IL2

HOLDING THE WEST

"I was only able to leave the Western Front so completely uncovered because I had two such outstanding Geschwader to leave behind."

Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring, 5 December 1941

"When you look at how we fought against the Americans later, the Battle of Britain was very little in comparison."

Post-war comment by Julius Meimberg, formerly Staffelkapitän of II./JG2

"Opening fire from behind at 300 metres distance, and taking five to six seconds to overtake the bombers, these attacks were indescribable in their sheer physical and mental stress. Just imagine standing under a shower with 160 jets of water pouring out and not getting wet! That, of course, is quite impossible. Even when we attacked with four [aircraft] in line abreast in an effort to split up the defensive fire, statistically there were still 40 guns firing at each one of us. "

Otto Stammberger, formerly Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 4./JG26, describing rear attacks on US four-engined bombers.

The Channel Front in mid 1941:

In late June 1941, following the departure of units eastwards in preparation for Operation 'Barbarossa', the German invasion of Russia, only two front-line day fighter Jagdgeschwader remained in Northern France and Belgium; JG2 'Richthofen' and JG26 'Schlageter'. These units were responsible for the daylight defense of occupied north-west Europe from Belgium to the Bay of Biscay and had been intentionally left in the West because of their previous experience and success. Although they were outnumbered by the RAF and their area of responsibility was large, unit morale was high. Pilots had recovered from the strain of the battles of 1940, most Gruppen possessed a superb fighter in the Bf-109F, and pilots knew that if they were shot down over France, their chances of survival were now far greater than when they had fought over Southern England and the Channel the year previously. On 1 May, JG26 had achieved its 500th aerial victory and JG2 'Richthofen' was only days away from celebrating its 644th victory, the same number as achieved by Jagdgeschwader Frhr. von Richthofen Nr. 1 during the First World War. Both units were about to enter their most successful phase of the air war, and between them had an establishment of 236 aircraft, although JG26 lacked its 7.Staffel which was in the Mediterranean and II./JG26 was soon to be withdrawn to exchange its Bf-109E-7s for the new radial-engined Fw-190.

While JG2 and JG26 held the Channel coast, other front-line day fighter units on the Western Front, excluding Norway , were I./JG52 in Holland with an establishment of 40 aircraft, and parts of I./JG1 with an establishment of 28 aircraft. Only formed in June 1941, I./JG1 was based at various airfields for the defense of Northern Europe but, as units based in Holland moved to other fronts, JG1 covered that area too. Finally, there was a number of Einsatzstaffeln, or Operational Training Squadrons, which, nominally at least, had an establishment of 48 aircraft, but their role was limited and they were not truly front-line units.

Apart from these fighter units, the only other forces remaining in France after the invasion of Russia were those engaged in the night bombing of Britain or those flying anti-shipping and reconnaissance missions. Although Luftwaffe units in the West therefore amounted to little more than a token force, they proved to be extremely effective in holding down in Britain a considerable number of fighters which, at the time, could have been employed in the Mediterranean theatre. Moreover, the Luftwaffe’s numerical disadvantage was to some extent offset by the establishment in France of an early warning radar system, although no fighter control service had yet been set up which could locate and vector German formations onto the enemy force. Generally, the German system worked well although it was affected by bad weather, and on one occasion, when a force of 54 Blenheim light bombers mounted a daylight cloud-cover raid on power stations near Cologne , the defenses were completely unaware of the attack until bombs fell on the targets.

The early RAF offensive missions into occupied Europe were at first designed merely to maintain a constant pressure on Luftwaffe forces in the West and to draw up German fighters where, it was hoped, they could be destroyed in a war of attrition. However, with the German attack upon Russia in June 1941, such efforts acquired additional importance and Fighter Command's offensive operations then became an integral part of a policy of affording assistance to the Russians. By intensifying operations, it was considered possible not only to hold down in north-west France a large German fighter force which otherwise could have been usefully employed on the Eastern Front, but also to force the Luftwaffe to withdraw units from the East in order to strengthen its fighter defenses in France.

