact. The Soviet invasion of Poland followed on 17 September. JG 2 was retained for the aerial defence of Germany ("Defence of the Reich") but the lack of any threat by the Polish Air Force to Berlin led to an order for 1. ''Staffel'', I. ''Gruppe'', to fly to Prostken, East Prussia to take part. No aerial confrontations took place, and from 9 to 15 September, strafing attacks against road and rail targets were the main actions. The ''Staffel'' returned to Döberitz. JG 2 suffered its first casualties of the war, when two of the night fighter unit pilots were killed on 16/17 September, presumably in a collision.

JG 2 were assigned I./JG 77 and I./ JG 76 while waiting for two ''Gruppen'' to be formed to give the wing a fighting strength of three. Both of the ''Gruppen'' were sent to Frankfurt Rhine-Main as the build-up in western Germany began in the Phoney War period. JG 26 frequently flew combat patrols or "free hunts". On 22 November 1939 the wing scored what is believed to be the first aerial victory of the war against the ''Groupe de Chasse'' II/4 '' Armée de l’Air''. The freezing winter temperatures prohibited frequent flying, and I. ''Gruppe'' would not claim again until March 1940. Operation Weserübung, the invasions of Norway and Denmark ended the Phoney War. JG 2 were not involved in either, the burden of fighter operations with Bf 109s being carried out by JG 77. ''Oberst'' Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp took command of JG 2 on 1 April. Massow was appointed ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 3; Stab, I. and III. ''Gruppe'' were allotted to his command at Wiesbaden and based at Frankfurt while II. ''Gruppe'' was assigned to ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 1 at Jever and based at Nordholz. The ''Stabstaffel'', I. and III. ''Gruppe'' were placed under the command of ''Luftflotte'' 3 at Frankfurt, under the leadership of Hugo Sperrle. II. ''Gruppe'', with IV. ''Gruppe'' (Nacht), which had been elevated to ''Gruppe'' status briefly, were placed under the command of Albert Kesselring, ''Luftflotte'' 2. The former was based at Nordholz and th enight fighters were based at Hopsten. II. ''Gruppe'' mustered 47 Bf 109s with 35 combat ready. IV. ''Gruppe'' had 30 from 31 Bf 109s operational plus 13 from 36 Ar 68s operational. I. ''Gruppe'' had 33 of 45 Bf 109s available while III. ''Gruppe'' had only 11 from 42 available for operations. This was the condition of JG 2 on 10 May 1940.

Battle of France

On 10 May 1940 the Wehrmacht put Fall Gelb into effect, allowing for the German invasion of Luxembourg, Battle of the Netherlands, Battle of Belgium and the initial phase of the Battle of France. ''Jagdführerflieger'' 1 contained 147 Bf 109 Es (103 operational) for the invasion of the Netherlands. JG 2 moved forward to airfields from its jumping off points along the Moselle. I. ''Gruppe'' moved to Bastogne with III. ''Gruppe'', II. ''Gruppe'' moved to Hamminkeln near the Dutch border on 11 May. Massow's ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 3, containing JG 2, JG 53 and ZG 2 claimed 66 aircraft as it covered southern Belgium and northeastern France, with JG 2 primarily covering the Ardennes from 11 to 13 May. II. ''Gruppe'' of JG 2 fought in the defence of the Meuse bridgeheads upon the capture of Sedan. On 14 May, known in the Luftwaffe as "the day of the fighters" 4./JG 2 proved the most successful unit with three victories attributed to them. The fighting shattered the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force bomber fleet leaving bombing operations to the England-based No. 2 Group RAF. JG 53, supporting JG 2 and JG 77 and ZG 76, were the most successful, claiming 39 bombers destroyed. ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 3, reinforced by JG 26 and JG 27, flew 90 missions (814 sorties). III. ''Gruppe'' lost one fighter in the battles. Erich Rudorffer and Erich Leie filed their first claims in the Sedan region on this day—both men went on to be successful fighter pilots. After the intense operations on 14 May, the following day I. ''Gruppe'' claimed only one French reconnaissance aircraft. As Army Group A advance dto the English Channel, JG 2 followed. I. ''Gruppe'' moved to Beaulieu-en-Argonne. II. ''Gruppe'' moved to Peer for 72 hours and then Tirlemont, east of Brussels, where they stayed for over a week from mid to late May. By 1 June, I. and III. ''Gruppen'' had moved to Signy-le-Petit in preparation for Fall Rot, the final phase of the Western offensive. II. ''Gruppe'' flew fighter escort missions with I./JG 27 for Heinkel He 111 bombers on 16 May as the bombed Lille airfields. The bombers suffered no loss and 85 and 87 Squadrons attempted interception cost them two fighters in combat with 5./JG 2.

