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| Jagdgeschwader 53 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1939–1945 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Luftwaffe |
| Type | Fighter Aircraft |
| Role | Air superiority |
| Size | Air Force Wing |
| Nickname(s) | Pik As ("Ace of Spades") |
| Engagements | Western Front |
Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) was aLuftwaffefighter-wing ofWorld War II. It operated in Western Europe and in theMediterranean.Jagdgeschwader 53 - or as it was better known, the "Pik As"(Ace of Spades) Geschwader - was one of the oldest German fighter units of World War II with its origins going back to 1937. JG 53 flew the various models of theMesserschmitt Bf 109 throughout World War II.
TheGeschwader commenced its wartime operations with a high proportion of its personnel experienced ex-Condor Legion pilots includingWerner Mölders. On 14 May 1940, JG 53 claimed some 43 victories in one day. TheBattle of France thus saw the Geschwader score heavily during May and June 1940, with some 275 claims againstArmee de l'Air andRoyal Air Force forces.While JG 53 was making a reputation for itself during theBattle of Britain, according to RAFAir Ministry intelligence summary no. 60,ReichsmarschallHermann Göring was informed that Major Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel's wife was Jewish. Göring then ordered the whole ofStabschwarm/JG 53[Note 1] to remove the "Pik As" emblem from their planes, and replace it with a red stripe around the engine cowling as punishment. All of Stab./JG 53's planes immediately were stripped of their "Pik As" insignia, and soon after the whole of the Stab./JG 53 had also stripped the swastikas off the tails of their planes in protest.[1]
In April 1941 theGeschwader then transferred to theEastern Front forOperation Barbarossa. Under the control ofLuftflotte 2 commanded by Field MarshalAlbert Kesselring, the Geschwader, now equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109F, flew operations from Warsaw-Bielany.On 31 July 1941 JG 53 shot down its 1,000th aircraft. In the period 22 June 1941 – 5 December 1941 JG 53 claimed to destroy 762 Soviet aircraft, losing 35 in aerial combat, and two on the ground.[2]
Later in the year JG 53 moved to bases in Sicily for operations againstMalta (though elements also served in the Netherlands from July to November 1941). The III. Gruppe was transferred toNorth Africa for a short time in December 1941 while the rest of JG 53 was eventually moved toComiso in Sicily for operations against Malta, which ended in May 1942. In the summer of 1942, II./JG 53 operated from the island ofPantelleria for operations over Malta and as escort missions for attacks onBritish supply convoys.
In May 1942 after the termination of the German air offensive against the British island fortress of Malta in the face of a strong defence bolstered bySupermarine Spitfires the "Pik As" Geschwader was split up, with its three Gruppen scattered over three theatres of operation. III./JG 53 again saw service in North Africa supporting Rommel's planned advance on Cairo. Stab and II./JG 53 which were left behind on Sicily after the end of the "Malta Blitz" in May for service over the central Mediterranean, and I./JG 53 was moved to the Eastern front, where it was to take part in the German summer offensive in the southern sector aimed atStalingrad and theCaucasus.
Together with theJG 3 andJG 52, plus Stab and II./JG 77, I./JG 53 was deployed inLuftflotte 4's 8th Air Corps to supportOperation Blau. During the period May–September 1942 in the Eastern Front, I./JG 53 claimed 918 victories. It suffered the loss of 34 Bf 109s, 18 pilots killed in action and nine wounded.[3]
During theBattle of Stalingrad, the I./JG 53 faced stiff resistance of the SovietVVS andPVO both in the air and the ground, and several of the unit's aces were shot down, wounded, captured or killed.
On 1 November 1942, Hauptmann "Tutti" Müller was appointedGruppenkommandeur of I./JG 53 and led the unit back to the Mediterranean theater. By November 1942 the entire wing was again concentrated on Sicily for an offensive against Malta, an abortive and short-lived blitz foiled by the defenders. During its 1942 operations over North Africa, Sicily and Malta JG 53 had claimed a total of 388 aircraft shot down. HauptmannGerhard Michalski claimed 25 over Malta. With theAllied invasion of French North Africa in November, the Geschwader again found its components separated.
II./JG 53 was withdrawn from Italy in October 1943, and was the first squadron of the unit to be employed in theDefense of the Reich operations, stationed nearVienna from October 1943 to March 1944, before moving to south Western Germany. The winter of 1943/44 saw bitter fighting over Italy.[citation needed]
II./JG 53 was the sole squadron employed against the AlliedOperation Overlord on 6 June 1944. The Luftwaffe fighter units in France suffered catastrophic losses, and II./JG 53 was no exception. In just one month of operations, the squadron reported 42 aircraft lost through enemy action, 18 in accidents, 20 abandoned and a further 20 through other causes; approximately 200% of its operational strength.