Following the invasion of Russia , there was therefore a marked increase in the number of RAF missions flown to attack targets in France . Most British formations consisted of about 25 bombers with three times as many escort fighters, but sometimes formations with as many as 80 bombers and a proportionately larger escort were encountered with the escorts tied to the bombers in much the same way as were the German fighters in the Battle of Britain. The RAF bombers' altitude was usually about 21,000 feet and, typically, the German fighters, maintaining radio silence, would climb to a position above and behind the British formations. When contact with the incoming formation was made, the German formation leader broke radio silence to place his formations in the most tactically advantageous positions before diving through the British fighter escort to attack the bombers.

In view of the risks associated with this kind of attack, it was at this time that Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland, Kommodore of JG26, and the members of his Stabsschwarm, devised another method of attacking the British formations. Using cloud cover, the four fighters gradually infiltrated the RAF formation, making no sudden movements that would attract attention. Once the fighters were well placed, Galland would select a convenient part of the bomber formation at which to strike, lead his Schwarm in to the attack and then dive away before the escort could react. These tactics proved successful on a number of occasions.

A second and similar tactic developed by Galland called for the attacking fighter pilot to fly alone in order to be successful. In this manoeuvre the pilot would climb slowly out of the clouds beneath a bomber formation while other German fighters occupied the attention of the fighter escort by conspicuously positioning themselves high in the rear of the British formation as though preparing for an attack. If he remained unseen, Galland was often able to position himself behind one of the lower elements of the bomber formation and make a successful attack before diving away. However, as this form of attack required a low approach speed in order to be effective, it was regarded as very dangerous and he depended on a quick dive into the clouds for escape if discovered prematurely.

RAF 'Circuses' ^#1 were now occurring almost daily, sometimes with more than one attack taking place each day. On 8 July, for example, a raid in the morning was directed against Lens, and Lille was the target in the afternoon. Fighter Command actually lost 13 Spitfires during the day, but Luftwaffe fighter claims initially totaled 21. Evidently, it was realized that there was some overclaiming and not all claims were confirmed, but the pilots of JG2 'Richthofen' were eventually credited with seven victories, bringing the Geschwader's total to the 644 required to equal that of its First World War namesake. During the day, Lt. Egon Mayer of 7.Staffel, who had received the Ritterkreuz a week earlier, claimed four Spitfires and a Blenheim, while Oblt. Josef Priller, Staffelkapitän of I./JG26 claimed a Spitfire as his 34th victory. One particularly successful pilot was the Staffelkapitän of 9./JG2, Oblt. Siegfried Schnell, whose three victories brought his personal score to 40 and earned him the award of the Eichenlaub. Schnell, already at this time one of JG2's highest-scoring pilots, again distinguished himself on the 9th when the RAF sent a 'Circus' to Marzingarbe. On this occasion, early Luftwaffe claims were for 17 Spitfires against an actual loss of eight, but all six Spitfires claimed by Schnell were confirmed.

On 14 July, Oblt. Priller shot down a Spitfire near Dunkirk as his 40th victory and was awarded the Eichenlaub. Four days later, Fw. Ernst Hickel of 2./JG26 became the first of the Luftwaffe’s day fighter pilots to destroy a four-engined bomber, a Short Stirling brought down off the Kent coast. This, Jackel's sixth victory, earned him a reward of 500 Reichsmark and a special trophy. Another leading ace at this time was Hptm. Hans 'Assi' Hahn, Kommandeur of III./JG2, who was awarded the Eichenlaub on 14 August after achieving 42 victories and who would eventually claim a total of 68 in the West before being given another command on the Eastern Front in mid-November 1942 where he claimed a further 40 victories.

Another well-known pilot flying with JG26 at this time was the Kommandeur of III./JG26, Major Gerhard Schöpfel, who had been one of the most successful pilots during the Battle of Britain. On 21 August he accounted for one of the 14 Spitfires lost that day, bringing his total to 33 victories. A number of JG2's pilots also made claims, including Major Oesau and Lt. Mayer, each of whom claimed two Spitfires. Also claiming two was Ofw. Josef Wurmheller who, at the end of the Battle of Britain, had four victories and had survived, being twice shot down in the Channel. After a period in hospital, he had returned to his unit, JG53, and claimed 9 victories in Russia before being transferred to the West and joining II./JG2 at the end of July. During the following months, Wurmheller would develop into one of the RAF's most dangerous adversaries on the Channel Front.