On 20 May, the Panzer Divisions reached the Channel north of Abbeville. As the German army fought the Battle of Boulogne and lay siege to Calais, the Luftwaffe began to make frequent contact with 11 Group, RAF Fighter Command. LG 1 lost six bombers on 21 and 22 May until assigned II./JG 2 for protection. Elsewhere, near Compiègne, Erich Mix, commanding III. ''Gruppe'' was shot down and wounded. JG 2 fought in the Battle of Dunkirk, to prevent the Dunkirk evacuation, by which time the Netherlands and Belgium were on the verge of collapse. On 26 May, I. ''Gruppe'' claimed 10 Supermarine Spitfires and one Bristol Blenheim. On 28 May, III. ''Gruppe'' claimed five Hawker Hurricanes and one Spitfire. The following day two Westland Wapiti were claimed by I. ''Gruppe''. II. ''Gruppe'' claimed a Spitfire on 31 May and 2 June while I. ''Gruppe'' claimed a Westland Lysander on 1 June. Luftwaffe claims for 28 May totalled 26 fighters while RAF losses amounted to 13 and three damaged. On 31 May German fighter pilots claimed 22 fighters at least; Fighter Command records show just 12 losses.

JG 2 prepared for Fall Rot, the final phase in the Battle of France, now Belgium and the Netherlands had fallen. In preparation for this offensive, the Luftwaffe began Operation Paula, a strategic bombing operation against airfields and armaments factories in the Paris area. JG 2 claimed seven French fighters in defence of the bombers. The wing's former ''Geschwaderkommodore'', Oberst Gerd von Massow, no leading ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 3, flew with the Bf 109s but was hit by anti-aircraft artillery. He baled out north of Paris and managed to evade capture. The following day, II. ''Gruppe'' was detached from ''Luftflotte'' 2 and transferred to Monceau-le-Vast, near Laon; I. and III. ''Gruppe'' were based nearby at Couvron, and had been since 1 June. JG 2 could now field three ''Gruppen'' as a complete entity. I./JG 76 was detached and later became II./JG 54. From 5–6 June JG 2 experienced its most successful period in France. The pilots claimed 41 French aircraft for the loss of one pilot. The air battles inflated JG 2s total to 200 enemy aircraft, though this was a ten percent over–claim. Helmut Wick emerged as one of the ''Geschwader'' top scorers of the campaign during Fall Rot. At this time, the JG 2 ''Geschwader'' headquarters unit moved to the chateau in the town of Beaumont-le-Roger, which was the home of the Duchesse de Magenta, which served as ''Geschwader'' headquarters until it was totally destroyed by B-17 Flying Fortress' on 28 June 1943. On 13 June all three ''Gruppen'' moved to Oulchy-le-Château mid-way between Reims and Paris. On this day, another JG 2 personality, Egon Mayer achieved his first victory. Three days later, the entire wing moved to Marigny, 50 miles (80 km) south. ''Hauptmann'' Jürgen Roth was transferred to the ''Reichsluftfahrtministerium'' (RLM) on 22 June 1940 due to poor health. ''Hauptmann'' Henning Strümpell replaced him.

The Armistice of 22 June 1940 ended the French campaign. JG 2 suffered few losses during the fighting and subsequent operations. During the course of 1940, JG 2 reported just 36 casualties among its pilots. Only III. ''Gruppe'' returned to Germany, at Frankfurt. It spent a month there before returning to France. In the immediate aftermath, II. and III. ''Gruppen'' moved to Évreux, near Paris, before their replacement at the site by I./KG 54. Stab and I. ''Gruppe'' moved permanently to Beaumont-le-Roger. At the beginning of operations over the United Kingdom, all but III. ''Gruppe'' were based at Beaumont-le-Roger. III./JG 2 were based at Le Havre.

