''Kampfgeschwader'' 55 "Greif" (KG 55 or Battle Wing 55) was a

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 ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

unit 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 ...

. was one of the longest serving and well-known in the Luftwaffe. The wing operated the Heinkel He 111 exclusively until 1943, when only two ''staffeln'' of its four ''Gruppen'' (Groups) used the

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 ...

C. Founded in May 1939, the '' Geschwader'' (Wing) was a product of a late surge in expanding the size of the Luftwaffe

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 ...

forces. The formation of the wing began on 1 May 1939 with the creation of the command (''Stab'') ''Gruppe'' (Group) and I. and II./KG 55 (first and second groups). III./KG 55 was formed on 1 November 1939 two months after the outbreak of war in Europe. IV.(Erg.)/KG 55 was formed on 1 August 1940 to train new crews sent to the ''Geschwader''. The formation's first '' Geschwaderkommodore'' was Wilhelm Süssmann. KG 55 first saw action in the

German 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 afte ...

in September 1939. During 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 ...

—September 1939–April 1940—the bomber wing flew armed

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 ...

missions 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 1940 participated in the Battle of Belgium and Battle of France through to the end of the campaigns in June 1940. In July 1940 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 ...

but suffered significant losses in the battle. On 14 August KG 55 lost ''Geschwaderkommodore'' Alois Stoeckl killed over

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It continued operations over 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, ...

during

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 ...

until June 1941. attacked targets over

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. In June 1941 the unit's ''

Gruppen ''Gruppen'' (german: Groups) for three orchestras (1955–57) is amongst the best-known compositions of German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, and is Work Number 6 in the composer's catalog of works. ''Gruppen'' is "a landmark in 20th-century mu ...

'' participated in

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 ...

and spent the next years on the Eastern front. flew most of its operations on the southern sector in support of

Army Group South Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland Army Group So ...

, a front-level battle group of the German Army. groups participated in the early successes which included the large battles of encirclements at Kiev and

First Battle of Kharkov The First Battle of Kharkov, so named by Wilhelm Keitel, was the 1941 battle for the city of Kharkov, Ukrainian SSR, during the final phase of Operation Barbarossa between the German 6th Army of Army Group South and the Soviet Southwestern F ...

. The command also took part in the Battle of Moscow and bombed the city. In 1942 participated in the Second Battle of Kharkov and the

Battle of the Caucasus The Battle of the Caucasus is a name given to a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area on the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, Russia, opening the Caucasus region of t ...

and Battle of Stalingrad. continued to operate as a bomber unit and air supply unit to support the German Army and also undertook some strategic bombing operations in 1943 and 1944. In the aftermath of the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

the unit was increasingly forced to fly at night owing to the

Soviet 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 ...

achieving air superiority. In 1944 it carried out counter-air operations against

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) forces based in 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, ...

. In October 1944 I., II., and III., were re-designated KG(J) to convert to fighter aircraft for the

Defence of the Reich The Defence of the Reich (german: Reichsverteidigung) is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany over German-occupied Europe and Germany during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the d ...

operations. The ''Gruppen'' remained active until the last day of the war. IV.(Erg.)/KG 55 was disbanded on 21 November 1944. The independent 14.(Eis)/KG 55 on 27 April 1945. For the duration of the war, KG 55 flew 54,272 combat operations, dropped 60,938 metric tons of bombs, carried 7,514 metric tons of supplies from 1 September 1939 to 1 October 1944. The ''Geschwader'' lost 710 men killed in action and 747 missing.

History

On 1 April 1934 a unit called the ''Hanseatische Fliegerschule'' e. V. was formed, initially based at Fassberg. This organisation was formed into a '' Geschwader'' (wing) and created as a

Kampfgeschwader {{wiktionary Kampfgeschwader are the German-language name for (air force) bomber units. In WW1, they were air squadrons, while in WW2, they were air wings. History First World War During World War I, ''Kampfgeschwader'' were specialized bomber ...

(battle or bomber wing) on 1 May 1939. The command ''staffel'' (squadron), or ''Stab'' unit, was created from KG 155, a defunct bomber unit on 1 May 1939. The organisation was created at Giessen aerodrome and was subordinated to ''Luftflotte'' 4 (Air Fleet 4). The ''Stabsstaffel'' was placed under the command of Wilhelm Süssmann, who became the first ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of KG 55. The unit trained intensively over the spring and summer, 1939. On 31 August Süssmann was ordered to

Wesendorf Wesendorf is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, an ...

in preparation for an attack on

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. The unit was equipped with the Heinkel He 111P-4 medium bomber. I. ''Gruppe'' was formed at Langendiebach on 1 May 1939. This unit was formed from I./KG 155. The unit was expanded and trained on the He 111 through to 26 August. The ''Gruppe'' was placed on alert on that day and transferred to Dedelstorf on 31 August 1939 under the command of '' Gruppenkommandeur'' (Group Commander) '' Major'' Walter Traub. The group remained active until 1 May 1943 when it was re-designated ''Lehrgeschwader'' 1 (Training and Experimental Wing 1) and transferred to that wing. I./KG 55 was reformed on 10 June 1943 at

Stalino Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine lo ...

in the

using personnel from ''Transportfliegergruppe'' 10, the former ''Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung'' 5 (KGr. z.b.v. 5, Fighting Group for Special Use). II./KG 55 was also founded at Giessen and trained alongside I./KG 55. Data records that it had 31 He 111s when it was ordered to the airbase at Wesendorf under the leadership of ''Gruppenkommandeur'' Otto von Lachemair. III./KG 55 was officially formed at Neudorf near Oppeln in

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 ...

on 1 December 1939. The ''staffeln'' began forming exactly a month earlier on 1 November. The formation spent the winter training on the He 111 and were ready for operations by May 1940. The ''Gruppe'' was operational by March and was placed on high alert on 24 March. It was based at Gablingen until the western offensive. ''Major'' Hans Schemmell commanded the unit from 1 December 1939 – 30 September 1940. The ''Geschwader'' was the largest homogeneous flying formation in the Luftwaffe which usually 90-120-aircraft strong. Each ''Geschwader'' was split into three to four ''Gruppen'' (groups) of 30 to 40 aircraft. Finally, the ''Gruppen'' were split into ''Staffeln'' (squadrons) containing 12 to 15 aircraft.

World War II

Polish Campaign

On 1 September 1939 Adolf Hitler issued orders for ''Fall Weiss'' (Case White) to be implemented and 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 ...

'' attacked Poland. was placed under the command of the 4. ''Flieger Division'' (4th Air Division) under the command of

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 ...

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 ...

. The ''Flieger Division'' was subordinated to ''Luftflotte'' 4. KG 55 flew attacks against Polish Air Force airfields on 3 September, after being left out of the campaign's first two days. The ''Geschwaderstab'' and I./KG 55 were ordered to Maerzdorf/ Ohlau and II./KG 55 was moved to Rosenborn. Whilst there the crews listened to operational experiences from the

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 ...

-equipped ''Kampfgeschwader'' 4. Commander-in-chief of ''Luftflotte'' 4,

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 ...

, ordered KG 55 into action and the wing bombed railway targets in support of the German Fourth Army. The attacks were made in a 10–30 degree dive from altitudes of . The operations were so successful it reduced the number of targets and the bombers reverted to close air support operations. The rail lines on the

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975� ...

– Krakow line were permanently severed. KG 55 flew 13 operations and 275 individual sorties; the ''Stabsstaffel'' flew 13 armed reconnaissance missions. KG 55 was also heavily involved in the

Battle of the Bzura The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was the largest Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September.''The Second World War: An Illustrated History '', Putnam, 1975, Google Print snippet ...

. Three

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 ...

groups attempted to break out of an encirclement and the German Eighth Army could not contain the attack. The Luftwaffe initiated a large air offensive against the Polish forces on 8 September. I. and II./KG 55 were involved in attacking communication targets while other units offered close air support. The offensive was successful and the Polish resistance broken. Operations moved south thereafter, operations against bridges on 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 ...

and attacks against Polish forces retreating towards

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

also absorbed much of the wing's effort. The ''Geschwader'' suffered its first loss when one bomber made a forced-landing with no casualties on 11 September during long-range operations against Przemysl. The Luftwaffe was flying further to the east by this stage. On 12 September 1939 Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe

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 ...

visited the unit. I./KG 55 flew against target in the

Dubno Dubno ( uk, Ду́бно) is a city and municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Dubno Raion (district). The city is located on intersection of two major ...

area on 15 September as operations wound down. On this date KG 55 flew 363 individual sorties. By the 20 September the number of sorties flown stood at 670. On the night of the 16/17 September ''Luftflotte'' 4 was ordered to stand down and cease operations as part of the Nazi-Soviet Pact. 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 ...

invaded Poland the following morning. II./KG 55 was moved back to Giessen on 22 September. During the campaign KG 55 suffered one complete loss of aircraft and crew, in which an '' Oberleutnant'' Walter Fritz and his crew from 1./KG 55 were killed in action south west of L'vov. Following the conclusion of operations in Poland, which ended on 6 October 1939, I./KG 55 transferred to

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...

Manching Manching is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Paar, 7 km southeast of Ingolstadt. In the late Iron Age, there was a Celtic settlement, the Oppidum of Manching, on the location ...

on 9 October. Then the ''Gruppe'' moved to

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, Neu ...

on 13 February 1940. It flew some reconnaissance operations over France dropping leaflets in the Nancy area and over the Maginot Line. The formation moved to

Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (German: "Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck" or "Flugplatz Fürstenfeldbruck") is a former German Air Force airfield near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, near Munich, Germany. Fürstenfeldbruck became famous firs ...

on 2 March but reverted to Neuburg on 23 April. II./KG 55 moved to Ingolstadt on 10 November 1939 and moved to

Schwäbisch Swabian (german: Schwäbisch ) is one of the dialect groups of Alemannic German that belong to the High German dialect continuum. It is mainly spoken in Swabia, which is located in central and southeastern Baden-Württemberg (including its capita ...

