Ritterkreuzträger of Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen"

Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) “Richthofen” was one of the most distinguished fighter wings of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, tracing its origins to the Fliegergruppe Döberitz which received the honour title “Richthofen” in March 1935 in memory of the First World War ace Manfred von Richthofen. Formally redesignated JG 2 on 1 May 1939 with its Geschwaderstab and I. Gruppe based at Döberitz, the wing expanded to include II. and III. Gruppen and later operated both the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. During the Phoney War it guarded the western frontier before taking a prominent part in the Westfeldzug of May–June 1940 and the subsequent Luftschlacht um England, remaining permanently on the Channel front when most other Jagdgeschwader were transferred east for Unternehmen Barbarossa. Under successive Geschwaderkommodore including Major Helmut Wick, Major Wilhelm Balthasar, Oberstleutnant Walter Oesau and Major Egon Mayer the wing specialised in free-hunting and interception missions against RAF Fighter Command and later against the growing strength of the United States Army Air Forces. Elements of JG 2 were briefly detached to North Africa in late 1942 for the Tunisian campaign, but the bulk of the Geschwader continued to defend occupied France, Brittany and the Channel approaches through 1943 and early 1944. After the Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944 JG 2 was heavily engaged in the Defence of the Reich and the subsequent withdrawal across France and Belgium, suffering severe losses among both pilots and aircraft. In the winter of 1944–45 the wing participated in the Ardennes offensive and later in Unternehmen Bodenplatte before retreating into southern Germany. By the time of its formal deactivation near Munich on 7 May 1945 under Geschwaderkommodore Oberstleutnant Kurt Bühligen, JG 2 had claimed approximately 2 700 aerial victories at the cost of more than 750 pilots killed or missing, and it had the distinction of losing four of its wartime Geschwaderkommodore in action, the highest such rate of any Luftwaffe fighter wing.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


Major Josef “Sepp” Wurmheller (1917-1944) was born on 4 May 1917 in Hausham in Oberbayern and entered the Luftwaffe in 1937 after earlier experience as a glider pilot, completing fighter training before being posted as Unteroffizier to the I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 in September 1939 where he scored his first aerial victory. After service in the Battle of Britain and a brief period on the Eastern Front he returned to the Channel front in July 1941 and was assigned to the III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen”. As Oberfeldwebel and Flugzeugführer in the 9. Staffel he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 September 1941 after achieving 32 Luftsiege, the majority of them Spitfires. Following a spell as an instructor he rejoined JG 2 in the spring of 1942 and rapidly increased his score, claiming ten victories in May and twelve in June. During the Allied raid on Dieppe on 19 August 1942, despite suffering a broken leg and concussion after a forced landing, he still shot down seven enemy aircraft in a single day. Promoted to Leutnant he received the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz on 13 November 1942 as the 146th recipient after his 60th aerial victory. In April 1943 he was appointed Staffelkapitän of the 9. Staffel of JG 2 and continued to engage Allied fighters and four-engined bombers over France and the Channel. On 8 June 1944, two days after the Normandy landings, he assumed command as Gruppenkommandeur of the III. Gruppe of JG 2. On 22 June 1944, while flying a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 near Alençon, he collided with his Rottenflieger during combat and was killed in the subsequent crash. Posthumously promoted to Major he was awarded the Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub on 24 October 1944 as the 108th recipient. By the time of his death Wurmheller had accumulated 102 confirmed aerial victories in more than 300 combat missions, of which 93 were scored on the Western Front including at least twenty four-engined bombers and numerous Spitfires.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Major Helmut Wick (1915-1940) was born on 5 August 1915 in Mannheim and joined the Luftwaffe in 1936, completing fighter pilot training before being commissioned as Leutnant on 1 January 1939 and posted to the I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53. After the outbreak of war he transferred to Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen” and scored his first aerial victory on 22 November 1939 against a French Curtiss Hawk 75 near Nancy. During the Westfeldzug of 1940 he rapidly increased his score, receiving the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse and later the I. Klasse after his ninth victory. Promoted to Oberleutnant and appointed Staffelkapitän of the 3. Staffel of JG 2 in July 1940, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 27 August 1940 as the 107th recipient after achieving his twentieth aerial victory. Advanced to Hauptmann he took command of the I. Gruppe of JG 2 on 9 September 1940 and continued to excel over the Channel during the Luftschlacht um England. On 5 October 1940 he claimed five RAF fighters in a single day near the Isle of Wight, bringing his total to 41, and the following day (6 October 1940) he was awarded the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz as the fourth recipient of the Wehrmacht. At the age of only 25 he was promoted to Major on 19 October 1940 and appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 2, becoming the youngest officer of that rank and position in the Luftwaffe. Wick continued to lead from the front and by late November had raised his personal score to 56 confirmed victories, all against Western Allied aircraft and including numerous Spitfires. On the afternoon of 28 November 1940, while flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over the English Channel near the Isle of Wight, he was shot down, most probably by Flight Lieutenant John Dundas of No. 609 Squadron RAF, and was seen to bale out; despite search efforts by his wingman he was never recovered and was posted missing, presumed killed. At the time of his death Wick stood as the leading fighter ace of the Luftwaffe.