Battle of Britain

The Churchill Government rejected Hitler's peace overtures, and the Nazi leadership resolved to end the war militarily. Operation Sea Lion, a proposed amphibious invasion of Britain was planned. Air superiority was an essential prerequisite to its success, and the ''Oberkommando der Luftwaffe'' eventually outlined a broad plan for achieving it; Operation Eagle Attack. The gradual escalation of the air war became known as the Battle of Britain, beginning with a concerted effort by the Luftwaffe to clear the English Channel of shipping and bring Fighter Command. The first phase of the Battle of Britain was called the " Kanalkampf". JG 2 could fly 105 Bf 109s at the start of operations. The ''Stabstaffel'' had all three of its fighters operational; I. ''Gruppe'' 32 from 34, II. ''Gruppe'' 28 from 36, and III. ''Gruppe'' 28 from 36. Helmut Wick, the highest claiming German pilot of the Battle of Britain claimed a first victory on 17 July; the 64 Squadron pilot was wounded. There were no reported losses for JG 2 from 1 July–10 August. On 11 August, large battles developed around convoy ''Booty'', ''Agent'' and ''Arena''. JG 2 reported eight Bf 109s lost. III. ''Gruppe'' was charged specifically with fighter escort. I. ''Gruppe'' suffered the loss of one pilot killed and one wounded, II. ''Gruppe'' lost one ''Staffelkapitän'' killed and another pilot missing. III. ''Gruppe'' were hardest hit, losing four Bf 109s, two killed, one missing and one pilot rescued. 64 Squadron and 87 Squadron were some of their opponents. 64 reported one Spitfire damaged, but 87 Squadron lost two Hurricanes and one damaged; one pilot was killed, one wounded.

On 12 August 1940, the Channel battles subsided and the Germans began the offensive against RAF Fighter Command; the day's operations ended in severe damage to one JG 2 fighter in an accident. Adlertag proper began on 13 August. JG 2 were known to be in action in the morning for I. ''Gruppe'' suffered damage to one Bf 109 in combat with 43 Squadron, while the ''Gruppe'' suffered damage to a second in combat with 609 Squadron in the late afternoon. Only 43 Squadron reported losses—two Hurricanes—with their pilots safe. Another source asserts JG 2 suffered one total loss. On 15 August the Luftwaffe sent all three of its ''Luftflotten''—2, 3 and 5 to targets in the northeast and south of England to catch Fighter Command off-guard. The day was known to the Luftwaffe as "Black Thursday". The wing fought in the 16th and 18th August battles. On 16 August II. ''Gruppe'' suffered two destroyed and one damaged in combat with 601 Squadron. On the 18th, II. ''Gruppe'' ran into 601 Squadron again, losing one Bf 109 and another damaged. 601 reported one damaged on the first day, and two lost on the 18th—both pilots were killed on the latter date. The battles occurred as JG 2 acted as distant escort for Junkers Ju 87 ''Stuka'' dive-bombers from Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 and Sturzkampfgeschwader 3. The bench-mark for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, a higher award than the Iron Cross, in August 1940 was 20 enemy aircraft destroyed. Helmut Wick duly became one of eight JG 2 men to receive the award in 1940, on 27 August. On 25 August, JG 2 claimed its 250th aerial victory, among 40 claimed by German fighter pilots that day—though this was an exaggeration. ''Oberst'' Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp, commanding JG 2, was awarded the Knight's Cross for JG 2s performance. Fighter Command's total losses on 25 August were 18 destroyed and two damaged in action with the enemy. From 19–31 August JG 2 reported the loss of nine Bf 109s and two damaged. Three pilots were killed, two reported missing, three wounded and one taken prisoner. On the last day of August Hans "Assi" Hahn and Erich Rudorffer submitted claims for a victory.

In late August, JG 2 began moving to Pas de Calais airfields at Mardyck and Oye-Plage. During the first ten days on these airfields between Calais and Dunkirk, JG 2 claimed close to 100 RAF fighters destroyed. September began with continued attacks on RAF airfields. On day four, Kurt Bühligen's—future JG 2 commanding officer—career with JG 2 began after a claim against a Hurricane. Hans "Assi" Hahn and Werner Machold became the next recipients of the Knight's Cross for reaching the obligatory total of 20 aerial victories during the month. Wolfgang Schellmann was similarly honoured for his leadership, while I. ''Gruppe'', recognised as ''the'' most successful in the Luftwaffe. Bothkamp was replaced by Schellmann as ''Geschwaderkommodore''. Karl-Heinz Greisert, an eight-victory pilot succeeded him in II. ''Gruppe''. Within days, Helmut Wick took command of I. ''Gruppe'' from Strümpell. At the end of September, Dr. Erich Mix—perhaps the last World War I pilot still operational—was replaced as III. ''Gruppe'' by ''Hauptmann'' Otto Bertram. JG 2 recorded four pilots missing and one wounded in the first six days of September. The following day, Göring ordered an attack on Greater London, beginning The Blitz. German intelligence wrongly assumed Fighter Command to be near exhaustion and that an offensive against the capital would bring the last of its reserves into battle. Bombing London opened the possibility of destroying vital rail networks, shipping, supplies, and damage civilian morale by demonstrating London's vulnerability to air power. The raids from 7–14 September seemed to confirm this view; none encountered the kind of resistance that characterised the fighting in August. Hitler gave his consent to a continued assault. The next day's operations became known as the Battle of Britain Day; generally regarded as the climax of the battle for air superiority. JG 2s condition on 7 September was two Bf 109s from the ''Stabstaffel'' operational from three; five from 24 operational in I. ''Gruppe'', four from 18 in II. ''Gruppe'' and 11 from 19 in III. ''Gruppe''. All of the wing's units had withdrawn from the Pas de Calais back to Beaumont-le-Roger and Le Havre and were not involved in the day's fighting. JG 2s absence from the southeast of England in the latter half of September, and reassignment from Luftlfotte 2 back to 3, caused their involvement in the final phase of the Battle of Britain to be minimal—just four enemy aircraft were claimed for an equal number of losses. JG 2 finished September operating over Weymouth, Dorset; in combat with 504 Squadron, the British purportedly destroyed nine Bf 109s. Even though most of the battle occurred over water, only one II. ''Gruppe'' Bf 109 was found on a beach.