-Hall on 13 January 1940 under the 5th ''Flieger'' Division. It moved to

Leipheim Leipheim is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Danube, west of Günzburg, and northeast of Ulm. The village Riedheim and the hamlet Weissingen are districts of Leipheim. Since 1993, Leipheim has bee ...

and on 3 February 1940 flew at least one leaflet mission in eastern France. III./KG 55 were combat ready and were stationed at Gablingen.

Battle of France

The end of the

on 10 May 1940 came with Operation

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 ...

(Case Yellow), the invasion of France and the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. Stab./KG 55 had six He 111s at Leipham for the operation. The ''Geschwader'' was placed under the command of ''Luftflotte'' 3 (Air Fleet 3) although it was still subordinated to the 5th ''Flieger'' Division. I./KG 55 committed 35 (25 serviceable) He 111s to the offensive. II./KG 55 could muster 36 He 111s (24 operational) and 17 of 36 He 111s on strength with III./KG 55 were combat ready. The units were to be engaged in counter-air operations against the French ''

Armée de l'air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Arm ...

''. Stab./KG 55 began operations on 10 May in the

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

region of France, which would include missions over Nancy,

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul ...

and Epinal. In the first day of action the ''Geschwader'' did not suffer any casualties. II. and III./KG 55 attacked Nancy-Essey Airport which was heavily damaged. I./KG 55 attacked Toul-Croix de Metz Airfield. I./KG 55 moved to Baltringen in the evening and flew a long-range operation against rail depots in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Châteaudun on 12 May. KG 55 flew attacks against 38 airfields from 11 to 13 May. Hugo Sperrle, commanding ''Luftflotte'' 3, claimed 100 Allied aircraft on the ground in these operation and another 100–150 in hangars. A second operation hit the railway of

Rethel Rethel () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture and third-most important city and economic center in the department. It is situated on the river Aisne, near the northern border of Champagne and 37 ...

. Stab./KG 55 attacked the Châteaudun Air Base and supported German army advances at

Charleville-Mézières or ''Carolomacérienne'' , image flag=Flag of Charleville Mezieres.svg Charleville-Mézières () is a commune of northern France, capital of the Ardennes department, Grand Est. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the river Meuse. ...

and the Battle at Sedan. From 11 May–2 June it flew operations against Châteauroux-Déols Air Base, Orleans,

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...

and Lyon – Mont Verdun Air Bases. I./KG 55 moved again to Malmsheim near Stuttgart. The formation attacked Soissons on 15 May and Reims on 18 May supported by II./KG 55. III./KG 55 was confined to more northern operations: attacking

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

on 16 May and flying the only known mission of the unit in the Battle of Belgium, to Charleroi, three days earlier on 13 May before moving to Eutingen on 24 May. Through May, KG 55 operated were engaged against targets in central, southern, and eastern France. The unit did not participate in the battles against the

British forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...

in the

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 ...

and

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 ...

. KG 55, was however involved in anti-shipping operations 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 ...

. On 1 June it was transferred to IV ''Fliegerkorps'' to participate in these operations. In May losses were sustained. On 12 May Allied fighters shot down a Heinkel of 4./KG 55, whilst it was attacking railway targets North East of Reims, for the unit's first loss of the battle. The next day, 13 May, cost KG 55 ten machines, six from Stab. and 4./KG 55. On that day alone the unit's losses had exceeded that of the

Polish Campaign 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 afte ...

. The losses suffered by KG 55 on 13 May were the worst of the war. A further seven machines were damaged and forced to land throughout the remainder of the fighting, although only two machines and crews were completely lost. The first of these, a 9./KG 55 Heinkel, was flown by ''

Unteroffizier () is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army. Austria , also , is the collective name to ...

'' Horst Mahnert. Whilst returning from a mission to bomb airfields in the

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

area on 2 June 1940 it strayed into Swiss airspace and was shot down near Ursins by ''Capitaine'' Hans Thurnheer in a Swiss Air Force Messerschmitt Bf 109. In June KG 55 continued long-range operations. It is believed the ''Geschwader'' flew to

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

on 1 June 1940 on a leaflet-dropping exercise with ''Kampfgeschwader'' 53. On 3 June the entire wing flew on Operation Paula—a mass attack against industrial targets around

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 ...

. It supported the drive of the

Army Group B Army Group B (German: ') was the title of three German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. Operational history Army Group B first took part in the Battle of France in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands. The second formation of Ar ...

to Paris until the city's capture on 14 June. The last operations were flown on 22 June 1940, three days before the French surrender. From 6–19 June the formation operated in ''Geschwader''-strength against troop concentrations and rail targets around Nancy. Between 20 and 23 June 1940, KG 55 were already operating over the United Kingdom, bombing targets in

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 ...

and

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 ...

flying from forward airfields near Paris. KG 55 flew 886 combat operations against troop concentrations, 725 against rail targets, 406 against airfields, 49 anti-shipping operations and harbour attacks, 148 armed reconnaissance sorties and 46 dropping leaflets for the duration of the French campaign. I./KG 55 flew 897 missions and lost 10 bombers. II./KG 55 flew 571 combat sorties and lost 11 Heinkels. From 10 May—23 June 1940 III./KG 55 flew 595 combat missions and lost 9 bombers.

Battle of Britain

After the success in France KG 55 moved into the country and occupied airfields in the Paris area. In July 1940 the Luftwaffe began its first phase of operations over Britain. The escalating air activity over the

was called the '' Kanalkampf'', which officially began the

on 10 July. Throughout the summer German air operations gradually pressed inland to destroy

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 ...

in southern England as a prelude to

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 ...

, a seaborne invasion of 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 ...

. For KG 55 initial losses were light in these skirmishes. The first loss occurred on 11 July 1940, when 2./KG 55 lost He 111 ''Werknummer'' 2648 G1+LK, piloted by ''

Oberfeldwebel (OFw or OF) is the fourth-lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. History The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old arm ...

'' Erich Slotosch. They became the first of the ''Geschwader'' casualties; all were taken prisoner of war. Later in the action two He 111s collided while in combat with No. 601 Squadron RAF over Channel with the loss of all crews. On the night 11/12 July Luftwaffe nuisance raids persisted with ''Geschwaderkommodore'' Alois Stoeckl leading II.—which would become a night pathfinder unit in the ''Blitz''—attacked

, Wales. On 13 July another He 111 piloted by '' Oberleutnant'' Kleinhanns was shot down by No. 43 Squadron RAF over Southwick while on a reconnaissance flight. III./KG 55 lost another He 111 on the 19 July off Shoreham to No. 145 Squadron RAF as the Channel battles intensified. On 13 August KG 55 was involved in ''

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 ...

'' the all-out offensive against 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) in southern England, attacking the port of Plymouth,

Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party ...

and

RAF Middle Wallop Middle Wallop is a village in the civil parish of Nether Wallop in Hampshire, England, on the A343 road. At the 2011 Census the population was included in the civil parish of Over Wallop. The village has a public house, The George Inn, and a pe ...

without loss. The following day, KG 55 was to suffer its most significant loss. On 14 August 1940 He 111P G1 + AA was shot down near the Royal Naval Armament Depot at East Dean in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. ''Geschwaderkommodore'' ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

'' Alois Stoeckl and his crew were killed. He was replaced by ''Major'' Hans Korte of I./KG 55. ''Major''

Friedrich Kless __NOTOC__ Friedrich Kless (7 October 1906 – 6 April 1994) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Awards and decorations * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 October 1940 as ''Ma ...

took over command of I./KG 55. Stoeckl and his crews were able to bomb the airfield but the ''Kommodore'' fell to the RAF ace John Dundas. KG 55 continue to operate against RAF airfields. On 16 August 1940 it bombed Heathrow Airport. On 26 August it took part in ''Luftflotte'' 3's last major daylight raid for three weeks as the air fleet was reassigned to attacking the

West 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 ...

and East Midlands industrial areas. For a period of three weeks KG 55 was mainly assigned to night raids on aircraft production factories over England, though there were some notable daylight raids on

and

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 ...

. On 4 September 1940 27 He 111s from III./KG 55 led by Major Hans Schemmell attacked Portland. They feinted towards Southampton and bombed the port causing little damage. They were intercepted by No. 152 Squadron RAF and lost one bomber and another damaged. He 111 hit near Bristol in September 1940

He 111 hit near Bristol in September 1940

On 25 September 1940 all three air groups took part in a raid on the Bristol Aeroplane Company factory at

Filton Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church ...

. German reconnaissance discovered the surrounding airspace was sparsely protected. A formation of 58 Heinkels supported by

s from ''Lehrgeschwader'' 1. A formation of

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 from ''Erprobungsgruppe'' 210 marked the target. RAF controllers mistakenly believed the target to be the Westland Whirlwind factory at

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

and sent three squadrons to protect it. This enabled the bombers to bomb the target, stopping production and causing some 250 casualties at the factory and 107 in the surrounding area. 80

Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber. At le ...

and

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 were destroyed and dozens of others damaged. RAF fighters from No. 238 Squadron RAF and No. 229 Squadron RAF engaged the He 111s on their return to base, downing one He 111 and two escorting Bf 110s from III./ ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 26. Reconnaissance units incorrectly reported the aircraft factory lightly damaged. Consequently, 30 He 111s preceded by 19 Bf 110s from ''Erprobungsgruppe'' 210, and covered by 27 Bf 110s from ZG 26 attacked the factory again. This time five RAF squadrons met the raid. Three Bf 110s from ZG 26 were shot down and another damaged. Four ''Erprobungsgruppe'' 210s Bf 110s were shot down, but the Heinkels were protected as KG 55 escaped without loss but was forced to abandon the mission, drop its bombs and retreat to France. On 29 September, KG 55 attacked the

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

area. ''

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 ...

