Ritterkreuzträger of Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 (StG 3)

Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 (StG 3) was a Luftwaffe dive-bomber wing formed on 9 July 1940 at Dinard in France from the Stab of Kampfgeschwader 28 and equipped primarily with the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, later redesignated Schlachtgeschwader 3 (SG 3) on 18 October 1943 at Eleusis as the Luftwaffe shifted toward broader close-air-support roles. Its first operations came during the Battle of Britain, when Stab and I. Gruppe attacked Channel shipping and coastal targets from bases near Cherbourg and Brétigny, suffering losses against RAF fighters while scoring hits on convoys such as Peewit. In early 1941 elements moved to Sicily for Mediterranean operations, striking Malta and the Royal Navy; on 10 January Ju 87s from units under StG 3 command scored multiple hits on the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, and later attacks damaged or sank other vessels including HMS Southampton. The wing then supported the invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece, operating from bases in Bulgaria, Larissa and Argos, before taking part in the Battle of Crete where its Stukas inflicted damage on British warships. Throughout the North African campaign from 1941 to 1943, I., II. and III. Gruppe flew intensive missions in support of the Deutsches Afrikakorps, operating from desert airstrips such as Derna, Tmimi, Fuka and Haggag el Quasaba, attacking Allied armour, supply lines and airfields until the Axis defeat in Tunisia forced withdrawal. After redesignation as SG 3 under Oberst Kurt Kuhlmey, the Geschwader continued close-support work on the Eastern Front and in the Balkans, converting progressively from Ju 87D to Focke-Wulf Fw 190F fighter-bombers. In June–July 1944 a composite formation known as Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey, built around elements of I./SG 3 together with other units, deployed to Immola in Finland and flew nearly 2,700 sorties during the Soviet summer offensive, helping stabilise the Finnish front at Tali-Ihantala. Thereafter SG 3 operated over the Baltic states, Courland and East Prussia until the final weeks of the war, with the Geschwaderstab last based at Finow under Major Bernhard Hamester.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Walter Sigel (1906-1944) was born on 12 January 1906 in Ulm and served as an officer in the Luftwaffe from 1934 until his death, rising to the rank of Oberst; as commanding officer of Sturzkampfgeschwader 76 he led the Junkers Ju 87 demonstration at Neuhammer on 15 August 1939 that became known as the Neuhammer Stuka-Unglück when low cloud caused thirteen other crews to crash fatally while he himself barely pulled out, and on the opening day of the Second World War he directed the German bombers in the attack on Wieluń. He received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 July 1940 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 for the outstanding success of his Gruppe in the Polish campaign and especially in the West, where his personal leadership from the front enabled effective strikes against troop concentrations in the Libramont–Givet area of southern Belgium, the Maginot Line south of Sedan, enemy tanks near Laon, columns near La Fère, St. Quentin, Lens, Arras, Béthune and Amiens, as well as against destroyers southwest of Calais and the harbour of Dunkirk, repeatedly facilitating the advance of German ground forces and repelling armoured counter-attacks. Promoted further, he was awarded the Eichenlaub (116th recipient) on 2 September 1942 as Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore of Schlachtgeschwader 3 in recognition of his continued command achievements during the air battles over the English Channel, in Greece, over Crete and throughout the North African campaign; Sigel was killed on 8 May 1944 when his aircraft crashed into the Trondheimsfjord in Norway.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturzkampfgeschwader_3