Ritterkreuzträger of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3)

Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3) was a Luftwaffe night-fighter wing formed on 29 September 1941 at Stade from the Stab of Zerstörergeschwader 26 and placed initially under the 1. Nachtjagddivision (later the 2. Jagddivision), operating primarily in the defence of the Reich over northern Germany, Denmark and the North Sea approaches with the Geschwaderkennung first L1 and later D5. Its Stab remained based at Stade for most of the war under successive Kommodore Major Johann Schalk (until 1 August 1943), Oberst Helmut Lent (1 August 1943 until his death on 7 October 1944) and finally Oberst Günther Radusch (from 12 November 1944), while its four Gruppen were raised from various Zerstörer and night-fighter elements: I. Gruppe (formed earlier as V.(Z)/Lehrgeschwader 1 at Vechta in October 1940) flew mainly from Vechta, Schleswig and Grove; II. Gruppe was established at Schleswig in September 1941; III. Gruppe was created at Stade in November 1941 from II./Zerstörergeschwader 76; and IV. Gruppe was formed at Grove in November 1942, later exchanging designations with elements of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2. Initially equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 110s (and some Dornier Do 217s from mid-1942), the wing progressively converted to Junkers Ju 88C night fighters from mid-1943 and Ju 88G models from mid-1944, with limited use of the Heinkel He 219, conducting both defensive night interceptions against RAF Bomber Command raids and occasional day operations; detachments operated briefly in the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Smolensk area early in the war, while later bases included Plantlünne, Gütersloh, Westerland, Jever and various Danish airfields such as Grove (Karup), Kastrup and Skrydstrup. Pilots of NJG 3 claimed approximately 820 aerial victories by day and night before the unit was progressively reduced in strength in early 1945, with several Staffeln disbanded or redesignated by late March, remaining operational until the German surrender on 8 May 1945; two of its aircraft—a Bf 110 G-4 and a Ju 88 R-1—survive today at the RAF Museum in London.

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BRILLANTENTRÄGER


Oberst Helmut Lent (1918-1944) was born on 13 June 1918 in Pyrehne, Landsberg an der Warthe, into a devoutly Lutheran family as the fifth child of a minister; after primary schooling and private tutoring he passed his Abitur in December 1935, completed Reichsarbeitsdienst, and against his father’s wishes entered the Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker on 1 April 1936, training at Luftkriegsschule 2 Gatow where he earned his wings and was commissioned Leutnant on 1 March 1938 before converting to the Messerschmitt Bf 110 with I./Zerstörergeschwader 76. He claimed his first victories during the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and further successes over the North Sea, including two confirmed Wellingtons in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight on 18 December 1939, then flew ground-support missions during the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940, force-landing at Fornebu after engine damage while helping secure the airfield. Transferred to the newly formed Nachtjagdgeschwader 1, he scored his first nocturnal victory on 12 May 1941 and, as Staffelkapitän of 6./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 with 8 day and 14 night victories, received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 August 1941. Promoted Hauptmann and appointed Kommandeur of II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2, he continued to accumulate night victories against RAF bombers and was awarded the Eichenlaub on 6 June 1942 after 35 nocturnal kills; later as Kommandeur of IV./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 he received the Schwerter on 2 August 1943 after 66 night victories. On the night of 15–16 June 1944, by then Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3, he became the first night-fighter pilot to claim his 100th nocturnal victory, for which he was awarded the Brillanten on 31 July 1944; overall he was credited with 110 aerial victories (102 at night, including 61 four-engined bombers) in 507 sorties. On 5 October 1944, while flying a Junkers Ju 88 on a routine transit flight from Stade to Nordborchen near Paderborn, an engine failed on approach and the aircraft struck power lines; Lent succumbed to his injuries two days later on 7 October 1944 and was posthumously promoted to Oberst.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachtjagdgeschwader_3