'' Hans Korte led III./KG 55 across

No. 10 Group RAF No. 10 Group RAF was a former operations group of the Royal Air Force which participated in the Second World War. History It was formed on 1 April 1918 in No. 2 Area. On 8 May of the next year it was transferred to South-Western Area. In 1 ...

's area again. At 18:00 they flew into the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

, but they had been tracked by Cornish radar. 11

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 of No. 79 Squadron RAF intercepted. 7. and 8. ''Staffel'' slipped away but the 9th was caught against the setting sun and spotted. Three bombers were hit; one was shot down, another written off landing in France and one was assessed as fifty percent damaged. The gunners defended tenaciously and shot down three 79 Hurricanes; one pilot was killed, the other rescued by British naval craft, but the third was rescued by the Irish and interned. The following day KG 55 tried to bomb the

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

plant at

. Covered by 40 Bf 110s from ZG 26 and 52 Bf 109s from

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 ...

and JG 53, they were intercepted by around nine squadrons. KG 55 made it through to Yeovil despite fighter attacks. KG 55 were complimentary to ZG 26, which it noted, fought with great distinction to protect KG 55. The Bf 110s were successful (a rare feat) against 152 Spitfires in particular - hitting five and destroying one. They also destroyed a further 10 fighters for one loss. JG 2 and JG 53 over exaggerated their claims. The raid against the plant failed. Thick cloud and under constant attack the bomber pilots aborted the mission which cost KG 55 three Heinkels. Diversions by

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 ...

and KG 77 suffered losses. One Bf 109, five bombers and a Bf 110 were lost against 11 RAF fighters in total. Hugo Sperrle, commanding

Luftflotte 3 ''Luftflotte'' 3For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organisation (Air Fleet 3) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed on 1 February 1939 from ''Luftwaffengr ...

, regarded it as a success. Between 10 July and 31 October 1940 lost 73 machines to enemy action, and a further eight were shot down during 1940 in night operations over Britain. The last Heinkel lost in 1940, piloted by ''

'' Bruno Zimmermann, was shot down by Pilot Officer J. G Benson and Sergeant P. Blain in a

Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any fixed forward-firing guns ...

of No. 141 Squadron RAF over Sussex on 22 December.

Night war: the Blitz

After the Battle of Britain the Luftwaffe maintained pressure on Britain by attacking at night to avoid

, as it became known, was a series of heavy attacks against British cities in order to break the will of the civil population and destroy its industrial centres. was involved in the campaign from the first operation to the last. II./KG 55 was selected to operate as a pathfinder unit alongside the specialist ''Kampfgruppe'' 100, and III./ ''Kampfgeschwader'' 26. They were referred to in the Luftwaffe as ''Beleuchtergruppe'' (Firelighter Group). It was not equipped with special aids for this task unlike the other ''Geschwader'', and has rarely been credited with this role. The crews were highly experienced in night operations and selected to help lead the attacks under the command of ''Major''

. The three units operated in unison often: ''KGr'' 100 illuminated the target with incendiaries and the later formations dropped

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 to destroy water mains and impede fire-fighting efforts. II./KG 55 used ''Knickebein'' and

Direction finding Direction finding (DF), or radio direction finding (RDF), isin accordance with International Telecommunication Union (ITU)defined as radio location that uses the reception of radio waves to determine the direction in which a radio stati ...

methods when British countermeasures from No. 80 Wing RAF did not impede them. They also learned to navigate by using searchlights and shell bursts from anti-aircraft artillery as a reference point because they denoted the close proximity of cities, coastlines and lights were often connected to railways. Good use was also made of British dummy airfields intended to lead German crews astray—they were carefully plotted and recorded. II./KG 55 used LC 50 parachute flares—an operation often attributed to ''KGr'' 100—then proceeded to bomb visually using ''Lotfernrohr'' 7 bomb sights. The ''Gruppe'' was predominantly equipped with He 111P-4s; the other units were equipped with more powerful He 111H-5s. The resulting

Battle of the Beams The Battle of the Beams was a period early in the Second World War when bombers of the German Air Force ('' Luftwaffe'') used a number of increasingly accurate systems of radio navigation for night bombing in the United Kingdom. British scientif ...

lasted until the end of the Blitz. In one incident the British jamming succeeded in confusing the KG 55 He 111 piloted by ''

Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Ge ...

'' Hans Thurner, who landed on three occasions on RAF airfields in rapid succession before realising his error and escaping across the Channel. On 1 November II./KG 55 was involved in three operations in one night to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, ...

. The following night I., II. and III./KG 55 took part in the offensive against London. On 6/7, 7/8, and 11/12 December London was the target for all three groups. On the latter date, Bournemouth and Exmouth were also hit by III./KG 55. On 12/13 December the ''Geschwader'' returned to the capital. Among the most destructive attacks was Operation Mondscheinsonate (Moonlight Sonata), which was the code word for the attack on Coventry on 14 November 1940. after ''KGr'' 100 released their incendiaries 16 He 111s of II./KG 55 released a mixture of LC 50 parachute flares and five SC 1800 and 11 SC1400 SC (''Sprengbomb-clyindrisch'') heavy, general-purpose bombs, thin-cased to cause maximum damage on the surface. They were the heaviest German bombs available. A further five SC500 and 2,412 incendiaries were dropped. The

full moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180°). This means ...

and absence of cloud made the use of ''Knickebein'' superfluous. The attack was a success and a large part of the city centre was destroyed. I. and III./KG 55 participated in the main waves. Meanwhile, I./KG 55 struck at Bournemouth and Portsmouth. On the night of the 16/17 November 1940 13 He 111s of II./KG 55 led 159 bombers from ''Luftflotte'' 2 and 3 in an attack on Southampton destroying much of the city. 13 Heinkels of the group also led an attack on Birmingham on 19/20 November. They flew in the lead of 357 aircraft with ''KGr'' 100 joining in marking the target. The attack with incendiaries started fires that were visible from away. The unit also guided 204 bombers to

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. ...

on 21/22 November using 11 aircraft.

was attacked by 121 bombers on 23/24 November and II./KG 55 was once again asked to lead the attack. On 27/28 November KG 55 was involved in the attack on Liverpool (324 bombers) and the continued air offensive against

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 ...

(335 aircraft) on 28/29 November. On the last night of the month, Southampton was struck by 128 aircraft on 30 November/1 December 1940. III./KG 55 was involved in all of these operations. The Battle of Britain HU90819

In December the weather deteriorated and complicated night operations. II./KG 55 participated in 11 attacks during the month with all 30 of its aircraft available. air groups were assigned to V ''Fliegerkorps'' in December attached to ''Luftflotte'' 3. During an attack

on the night of the 24 November the ''Geschwader'' suffered its first casualty when a crew member was killed by anti-aircraft fire, but KG 55 suffered few casualties during the winter operations. The crews were ordered to expand their duties this time and report back on weather conditions for successive waves. A particular problem was the icing of airframes at higher altitudes. The radio operators were obliged to report straight away and used the W/T to do so. British

Y-stations The "Y" service was a network of British signals intelligence collection sites, the Y-stations. The service was established during the First World War and used again during the Second World War. The sites were operated by a range of agencies inc ...

were able to intercept the transmissions which helped identify the unit but little more. Notable operations were carried out against Sheffield on 12/13 December and Liverpool on 21/22 December. On two successive nights from the 22–24 December, KG 55 supported the heavy bombing of Manchester and Plymouth. III./KG 55 is known to have attacked Birmingham alone this night. The technological and intelligence war was also escalating. The RAF had been quick to discover ''Knickebein'' and effectively counter it. However, ''X-Verfahren'' systems in use among the pathfinders and some of the German bomber units were not disrupted. For much of the war 80 Wing believed their counter-efforts had affected the German navigational aids. They did however, solve the basics of ''Y-Verfahren'' but it would take two more months to counter the former aid. Operations were reduced in January due to the British weather. All groups were involved in remaining operations to

on 3/4 January 1941, Manchester on 9/10 January,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 10/11 January and London the following night. Attacks on

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Es ...

on 16/17 and Swansea on 17/18 January were the first to these targets. Records show that in the Portsmouth operation 19 of II./KG 55's He 111s dropped 18 LC 50 flares, eight SC1800, seven SD1400 (''Sprengbombe Dickwandig'' bombs which had some penetrative power for armour-piercing purposes) and seven

SC1000 bomb The SC 1000 ('' Sprengbombe Cylindrisch 1000'') or ''cylindrical explosive bomb'' was a large air-dropped general-purpose thin-cased high explosive demolition bomb used by Germany during World War II. Weighing more than , it was nicknamed the ''H ...

s. Severe weather shut down II./KG 55's operations at its Chartres airfield until March 1941. This was the case for III./KG 55 at Villacoublay. III./KG 55 was grounded in Paris. I./KG 55 moved to

Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The commune features Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hosts the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Museum). A very ...

on 11 February while the other two ''Gruppen'' resumed operations from their stations of the previous winter. On 10/11 March the Luftwaffe returned Portsmouth and to the West Midlands on the night of the 11/12. pitted its entire strength including ''Stab''./KG 55 against Birmingham. The attack is notable as 5 ''staffel'' of II./KG 55 lost two He 111s to

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 ...

s this night—Pilot ''

Feldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupi ...

'' Karl Brüning became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

but his crew were killed by a

from No. 264 Squadron RAF flown by Flying Officer Frederick Hughes. Pilot ''

'' Karl Single was shot down by a No. 96 Squadron RAF

flown by Sergeant McNair, though three of his crew were killed. On 14/15 March KG 55 flew diversionary raids to Sheffield and Plymouth to allow other units to bomb Glasgow. One of its pathfinders fell to No. 604 Squadron RAF Bristol Beaufighter piloted by Flying Officer Keith Geddes. The growing efficiency of night fighters increased German bomber losses. On 10 April ''Major'' Rudolf Kiel took command of I. ''Gruppe'' from ''Hauptmann'' Otto Bodemeyer. Kiel led the group until 6 January 1943. The last attacks were flown against Hull, Southampton, Avonmouth, London, Bristol, Clydeside and Devonport from 16 to 22 April; casualties amounted to two badly damaged Heinkels. KG 55 was selected for anti-shipping operations in the

on 6 April 1941. Until 3 June it flew 73 operations and sank two ships, damaging another 12, for the loss of one bomber. By the time KG 55 had ceased its actions over Britain, it had flown 4,742 sorties over the British Isles. 3,300 were against shipping and harbours, 700 against industrial targets, 391 armed reconnaissance flights and 350 attacks against airfields between 24 June 1940 and 11 June 1941. During its night operations, only 10 of KG 55's crews had been detected and engaged by enemy night fighters from September 1940–May 1941.