The Consequences of an Interrogation:

On 10 July, Hptm. Rolf Pingel, the Kommandeur of II./JG2, intercepted a number of RAF Stirling bombers returning from an unsuccessful mission and followed one to the British coast. According to Pingel, before he could open fire, and possibly as a result of defensive fire from the bomber, the engine of his aircraft failed and, selecting a suitable landing place, he crash-landed his Bf-109F-2 at Deal, in Kent , where he was taken prisoner (ADD LINK!!!) (See Volume 2, Section 4, Pages 380 and 381). As a Ritterkreuzträger with 22 victories, Pingel was an important capture and his subsequent interrogation over the next few weeks was to have interesting consequences, particularly in relation to the RAF's offensive policy.

At that time, claims by RAF pilots had led Fighter Command to believe it was inflicting serious casualties on the Jagdgeschwader in France, yet the German fighter force was still able to take to the air in strength. So far as was known to the RAF, the Jagdwaffe had not been reinforced by any fresh front-line units from elsewhere, so how could they possibly continue to maintain such strength if it had really suffered the high losses RAF pilots were claiming? Pingel maintained that it could not, stating that such high losses as were being claimed by the RAF would not only have represented the destruction of half the total available fighter strength in France, but that the Luftwaffe would have been quite unable to make good such high wastage. In view of the sustained German fighter strength in France , the RAF drew the obvious conclusion: Fighter Command was not, in fact, inflicting the casualties its pilots claimed.

Pingel's statements also clearly indicated that the aim of inducing the Luftwaffe to move its forces from east to west had not been, and was not likely to be, achieved. Moreover, they revealed that the daylight offensive was resulting in much heavier casualties to Fighter Command than to the Jagdwaffe. Consequently, following a conference on 29 July to review the situation, the RAF decided to reduce the intensity of its offensive. The RAF, however, had failed to realise that, overall, its offensive had not in fact been entirely without effect. When it had begun, German serviceability stood at 73 per cent, but as a consequence of the increased wear and tear on aircraft, by August, a month after Pingel's capture, this had dropped to 70 per cent. Thus, at the very time the offensive was beginning to have some effect, the RAF decided to reduce the intensity of its offensive. Soon the two Geschwader were as strong as they had been in the Spring and, by September, serviceability had increased still further to 81 per cent.

The first Fw-190 combat loss occurred on 18 September when the Kommandeur of II./JG26, Hptm. Walter Adolph, then with 25 victories and a holder of the Ritterkreuz, was shot down by a Spitfire during a dogfight over the Channel. His body was later washed up on the Belgian coast. Adolph was replaced by Joachim Müncheberg whose 7./JG26 had recently returned from the Mediterranean theatre where, during a seven month period of operations over Malta and Libya , the Staffel’s pilots had claimed 52 aerial victories without loss before rejoining III./JG26 at Ligescourt to re-equip with the Bf-109F-4. On 29 August, Müncheberg had claimed a Spitfire as his 50th victory, and the day following the death of Hptm. Adolph, Oblt. Müncheberg was promoted to Hauptmann and given command of II. Gruppe.

Another successful pilot on the Channel Front in 1941 was Oblt. Johannes Schmid who flew with the Geschwaderstab of JG26 and claimed his 24th victory on 24 August, for which he received the Ritterkreuz. At the same time he was promoted to Hauptmann and became Staffelkapitän of 8./JG26. Hptm. Schmid claimed his 30th victory on 7 September and continued to increase his tally, sometimes with multiple kills, and claimed two Spitfires on 21 September, three on the 27th and another three on 3 October which brought his score to 40 victories.