JG 2 returned to the skies between the Isle of Portland and Selsey Bill. On 26 September the pilots claimed 12 RAF fighters supporting an attack on the Spitfire factory at Woolston, Southampton. Over the next week they claimed another 24. I. ''Gruppe'' claimed 11 Hurricanes flying as bomber escort near Bournemouth on 5 October. Fighter Command suffered two losses over Shaftesbury and Swanage; the three remaining fighters reported lost in combat on that day occurred in the southeast of England; over Kent, Dover and Canterbury. Only nine Hurricanes were involved in the air battle—all from 607—but each one suffered damage. Fighter Command records show only one Hurricane from this squadron was destroyed; its pilot parachuted to safety. According to another source two more were forced down. By October, the Battle of Britain had become a "fighter-bomber offensive". The "Jabo" attacks were intended to show the Luftwaffe could still bomb London in daylight. On 28 October Otto Bertram, commanding III. ''Gruppe'' learned that his second brother, a night fighter pilot had been killed in action the previous night. Along with his first, killed with JG 27 over England, he was removed and sent to a staff posting in accordance with Luftwaffe regulations. Hans "Assi" Hahn replaced him.

Major Helmut Wick took command of JG 2 from 20 October. Wick, with Werner Mölders and Adolf Galland, were the leading Luftwaffe fighter pilots. Their exploits were national news in Germany. Wick was exposed to international journalists and appeared in ''Life'' magazine. He was also used in ''Der Adler'' (Eagle—the Luftwaffe's weekly magazine) and ''Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung''. Wick's wing was chosen to stage southward, to provide an aerial escort to Hitler on his personal train as it journeyed to the French-Spanish border for the Meeting at Hendaye with Francisco Franco. Wick's leadership of JG 2 lasted just 39 days. On 28 November 1940, after claiming his 56th aerial victory to lead the claim charts, he was shot down and killed by a Spitfire. One source attributes Wick's demise to combat fatigue—the psychological and physical effects of combat fatigue earned the Channel area of operations the nickname ''Kanalkrankheit'' (). Wick was the first serviceman with the Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves to be killed in action. ''Hauptmann'' Karl-Heinz Greisert replaced him and led the wing until February 1941, when Wilhelm Balthasar was appointed Wick's permanent replacement. JG 2 began a hiatus from operations, exemplified by the failure to appoint an immediate successor to Wick.

Channel Front

The bulk of JG 2 remained on the Channel coast under the command of ''Luftflotte'' 3, where it operated uninterrupted for the next four years following the Battle of Britain, save for a brief transfer by one ''Gruppe'' to North Africa. RAF Fighter Command and its new commanding officers Sholto Douglas and Trafford Leigh-Mallory wished to take the offensive into France and Belgium in 1941. Termed the "lean towards France", Leigh-Mallory, No. 11 Group RAF, began the Circus offensive in January 1941. The German-led invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, in June 1941, provided a greater strategic rationale for applying pressure to the Luftwaffe in Western Europe. On 9 January 1941, Circus Number 1 was flown by 60 fighters over northern France. The Germans ignored them, using the same tactics as Keith Park in the Battle of Britain. RAF Bomber Command was shortly employed as bait to bring the Luftwaffe to battle. There were few high-value strategic targets in France and Belgium within range of escorting Spitfires. A follow-up Circus with small bomber formations and strong fighter escort began on 10 January as the policy's second element began. These were followed by "Rodeo" assed fighter sweepsand "Ramrod" operations tandard fighter-escort for bombers Mallory was revisiting Hugh Trenchard's World War I policy.