Eastern Front

KG 55's units began a last minute withdrawal to the Eastern borders of the Reich in preparation for

, the war on the

. It was assigned to ''Fliegerkorps'' V (5th Flying Corps), subordinated to ''Luftflotte'' 4. The Stab. unit had six He 111s, all operational and two

s, with one operational. I., III. Gruppe and the ''Geschwaderstab'' moved from their respective bases to

Zamość Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. ...

, while II ''Gruppe'' was located to Klemensów aerodrome south east of Lublin in Poland under the command of Major Ernst Kühl, who assumed command on 31 March 1941. I./KG 55 had all 27 He 111s operational, II./KG 55 reported 22 of 24 bombers ready for action, and the third group 24 of 25 operational on 22 June 1941. On 8 March 1941 the ''Erganzungstaffel'' was formed into IV. ''Gruppe'', but was deployed to

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

in France and remained there until 4 May 1944. was to provide air support for

attacking into the

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in its drive toward the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

and the Soviet oil fields. The opening day of the campaign resulted in the loss of seven aircraft. III. ''Gruppe'' attacked airfields at

Łuck Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding L ...

and Mlynow, near

. The next day an 8./KG 55 Heinkel was shot down by flak over Łuck, the crew bailed out but were later found by advancing German forces to have been shot in the head. Two of the men were found at the local Commissar's house. II. ''Gruppe'' attacked airfields in L'vov, Adamy, near

Busk, Ukraine Busk ( uk, Буськ; pl, Busk) is a city located in Zolochiv Raion in Lviv Oblast (region) of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Busk urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: . Until 18 July 2020 it was the admi ...

, and Zalosy. III./KG 55 bombed airfields in Dubno and Kiev that morning. The Luftwaffe established a degree of air superiority after destroying and capturing over 4,000 Soviet aircraft in the first weeks of the invasion. II./KG 55 attacked airfield near Kiev again on 25 June while III. ''Gruppe'' bombed

troop concentrations in Wlodzimierzec-Lutsk area on 23 June followed by bombing attacks on the

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 ...

Sarny Sarny ( uk, Сáрни), translated as '' Does'', is a small city in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Sarny Raion (district), and is a major railway node on the Sluch River. Population: History His ...

rail system on 25 June. By 25 June ''Fliegerkorps'' V bombed 77 airfields in the first three days, in 1,600 sorties. The air corps claimed 774 Soviet aircraft on the ground. Army reconnaissance units and the air corps lost 55 aircraft destroyed and 37 damaged. On 26 June 1941 was involved in the battles to support the 1st Panzer Army, operating against land-air forces belonging to the Soviet Western Front. Lacking

dive-bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact through ...

, or

strike aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...

, the air corps was forced to employ its

s in the close support role.

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 ...

and KG 55 were forced to carry out continuous low-level attacks on counter-attacking Soviet army units. The operations were costly but relieved pressure on the Panzer Army. On 26 June an attack hit the headquarters of the Soviet 15th Mechanised Corps, wounding commander Major General Ignat Karpezo. The attacks inflicted serious delays on Soviet formations advancing from Kiev, the Red Army lost 201 tanks—mostly in front of the 1 Panzer Army from 22 June to 30 June. KG 55 registered 46 He 111s out of action—24 of them total losses. KG 51 lost 30 destroyed and nine damaged while KG 54 suffered 16

s "out of action." Despite the losses, on 1 July, the three ''Geschwadern'' thwarted the Soviet retreat to Kiev, routing the infantry columns disengaging from the German 16th and 17th Armies. They reported 200 motor vehicles and 40 tanks destroyed. In July the priority of KG 55 and all bomber units in ''Luftflotte'' 4 was railway interdiction in the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

area. The dusty and ill-prepared roads were ill-suited to transporting large amounts of equipment and the Red Army relied on rail systems for logistics. The vast distances had an effect on

escort fighter 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 ...

operations. The 1 Panzer Army seized

Berdichev Berdychiv ( uk, Берди́чів, ; pl, Berdyczów; yi, באַרדיטשעװ, Barditshev; russian: Берди́чев, Berdichev) is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center ...

on 1 July after advancing 43 miles in three days. was required to support it, but the forward airfield of

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 ...

, now at Lutsk, was out of range. The II. ''Gruppe'' proceeded and lost four bombers to Soviet fighters. I. ''Gruppe'' was also active, bombing rail and supply targets over the Dnieper between Kiev and Cherkassy. The group also attack rail and motor traffic between

Zhitomir Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...

and Kiev. The Kiev–

Korosten Korosten ( uk, Ко́ростень, ; historically also ''Iskorosten'' ) is a historic city and a large transport hub in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. It is located on the Uzh River. Korosten serves as the administrative c ...

line was attacked on 5 July. Berdichev-Skvira (6 July) and Kiev rail station was bombed on 9 July. The group reverted to attacking Red Army columns south of Machnovka on 11 July. It moved from Labunie to Bojary on 20 July. From here, the group was part of the first raid on

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

on 21/22 July 1941. Another transfer to Zhitomir on 25 July followed and it began operations against

Drohobycz Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hro ...

, southwest of L'vov on 26 July. It may have bombed Moscow again on the night of the 28 or 29 July. Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-641-4548-24, Russland, He 111

II. and III. ''Gruppen'' were also active in the area. After targeting Soviet tank concentrations near Leszniow on 26 June it did the same at Toporow and Berdichev airfield on 28 June. Road and rail traffic were bombed in the

Vinnitsa Vinnytsia ( ; uk, Вінниця, ; yi, װיניצע) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. A ...

-Zhitomir-Kiev from 1–6 July. Zhitomir-

Zhmerinka Zhmerynka ( uk, Жмеринка ) is a city in Vinnytsia Oblast (Oblast, province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the Capital city, administrative center of the Zhmerynka Raion (Raion, district), the town itself is not a part of the district and ...

and Novgrad, near Zhitomir were attacked on the 7 and 11 July. The group transferred to Mlynow in eastern Poland, then to Boyari northeast of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. From here it began bombing operations with

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 against Moscow on 22 July. It was ordered to target the Kremlin—the Soviet seat of government. It bombed

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 ...

rail station on 30 July. III. ''Gruppe'' appears to have been ordered to attack bridges at Kanev (11 July). Korosten (16 July), Moscow (21/22 July), Zhitomir (22 July). The ''Geschwader'' played an instrumental role in the Battle of Kiev and

Battle of Uman The Battle of Uman (15 July – 8 August 1941) was the World War II German offensive in Uman, Ukraine against the 6th and 12th Soviet Armies. In a three-week period, the Wehrmacht encircled and annihilated the two Soviet armies. The battle occ ...

, in which the ''Wehrmacht'' effectively destroyed three Soviet armies, killing or capturing 600,000 soldiers. I./KG 55 was credited with the destruction of 58 railway cars, 675 trucks and 22 tanks in this battle alone. On 7 August, near, Dnepropetrovsk, a Soviet counter-attack pushed back the 1st Panzer Army from its Dnieper bridgehead. All available aircraft were sent to stop the attack. KG 54 and KG 51 were credited with the destruction of 148 motor vehicles and 94 tanks. 3. ''Staffel'' pilot Adalbert Karbe destroyed seven locomotives in one sortie. I. ''Gruppe'' attacked the pocket around

Uman Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...

from 3–10 August. It also bombed Lubny airfield on 3 August. Sablonow (12 August) and Kiev (29 August) were attacked from new bases near Kirovograd (from 27 August). The group bombed airfields around

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

on 6 and 8 September and then bombed the Poltava rail line. It probably bombed Poltava airfield on 28 August. The group continued operations against,

Dnepropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

and Karlovka on 18 September. It bombed targets inside Kharkov on 25 September. II. ''Gruppe'' bombed

Gomel Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census). Etymology There are at least six narratives of the o ...

and flew sorties in support of the advance on Nezhin. The group attacked the rail station on 20 August. In the Chabnoye area (22 and 24 August) and Oster, near Kiev (24 August) it flew armed reconnaissance operations. It reconnoitered the Dnepropetrovsk area on 2 September. It attacked Kirovograd rail targets on 1 September. For most of September it attacked rail traffic travelling from Kharkov to Poltava. It targeted Korsun, east of Kiev on 10 September and the airfield at Semenovka on the 12th. Kharkov train station was attacked on 21 September and then the Kharkov-Kupyansk, and Kharkov-

Belgorod Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics The population of B ...

until the 25 September. On 22 September KG 55 attacked the eastward road out of Kharkov just as the 558th and 596th Anti-tank Regiments. Such was the flow of Soviet reinforcement in the south, ''Luftflotte'' 4 diverted KG 55 specifically interdiction.

Rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...

and locomotives were the target. Individual crews were sent out on free-hunts to cover the huge area between Kursk and

. A supplementary

MG 151 cannon The MG 151 (MG 151/15) was a German 15 mm aircraft-mounted autocannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. Its 20mm variant, the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, was widely used on German Luftwaffe fighters, night fighters, figh ...

was added to the nose for low-level attacks. The operations were so successful, the Soviets resorted to sending transports by night. The most notable action for this group was the

. On 17 October it bombed rail traffic on the Kupyansk-Valuyki on 17 October and the Kharkov-Volchansk road on 20th. Rail targets in Melitopol (27 October),

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While ...