On 27 September, the whole of JG2 and JG26 with an establishment of 248 aircraft, were in Northern France; I./JG52, still with an establishment of 40 aircraft, remained in the Low Countries; and the Geschwader Stab and I./JG1 were in Germany with an establishment of 44 aircraft. The Geschwader Stab and I./JG53 had arrived in the Low Countries from the Eastern Front in September to replace JG52 which then moved to Russia in October. In mid-October, Stab and I./JG53 were joined by II./JG53, but operations mainly consisted of coastal patrols and were largely uneventful. However, on 25 October, a flying accident resulted in the loss of the Kommandeur of I./JG53, the celebrated escaper and Ritterkreuzträger Hptm. Franz von Werra. The 21-victory ace took off from Katwijk on a routine flight but disappeared when his aircraft inexplicably dived into the sea. He was eventually replaced by Major Herbert Kaminski. By mid December, the last parts of JG53 had departed for the Mediterranean and its area of operations was taken over by JG1.

Meanwhile, the Jagdwaffe continued to inflict high losses on the RAF's 'Circuses' and rendered them particularly costly. On 7 August especially, Fighter Command lost 14 fighters, followed by another 15 on the-19th and 21 August and 15 more on 21 September. A turning point finally occurred on 8 November when, during an RAF 'Circus' against Lille , pilots of JG2 were credited with ten Spitfires and JG26 with at least another ten. True Spitfire losses were 17, but the operation was nevertheless considered too costly and, in view of the earlier losses and the additional problem of deteriorating weather and shorter days, the RAF Air Staff decided to restrict the scale of Fighter Command's operations. By this time, operations were in any case unlikely to affect the situation in Russia and the growing demands from other theatres of war called for a conservation of fighter resources which would not have been possible if the scale of operations was maintained at the level of the previous months. Occasional 'Circus' operations were still undertaken to keep the German defenses on the alert, but no more large, escorted daylight raids were attempted until the Spring and the main burden of the RAF offensive was carried out by small numbers of aircraft attacking shipping and fringe targets on as wide a front as possible.

On 17 November, Generaloberst Ernst Udet, Generalluftzeugmeister of the Luftwaffe, committed suicide and the most highly-decorated members of the Luftwaffe, including Galland and Molders, were ordered to the state funeral in Berlin . Molders, then the Inspekteur der Jagdflieger, abandoned a tour of fighter units on the Eastern Front but was killed in a flying accident while returning to Germany . Almost immediately, Goring appointed Galland as Molders' successor and on 6 December, Major Gerhard Schopfel replaced the newly-promoted Galland as Kommodore of JG26.

On 7 December, the Japanese attacked the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor and, four days later, Hitler declared war on the US . This action was later to have a far-reaching effect on the air war over occupied Europe, but for the time being it was clear that the Luftwaffe, although greatly outnumbered, had inflicted heavy casualties and the RAF fighter offensive had failed either to destroy a large number of German fighters or draw them from other, more important, theatres of war. Furthermore, the RAF had overestimated the effectiveness of the bombing of industrial targets and airfields and too high a proportion of Allied pilots had been lost in relation to German fighter losses.

British claims were often still greatly exaggerated, the RAF claiming the destruction of 731 German fighters between 14 June 1941 and the end of the year, whereas the actual number destroyed according to German records was only 103. Moreover, this result was obtained at a cost of 411 Fighter Command pilots ^#2 so that for every aircraft that the RAF destroyed, it was losing on average four of its own pilots. Thus, at the end of 1941, the RAF's optimistic intention of inflicting considerable losses on the enemy by forcing him to fight when at a tactical disadvantage was far from being realised.

Despite the Luftwaffe’s success against the RAF, flying accidents and operational losses claimed some of its most experienced pilots. On 6 November, Hptm. Johannes Schmid of 8./JG26 accounted for his 45th victory, a Spitfire which plunged into the sea off Calais , and was circling the water where his victim had disappeared but was killed when the wingtip of his Bf-109F touched the surface and crashed. Similarly, on 22 December, five pilots of 6./JG26 were killed when they flew into a hill, one being the Staffelkapitän, Oblt. Walter Schneider who had 16 victories.

