Formed on January 27, 1942, in Rovaniemi by redesignating the IV. Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 1, Sturzkampfgeschwader 5 began its operational history under the leadership of Major Hans-Karl Stepp as its first Gruppenkommandeur, operating within the harsh northern theater of the German-Soviet War as part of Luftflotte 5, where its primary mission involved flying Junkers Ju 87 dive-bombers to provide crucial close air support for the German Armee Lappland and Finnish forces along the Murmansk sector. During the early months of its deployment, the unit operated under the tactical control of Fliegerführer Nord (Ost), while secondary elements like its 4. Staffel were detached to support operations under Fliegerführer Lofoten, before relocating forward to Alakurtti airfield in March 1942 to intensify pressure on Allied supply routes and Soviet ground positions in the Arctic circle. Command of the unit transitioned through several key leaders, including Hauptmann Arnulf Blasig starting in July 1942, Major Horst Kaubisch in November 1942, and eventually Hauptmann Martin Möbus in July 1943, under whose tenure the strategic requirements of the Eastern Front necessitated a fundamental tactical shift away from traditional dive-bombing toward specialized low-level ground-attack operations. Consequently, on October 18, 1943, the organization was officially redesignated as Schlachtgeschwader 5, reflecting its transition to modern ground-attack aircraft such as the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, which offered superior survivability and firepower for armored-column suppression and tactical battlefield interdiction. Operating from bases such as Nautsi, the newly minted Schlachtgeschwader 5 continued its relentless support for the XIX. Gebirgs-Korps of the 20. Gebirgsarmee, enduring severe weather, mechanical attrition, and mounting Soviet air superiority while commanded successively by officers such as Major Fritz Schröter and Hauptmann Helmut Viedebantt through the remainder of 1944. As the strategic military collapse of the Wehrmacht accelerated toward the final months of World War II, surviving elements of the command were ultimately withdrawn and reorganized in January 1945, when the designation was dissolved and incorporated into the III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 200, concluding a turbulent operational career defined by intense combat performance across the desolate northern expanses of Scandinavia and the Soviet Arctic.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Major Martin Möbus (1917-1944) was born on 9 May 1917 in Zeisdorf near Sorau in the Niederlausitz region of Germany and from his youth showed a strong passion for flying, becoming an enthusiastic glider pilot and even leading a group of 250 members of the Hitler Youth by the age of sixteen. In April 1936 he entered the Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker and completed his pilot training, receiving promotion to Leutnant on 24 March 1938. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was flying with the I. Gruppe of Stuka-Geschwader 1, known as the “Insterburger Gruppe,” and took part in the Polish campaign, earning the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 26 September 1939. During the Norwegian campaign in the spring of 1940 his unit operated against Allied naval forces, and on 3 May 1940 Leutnant Möbus carried out a highly successful dive-bombing attack that struck the British heavy cruiser HMS Sussex; although he and his comrades initially reported the vessel as a battleship that had been sunk, the ship was in fact severely damaged and forced out of action for an extended period. For this daring feat he received the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse on 5 May 1940 and, only three days later on 8 May 1940, the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes while still serving as a pilot in the I. Gruppe of Stuka-Geschwader 1, making him one of the earliest Stuka pilots to be so decorated. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 22 June 1940, he was later transferred to the Mediterranean theatre at the end of that year before returning to Germany at the close of 1941 to serve as an instructor at a Stuka training school. In February 1942 he resumed front-line flying as Staffelführer of the 3. Staffel (and later associated with the 4. Staffel) of Stuka-Geschwader 2. On 1 September 1942 he was advanced to Hauptmann and on 24 September 1942 (or according to some records early October) he was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold while serving as Oberleutnant in the 4./Sturzkampfgeschwader 2; he also received the Luftwaffe Ehrenpokal for special achievements in aerial warfare around the same period. By January 1943 he had already completed his 400th combat sortie. In July 1943, during the hard fighting on the Eastern Front, he assumed command of the I. Gruppe of Stuka-Geschwader 5, which was later redesignated as part of Schlachtgeschwader 5 as the dive-bomber units transitioned toward broader ground-attack roles. Under his leadership the Gruppe continued to deliver precise and devastating attacks against Soviet armour, artillery, rail traffic and fortifications. Promoted to Major on 20 April 1944, he was awarded the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (the 463rd recipient) on 25 April 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Schlachtgeschwader 5 after flying more than 750 combat missions. By the time of his death he had accumulated over 800 operational sorties, during which he was credited with the destruction of several warships, one freighter of 14 500 gross register tons, more than 60 tanks, 18 Flak batteries, five armoured trains, approximately 600 vehicles of various types, and numerous bridges. His remarkable career as a Stuka and Schlachtflieger pilot came to an abrupt end on 2 June 1944 when, at the age of only twenty-seven, he was killed in a motor-vehicle accident near Pori in Finland; he was subsequently buried at the German war cemetery in Rovaniemi-Norvaja. Throughout his service Möbus demonstrated exceptional flying skill, leadership and personal courage, rising steadily through the ranks from Fahnenjunker to Major while collecting the highest decorations available to Luftwaffe aircrew for both a single outstanding action against a major warship and sustained excellence across hundreds of missions on multiple fronts.
Source :
https://www.ww2.dk/air/attack/stg5.htm
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