(3 November) and Svoboda (12 November) were bombed as a prelude to an advance on Rostov. The group was withdrawn to Saint-André-de-l'Eure Airport, France prior to the battle proper. It remained there until April 1942. III. ''Gruppe'' remained and bombed the tank factory at Kramatorskaya on 6 October. On 16 and 18 October it bombed targets around Rostov and Kharkov. It was moved to the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

and bombed the port of

Kerch Kerch ( uk, Керч; russian: Керчь, ; Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ; Ancient Greek: , ''Pantikápaion''; Medieval Greek: ''Bosporos''; crh, , ; tr, Kerç) is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of t ...

on 30 October and then Rostov on the 5 November. On 30 November it flew its last operation in 1941 and withdrew to Nantes until 29 April 1942. First Group was also withdrawn, from Kirovograd, and sent to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to refit. On 18 November it was moved to

Melun Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Ma ...

in France until 31 December 1941.

Case Blue, Caucasus and Stalingrad

The Red Army counter-offensive before Moscow nearly destroyed Army Group Centre and by late December 1941, early January 1942, it had come to a halt. German offensive operations came to an end along the Eastern Front: ''Barbarossa'' had failed. ''Stab'' KG 55 was reassigned from the command of ''Fliegerkorps'' IV to IX ''Fliegerkorps''. It was moved to

Évreux-Fauville Air Base Évreux-Fauville Air Base (''Base aérienne 105 Évreux'' or BA 105) is a French Air and Space Force base located about 2 miles (3 km) east of the town of Évreux in the Eure ''département'', on the north side of the Route nationale 13 ...

, along with the rest of KG 55. It was reduced to three aircraft on 7 March 1942. On 24 April 1942, KG 55 came under the command of VIII ''Fliegerkorps''. The bomber wing was immediately transferred to the

. In December 1941 Soviet forces landed in the Crimea near Kerch, and KG 55, along with KG 27, KG 55, and KG 100, was dispatched to assist ''Luftflotte'' 4 and the 11th Army to destroy the Soviet beachhead in April 1942. KG 55 had immediate success, damaging the Soviet destroyer ''Sposobnyy'' and scoring hits on the cruiser ''Frunze'' for one bomber loss to Soviet fighters. I. ''Gruppe'' was the only exception. It moved back to southern Russia on 1 January 1942 from Melun-Villaroche. The group attacked rail targets in

Millerovo Millerovo (russian: Миллерово) is the name of several inhabited localities in Rostov Oblast, Russia. ;Urban localities *Millerovo, Millerovsky District, Rostov Oblast, a town in Millerovsky District Millerovsky District (russian: Ми́ ...

, 6 January 1942; Vladislavaka (15 January) and attacked anti-aircraft artillery batteries along Petropavlovka, and Alexandrovska on 16 January. Targets in the

Izyum Izium or Izyum ( uk, Ізюм, ; russian: Изюм) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast ( province) of eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion (district). Izium hosts the administration of Izium urban ...

- Slavyansk-

Lozovaya Lozova ( uk, Лозова́, ) or Lozovaya (russian: Лозова́я) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of the Lozova Raion (district). Lozova hosts the administration of Lozova urb ...

salient southeast of Kharkov were bombed in late January and close air support operations were flown over

Feodosia uk, Феодосія, Теодосія crh, Kefe , official_name = () , settlement_type= , image_skyline = THEODOSIA 01.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Genoese fortress of Caffa , image_shield = Fe ...

(31 January) and Barvenovka (13 February). Rail targets between Blisnjesy and Barvenovka (21 February), Kirovograd to

Konotop Konotop ( uk, Конотоп ) is a city in Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine. Konotop serves as the administrative center of Konotop Raion. Konotop is located about 129 km from Sumy, the oblast administrative center. It is host to K ...

(27 February), Izyum (9 March), and Valuyki, east of Kharkov on 10 March. The Izyum-Slavyansk-Lozovaya salient on 18 March. It operated over the Sea of Azov, disrupting shipping bringing in reinforcements. The last known operation flown in this area was rail interdiction: the line between Kirovograd to Konotop was targeted once again. From the 8–15 May, it was directed to support

Erich von Manstein Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein (born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski; 24 November 1887 – 9 June 1973) was a German Field Marshal of the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes and ...

's army group in the Crimea, Operation Trappenjagd (Bustard-Hunt): attacks on

Dzhankoi Dzhankoi or Jankoy is a town of regional significance in the northern part of Crimea, an internationally recognized ''de jure'' part of Ukraine, but since 2014 a ''de facto'' federal subject of the Russian Federation. It also serves as administrat ...

, Bagerovo, Kerch and the Sea of Azov were carried out on 10 May. One He 111 from the group was subjected to a ''Taran'' attack. On 15 May, the ''Gruppe'' was withdrawn to Stalino. The group damaged the minesweeper ''Komintern'' and sank a transport ship on 21 April and by this time the Black Sea Fleets ability to supply the Soviet forces in Sevastopol was severely curtailed. The ports of

Anapa Anapa (russian: Ана́па, ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. Population: History The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was originally a major seaport ( ...

Tuapse Tuapse (russian: Туапсе́; ady, Тӏуапсэ ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: Tuapse is a sea port and the northern center of ...

, and Novorossiysk were bombed. II. and III. ''Gruppen'' were involved in the Crimean campaign. II./KG 55 attacked Red Army columns along the Marayevka-Kerch road on 10 May and five days later it had been withdrawn to support German forces in the Izyum-Kupyansk region. On 19 May it flew

airdrop An airdrop is a type of airlift in which items including weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid or leaflets are delivered by military or civilian aircraft without their landing. Developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible tr ...

operations in the Kharkov area. III ''Gruppe'' bombed targets in and around Kerch from 8–10 May. On the latter date it lost five He 111s in combat. KG 55 lost eight in total this day: Manstein noted, "Richthofen made terrific demands on the units under his command." It relocated to Izyum-Kupyansk sector for Operation Fridericus. operations in the Crimea came to an end. The campaign would end with the fall of Sevastopol in July 1942. On 11 June 1942, KG 55 flew its 15,839th sortie. In May 1942 was rushed northward to combat a Soviet offensive at Kharkov under the command of ''Fliegerkorps'' IV. I. ''Gruppe'' experienced Soviet air resistance almost immediately. ''Kapitan'' Ivan Pilipenko led six

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 40 IAP and shot down three He 111s. The KG 55 war diary noted "Russian fighters had rarely appeared in such force as they had over this sector of the front." III. ''Gruppe'' flew an average of 49 sorties per day, dropping 7.75 tons of bombs between 13 and 17 May. Days after the conclusion of Kharkov, KG 55 were involved in Operation Wilhelm against Volchansk, supporting the German 6. Armee's advance to capture the city and secure a staging area for

Case 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 Cauc ...

, the German summer offensive aimed and capturing the

oilfields.

Kurt Pflugbeil __NOTOC__ Kurt Leopold Pflugbeil (9 May 1890 – 31 May 1955) was a German general (General der Flieger) in the Luftwaffe during World War II who commanded 4th Air Corps and Luftflotte 1. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cros ...

, commanding IV ''Fliegerkorps'', ordered KG 55 and his bomber groups to support

Army Group A Army Group A (Heeresgruppe A) was the name of several German Army Groups during World War II. During the Battle of France, the army group named Army Group A was composed of 45½ divisions, including 7 armored panzer divisions. It was responsibl ...

's advance to the

Don river The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

. The capture of

allowed the German army group to advance into the northern Caucasus. Bridges, rail and road transport—operational level interdiction—targets were KG 55's quarry. At this early stage in Case Blue, the Luftfwaffe had air superiority. III./ LG 1, KG 51, and I./KG 100 supported KG 55.

ZG 1 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) * ...

offered close air support and

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 ...

and JG 53 provided fighter escort and air cover. Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-331-3026-01A, Russland, He 111

I. ''Gruppe'' had 30 He 111H-6s ready for action on 1 July. Ostrogoshsk was attacked on 4 July and it moved from Kharkov to Barvenovka on 8 July. The group began attacks on Stalingrad on 16 August, well before German spearheads reached the city. II./KG 55 mustered 33 bombers for the offensive. Bombing operations over Starobelsk on 10 July was followed by a move to Kramatorskaya on 14 July. Luganskoye was bombed on 14 July and then it targeted Soviet

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

s and other transports moving along the

Volga river The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchme ...

. It was then transferred to the Crimea and attacked

Novorossisk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities h ...

(10 August) and bombed rail lines around Tupase (18 August). It returned to Morosovskaya. III. ''Gruppe'' was attacking targets around Bulazelovka (10 June), Grakovo (12 June) and destroyed a bridge at Kupyansk on 22 June. Svoboda rail station was bombed on 25 and 27 June. It reported to still have 30 He 111s on 1 July. It moved eastward from Kharkov to Kramatorskaya on 14 July. It detached 9. ''Staffel'' to operate from

over the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. 7. and 8. ''Staffel'' raided traffic on the Volga on 31 July. From 24 to 31 July 1942 it flew an average of 23 sorties per day and dropped 29 tons of bombs. The group moved to Samorsk in the eastern Crimea altogether on 5 August and began support for German forces in

the Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

. On 17 August it targeted the Tamryuk area on the

Taman Peninsula The Taman Peninsula (russian: Тама́нский полуо́стров, ''Tamanskiy poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia, which borders the Sea of Azov to the North, the Strait of Kerch to the West and the ...

and two days later, Tuapse harbour. On 23 August, it bombed rail communications from Saratov to

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

. The Battle of Stalingrad began on 23 August 1942. was heavily involved in the bombing of the city—both carpet bombing and targeted bombing at specific targets. Beginning at 07:00 local time on 23 August, the bombing began. It lasted throughout the night and into the following day. More than 1000 metric tons of bombs were dropped by ''Luftflotte'' 4. The following day the intensity continued into the evening of the 25 August. Initial Soviet reported the water and electricity grid knocked out. On 26 August a detailed Soviet ''Urban Committee of Defence'' report gave the following casualty figures; 955 dead and 1,181 wounded. Due to the fighting that followed and the high death toll, it is impossible to know how many more were killed in aerial attacks. The figure was higher than in the initial reports but reports of tens of thousands of deaths in the three-day raid are not credible. KG 55 suffered declining strength in the Stalingrad battle. I./KG 55 was sent to rest and refit in the Crimea on 14 September, which lasted until 5 November 1942. By 20 September it reported only 15 operational He 111s from 29. Part of the group may have flown attacks on Stalingrad on 29 October. II./KG 55 reported identical figures on 20 September. It attacked the city on 4 October and bombed the Gashti area on 22 October. On 17 November 1942 it flew attacks in the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

sector; supporting its Third and Fourth elements. III./KG 55 are known to have attacked the city on 30 August and 18, 21, 22 and 23 September. It had a marginally higher operational ready rate on 20 September; 19 from 31 He 111s were battle-ready. It was known to have continued bombing the city from 2–22 October 1942. Third group flew 288 day bombing missions from 28 September–24 October 1942, dropping 2490.25 tonnes of bombs; the majority being short-range missions. A further ten long-range missions were flown and 12.5 tonnes of bombs were dropped. The Red Army began

Operation Uranus Operation Uranus (russian: Опера́ция «Ура́н», Operatsiya "Uran") was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis ...