German Fighter Counter-Offensives:

Although the main efforts of JG2 and JG26 in 1941 were concentrated on defending the Channel coast, the return of more favorable weather at the beginning of 1941 allowed these units to resume the fighter sweeps and low-level fighter-bomber attacks which had been a feature of Jagdwaffe activity over Southern England in November 1940. However, whereas the main targets for the-1940 attacks had been RAF airfields, the new series of attacks was directed against coastal towns. These attacks, which became known as hit-and-run raids, were on a much smaller scale than those of 1940, and were usually conducted by one or two Schwärme (i.e. four to eight aircraft). No fighter escort was provided and pilots relied for protection on speed, surprise and their extreme low-level approach, but these tactics were extremely effective and presented the RAF with a difficult interception problem.

This problem had still not been solved when, on 10 November 1941, Jafü 2 and Jafü 3 were ordered to put up one Jabo, or fighter-bomber Staffel from each of their subordinate fighter Geschwader, and the establishment of these specialized Staffeln marked the renewal of fighter bomber activity against Britain and coastal traffic in the Channel. The first of these units, Jabo Staffel/JG2, was formed in January 1942 under Oblt. Frank Liesendahl and was followed a few weeks later by the formation of Jabo Staffel/JG26 under Hptm. Karl Plunser. Both units were equipped with the Bf-109F-4jB fitted with a fuselage rack for four SC50 bombs or, more usually, a single SC 250. Pilots were sought who had gained some previous fighter-bomber experience in the latter stages of the Battle of Britain.

As if to emphasise the problem the British defenses faced in intercepting low-level raiders in bad weather, two fighters had appeared off the Sussex coast on Christmas Day 1941 and opened fire on buildings at Fairlight near Hastings . This attack marked the real beginning of the low-level fighter bomber campaign of 1942 when the German fighter forces turned again to the offensive, and in the first three months of the year the fighters and fighter-bombers of JG2 and JG26 carried out 31 machine gun attacks against towns and villages on the South Coast . These raids, usually carried out at low altitude and often in conditions of poor visibility, were so difficult to intercept that in the same period the British defenses claimed only six aircraft destroyed overland by day.

Moreover, the effort Fighter Command expended to intercept these raiders was out of all proportion to the damage caused. In the first three months of 1942, Fighter Command flew 4,677 interception patrols and 10,918 shipping patrols, yet the Luftwaffe, for the greater part of this period, still retained no more than a holding force in the West. On 3 January 1942, for example, the number of Luftwaffe bombers available for use against Britain was 274, and of these only 146 were serviceable. However, this small force more than justified its existence on military grounds as altogether, 1,478 aircraft, 6,000 guns and almost a million men and women of the Army and RAF stood by to meet the threat of air attack.^#3 The German holding campaign in the West was, therefore, certainly meeting with some success and, for the RAF, the problems of intercepting the hit-and-run raiders essentially turned on the difficulty of providing adequate warning of its approach. The normal radar early warning station was limited by its visual range, but at the beginning of 1942 another type of special low-looking radar, known as Chain Home Extra Low, or CHEL, was being developed.

By the beginning of 1942, the first-line establishment of JG2 and JG26 in France had increased by just 40 aircraft in six months. The whole of JG2 was still equipped 'entirely with the Bf-109F but the conversion of JG26 to the Fw-190 was well under way and with the exception of part of II. Gruppe and the Ergänzungsgruppe, the Geschwader had almost completely converted to the Fw-190. Further north, the defense of Holland and Northern Europe, including Norway , was entrusted to JG1 which, in January 1942, was increased to full Geschwader strength with the formation of II., III. and IV./JG1. At first, the area remained fairly quiet and JGl's first major action did not occur until the afternoon of 7 February when parts of the Geschwader intercepted a force of 32 Hampden bombers laying mines off the Friesian Islands . Three Hampdens were lost, all claimed by Ofw. Detlev Luth of 4./JG1, bringing his victory total to 29. JG1 was in action again on 12 February, when, together with JG2 and JG26, it provided aerial protection during Operation Donnerkeil, the so-called 'Channel Dash', when the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen sailed up the English Channel from Brest to German ports.

Operation Donnerkeil Protecting the Channel Dash:

"..the weather actually occurred as forecast, even if it was about from six to eight hours late. But it saved us."

Adolf Galland commenting post-war on the outcome of the Channel Dash.

