Ritterkreuzträger of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27) "Afrika"

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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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