Major Wilhelm Balthasar (1914-1941) was one of the most successful early fighter aces of the Luftwaffe and a highly respected leader whose combat career spanned the Spanish Civil War and the opening years of the Second World War. After serving with the Condor Legion in Spain, where he gained valuable combat experience and achieved several aerial victories, he rose rapidly through the ranks of the Jagdwaffe. During the campaigns in Poland, France, and the Battle of Britain, Balthasar distinguished himself as a fearless and aggressive fighter pilot while commanding units such as I./Jagdgeschwader 1 and later III./Jagdgeschwader 3. His outstanding leadership and personal combat achievements, which included more than twenty confirmed aerial victories by the summer of 1940, earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 June 1940 for his exceptional success against Allied aircraft during the Western Campaign and the Battle of Britain, where he consistently led from the front and played a major role in securing air superiority for German forces. Promoted to higher command, he became Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen” in February 1941 and continued to add to his victory total. During intense operations over the English Channel and northern France in June 1941, he increased his score to 40 confirmed aerial victories, demonstrating both tactical skill and remarkable determination against the Royal Air Force. In recognition of these continued achievements and his exemplary leadership of Jagdgeschwader 2, he was awarded the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 2 July 1941 as the 17th member of the German armed forces to receive this distinction. Tragically, only one day later, on 3 July 1941, Balthasar was killed in action near Saint-Omer while flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109F, ending the career of one of the Luftwaffe’s most celebrated fighter leaders at the age of just twenty-seven.

Major Siegfried Schnell (1916-1944), nicknamed “Wumm,” was one of the most successful Luftwaffe fighter aces on the Western Front, credited with 93 confirmed aerial victories during the Second World War. Serving initially with Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen”, Schnell achieved his first victory during the Battle of France on 14 May 1940 and rapidly built a formidable reputation throughout the Battle of Britain. By 7 November 1940, flying with 4./Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen”, he had reached 20 confirmed victories, including numerous RAF fighters shot down over the English Channel and southern England. This achievement led to the award of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 9 November 1940 as a Leutnant. Remaining on the Channel Front after the start of Operation Barbarossa, Schnell was appointed Staffelkapitän of 9./Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen” and entered his most successful period of combat. During intense air battles against the Royal Air Force in July 1941, he destroyed nine Supermarine Spitfires within just two days, 8–9 July, bringing his score to approximately 44–45 victories. His exceptional leadership and combat success during these engagements earned him the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 9 July 1941 as the 18th recipient of the decoration. Schnell continued to score heavily against Allied aircraft, later serving with Jagdgeschwader 54 and eventually commanding III./Jagdgeschwader 54 and IV./Jagdgeschwader 54. He was killed in action on 25 February 1944 near Narva, Estonia, after being shot down during the Soviet offensive, ending the career of one of the most accomplished Jagdflieger produced by Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen”.



Major Hans Hahn (1914-1982), nicknamed "Assi", was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace credited with 108 aerial victories in 560 combat missions during World War II, including 66 on the Western Front where he downed 53 Supermarine Spitfires and 42 on the Eastern Front with at least seven Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft among them. Born in Gotha, he initially served in the Heer before transferring to the Luftwaffe in 1935, training as a pilot and joining Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" in late 1939 as Staffelkapitän of 4. Staffel in II. Gruppe. He claimed his first victory on 14 May 1940 over a Royal Air Force Hawker Hurricane during the Battle of France and achieved five victories in that campaign, followed by further successes in the Battle of Britain that brought his total to 20 by September 1940, earning him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 September 1940 as Oberleutnant while serving as Staffelkapitän; the award was presented by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring alongside another recipient. Promoted to Hauptmann and appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe of JG 2 "Richthofen" in late October 1940, Hahn continued excelling on the Channel Front with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 F and later Focke-Wulf Fw 190, notably claiming three Spitfires on 12 August 1941 which helped push his score to 41 (or 42 per some records), resulting in the award of the Eichenlaub to his Ritterkreuz on 14 August 1941 as the 32nd recipient overall and second in JG 2; Adolf Hitler personally presented it at the Wolfsschanze on 27 August alongside other aces. Hahn reached 66 Western victories by 16 September 1942 before transferring to command II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 on the Eastern Front, where he added 42 more claims including his 100th on 27 January 1943, until he was shot down and captured on 21 February 1943 near Staraya Russa after downing a Lavochkin La-5 for his 108th and final victory; he endured Soviet captivity until late 1950, later wrote his memoirs 'Ich spreche die Wahrheit', pursued a business career, and died of cancer in Munich.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Knight%27s_Cross_recipients_of_JG_2
https://www.tracesofwar.com/awards/83/ritterkreuz-des-eisernen-kreuzes.htm