From January to June 1941, JG 2 and JG 26 were supported by other fighter wings. ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing), JG 51, ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), ''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) and LG 2 were among those credited with successes against the Circus operations. From mid-1941 through to 1942, JG 26 were fully occupied with defending German military targets in northern France and Belgium from RAF incursions. JG 26 defended airspace east of the Seine to the Dutch border, while JG 2 covered west of the demarcation line. The majority of the operations conducted were defensive but offensive "jabo" operations were conducted until the beginning of 1943 when they could no longer be spared for attack missions. On 3 July 1941, JG 2 lost another commander killed when Wilhelm Balthasar was shot down and crashed. The ''Geschwaderkommodore'' was buried in the same plot as his father, a soldier killed in World War I. ''Oberstleutnant'' Walter Oesau replaced Balthasar, and commanded JG 2 for the next two years. On 9 June, 32-victory ace Machold was shot down by a British destroyer and was captured. Machold's E-7 was the last Emil lost by III./JG 2, for the ''Geschwader'' had, by this time, been almost completely re-equipped with the new and improved Bf 109 F. Over a two-day period, JG 2 claimed heavily against RAF formations. On 23 July the wing claimed 29 British aircraft, while JG 26 claimed 10. Actual RAF losses were 15 in total. The following day, JG 2 lost eight and two damaged, six pilots killed or missing, and two wounded opposing ''Circus'' 61, supporting Operation Sunrise, to Brest. They claimed 18 bombers. The operation targeted the German ships '' Scharnhorst'', '' Gneisenau'' and the cruiser '' Prinz Eugen'' had docked in March and June 1941 after completing Atlantic missions. Fighter Command reported four dead, three captured and one wounded on the raid—one was downed by ground-fire, two are confirmed to have been lost in action with Bf 109s, the cause of the remaining losses are undetermined. JG 2 claimed three, while their neighbouring JG 26 claimed five fighters. RAF Bomber Command occasionally risked its newer four-engine heavy bombers attacking Brest in 1941, but the raids were rarely successful. Chief of the Air Staff Charles Portal, noted that from 10 January and 15 April 750 sorties had been "thrown" at the German ships in fruitless attempts to sink them. JG 2 claimed 21 bombers in the action, along with the three fighters. 33 Spitfires were claimed in October 1941, alone. On 8 November 1941, Fighter Command flew a last "Circus" operation of the year; though other types of mission were flown during the month and December. The RAF lost 17 Spitfires—JG 2 claimed 10. Post-war analysis attributes at least eight to the neighbouring JG 26, one to ground-fire, one to fuel starvation and another to mechanical failure.

1941 was a difficult year for Fighter Command. In the period 14 June–4 July Fighter Command lost 80 fighters and 62 pilots, while the two German wings lost 48 Bf 109s and 32 pilots; 2:1 in the Luftwaffe's favour. The impact of Fighter Command's massive daylight operations was offset by the tactical deployment of German units which enjoyed radar-based guidance. They skillfully used this to outweigh their numerical inferiority. 32 Freya radar and 57 Würzburg radar sets were employed from Heligoland to the Bay of Biscay. Fighter Command flew 6,875 sorties from January to June and lost 112 aircraft—57 in June. From July to December this increased to 20,495 with 416 losses. The pressure grew on JG 2, allotted to ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 3, JG 1, assigned to ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 1 and JG 26. There were 4,385 "alarmstarts" in July 1941 and another 4,258 in August. September saw a reduction to 2,534 and to 2,553 in October before falling to 1,287. Nevertheless, the fighter wings still retained 430 fighters on 27 September 1941. August proved the costliest to the Luftwaffe in the second half of the year with 42 losses which fell to 18 in September and 15 in October. JG 2 and JG 26 claimed approximately 950 British aircraft destroyed in 1941, with barely 150 fighters available at any one time for the loss of 236–103 in aerial combat. Fighter Command lost 849 fighters in total in 1941 and claimed 775, a considerable exaggeration. Successful pilots emerged in 1941; Erich Leie, Rudolf Pflanz and Egon Mayer emerged as high-claiming pilots one survived the war Siegfried Schnell was another pilot who had a successful record against the Spitfire. Kurt Bühligen, future ''Geschwaderkommodore'' was awarded the Knight's Cross in September 1941 along with Josef Wurmheller.

During the winter, 1941/1942, the ''Stabstaffel'' moved from Beaumont-le-Roger to Saint-Pol-de-Léon, then to Brest– Guipavas. In February 1942, it moved eastward, to Caen