Kampfgeschwader 77 (KG 77) was a prominent Luftwaffe bomber wing formed on 1 May 1939 at Praha-Kbely in Czechoslovakia from elements of earlier units, operating primarily with the Dornier Do 17Z, Heinkel He 111, and later the versatile Junkers Ju 88 across all major fronts of the European Theatre until its dissolution in 1944. Equipped initially with Do 17Z bombers and assigned to Luftflotte 4, its I. and III. Gruppen participated in the Polish Campaign from bases near Breslau, conducting raids on rail networks, airfields, and troop concentrations in areas such as Galicia, Radom, Kielce, Warsaw, and the Battle of Bzura, committing over 100 aircraft. In the 1940 western campaign the Geschwader supported advances through the Low Countries and France, targeting French armor near Reims and Amiens, operations at Dunkirk, and the southern offensive Fall Rot, as well as participating in Operation Paula against Paris airfields. After full conversion to the Ju 88 in mid-1940, KG 77 played a significant role in the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, suffering heavy losses including nine aircraft on a single mission to Gravesend and six each by I. and II. Gruppen during a London raid, while also engaging in the Battle of the Atlantic where it attempted to support the Bismarck and sank the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Mashona. On the Eastern Front from Operation Barbarossa onward, I. and III. Gruppen with about 59 Ju 88s supported Army Group North in the Baltic states and Siege of Leningrad, inflicting devastating losses on Soviet shipping during the battles for Estonia and the islands of Osel, Moon, and Dago through precise dive-bombing and attacks that sank numerous transports, warships, and icebreakers. Later elements operated in the Mediterranean and North Africa, contributing to the Siege of Malta, the Second Battle of El Alamein, resistance to the Allied invasion of Sicily including probable destruction of the Liberty ship SS Robert Rowan, and anti-shipping strikes off Algeria using torpedo tactics. On the Western Front in 1943–44 under Luftflotte 3, KG 77 focused on night anti-shipping operations in the English Channel and support for German ground forces until September 1944, with commanders including Oberst Wolff von Stutterheim, Oberstleutnant Johann Raithel, and others guiding its diverse missions from close air support and strategic bombing to maritime interdiction throughout the war.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Generalmajor Dietrich Peltz (1914-2001), born on 9 June 1914 in Gera and died on 10 August 2001 in Munich, was a German Luftwaffe bomber pilot and commander who became the youngest Generalmajor of the Wehrmacht during World War II after flying roughly 320 to 390 combat missions. Initially serving in the Heer before transferring to the Luftwaffe in 1935, he flew as Staffelkapitän of the 1. Staffel of Sturzkampfgeschwader 76 in the Ju 87 during the invasion of Poland, completing 45 missions against railway lines, bridges, traffic junctions, and targets including the Bombing of Wieluń, which earned him the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse. In the Battle of France he continued dive-bombing operations against similar infrastructure and shipping at Calais and Dunkirk, sinking a transport vessel across eight missions for a total of 57 additional sorties without loss to his unit and receiving the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse. After converting to the Junkers Ju 88 and joining Kampfgeschwader 77, he flew about 70 daytime and nocturnal missions in the Battle of Britain, often conducting solo low-level attacks on specific targets, leading to the award of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 October 1940 after roughly 130 combat missions overall. As Gruppenkommandeur of II./Kampfgeschwader 77 during Operation Barbarossa, Peltz developed innovative accurate bombing techniques that allowed his Gruppe to achieve precision strikes on railway stations, marshalling yards, canals, and lock gates in the northern sector with smaller forces than previously needed; after reaching about 250 sorties he was awarded the Eichenlaub on 31 December 1941 as the 46th recipient. Later appointed Angriffsführer England and commander of IX. Fliegerkorps, he consolidated multiple Kampfgeschwader units for a renewed night bomber offensive against Britain including Operation Steinbock, while earlier leading specialized efforts with precision-guided munitions against Allied shipping in the Arctic and Mediterranean; for his personal flights exceeding 300 and outstanding leadership he received the Schwerter on 23 July 1943 as the 31st recipient. He subsequently held commands overseeing aspects of the Defense of the Reich, including planning for Operation Bodenplatte and advocating ramming tactics, before finishing the war as Kommandierender General of I. Fliegerkorps.
Major Heinrich Paepcke (1910-1942) was born on 11 December 1910 in Wattenscheid, Westphalia, and after serving in the Handelsmarine from 1929 to 1934 he joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 as a Fahnenjunker, receiving promotion to Leutnant in 1936 and to Oberleutnant by 1939. In April 1940 he became Staffelkapitän of the 7. Staffel, III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 30 “Adler,” flying Ju 88 bombers in operations over Norway, the Low Countries and France. On 5 September 1940, as Oberleutnant und Staffelkapitän of that unit, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his personal and leadership achievements, having himself sunk an anti-aircraft cruiser near Scheveningen and a 10 000 GRT freighter off Dunkirk while his Staffel destroyed or damaged one heavy and three light cruisers, three destroyers, a minelayer, a coastal patrol boat and five merchant vessels, and also claimed two enemy fighters. Promoted to Hauptmann in May 1940, he later commanded the IV. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 30 before transferring in October 1941 to become Kommandeur of the II. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 77. Operating from bases in the Mediterranean against Malta and its supply convoys, he flew approximately 125 combat missions and on 12 August 1942 distinguished himself by sinking a 12 000 GRT transport from the Pedestal convoy bound for the island. On 17 October 1942, while leading an attack on the airfield at Luca, his Ju 88 collided with a Spitfire and crashed into the sea 17 kilometres north of Malta; he was killed in action at the age of 31. Posthumously promoted to Major, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 19 December 1942 as the 154th recipient, recognised for his sustained successes as Kommandeur of the II. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 77. Paepcke was also awarded the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on 21 September 1942 and both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampfgeschwader_77
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