For most of 1941, the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen were all but stranded in Brest, where they were in constant danger from the RAF. To safeguard the ships and to protect Norway from any possible British invasion, Hitler ordered that the ships were to be brought back to Germany in a quick dash up the Channel.

German preparations for the operation were excellent; passages were swept through minefields and marked so that the ships and their escort could sail at top speed, and permanent air protection was arranged with the Luftwaffe. The organisation and supervision of this fighter protection was one of the earliest responsibilities for Adolf Galland in his new position as General der fagdfliegel: The ships were due to sail under cover of darkness on the night of 11 February and the fighter protection, arranged under the code-name Operation Donnerkeil, was planned with such secrecy that even the leaders of the Gruppen involved were only made aware of the true purpose of the operation on the evening of the-10th.

For the operation, Galland had at his disposal the full operational strength of the three western-based Jagdgeschwader - a total of some 250 single-engined fighters - plus a small number of Bf-110 night-fighters. As a reserve, 12 aircraft from the fighter school near Paris were mobilised and moved to the Pas de Calais where they were to be held ready should losses to the fighter force be greater than anticipated. Although the adverse weather forecast for the period would aid the escape, timing was crucial and the success of the fighter escort depended on three command centers established within separate Jafü boundaries parallel to the ships' course. Each centre controlled a succession of overlapping sectors in the English Channel and North Sea from Brest to the final posts of destination. To provide an element of local control, Oberst Max-Josef Ibel, the former Geschwaderkommodore of JG27, embarked on Scharnhorst with a signals detachment as Jafü Schiff. ^#1

The British response began some two hours later in the form of an ineffective salvo from the Dover gun batteries and was shortly followed by the first aerial attack when six Swordfish torpedo aircraft with an escort of 11 Spitfires was intercepted by the German fighters which also shot down all six of the Swordfish. Although this interception had taken place within the area assigned to JG26, parts of JG2 continued to assist JG26 as, for more than three hours, successive formations of British aircraft braved the worsening weather in a series of abortive attacks against the ships.

As a result of the actions involving JG2 and JG26, claims were submitted for 35 British aircraft shot down in return for the reported loss of four aircraft and their pilots. JG26 had scored well with Oblt. Johannes Naumann of the 9.Staffel claiming two of the six Swordfish shot down while Lt. Paul Galland gained his fourth victory by accounting for another, Fw. Adolf Glunz of the 4.Staffel raised his victory total to ten, claiming a Spitfire near Eu and Fw. Hans-Jiirgen Frohlich of the 2.Staffel claimed a Hampden off Ostend for his fifth victory.

Pilots of JG2 were also successful, Oblt. Karl-Heinz Greisert, Kommandeur of II. Gruppe, Oblt. Rudolf Pflanz of I./JG2 and Lt. Horst-Benno Kruger of 5./JG2 all claiming two victories each. Other victories were claimed by Oblt. Egon Mayer of 7.Staffel who shot down a Whirlwind, Hptm. Hans Hahn, Kommandeur of III. Gruppe, and Oblt. Siegfried Schnell of the 9.Staffel who claimed a Hampden off the Dutch coast.

The final clash of the day took place off the Dutch coast at about 16.30 hrs when, guided by coloured flares in the steadily worsening weather, elements of the recently formed II./JG1 intercepted a force of bombers making for the ships. Oblt. Max Bucholz of the 5.Staffel claimed one as his 28th victory, Oblt. Eberhard Bock of 6./JG1 claimed his 22nd and 23rd, Fw. Kupper, of the 5. Staffel his 13th, while Oblt. Diesselhorst and Uffz. Gunter Kirchner, also of 5./JG1 claimed one each. A claim for a seventh aircraft, a Blenheim, was shared between four pilots of 5./JG1.

While the unfavorab1e weather along the ships' course had indeed greatly aided their escape, over Holland , it deteriorated to such an extent that fighter cover was almost suspended. In the event, the fighters took off and succeeded in completing their mission but, unable in many cases to return to their airfields because of the poor weather, landed with surprisingly few accidents on beaches, streets and fields.