, which eventually surrounded the Axis armies in the city. I./KG 55 attacked targets around Stalingrad from 21 to 24 November: Kletskaya (21 and 22 November), Perelasovskiy 923 November), Seyasnovskiy (24 November), Tschemiskaya and Seyasnovskiy (25 November). Flew supply operations 29 November, 8, 12, 19 and 24 December. It bombed targets at Myupin on Christmas Day 1942. It evacuated to Novocherkassk to avoid being overrun on 2 January 1943. It was forced to limit operations to one aircraft per day in January and flew supply missions to Gumrak airfield on 20 January, and flew its last drop over Stalingrad on 30 January. The group evacuated to Stalino on 2 February—the day the battle ended. On 20 November II./KG 55 bombed Soviet armour near Kletskaya northwest of Stalingrad. It attacked targets in the Cherny- Sevskaya region on 26 November. It operated from

Pitomnik Airfield The Pitomnik airfield (russian: питомник, lit. plant nursery) was an airfield in Russia. During the Second World War, it was the primary of seven airfields used by the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Stalingrad. Flights originatin ...

until 29 November and over

Pitomnik Pitomnik is a village in the Tartar Rayon of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the bound ...

on 7 December. There are no recorded losses after this date suggesting records were lost or it was re-equipping. On 20 November KG 55 lost ''Gruppenkommandeur'' Hans-Joachim Gabriel in operations over the city. He was the only commander of the group to be killed in action. ''Major'' Heinz Höfer. III./KG 55 began supply missions on 30 December, to Pitomnik. It evacuated the field on 2 January and flew its last supply operation on 18 January, and withdrew to Stalino on 2 February 1943. The Germans resisted fiercely but on 14 January 1943 Pitomnik airfield was captured by the Soviets and many supplies were then parachuted in. The last German elements surrendered on 2 February. contributed only a small fraction of the meagre 90 tonnes of supplies the 6th Army received daily. Over 165 He 111's were lost over Stalingrad, KG 55's losses were 59. The ''Geschwader'' flew in 3,296 tons of supplies including 1,541 tons of food and 768 tons of ammunition, and 1,110 tons of fuel. also evacuated 9,028 wounded soldiers.

Third Kharkov, Crimea and Strategic bombing

KG 55 remained on the Eastern Front in through the spring, 1943 over the

Donbass The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

and

Kuban bridgehead The Kuban Bridgehead (german: Kuban-Brückenkopf), also known as the "Goth's head position" (), was a German military position on the Taman Peninsula, Russia, between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Existing from January to October 1943, the ...

. The wing was transferred to ''Fliegerkorps'' IV in April. Stab./KG 55 was based at Saki at this time but moved forward to Stalino on 1 May. I ''Gruppe'' struck targets at

Bataisk Bataysk (russian: Бата́йск) is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Rostov-on-Don. Population: History It was founded in 1769, and was granted town status in 1938. The reconstructed Church of the Ascension was built be ...

(9 February). The following day the Red Air Force bombed the group's base. It carried out unspecified operations over Kramatorskaya (15 February), Stefanovka and Gulobovka (19 February) and Politodeiskoye (28 February). On 1 March it could muster 16 He 111H-16s and 19 He 111H-6s. It handed over its aircraft to the other two ''Gruppen'' and then relocated by train to Barth, Germany to rest and re-equip. The personnel there were renamed III./ LG 1 on 1 May 1943. The group was reformed on 10 June at Stalino from personnel taken from the ''Transportfliegergruppe'' 10, and K.Gr.z.b.V.5. It transferred to

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

on 20 May, and Landsberg-Lech on 29 August 1943. It briefly flew night reconnaissance missions over northeastern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, searching possible invasion routes for

Operation Achse Operation Achse (german: Fall Achse, lit=Case Axis), originally called Operation Alaric (), was the codename for the German operation to forcibly disarm the Italian armed forces after Italy's armistice with the Allies on 3 September 1943. ...

, in the event the Italians left the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

. The group did not fly a combat sortie in the Mediterranean. The reconstituted group was placed under the command of Walter Traub, from 1 May. II./KG 55 began airdrops to the Taman Peninsula and Armavir-

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

area in February 1943 based at Saki. It had only seven He 111H-6s on 13 February. It began to re-equip with H-16s on 1 March and then attacked Bataisk with the new type on 11 April. More bombing operations against the port of Novorossik (15 April) and anti-aircraft artillery positions at Labardinka (18 April) as well as targets along the Taman Peninsular from 27 April to 4 May. From Stalino it flew more attacks against Bataisk on 9 May. The group flew its 10,000th mission on 11 May 1943. It returned to Taman (26 May), Krymaskaya (27 May), targets Krasnodar (30 May). It moved to the central sector at Sechchinskaya and Karachev. III. ''Gruppe'' spent the new year and spring supporting defensive operations around Taman, Rostov and Anastasiyevka (7–22 February) and its own base was bombed (7 February). On 23 February the group moved to Kirovograd to support Manstein's offensive at Kharkov until 14 March. On 18 March it bombed

and relocated back to Kirovograd to Samorsk in Crimea for operations over the Taman Peninsular from 5 April. ''Major'' Wilhelm Antrup took command on 6 May from ''Oberstleutnant'' Wolfganag Queisner. Operations southwest of Krymskaya (3 and 4 May), Tikhoretsk-Kratpotkin (16 May), Russkaya (25 May), Krymskaya (26 May) and an attack on Krapotkin train station followed on 28 May. On 30 May the group flew its last operation before flying north to take part in Operation Citadel at Seshchinskaya. Before the offensive began against Soviet armies protecting the bulge in the line at

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

, II. and III. ''Gruppen'' took part in a

strategic bombing Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...

operation in June 1943. The Chief of the General Staff

Hans Jeschonnek Hans Jeschonnek (9 April 1899 – 18 August 1943) was a German military aviator in the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' during World War I, a general staff officer in the ''Reichswehr'' in the inter–war period and ''Generaloberst'' (Colonel-General) and a ...

and his operations staff officer Rudolf Meister were major proponents of an attack on industrial sectors. The command staff of the Luftwaffe used this idea to free their service from the air support role.

Robert Ritter von Greim Robert ''Ritter'' von Greim (born Robert Greim; 22 June 1892 – 24 May 1945) was a German field marshal and First World War flying ace. In April 1945, in the last days of World War II, Adolf Hitler appointed Greim commander-in-chief of the ''L ...

's Luftflotte 6, with support from KG 55's ''Luftflotte'' 4, was assigned seven bomber wings to carry out the offensive—KG 55, KG 3, KG 4, KG 27,

, KG 53 and KG 100. Even

Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen Wolfram Karl Ludwig Moritz Hermann Freiherr von Richthofen (10 October 1895 – 12 July 1945) was a German World War I flying ace who rose to the rank of '' Generalfeldmarschall'' in the Luftwaffe during World War II. Born in 1895 into a f ...

, the leading ground-support exponent, agreed to the operation. It was felt the Luftwaffe could render greater assistance to the army this way. The planners focused on targets that were in range of the He 111-equipped ''Geschwader''. AO Sormovo-01

Factory Number 24, at Kuybyshev Oblast produced a quarter of all aviation engines in the Soviet Union and 85 percent of all

Ilyushin Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 ( Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...

engines, Factory Number 26 at

Ufa Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...

, with 31 percent of total production and 60 percent of all fighter aircraft engine production, Factory Number 16 at

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

, producing 12 percent of the total and 60 percent of all

aircraft engines, Factory Number 45, in

, with five percent total but 15 percent of IL-2 engines, and finally Factory Number No. 466 at Gorkiy with five percent total and one-tenth of all fighter engine production were the targets. Three of the five

ball bearings A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...

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 Gorkiy drew most attention for it produced 15 percent of

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...

s and was the largest plant west of the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

. 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 The T-60 scout tank was a light tank produced by the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1942. During this period, 6,292 units were built. The tank was designed to replace the obsolete T-38 amphibious scout tank and saw action during World War II. The K ...

and

T-70 The T-70 was a light tank used by the Red Army during World War II, replacing both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light infantry tank for infantry support. The T-80 light tank was a more advanced version of the T-70 with ...