III./JG 53 also returned from Italy in June 1944 and after a short period refitting was active in operations against the Allied forces. When the Allies launchedOperation Market Garden, both II. and III./JG53 took part. A new IV. Gruppe was added in the autumn of 1944.
I./JG53 was later moved toRomania to protect the oilfields ofPloiești and also saw further action inHungary in late 1944 and early 1945 against the Red Army. It retreated intoCzechoslovakia and Austria and was disbanded in April 1945. The rest of the unit was disbanded days beforeVE Day.
| • OberstBruno Löerzer | 15 March 1937 | – | 31 March 1938[12] |
| • OberstleutnantWerner Junck | 1 April 1938 | – | 30 September 1939[12] |
| • MajorHans Klein | 1 October 1939 | – | 31 December 1939[12] |
| • Major Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel | 1 January 1940 | – | 30 September 1940[12] |
| • OberstGünther Freiherr von Maltzahn | 9 October 1940 | – | 4 October 1943[12] |
| • MajorFriedrich-Karl Müller (acting) | October 1943[12] | ||
| • MajorKurt Ubben (acting) | October 1943 | – | November 1943[12] |
| • OberstleutnantHelmut Bennemann | 9 November 1943 | – | 27 April 1945[12] |
I./JG 53
| • Hauptmann Lothar von Janson | 1 May 1939 | – | 30 June 1940[12] |
| • Hauptmann Albert Blumensaat | 1 July 1940 | – | 25 August 1940[12] |
| • HauptmannHans-Karl Mayer | 1 September 1940 | – | 17 October 1940 †[12] |
| • Hauptmann Hans-Heinrich Brustellin | October 1940 | – | 1 May 1941[12] |
| • Oberleutnant Wilfried Balfanz | 1 June 1941 | – | 24 June 1941 †[12] |
| • HauptmannFranz von Werra | July 1941 | – | 25 October 1941 †[12] |
| • Hauptmann Ignaz Prestele (acting) | August 1941 | – | September 1941[12] |
| • MajorHerbert Kaminski | 1 November 1941 | – | 24 July 1942[12] |
| • Hauptmann Walter Spies | August 1942 | – | October 1942[12] |
| • HauptmannFriedrich-Karl Müller | November 1942 | – | 14 February 1944[12] |
| • MajorJürgen Harder | 15 February 1944 | – | January 1945[12] |
| • Hauptmann Wolfgang Ernst (acting) | January 1945 | – | February 1945[12] |
| • HauptmannErich Hartmann (acting) | February 1945 | – | 15 February 1945[12] |
| • HauptmannHelmut Lipfert | 15 February 1945 | – | 17 April 1945[12] |
II./JG 53
| • Major Hubert Merhart von Bernegg | 1 May 1939 | – | 19 August 1939 |
| • MajorGünther Freiherr von Maltzahn | 19 August 1939 | – | 8 October 1940[13] |
| • HauptmannHeinz Bretnütz | 9 October 1940 | – | 27 June 1941 †[13] |
| • Hauptmann Walter Spies | June 1941 | – | July 1942[13] |
| • HauptmannGerhard Michalski | July 1942 | – | 23 April 1944[13] |
| • Hauptmann Hans-Jürgen Westphal (acting) | 19 June 1943 | – | July 1943[13] |
| • MajorKarl-Heinz Schnell (acting) | July 1943 | – | 28 September 1943[13] |
| • MajorJulius Meimberg | 24 April 1944 | – | 30 April 1945[13] |
III./JG 53
| • HauptmannWerner Mölders | 3 October 1939 | – | 5 June 1940[14] |
| • HauptmannRolf Pingel (acting) | June 1940 | – | 20 June 1940[14] |
| • Hauptmann Harro Harder | July 1940 | – | 12 August 1940 †[14] |
| • HauptmannWolf-Dietrich Wilcke | 13 August 1940 | – | 18 May 1942[14] |
| • Major Erich Gerlitz | May 1942 | – | October 1942[14] |
| • HauptmannFranz Götz | October 1942 | – | 17 January 1945[14] |
| • Hauptmann Siegfried Luckenbach | 18 January 1945 | – | 2 May 1945[14] |
| • Hauptmann Wolfgang Ernst (acting) | April 1945 | – | 2 May 1945[14] |
IV./JG 53
| • Hauptmann Hans Morr | 25 October 1944 | – | 29 October 1944 †[15] |
| • Hauptmann Friedrich Müer | October 1944 | – | 2 January 1945 †[15] |
| • Hauptmann Alfred Hammer | 9 January 1945 | – | 30 April 1945[15] |
Ergänzungsgruppe
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| Numbered | |
| Training | |
| Special | |
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