Supported by the co-ordinated efforts of the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine, the air defense operation planned by Galland had worked almost flawlessly. Although Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sustained damage from earlier laid mines, attacks from the air and by motor torpedo boats and destroyers all proved futile and the three ships reached port at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven on the morning of 13 February. In speaking post-war about the aerial protection provided for the Channel Dash, Galland referred to the operation as being the "greatest hour" of his wartime career.

The three warships would be provided with a surface escort of five destroyers plus a flotilla of smaller vessels, and as the ships moved northwards, they would also be covered consecutively from the air by elements of JG2, JG26 and JG1. Each Geschwader would provide successive groups of 16 fighters in four Schwärme operating under strict radio silence, which would remain with the ships for 30 minutes. Ten minutes before the end of their patrol time they were to be joined by the next group, so that for almost half of the daylight part of the operation, the ships would be protected by 32 fighters. JG2 and JG26 were responsible for protecting the ships through the narrow Straits of Dover, considered the most hazardous part of their voyage, with JG1 taking over the aerial escort duties as the ships passed the Scheidt estuary.

The departure of the German ships, although delayed by more than three hours, took place as planned on the night of 11 February. The clearing of the channels in the minefields had been observed by the British who were therefore aware that preparations for some undertaking had begun, but three air patrols by Hudson’s fitted with air-to-surface radar which had been organised to observe the waters off Brest failed to detect the ships and by first light on the morning of the 12th they were off Cherbourg where they were joined by their fighter escort. The first Geschwader on station was JG2, soon joined by Bf-110 night fighters, the Bf-109s of I./JG26 and Fw-190s of II./JG26, which provided a relay of fighters throughout the morning. Still the ships remained undetected, but at 11.00 hrs British radar located a part of the escort circling above the ships and two Spitfires were ordered to investigate. Soon afterwards, the ships were seen and correctly identified by two other Spitfire pilots on a 'Rhubarb' mission, but they did not break radio silence and only reported them after landing. At about the same' time however, the two Spitfires sent to investigate the British radar plot identified and reported the passage of the ships.

The Luftwaffe Gains the Upper Hand:

At the beginning of March 1942, the RAF daylight offensive which had been suspended in November due to high losses was revived, but with no new strategy it was compelled to return to the large and costly operations mounted during the latter half of 1941. Despite expectations that the renewal of the offensive would result in increased success, Fighter Command was affected by a decline in the level of combat skills within its squadrons as many of their experienced pilots were transferred to the Mediterranean or the Far East and were replaced by inexperienced pilots.

The first 'Circus' of 1942 was flown on the evening of 8 March with a two-pronged mission against targets at Commines and Poissy. This prompted a vigorous response from German fighters, during which Fw. Artur Beese and Lt. Gottfried Helmholz of 1. and 2./JG26 respectively each claimed their third victories, while Fw. Emil Babenz and Lt. Paul Schauder, both of 3./JG26, each achieved their tenth victories. The following day, JG26 claimed four more victories. Thus the air war over occupied Europe resumed with a recurrence of the previous year's operations and with the tactical initiative still firmly held by JG2 and JG26.

For Luftwaffe fighter forces on the Channel coast, their qualitative advantage in tactics and equipment was at its peak. As far as the German pilots were concerned, the valuable experiences gained at little cost in the aerial battles of 1941 had provided the opportunity for the average pilot to greatly improve his combat skills. Similarly, the introduction of the Fw-190 had provided the Jagdwaffe with a fighter that was proving to be greatly superior in almost every respect to the RAF's Hurricanes, Spitfires and twin-engined Whirlwinds. The conversion of JG2 to the Fw-190 had now begun although II. Gruppe, the first to convert, would not be operational until May and the Geschwaderstabskette mostly retained its Bf-109s until the late Summer. The various Gruppen of the Geschwader worked up on the new fighter throughout the Spring, but between mid-March and the end of May, 11 Fw-190s were damaged in accidents and two were destroyed killing their pilots, one being Oblt. Werner Stocklemann, Staffelkapitän of 9./JG2 whose Fw-190A-3 crashed at Theville during a familiarisation flight on 29 May.

Just two days later, II./JG2 experienced its first fatal Fw-190 combat loss when the A-2 of Fw. Waldemar Kipnich of the 5.Staffel was shot down in combat near Dieppe .