Ritterkreuzträger of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3) "Oesau"

Jagdgeschwader 3 "Oesau" was one of the most distinguished fighter wings of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, established on 1 May 1939 and later named in honor of Generalmajor Walter Oesau after his death in 1944. The unit participated in nearly every major aerial campaign of the war, including the Polenfeldzug, Westfeldzug, Luftschlacht um England, the Mediterranean theater, Reichsverteidigung, and operations on the Ostfront. Equipped mainly with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and later the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, JG 3 produced numerous highly decorated aces and Ritterkreuzträger, among them Walther Dahl, Heinrich Ehrler, and Günther Lützow. The Geschwader earned a formidable reputation for its aggressive combat tactics and high victory claims against Allied bombers and fighters, while suffering heavy losses during the later stages of the war as the Luftwaffe struggled against overwhelming Allied air superiority. Its members received many of Germany’s highest military decorations, including the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten, and the unit remained active until Germany’s surrender in May 1945.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCHWERTERTRÄGER

Walter Oesau, a leading Luftwaffe fighter ace, received both the Eichenlaub and the Schwerter to his Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes while serving as Gruppenkommandeur of III./Jagdgeschwader 3. After transferring to the Gruppe on 11 November 1940, he continued his success on the Channel Front and reached 40 victories on 5 February 1941, for which he was awarded the Eichenlaub the next day. Following the invasion of the Soviet Union, Oesau led III./Jagdgeschwader 3 eastward and rapidly increased his tally, claiming his 80th aerial victory on 15 July 1941 and becoming only the third member of the Wehrmacht to be decorated with the Schwerter.

Günther Lützow (1912-1945) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and ace born in Kiel who flew more than 300 combat sorties and was credited with 110 aerial victories, five scored in the Spanish Civil War as Staffelkapitän of 2. Staffel in Jagdgruppe 88 of the Condor Legion where he claimed his first victory on 6 April 1937 flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 B against Republican aircraft. During the opening campaigns of World War II he served as Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 in the Battle of France claiming nine victories and then as Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 3 during the Battle of Britain where he added further successes, resulting in his award of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 18 September 1940 as Major after a total of fifteen aerial victories on the Western Front. On the Eastern Front from the launch of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 he led Jagdgeschwader 3 to rapid results including nine victories in the first week alone and reached his forty-second overall claim by 20 July 1941, for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub on that same date as the twenty-seventh recipient while still serving as Major and Kommodore of Jagdgeschwader 3. His continued high rate of scoring, including a temporary command of Jagdgeschwader 51 in autumn 1941 during which he contributed numerous claims, brought his total to ninety-two victories by early October and earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern on 11 October 1941 as the fourth recipient of the Swords; he became only the second German fighter pilot after Werner Mölders to reach one hundred victories just days later on 24 October 1941. In the later war years Lützow held senior staff and divisional commands before joining Jagdverband 44 in April 1945 where he flew the Messerschmitt Me 262 and claimed two final victories, only to be reported missing in action on 24 April 1945 while leading an interception of American bombers near Donauwörth, his jet believed shot down by P-47 fighters with his body never recovered.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Gordon Gollob (1912-1987) was an Austrian-born fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe who rose to the rank of Oberst and achieved a total of 150 aerial victories in over 340 combat missions, the vast majority on the Eastern Front during World War II. After service in the Austrian Armed Forces he transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1938, initially flying with Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76) as Oberleutnant in the 3. Staffel where he claimed his first victory on 5 September 1939 during the invasion of Poland, before transferring in September 1940 to Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3) and commanding the 4. Staffel; as Hauptmann he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe JG 3 "Udet" on 27 June 1941 during Operation Barbarossa and, following 42 aerial victories that included numerous successes against Soviet aircraft, was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 18 September 1941. He continued his rapid scoring with 37 victories in October alone, including nine on a single day on 18 October, and received the Eichenlaub on 26 October 1941 after reaching a total of 85 aerial victories. Appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 77 "Herz As" on 16 May 1942 (promoted to Major on 1 July 1942), he claimed his 100th victory on 20 May and, after reaching 107 victories, was awarded the Schwerter on 23 June 1942 while serving as Führer and Kommodore of JG 77; on 29 August 1942 he became the first Luftwaffe fighter pilot to claim his 150th aerial victory over the Eastern Front, for which he was awarded the Brillanten on 30 August 1942 as the third recipient overall of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten, after which he was barred from further combat flying and assigned to higher staff roles including Jagdfliegerführer positions and ultimately General der Jagdflieger in early 1945.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagdgeschwader_3