Jagdgeschwader 77, commonly known by its famous emblem and nickname “Herz As,” was one of the most widely deployed fighter wings of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, serving on nearly every major front from 1939 until Germany’s surrender in May 1945. Formed on 1 May 1939, the Geschwader initially operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and quickly became involved in the campaigns over Poland, France, and the Battle of Britain before being transferred to the Balkans, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Eastern Front. Its pilots achieved thousands of aerial victories during the war, producing numerous highly decorated fighter aces including Gordon Gollob, Joachim Müncheberg, Heinrich Bär, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert, and Johannes Steinhoff. During Operation Barbarossa, JG 77 gained a formidable reputation through intense combat against Soviet aviation, while in North Africa it provided crucial air cover for Axis ground forces and fought continuous battles against the RAF Desert Air Force and later the USAAF. The Geschwader’s red heart insignia became especially associated with the legacy of Joachim Müncheberg, whose leadership and combat achievements helped shape the unit’s identity. JG 77 was unusual among Luftwaffe fighter wings in that it fought in virtually every theater of the war, from Norway and the Arctic regions to Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, the Balkans, and the Reichsverteidigung campaign over Germany. The unit remained equipped primarily with variants of the Bf 109 throughout its existence, although II./JG 77 briefly operated the Italian-built Macchi C.205 in late 1943. Numerous members of the Geschwader received high decorations including the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, Eichenlaub, Schwerter, and Brillanten for exceptional aerial combat achievements. Despite suffering severe losses during the final years of the conflict, Jagdgeschwader 77 remained operational until the collapse of the Third Reich, earning a place among the most famous and battle-experienced Jagdgeschwader of the Luftwaffe.
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BRILLANTENTRÄGER
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.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER
Oberst Herbert Ihlefeld (1914-1995) was one of the most successful Jagdflieger of the Luftwaffe, credited with approximately 130 aerial victories in more than 1,000 combat missions spanning the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. After gaining early combat experience with Jagdgruppe 88 of the Legion Condor in Spain, where he achieved nine victories and earned the Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern, he served with I.(J)/LG 2 and later I./JG 77 during the campaigns in Poland, France, and the Battle of Britain. Ihlefeld received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 13 September 1940 as an Oberleutnant and Flugzeugführer in the I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77) after achieving 21 confirmed aerial victories during the western campaigns and the intense fighting over Britain, where his aggressive leadership and combat success established him as one of the Luftwaffe’s leading fighter aces. Following his appointment as Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 77, he participated in the Balkan Campaign and the opening stages of Unternehmen Barbarossa, rapidly increasing his score against Soviet aircraft; after reaching 47 victories and demonstrating outstanding command ability, he was awarded the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 27 June 1941 as the 16th recipient of the decoration. Continuing his remarkable success on the Eastern Front, Ihlefeld surpassed the century mark in aerial victories, and after claiming his 101st victory he received the Schwerter zum Eichenlaub des Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 April 1942 as the ninth serviceman to be so honored, recognizing both his extraordinary combat record and his effectiveness as a leader within JG 77. He later commanded JG 52, JG 25, and JG 1, surviving the war despite being shot down eight times and remaining one of the most decorated fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe.
Oberst Johannes Steinhoff (1913-1994) was born on 15 September 1913 in Bottendorf in the Province of Saxony as the son of an agricultural mill-worker, studied the classics and languages at the Klosterschule Roßleben and briefly philology at the University of Jena before financial constraints forced him to enlist in the Kriegsmarine as a naval flying cadet and then transfer to the newly formed Luftwaffe in 1936, where he was promoted Leutnant on 1 April 1936 and Oberleutnant on 1 January 1939. At the outbreak of war he served as Staffelkapitän of night-fighter units in JG 26 and JG 2, claiming his first victories against RAF Wellingtons over the Heligoland Bight on 18 December 1939 and further Blenheims during the Battle of France, before transferring in August 1940 as Staffelkapitän of 4./JG 52 to the Channel Front and the Battle of Britain. With the launch of Operation Barbarossa he flew with II./JG 52 in support of Army Group Centre, rapidly accumulating successes against Soviet aircraft and claiming his 35th aerial victory on 29 August 1941 near Lake Ilmen, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 August 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 4./Jagdgeschwader 52. Appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 52 in March 1942 and promoted Hauptmann, he led the unit in the Stalingrad sector, reaching his 100th victory on 31 August 1942 by shooting down two LaGG-3 fighters near Kalach-na-Donu, and was awarded the Eichenlaub (115th recipient) on 2 September 1942 after 101 victories. Taking command of Jagdgeschwader 77 as Geschwaderkommodore in April 1943, he flew in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, claiming further victories including a B-17, and was awarded the Schwerter (82nd recipient) on 28 July 1944 as Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77 in recognition of his continued leadership and combat successes that brought his total to well over 150. Later involved in the formation of the Me 262-equipped JG 7 and then Jagdverband 44 under Adolf Galland, he scored additional jet victories before a catastrophic take-off accident in an Me 262 on 18 April 1945 left him severely burned and permanently disfigured; after years of reconstructive surgery he helped rebuild the Bundesluftwaffe, rose to General, served as Inspector of the Air Force and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, and died on 21 February 1994 in Wachtberg-Pech after a career that encompassed 176 confirmed aerial victories in 993 operational sorties.