Nachtjagdgruppe 10, designated as NJGr 10, was established on 1 January 1944 at Werneuchen as a specialized experimental and operational night fighter unit of the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War, operating under the tactical subordination of the 1. Jagd-Division while fulfilling a crucial role in evaluating advanced night-fighting tactics, airborne radar equipment, and specialized weaponry against Allied bomber commands. Commanded initially by Major Rudolf Schoenert from its inception until 6 March 1945, and subsequently by Major Lüdtke until April 1945, the unit comprised three distinct staffeln that utilized a diverse array of aircraft reflecting its exploratory and defensive mandate. Specifically, the 1./NJGr 10 was initially formed from elements of I./Jagdgeschwader 300 and led by Hauptmann Friedrich-Karl Müller, operating Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters equipped with FuG 217 Neptun radar from airfields including Werneuchen, Bonn-Hangelar, and Darmstadt-Biblis, before portions of its personnel were progressively redesignated to feed into Nachtjagdgeschwader 11. Meanwhile, the 2./NJGr 10 operated twin-engine Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Junkers Ju 88 aircraft from bases in Werneuchen and Finow, and the 3./NJGr 10 was stationed at Finsterwalde flying advanced Heinkel He 219 and later Focke-Wulf Ta 154 aircraft, later relocating to Jüterbog in late 1944. As the strategic situation deteriorated for the Luftwaffe in the final months of the conflict, NJGr 10 transferred its operations to Liebenwalde on 6 March 1945 before officially disbanding in April 1945, whereupon its remaining elements and personnel were absorbed into Nachtjagdgeschwader 5, leaving behind a complex legacy of technical trial, tactical innovation, and desperate defense in the night skies over the Reich.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Major der Reserve Rudolf Schoenert (1911-1985) was born on 27 July 1911 in Glogau, Silesia, and after five years in the merchant navy began flight training in 1933 before flying commercially for Lufthansa and receiving a commission as Leutnant der Reserve in the Luftwaffe in 1938. Mobilized in June 1941, he joined 4./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 at Bergen in Holland and scored his first two victories on the night of 8/9 July 1941 by destroying Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers northwest of Vlieland. Rapidly accumulating success as a night fighter pilot against RAF bombers over the North Sea and northwestern Germany, he advanced to Staffelkapitän of 4./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 and, after twenty-one to twenty-two confirmed night victories, was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 25 July 1942 while holding the rank of Oberleutnant der Reserve. Earlier decorations included the Eisernes Kreuz second and first class, the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe, and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 18 May 1942. Schoenert is widely recognized as the originator of the Schräge Musik upward-firing armament concept, which he first proposed in 1941 and later had experimentally installed in his own Dornier Do 17 and subsequently in other night fighters, enabling attacks from the vulnerable underside of Allied bombers. Promoted further and appointed Gruppenkommandeur of the newly formed II. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 on 1 December 1942, then of I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 100 on the Eastern Front in August 1943, he claimed around thirty to thirty-five Soviet aircraft, bringing his total near sixty. On 1 January 1944 he took command of Nachtjagdgruppe 10, and after reaching sixty night victories he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (the 450th award) on 11 April 1944 as Major der Reserve and Kommandeur of Nachtjagdgruppe 10. In March 1945 he became Geschwaderkommodore of Nachtjagdgeschwader 5. Credited overall with sixty-four or sixty-five aerial victories in 376 combat missions, nearly all at night, Schoenert was shot down on 27 April 1945 east of the Elbe when an electrical fault disabled his radar and his Junkers Ju 88 G fell to an RAF Mosquito, yet he survived, was rescued by German troops, and lived until 30 November 1985 in Manitoba, Canada.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachtjagdgruppe_10
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