Formed on 15 November 1939 inGreifswald. I Gruppe formed 1 September, II Gruppe on 23 September and III Gruppe on 1 January 1940, based in Greifswald thenBarth. IV Gruppe was formed 27 Oct 1940 as Erg.Sta./KG 30, and in April 1941 was increased to Gruppe strength. KG 30 was equipped with theJunkers Ju 88 and was initially trained as an anti-shipping and maritime attack unit: at the start of October 1939 it was attached toX. Fliegerkorps. On 16 October 1939 itattacked naval ships anchored off Rosyth Dockyard in the Firth of Forth.[citation needed]
II./KG 30 operated underX. Fliegerkorps forOperation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway. The unit Ju 88s engaged Allied shipping as its main target. On 9 April 1940, in cooperation with high-level bombing Heinkel He 111s of KG 26, Ju 88s of II./KG 30 dive-bombed and damaged the battleshipHMS Rodney and sank the destroyerHMS Gurkha. The unit lost four Ju 88s in the action, the highest single loss of KG 30 throughout the campaign.
On 9 June 1940 Kampfgeschwader 30 took overChièvres Air Base. On 17 June 1940 bombers from II./KG 30 sankRMSLancastria offSt Nazaire as she evacuated troops duringOperation Aerial, killing some 5,800 Allied personnel. On 15 October 1940 III./KG 30 was redesignatedErgänzungskampfgruppe 6 and a new III./KG 30 was formed inAmsterdam-Schiphol from III./KG 4.
In September 1942 KG 30 was active against Arcticconvoy PQ 18. Attacking PQ 18, the group carried out a massed torpedo attack known as theGolden Comb, developed as an anti-convoy measure. This was initially successful, sinking several ships, though the group suffered heavy losses. On 23 November 1944 Kampfgeschwader 30 was redesignated as Kampfgeschwader(J)30, converting to a fighter unit. The unit was disbanded 18 April 1945.
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