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Major Kurt Ubben (1911-1944), born on 18 November 1911 in Dorstadt and killed in action on 27 April 1944 near Fère-en-Tardenois in German-occupied France, was a highly decorated Luftwaffe fighter ace nicknamed "Kuddel" who achieved 110 aerial victories over approximately 500 combat missions during World War II. Starting his military career in the Reichsmarine in 1931 aboard the school ship Gorch Fock before transferring to the Luftwaffe in 1935, Ubben served initially with Jagdgruppe 186 and then with Jagdgeschwader 77. His first victory came on 10 May 1940 during the Battle of France when he downed a Dutch Fokker D.XXI fighter as a Leutnant. Appointed Staffelkapitän of 8. Staffel of JG 77 in July 1940, he excelled in the Balkans campaign, including damaging the British battleship HMS Warspite and sinking a motor torpedo boat during the invasion of Crete, before transferring to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa. There, flying with III. Gruppe of JG 77, he rapidly accumulated claims against Soviet aircraft and ground targets; on 4 September 1941, as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 8./Jagdgeschwader 77, he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes after 28 aerial victories (with additional credits for 26 aircraft destroyed on the ground and about 15 armoured vehicles), recognizing his leadership and combat success in intense air battles supporting Heeresgruppe Süd. Promoted to Hauptmann and appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./Jagdgeschwader 77 in September 1941, Ubben continued his scoring, reaching 69 victories by early 1942; for this sustained performance, he was awarded the Eichenlaub (as the 80th recipient) on 12 March 1942, with the presentation made personally by Adolf Hitler on 5 April 1942 at the Wolfsschanze. Later transferred to the Mediterranean and North African theaters where he claimed his 100th victory in January 1943, Ubben rose to Major and eventually Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" in March 1944 for Defense of the Reich duties, only to be shot down in his Fw 190 by USAAF P-47 fighters while bailing out at too low an altitude for his parachute to fully deploy.
Hauptmann Wolf-Dietrich Huy (1917-2003), who rose to the rank of Hauptmann in the Luftwaffe, served primarily as Staffelkapitän of the 7. Staffel of III. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 77, and was a fighter ace credited with 40 aerial victories (including 38 on the Eastern Front) in over 500 operational sorties; he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 7./Jagdgeschwader 77 principally for his successful fighter-bomber attacks during operations in the Balkans and the Battle of Crete, where after nine aerial victories he sank approximately 34,000 GRT of Allied shipping including the freighter Hellas of 22,000 GRT and scored direct hits on the battleship Warspite, the cruiser Fiji and a destroyer, and he later received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub as the 83rd recipient on 17 March 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 7./Jagdgeschwader 77 after accumulating 32 aerial victories (reaching his 38th claim around that time while operating with III./Jagdgeschwader 77 in the Crimea), before being shot down over Tanyet Harun on 29 October 1942 and spending the remainder of the war as a prisoner.
Hauptmann Friedrich Geisshardt (1919-1943) was born on 22 January 1919 in Sonnefeld near Coburg in Oberfranken as the son of a teacher who had died from wounds received in the First World War; at the age of fifteen he joined the Flieger-HJ and trained as a glider pilot before entering the Luftwaffe in 1937 and being posted on 1 July 1939 to the 2. Staffel of Lehrgeschwader 2. During the invasion of Poland, Unteroffizier Geisshardt scored his first aerial victory on 9 September 1939 near Lubień (a PZL P.11c of the Polish III/3 Squadron), only to force-land behind enemy lines the next day near Włocławek, endure brief captivity, and escape after five days on foot and horseback to rejoin his unit; he was promoted Leutnant der Reserve on 1 December 1939 and later transferred to 1./LG 2. He claimed further victories over France and Britain, four Hawker Furies over Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941, and two Hurricanes over Crete, then served as adjutant of the Stab of I.(Jagd)/LG 2 (subordinated to Jagdgeschwader 77 for Operation Barbarossa), achieving his twentieth victory on 23 June 1941 and receiving the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 August 1941 as Leutnant and Flugzeugführer in I./Jagdgeschwader 77 after 27 aerial victories. Rapid success followed on the Eastern Front, including multiple “ace-in-a-day” performances in April 1942, promotion to Oberleutnant on 1 April, and appointment as Staffelkapitän of 3./Jagdgeschwader 77 on 26 April; for reaching 79 victories he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (101st recipient) on 23 June 1942 while serving as pilot and Adjutant in the Stab I./Jagdgeschwader 77, the decoration being presented by Hitler at the Führerhauptquartier Rastenburg a few days later. After further claims over Malta and North Africa that brought his total past the century mark, Hauptmann Geisshardt assumed command as Gruppenkommandeur of III./Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter” in January 1943; on 5 April 1943, flying an Fw 190 A-4, he was mortally wounded in the abdomen by defensive fire from USAAF B-17s of the 306th Bomb Group near Antwerp, managed to land at Sint-Denijs-Westrem, and died of his injuries early the next morning, 6 April 1943, having been credited with 102 aerial victories in 642 combat missions.
