Stab III/JG2Stab III JAGDGESCHWADER 2

GruppenkommandeureMaj Dr Erich Mix 16/3/40 to 24/9/40Oblt Otto Bertram 24/9/40 to 28/10/40Maj Hans Hahn 28/10/40 to 1/11/42

III Gruppe/JG2 Bases:27/6/40 – 29/6/40 Evreux-West29/6/40 – 28/7/40 Frankfurt-Rebstock28/7/40 – 4/8/40 Evreux-West4/8/40 – 28/8/40 Le Havre-Octeville28/8/40 – 14/9/40 Oye-Plage14/9/40 – 20/10/40 La Havre-Octeville20/10/40 – 26/10/40 Mont-de-Marsan26/10/40 – 23/4/41 Bernay

Left: An unidentified ground crewman, Ofw Siegfried Schnell, Oblt Hans Hahn and Gefr Rudolf Miese of 4/JG 2 standing by the freshly updated rudder of the III/JG 2 Kommandeur Hptm Otto Bertram´s Bf 109E with 13 white victory bars. Bertram was credited with his final two JG 2 victories on 9/10/40 (two Blenheims 20 km north of Le Havre).

Hahn took over as Gruppenkommandeur at the end of October 1940.

Bf 109 E-4Oblt Hans Hahn - Gruppenkommandeur III/JG2

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7/JG27 Staffel JAGDGESCHWADER 2

Profile and next page: Bf 109E, White 7 of the 7/JG 2 Staffelkapitän, Hptm Armin Ettling. The original high demarcation line can be seen through the densely mottled sides and note how the fuselage cross has again had the white reduced in size. Unusually, the Staffel emblem and Geschwader emblem are carried on the starboard side as well as the port. The spinner tip is also in the Staffel colour of white.

Left: White 5 of 7/JG 2 taking-off from an airfield in France with a densely mottled fuselage, wavy III Gruppe bar and the Geschwader and Staffel emblems. The lack of tactical markings would suggest early summer 1940.

The thumb and top hat Staffel emblem was designed by Ofw Klee and Lt Schmidt and used until late 1942.

7/JG 2 Commanding OfficerHptm Armin Ettling 5/40 to 18/9/41

Bf 109 E- White 7Hptm Armin Ettling 7/JG 2

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7 Staffel JAGDGESCHWADER 2

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8/JG28 Staffel JAGDGESCHWADER 2

8/JG 2 Commanding OfficersHptm Alexander von Winterfeldt 26/6/40 to 31/7/40Oblt Karl-Heinz Metz 31/7/40 to 6/9/40 POWOblt Walter Falting 6/9/40 to 18/10/40 KIAOblt Bruno Stolle 18/10/40 to 1/7/43

Left: Black 5 of 8/JG2 towards the end of 1940. Note the total lack of emblems and unusually subtle fuselage mottling on this aircraft, maybe suggesting a new arrival?

Right and profile: Bf 109E-7 Black 6 on its belly after tearing the landing gear off on landing, late 1940. The 109’s delicate landing gear was always a problem for pilots, especially in any sort of crosswind.

Bf 109 E Black 6Unidentified pilot 8/JG 2 late 1940

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Left: Two members of ground personnel working with the engine cowling of a Bf 109E-1 of 8/JG 2 at Mardyck, displaying the Staffel’s Winterfeldt´s Wolf emblem. It’s interesting to note that on this and the aircraft above, the wolf is contained within a white outlined shield. The little rectangles on the propeller blades are instruction decals and not manufacturer’s badges.

Above: The same unit and the same airfield some weeks later, but this time a Bf 109E-4 with a fully yellow nose.

8 Staffel JAGDGESCHWADER 2

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8 Staffel JAGDGESCHWADER 2

Above: Ground crew of 8/JG 2 relaxing in the early summer heat in front of Bf 109E Red 4. Clearly this is on a forward airfield in France as the crosses on the fuselage and wings are covered with net and canvas respectively. At this stage of the war, the wolf emblem was without a shield. This view really emphasises the deliberate misfitting of the rear of the engine cowling to the nose in front of the cockpit. This was to allow hot air to flow out of the engine compartment.

Right: Gefr Josef Bigge of 8/JG 2 sitting on the wing of an Emil equipped with the old type canopy and without seat armour. Note his kapok life jacket, later replaced with more practical inflatable Schwimmweste.

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9/JG29 Staffel JAGDGESCHWADER 2

Two interesting colour photographs of 9/JG 2 Bf 109s in flight. Brown 1 has a yellow propeller spinner with white backplate and white identification marking on the wing tips and possibly on the lower engine cowling.

Brown 8 appears to have a brown backplate to the spinner. Note it has the earlier style canopy.

9/JG 2 Commanding OfficerOblt Carl-Hans Röders 16/3/40 to 23/6/41 KIA

Bf 109E Brown 5Ofw Werner Machold 9/JG 2 October 1940

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9 Staffel JAGDGESCHWADER 2

Left: Werner Machold next to his Bf 109E-4 (also seen below). When he transferred from 1 Staffel, he brought his aircraft with him, changing the code from White 15 to Brown 5. It appears from this and other photos that he retained the running dog emblem on the cowling of 1 Staffel.

