Ritterkreuzträger of Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1)

Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1), nicknamed “Wespe” (Wasp), was a Luftwaffe heavy-fighter (Zerstörer) wing of the Second World War that flew primarily the twin-engined Messerschmitt Bf 110 and later the Me 210 and Me 410, performing bomber-escort, ground-attack and air-superiority roles. Formed on 1 May 1939 from elements of Zerstörergeschwader 141 and Jagdgeschwader 54 without an initial Geschwaderstab or III. Gruppe, its I. and II. Gruppen took part in the invasion of Poland, the occupation of Denmark and Norway, and the campaign in the West, scoring early successes such as the destruction of twenty-six Dutch aircraft on the ground at Haamstede. After heavy losses the original wing was disbanded in June 1940, with I./ZG 1 becoming the nucleus of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 and II./ZG 1 redesignated III./ZG 76. Re-established on 4 January 1942 from the staff and Gruppen of Schnellkampfgeschwader 210, the reformed ZG 1 received a full Stab and three Gruppen and was committed to the Eastern Front under VIII. Fliegerkorps, operating from bases such as Belgorod and Armavir in ground-attack and escort missions against Soviet forces. Elements later served in the Mediterranean and North Africa, while other detachments flew defensive sorties over the Reich and the Atlantic coast. Commanded successively by officers including Major Arved Crüger, Major Ulrich Diesing, Oberstleutnant Paul-Friedrich Darjes and Oberstleutnant Erich von Selle, the wing continued operations until mid-1944. Faced with mounting attrition and the need for single-engine fighters, ZG 1 was dissolved on 16 July 1944; its Gruppen were converted into II./JG 4, III./JG 4 and III./JG 76, ending the existence of the last major Bf 110 Zerstörer formation of the Luftwaffe.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberstleutnant Wolfgang Schenck (1913-2010) was born on 7 February 1913 in Windhoek, German South West Africa, the son of a farmer, and after his mother’s death in 1923 moved with his sister to relatives in Berlin before returning to South West Africa in 1934 to work on a coffee plantation; holding gliding and powered-flight certificates, he entered the Luftwaffe in December 1936 as an officer-cadet and was posted to II./JG 132 “Richthofen,” later redesignated I. Gruppe, Zerstörergeschwader 1, flying in the Polish and Norwegian campaigns. He scored his first aerial victory on 11 May 1940 but was seriously wounded five days later; after recovery he joined Erprobungsgruppe 210, becoming Staffelkapitän of 1. Staffel and later acting Gruppenführer, pioneering fighter-bomber tactics with the Bf 110. In mid-1941 the unit became I. Gruppe, Schnellkampfgeschwader 210 and moved east for the invasion of the Soviet Union, where as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 1. Staffel/Schnellkampfgeschwader 210 he flew more than fifty fighter-bomber missions, destroyed numerous tanks and ground targets, and claimed nine aerial victories, earning the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 August 1941 after roughly two hundred sorties. He next headed the Erprobungsstaffel Me 210 at Rechlin, then in January 1942 returned as Gruppenkommandeur of I./Zerstörergeschwader 1, by which time he had reached eighteen aerial victories in some three hundred operational missions together with extensive claims against shipping, tanks and transport; for these achievements as Hauptmann und Kommandeur of I. Gruppe/Zerstörergeschwader 1 he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 30 October 1942 as the 139th recipient. In January 1943 he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Schlachtgeschwader 1 in the Mediterranean, flying the Fw 190, was wounded again in December 1943, and later served as Inspizient der Schlachtflieger. In June 1944 he formed Kommando Schenck to evaluate the Me 262 as a fighter-bomber, subsequently commanded Kampfgeschwader 51 during its conversion to the jet, and ended the war as Inspector for Jet Aircraft with the rank of Oberstleutnant, having completed over four hundred combat missions including forty on the Me 262. After the war he returned to South Africa, accumulated more than 17,000 hours of bush flying, and finally settled in Marburg, Germany, where he died on 5 March 2010 at the age of ninety-seven.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerst%C3%B6rergeschwader_1