Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27), nicknamed “Afrika,” was one of the most famous fighter wings of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, serving from 1939 until Germany’s surrender in 1945 and operating exclusively with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in its various versions. Formed shortly after the outbreak of war, the unit participated in nearly every major theater in which the Luftwaffe fought, including the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain, the Balkans Campaign, Operation Barbarossa, the North African Campaign, the defense of the Mediterranean, and later the Reichsverteidigung against Allied strategic bombing. JG 27 achieved its greatest fame in North Africa while supporting the Deutsches Afrikakorps under Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, where pilots such as Hans-Joachim Marseille, Gustav Rödel, Werner Schröer, Otto Schulz, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt, and Erbo Graf von Kageneck became some of the most successful fighter aces of the war. The Geschwader earned a reputation for aggressive aerial tactics, high victory totals, and endurance under harsh desert conditions, with Marseille alone claiming 158 aerial victories, most of them while serving with JG 27 in Africa. Commanded at various times by officers including Max Ibel, Wolfgang Schellmann, Eduard Neumann, and Gustav Rödel, the wing claimed thousands of enemy aircraft destroyed during the conflict, although it also suffered heavy losses in pilots and aircraft, particularly during the later stages of the war when facing overwhelming Allied numerical superiority. Numerous members of JG 27 received prestigious decorations such as the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, Eichenlaub, Schwerter, and Brillanten, making the unit one of the most decorated fighter formations of the Luftwaffe and a lasting symbol of German fighter operations during the war.
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BRILLANTENTRÄGER
Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Marseille (1919-1942) was born on 13 December 1919 in Berlin-Charlottenburg to a family of French Huguenot ancestry, the son of a former World War I army officer who later joined the Berlin police; after attending Volksschule and the Prinz-Heinrichs-Gymnasium he served briefly in the Reichsarbeitsdienst, joined the Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker on 7 November 1938, completed basic training at Quedlinburg and Luftkriegsschule 4 at Fürstenfeldbruck, graduated from Jagdfliegerschule 5 in Vienna on 18 July 1940, and began combat flying with I.(Jagd)/Lehrgeschwader 2 during the Battle of Britain, claiming his first victory on 24 August 1940 but accumulating only seven confirmed kills amid repeated disciplinary problems stemming from his bohemian lifestyle, womanising and tendency to break formation. Transferred first to 4./Jagdgeschwader 52 and then, on 24 December 1940, to 1./Jagdgeschwader 27 under the more tolerant Gruppenkommandeur Eduard Neumann, he arrived in North Africa in April 1941 and, after early setbacks including two shoot-downs by Free French pilot James Denis, rapidly mastered desert combat flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109; by February 1942 he had reached 50 victories and was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 22 February 1942 as Leutnant and Flugzeugführer of 3./Jagdgeschwader 27. Promoted to Oberleutnant and appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 27 on 8 June 1942, he claimed his 75th victory in early June and received the Eichenlaub on 6 June 1942; only twelve days later, after raising his score to 101, he was awarded the Schwerter on 18 June 1942. His greatest single-day achievement came on 1 September 1942 when, in three sorties, he claimed 17 enemy fighters, bringing his total to 126 and earning him the Brillanten (fourth recipient) on 3 September 1942; promoted to Hauptmann effective 1 September, he continued scoring until 30 September 1942, when engine failure forced him to abandon his Bf 109 G-2 over the desert near Sidi Abdel Rahman, Egypt—his chest struck the vertical stabiliser as he left the cockpit, either killing him instantly or rendering him unable to open his parachute. In 382 combat sorties he was officially credited with 158 aerial victories, all but seven against the Desert Air Force, making him the highest-scoring German pilot against Western Allied aircraft.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Hauptmann Erbo Graf von Kageneck (1918-1942), born Arbogast Graf von Kageneck on 2 April 1918 in Bonn and who died on 12 January 1942 in Naples from wounds received in combat, was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and ace of aristocratic descent who flew Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft during the Second World War. After volunteering for the Luftwaffe in 1937 and completing training, he served initially with 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1 before joining 8. Staffel and then, from 18 September 1940, becoming Staffelkapitän of 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 27, attaining the rank of Oberleutnant on 1 October 1940; he participated in the Invasion of Poland, Battle of France, Battle of Britain and operations over Malta before his unit deployed to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. There, in the northern sector under VIII. Fliegerkorps, he achieved the majority of his 67 confirmed aerial victories in 329 combat missions, with 48 over Soviet aircraft, including an ace-in-a-day performance on 14 August 1941 when he claimed his 39th through 43rd victories—an I-16 fighter and four DB-3 bombers—near Novgorod during operations around Staraya Russa and Lake Ilmen; he also logged his 300th combat mission on 20 August before a forced landing. For these successes, which brought his total to 37 victories by late July 1941 amid intense ground-support and air-combat missions, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 9./Jagdgeschwader 27; continued outstanding leadership and combat performance on the Eastern Front, raising his score to 65 victories by mid-October, earned him the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 26 October 1941 as the 39th recipient of this distinction. Transferred later to North Africa with III./Jagdgeschwader 27, he claimed two further victories before being seriously wounded in a dogfight on 24 December 1941 south of Agedabia and dying in hospital despite evacuation. He was posthumously promoted to Hauptmann.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
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.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagdgeschwader_27
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