. The Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112 was targeted because of its production of munitions. On 4 June 1943 the operation began. Although the night was moonlit, KG 55 utilised the

Radio Moscow Radio Moscow ( rus, Pадио Москва, r=Radio Moskva), also known as Radio Moscow World Service, was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1993. It was reorganized with a new name ...

frequencies as a navigational aid. Soviet retaliation occurred in the form of counter-air raids against its airfield on 8 and 18 June. II. ''Gruppe'' took part in the bombing operation against rail lines at Kursk on 2 June. From 4 June it participated in the attacks on the tank factory at Gorki, the refineries and ball bearings at Saratov as well as Yaroslavl. The 4/5 June operation was carried out by 128 He 111s and

from III./KG 1, KG 3, II. and III./KG 4, KG 27, I./KG 100 and II. and III./KG 55 dropped 179 tons of bombs against the No. 1 Molotov plant. Many workshops of wooden construction caught fire. The water-supply was severed and large parts of the plant burned. The blacksmiths, chassis, main conveyor, and spring workshops were destroyed. Living compounds and a child's nursery were also hit. The effect was disastrous for the Soviets. The attackers lost five bombers. The Soviet

1st Air Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Air Army (russian: 1-я воздушная армия) was an Air Army in the Soviet Air Force which served during World War II. It was formed on May 10, 1942, within the Soviet Western Front, and renamed the 26th Air Army on ...

2nd Air Army The 2nd Air Army (; 2 VA) was an air army of the Red Army Air Force (Soviet Air Force) during the Second World War. Formed in May 1942, the army fought in the Battle of Stalingrad and was one of the major Soviet air formations in the Battle of ...

and

15th Air Army The 15th Air Army was a military formation of the Soviet Air Forces, active from July 1942 until December 1993. History It was formed between 11 July and 15 August 1942, in accordance with the directive of the commander of the Soviet Air Force ...

attacked German airfields on 8 June.

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 ...

intercepted, and claimed 40 for one loss. The Luftwaffe returned to attack the repair workshops over two subsequent nights with a force of 300 bombers. 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 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 ...

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. Factory Number 112 went on to produce 2,851 T-34s in 1943 and 3, 619 in 1944 up from 2, 718 in 1942. The He 111 units dropped 1,015 tons of bombs in total, losing only six aircraft, through the Soviets claimed 145. KG 55 reverted to rail interdiction against the Kantemirovka and

Rossosh Rossosh (russian: Россошь) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities * Rossosh, Rossoshansky District, Voronezh Oblast, a town in Rossoshansky District of Voronezh Oblast ;Rural localities * Rossosh, Belgoro ...

regions on 11 June. On the 13 June the ''Gruppe'' flew its 10,000th mission (7, 680 in Russia). It returned to bombing Saratov on the night of the 14/15 June 1943. 9. ''Staffel'' equipped with the Ju 88C-6, and attacked rail targets for the remainder of June. The 9 and 20 June bombing of Yaroslavl was carried out by 102 and 88 bombers respectively dropped 324 tons of bombs. Against Saratov, from 12 to 15 June, the German bombers dropped 181 tons. The raid by 138 He 111s on 9/10 June cost the Germans three bombers. Losses mounted as the Soviet night fighters took advantage of brighter summer nights. On 13/14 June attack, 20/21 June raid, 21/22 June, one bomber (KG 27), six (one from KG 3, two from KG 1 and three from KG 27) were lost. One KG 55 bomber barely evaded an attack by a night fighter.

Kursk to Bagration

KG 55 was based near Kharkov from 21 June with II./JG 3 and II./

for fighter support. The Stab, II. and III. ''Gruppen'' were ordered to support the southern advance of

Operation Citadel Operation Citadel (german: Unternehmen Zitadelle) was a German offensive operation in July 1943 against Soviet forces in the Kursk salient, proposed by Generalfeldmarschall Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein during the Second World War on ...

, manily to be executed by 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 ...

and the

II SS Panzer Corps The II SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern and Western Front (World War II), Western Fronts during World War II. It was commanded by Paul Hausser during the Thir ...

. was still placed under the command of ''Luftflotte'' 4. It was opposed in the coming battle by the powerful

, in turn, supported by

17th Air Army The 17th Air Army () was an Air army of the Red Air Force and Soviet Air Forces from 1942. World War II It was formed in October (Bonn et al.: November) 1942 on the basis of the Air Forces of the Southwestern Front. Bonn et al. say that it inc ...

. On 5 July 1943 II./KG 55 carried out attacks against Soviet positions with

Butterfly Bomb A Butterfly Bomb (or ''Sprengbombe Dickwandig 2 kg'' or SD 2) was a German anti-personnel submunition used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. It was so named because the thin cylindrical metal outer shell which hinged open when ...

s. A they bombed Gremuchiy and Gostishchevo, which the 51st Guards Rifle Division held from the

3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" (german: 3. SS-Panzerdivision "Totenkopf") was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the Standarten of the SS-TV. Its name, ''Totenkopf'', is German for " ...

, 12

Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 (russian: Яковлев Як-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, ...

fighters from the 27 IAP and 10

Lavochkin La-7 The Lavochkin La-7 (russian: Лавочкин Ла-7) was a piston-engined single-seat Soviet fighter aircraft developed during World War II by the Lavochkin Design Bureau. It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin La-5, and the la ...

s from 41 GAP attacked and shot down two Heinkels, and damaged a third. The SS unit managed to take the first objective. From 5, 8 and 9 July it bombed targets around Belgorod. II./KG 55 flew two missions on the 9 July and lost at least one bomber and one damaged in combat with Soviet fighters and after being engaged by strong anti-aircraft fire. Its own bases were targeted on 18 and 20 July. The group bombed Marinovka on 24 July, before relocating to Dnepropetrovsk on 6 August 1943. Beevka (7 August), Surkaya-Kamensk (17 August), and targets in and around Kalinovka (20 August) were carried out as the Red Army embarked on the Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation. Operation Frantic-B-17s-Yakovlev-Yak-9

III. ''Gruppe'' were also active but less is known about their operations. On 6 July it struck at Kharkov-

Rogan Rogan is an Irish surname, deriving from the Irish ''Ó Ruadhagáin'', which can be loosely translated to mean "red-haired." History The clan is descended from one of the septs of Airgíalla, Oriel which originated in Counties Armagh and Monagha ...

, Novo- Donbad on 17 July, moved to Dnepropetrovsk 4 August, to Zaporozhye 25 August. It carried out attacks on Belgorod on 6 August Narodok (7 August), Belgorod again (9 August), Svoboda (18 August) and particularly heavy air attacks on Kuibyshevo in

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast (russian: Волгогра́дская о́бласть, ''Volgogradskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region of Southern Russia. Its administrative center is Volgograd. The populat ...

, from 20 to 31 August 1943. The group moved to Stalino against on 28, 29 August. It bombed Federovka on 31 August. ''Major'' Alfred Bollmann succeeded Antrup to become the last commander of the group on 8 August 1943. I./KG 55 returned to the Eastern Front in mid-August and joined the other two ''Gruppen'' at Dnepropetrovsk, perhaps on the 26th day. The three bomber formations continued to offer support to Army Group South as it lost ground in the Ukraine. In the third week of August the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front. Over four m ...

began, and ended before Christmas 1943. In the offensive the Axis lost control of the

Left-bank Ukraine Left-bank Ukraine ( uk, Лівобережна Україна, translit=Livoberezhna Ukrayina; russian: Левобережная Украина, translit=Levoberezhnaya Ukraina; pl, Lewobrzeżna Ukraina) is a historic name of the part of Ukrain ...

. I ''Gruppe'' began bombing operations almost immediately, attacking Pokorovo two days later. The moving frontlines necessitated a retreat to Zaporozhye to Kirovograd on 12 September 1943. From here it was in action over Izyum (23 September) and Nikopol on the (24 September). Further withdrawals from Kirovograd to Nikolayev and Beresovka, north northeast of Odessa were made by 20 October. During the course of October, the group operated over the Kerch Straits, possibly against shipping in the

and Sea of Azov. Part of it moved there in November. It probably assisted German forces in the

. By 1 December it could only field 20 He 111H-16s. It was moved to

Terespol Terespol (; be, Тэрэ́спаль, Teréspaĺ) is a town in eastern Poland on the border with Belarus. It lies on the border river Bug, directly opposite the city of Brest, Belarus, making it a border town. It has 5,794 inhabitants as of ...

on 8 December and to Dęblin in Poland for rest and replacement on 27 December. II and III. ''Gruppen'' followed a similar pattern. II./KG 55 retreated from Dnepropetrovsk Kirovograd on 15 September and saw operations in the Zaporozhye-Nikopol area (12 October) and Lichovka (21 October). Annovka-Petrovo was bombed on 30 October. There were no reported losses from 1–24 November and the group returned to Annovka on 24 November. It was based southeast of

on 28 November and could muster 22 He 111s (20 He 111H-16s). It moved to Dęblin on the 4 December 1943 for rest and refit. III. ''Gruppe'' flew many missions from Dnepropetrovsk to Melitopol and Zaporozhye from the 23 September–3 October. It retreated from Kirovograd (22 October) and flew bombing sorties near

Perekop Perekop (Ukrainian & Russian: Перекоп; ; ) is an urban-type settlement located on the Perekop Isthmus connecting the Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. It is known for the fortress Or Qapi that served as the gateway to Crimea. ...

on 24 October. In November 1943 it flew sorties in the Kerch–Eltigen Operation until 2 December. It was withdrawn to Terespol with its remaining aircraft—18 H-11s and H-11/R1s and 12 H-16s. KG 55 returned to the frontline in January 1944. From here on, with a few exceptions, it was used primarily in the night intruder and air-supply role. I./KG 55 trained after refitting as a night strategic bomber force under the command of IV ''Fliegerkorps'' from January to March 1944. From 31 March to 7 April it was utilised to airdrop containers to the 1st Panzer Army, under the command of

Hans-Valentin Hube Hans-Valentin Hube (29 October 1890 – 21 April 1944) was a German general during World War II who commanded armoured forces in the invasions of Poland, France and the Soviet Union. In the course of the war, Hube led the 16th Infantry Divisi ...