Main image: A real treasure for modellers showing Bf 109E-4, W.Nr.5274, Brown 5 of 9/JG 2 with the scoreboard on the rudder showing 23 white victory bars. (This aircraft also appears on page 11 as White 15). Ofw Werner Machold was credited with his 23rd victory on 28/9/40 (a Hurricane at Selsey Bill) so this photo was probably taken shortly after that. Note the difference between the yellow of the rudder and of the engine cowling. The rudder being fabric covered probably faded in sunlight faster than the metal cowling. Also note how Brown 11’s fuselage cross hasn’t been toned down.

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9 Staffel JAGDGESCHWADER 2

Top left: A nice detail of the 9/JG 2 Stechmücke (mosquito) emblem on the yellow engine cowling of a Bf 109E.

Top: A row of Bf 109Es of 9/JG 2 pictured at Oye-Plage in September 1940 with the newly applied yellow cowlings.

Above: The Staffelkapitän of 9/JG 2 Oblt Carl Hans Röders and Ofw Werner Machold compare a model of the mosquito to the Stechmücke emblem on the engine cowling. Röders claimed five victories in the official Battle of Britain period and was killed in action on 23/6/41.

Left: Another of the colour photos showing pilots of 9/JG2 with their aircraft dispersed in a field, probably at Octeville. The mosquito emblem can be seen on the Bf 109 in the background.

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JG3JG3The JG3 emblem was a tatzelwurm, a mythical creature that lived in the mountains of Austria, Germany and Switzerland and ate pretty much anything it came across! Unlike the simpler emblems, there was a lot of variation in the style of the ‘wurm’ painted on individual aircraft, but a big dragon’s head, long tongue and snake’s body were the regular features. The colour of the tatzelwurm represented the Staffel colour, so Black 2 below has a red ‘wurm’ on its nose.

Above: Groundcrew adjusting the weapons of Kommodore Major Günther Lützow’s Bf 109E. Note the unusual Kommodore marking formed by three chevrons.

Stab/JG3Stab JAGDGESCHWADER 3

Stab/JG3 Bases:1/8/40 – 8/40 Colembert8/40 – 23/9/40 Wierre-au-Bois23/9/40 – 16/2/41 Desvres

KommodoresObstlt Carl Vieck 26/9/39 to 20/8/40Obstlt Günther Lützow 21/8/40 to 11/8/42

Above: Bf 109s of Stab/JG3. The nearest 109 with the Gruppe adjutant markings has a replacement fin, the inset photo shows it as it previously looked with an unusual interpretation of the raising of the demarcation line. The tatzelwurms are green. The other 109 is the Technical Officer’s aircraft.

Bf 109E-4 Triple ChevronMajor-Günther-Lützow Kommodore JG3 September 1940

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Above: I Gruppe’s Technical Officer flying down the Channel with the White Cliffs of Dover in the distance.

Right: Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4, W.Nr.1433, Black Double Chevron of Hptm Günther Lützow, when he was I/JG 3 Kommandeur, early summer 1940. Note the interesting Kommandeur marking with one chevron open and the second one closed. The green tatzelwurm is just visible on the engine cowling as well as seven victory bars on the rudder, the last one achieved on 3/6/40 (a Curtiss at Compiegne/Meaux). Lützow was killed on 24/4/45 in combat with Marauders at Donauwörth flying an Me262 with JV44.

Stab I/JG3Stab I JAGDGESCHWADER 3

I Gruppe/JG3 Bases:23/6/40 – 31/7/40 Grandvilliers1/8/40 – 20/9/40 Colembert20/9/40 – 16/2/41 St.Omer-Wizernes

GruppenkommandeureHptm Günther Lützow 3/11/39 to 21/8/40Oblt Lothar Keller (acting) 24/8/40 to 27/8/40Hptm Hans von Hahn 27/8/40 to 15/1/42

Bf 109E-4 Double ChevronHauptmann Günther Lützow Gruppenkommandeur I/JG3

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Hptm Hans Von Hahn, former Staffelkapitän of 8/JG 53 took command of I/JG 3 at Colombert on 27 August 1940. His first victory with his new unit was on 5 September 1940 (his 8th) and he added another three to that before the Battle of Britain was over. His Bf 109 E-4 carried a stylised chevron on the fuselage in that all three sides were solid. The hahn (cockerel) badge under the cockpit is a personal emblem, and the tatzelwurm on the yellow cowling is green. Von Hahn survived the war with 34 victories.

Stab I/JAGDGESCHWADER 3

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1/JG31 Staffel JAGDGESCHWADER 3

1/JG 3 Commanding OfficersOblt Lothar Keller 1/2/40 to 23/11/40Oblt Gerhard Sprenger 23/11/40 to 16/5/41 KIA

Above: White 2, Note the octane triangle painted over the aircraft number often seen on the I/JG 3 Emils.

Right: Bf 109 E-1 White 13 of 1/JG 3 having suffered an engine failure and crash-landed at Grandvillers. It is believed that this incident took place on 4 July 1940

Bf 109E-4 White 6Lt Heinz Schnabel 1/JG3 September 1940

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