Major Heinrich Setz (1915-1943) was born on 12 March 1915 in Gundelsdorf near Kronach in the Kingdom of Bavaria as the son of an Oberförster and entered the Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker on 6 April 1936, receiving promotion to Leutnant on 1 January 1938 and later serving as an instructor at a Jagdfliegerschule before joining II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 in Norway in the summer of 1940, where he scored his first three aerial victories against RAF aircraft; appointed Staffelkapitän of 4./Jagdgeschwader 77 in July 1941, he led the Staffel during Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front, claiming numerous successes including his 45th victory by late November 1941, for which Oberleutnant Setz was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 31 December 1941, and continued to excel in the Crimea and during the fighting around Voronezh, becoming an ace-in-a-day on several occasions and reaching his 81st victory on 23 June 1942, the same day he received the Eichenlaub to his Ritterkreuz (the 102nd such award) which was presented by Adolf Hitler at the Führerhauptquartier in Rastenburg a few days later, subsequently achieving his 100th victory on 24 July 1942 and ending his Eastern Front career with 135 confirmed claims before promotion to Hauptmann on 1 November 1942 and appointment as Gruppenkommandeur of I./Jagdgeschwader 27 on the Western Front in November 1942, where on 13 March 1943, during his 274th combat mission while intercepting American bombers near Abbeville, he claimed three Spitfires but was killed in a mid-air collision with a fourth over Yzengremer, being posthumously promoted to Major with a final total of 138 aerial victories.
Major Erwin Clausen (1911-1943) was born on 5 August 1911 in Berlin-Steglitz and joined the Reichsmarine in 1931 before transferring to the Luftwaffe in 1935 for pilot training, after which he was posted to the 3. (Jagd) Staffel of Lehrgeschwader 2; he claimed his first aerial victory on 9 September 1939 during the invasion of Poland and subsequently saw action in the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain, the invasion of Yugoslavia, and Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front, rising through the ranks from Unteroffizier to Oberleutnant while accumulating victories with Lehrgeschwader 2 and later Jagdgeschwader 77. In early 1942, after his Staffel was redesignated as part of Jagdgeschwader 77, he achieved five victories in a single day on 9 March and reached a total of 52 aerial victories by early April following operations around the Kerch Peninsula, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 22 May 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77; appointed Staffelkapitän of the 6. Staffel on 27 June, he continued his success and on 22 July 1942 claimed his 100th victory by shooting down an Il-2, becoming the twelfth Luftwaffe pilot to reach the century mark, after which he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 July 1942 as the 106th recipient for his 101st victory. Later transferred to training units and then appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 11 in June 1943 for Reich defense duties, Clausen was killed in action on 4 October 1943 when his Fw 190 A-5 was shot down over the North Sea approximately 115 kilometers northwest of Borkum after claiming a B-24, having amassed a total of 132 confirmed aerial victories in 561 combat missions (including 114 on the Eastern Front) and receiving a posthumous promotion to Major.
Major Anton Hackl (1915-1984), known as "Toni", was born on 25 March 1915 in Regensburg and volunteered for service in the Reichsheer in 1933 before transferring to the Luftwaffe in 1935 for pilot training, eventually joining Jagdgeschwader 77 where he saw action in the Norwegian campaign, North Africa, and especially on the Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa; appointed Staffelkapitän of the 5. Staffel of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 in early 1942, he rapidly increased his score and was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 25 May 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän after claiming his 48th (or 51st according to some accounts) aerial victory. In a spectacular period of success around Voronezh in July 1942 he claimed 37 victories including multiple ace-in-a-day performances, reaching his 100th victory in early August and receiving the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 9 August 1942 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the same Staffel after his 104th victory; later serving in defense of the Reich with Jagdgeschwader 11 as Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe, he continued to score heavily against Allied bombers and was awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz on 9 July 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur after approximately 150 to 162 victories. Going on to command roles including Kommodore of Jagdgeschwader 76, II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26, and later Jagdgeschwader 300 and Jagdgeschwader 11, Hackl flew over 1,000 combat missions, was shot down eight times and wounded four times, and ended the war with 192 confirmed aerial victories (including around 87 on the Western Front of which at least 32 were four-engined bombers) plus further unconfirmed claims before dying on 10 July 1984 in Regensburg.
Source :
https://www.ww2.dk/air/jagd/jg77.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagdgeschwader_77
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