. The German formation was trapped in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket. The following night it struck rail targets at Fastov, southwest of Kiev. On 10 April it bombed

marshalling yards and then at rail junctions, Rovno, Kiev and Shepetovka from 4–11 May 1944. The German defeat in the Crimea on 12 May, necessitated aircraft to evacuate personnel and KG 55 was called in to do so from 11 to 15 May, operating from Focsani,

.It transferred to Dęblin on 16 May, but had 35 He 111 H-16s on strength on 1 June 1944. Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-331-3026-06A, Russland, Go 242 und He 111

II ''Gruppe'' also trained for long-range operations under the command of IV ''Fliegerkorps''. It was brought up to strength with 35 H-16s at Dęblin: where it remained based until 10 May 1944. It trained from January to March 1944. From 31 March to 7 April 1944, it dropped supplies to the Kovel pocket, and rendered support to the

5th SS Panzer Division Wiking The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking (german: 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking) or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. It was recruited from foreign volunteer ...

. It flew rail interdiction; bombing yards at Rovno, Kiev and Shepetovka from 4–11 May. It joined I ''Gruppe'' at Focsani in Romania to evacuate the Crimea, from 11 to 16 May 1944. It moved back to Dęblin but the fuel crisis now prevalent in the Luftwaffe, slowed down the pace of operations. On 21/22 June, with I. and III. ''Gruppen'', it bombed Poltava Air Base, which housed

bombers that had been flying shuttle-missions to Eastern Europe and landing in the Soviet Union. The raid caused significant losses to the US Fifteenth Air Force. A

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 ...

from 2./''Aufklärungsgruppe'' 100 shadowed the 3d Air Division, 3rd Bombardment Division, 45th Bombardment Wing to Poltava. The raid, carried out by KG 55, KG 53, KG 27 and KG 4, destroyed 43 B-17 Flying Fortress' damaged 26, and destroyed 200,000 US gallons of aviation fuel. All three group flew as bomber formations against the Soviet summer offensive, Operation Bagration. ''Luftflotte'' 6, to which KG 55 was attached, deployed the unit on the central sector supporting Army Group Centre. It had 107 Heinkel He 111s on 26 June, with stab./KG 55 possessing a single bomber. I./KG 55 used 35 in night operations in support of Army Group North over Lithuania. It flew night attacks and some supply mission from 23 June–4 July. By 27 July it had retreated to Tonndorf, southwest of Bydgoszcz. It converted to H-20 models and flew missions against the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive and bridges across the

, near Warsaw and was based at Baranów Sandomierski, from 28 July–12 August 1944. In late August it left for Bavaria, Germany. There it had 31 He 111s (25 H-20s). It moved to Straubing, in September and was renamed I./KG(J) 55 and began converting to a fighter unit on 1 October. II./KG 55 flew combat operations over Bobruisk-Sloboda-

in support of Army Group Centre. From later June, and for several weeks, it flew night bombing raids on Smolensk, 28/29 June 1944. It left Dęblin for Inowroclaw on 26 July. It could still muster 35 bombers by 26 June and bombed targets at Molodechno, northwest of Minsk on 23 July. The raids cost KG 55 five bombers on 5 July which took the total to 14 destroyed in just six days of action from 29 June. Attacks on the Vistula bridges at Warsaw and Baranów Sandomierski followed from 1–12 August. Its force was reduced to 31 He 111H-16s by 1 September. It withdrew to Germany to carry out air-supply flights to German Garrisons in isolated French ports from 10 to 12 September after Operation Overlord and Battle for Normandy, and liberated the bulk of France and Belgium over June–September 1944. From Inowrocław, Hohensalza it transferred to Mainhausen#Zellhausen, Zellhausen, where it was disbanded and reformed into fighter unit II. 55 on 1 October 1944. III. ''Gruppe'' also trained for long-range night operations. It flew on operations to supply the Kowel pocket along with the other ''Gruppen''. On the night of the 7/8 April 1944 it bombed Kiev, and Kowel on 15/16 April. Velikaya Luki (21 April), Rivne, Rowne, Kiev, and Shepetovka (4–11 May), Velikaya Luki (24 May) were attacked before it withdrew to Podlokowka in Poland on 25 May. With 34 He 111s it bombed Kazatin (1 June) and also Mirgorod on (11 June). It participated in the raids against the USAAF at Poltava. Bobruisk-Sloboda-Minsk regions were bombed and supplied after the 22 June. Bobruisk was the main target from 29 to 30 June. On 21 July it retreated to Glinnik, Lublin Voivodeship, Glinnik, Poland. Operations were curtailed because of aviation fuel shortages. Vistula bridges at Warsaw and Baranów Sandomierski were attacked from 1–12 August and it followed the other ''Gruppen'' to Zellhausen, Germany on 19 August for air supply operations to France. It had 30 He 111s by 1 September, but on the 19th was probably disbanded and reformed as III./KG(J) 55 on 1 October. Luftwaffe records reveal the unit had flown 54,272 combat sorties, dropped 60,938 tons of bombs, carried 7,514 tons of supplies, and lost 710 killed and 747 missing from 1 September 1939 to 1 October 1944.

Defeat: 1945

The only active unit after October 1944 was IV. ''Gruppe'', which continued operations in the west from 1940 to 1945. It was initially formed as ''Ergänzungsstaffel'' at Châtres-sur-Cher, Chatres, France on 1 April 1940, its earliest known designation being ''Ausbildungsstaffel'' at Ulm-Dornstadt. On 30 September 1940 the group transferred to Landsberg. By 8 March it had expanded into IV.(Erg)/KG 55, with 10 and 11 ''Staffeln''. On 7 April 12 ''Staffel'' was added at Longvic near

, France. From March 1941–May 1944 it was involved in night attacks on Britain and training. 10. ''Staffel'' bombed Kingston upon Hull, Hull on 26 April 1942. It took part in bombing raids against

on 27–31 July 1942. It had 26 bombers, including six and three of the P-2s and P-4 variants by 1 March 1943. 13 ''Staffel'' was formed at Gerdauen in East Prussia on 1 March 1944 after three years of training activities near Dijon. The ''Gruppe'' moved to Heuhausen to avoid attacks by Allied aircraft on 4/5 May 1944. It moved to Szolnok, Hungary to avoid advancing Soviet forces on 1 August. On 20 August the Fifteenth US Air Force bombed the base killing six and wounded 18 personnel. It had 34 bombers on 1 September which it evacuated to Plzeň, Pilsen, Czechoslovakia on 1 and 2 September. The ''Gruppe'' lost its identity on 21 November 1944 with 12. and 13. ''Staffeln'' and renamed 4. and 3. respectively of Erg.Gr.(J), and 10. and 11. ''Staffeln'' disbanded, under the command of IX ''Fliegerkorps''. IV. ''Gruppe'' would lose 50 aircraft in the west before the end of the war. 14.(Eis)/KG 55 (Eis—''Eisenbahn'', the anti train unit) remained the only independent unit of KG 55 to remain on bomber operations into 1945. It was officially formed at Dnepropetrovsk on 1 June 1943 using experienced crews from 9 ''Staffel''. It appears some of the unit personnel were in action earlier, as on 28 May an entry was made for the squadron's first loss on a bombing operation against Krapotkin train station in the northern Caucasus. The unit's main purpose was to use cannon-armed He 111s to attack locomotives. It attacked rail lines south of Rossoh on 11 June. It moved to Poltava on 29 June and then to Kirovograd on 9 August. It attacked these targets Borovaya on 10 August and Avdeyevka on 18 August. It moved to Pervomaisk-Golta on 22 October, and listed 12 machines (H-16s) on 1 January 1944. It moved to Pskov, on Army Group North's front from 13 February 1944. After its move the ''staffel'' had the loosest connection to the rest of KG 55. It operated from Jēkabpils, Latvia, from 29 February. It had 11 H-16 variants from 1 June and struck targets around Andreapol on 2 June. On 2 August it withdrew to Riga and flew its 5000th mission on 3 August. it retreated to Gutenfeld East Prussia on 26 September. From 1 December it listed 11 bombers which rose to a high of 14 (10 serviceable) on 10 January 1945. It flew airdrop missions to Budapest on 15 January and moved to Brzeg, Brieg,

on the 20th day. It flew supply operations for the remainder of its existence from 20 January to late April 1945. The garrisons of Poznan, Breslau, Glogau, and others received supplies from this unit. On 22nd it moved to Żagań, Sagan-Küpper to Alt-Lönnewitz (11 February) and then to Dresden on 4 April. It was disbanded at Hradec Králové, on 27 April 1945.

Commanding officers

Geschwaderkommodore

*Major General Wilhelm Süssmann, 1 May 1939 – 6 March 1940 *Oberst Alois Stoeckl 7 March 1940 – 14 August 1940 (KIA) *Oberstlt Hans Korte (general), Hans Korte 15 August 1940 – 31 January 1941 *Oberstlt Benno Kosch 1 February 1941 – 26 August 1942 *Oberstlt Dr Ernst Kühl 27 August 1942 – 7 August 1943 *Oberstlt Wilhelm Antrup 8 August 1943 – 1 October 1944

Organisation

Stab. Gruppe Formed 1 May 1939.Disbanded 9 April 1945. I. Gruppe Formed with 1./KG 155, 2./KG 55 and 3./KG 55 1 May 1939. II. Gruppe Formed 1 May 1939 along with 4./KG 55, 5./KG 55 and 6./KG 55 III. Gruppe Formed on 1 December 1939 along with 7./KG 55, 8./KG 55 and 9./KG 55. IV. Gruppe Formed on 1 April 1940. Reformed 1 August 1940 as ''Ergänzungsstaffel''/KG 55. On 1 March 1941 it was redesignated 10./KG 55. Stab IV./KG 55 was formed on 7 March 1941, followed by 11./KG 55 on 21 March 1941 and 12./KG 55 on 7 April 1941. 14. (Eis)/KG 55 Unit formed 1 June 1943, disbanded 27 April 1945

References

Citations

Bibliography

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