Jagdgeschwader 53

Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) Pik-As  was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. It operated in Western Europe and in the Mediterranean. Jagdgeschwader 53 - or as it was better known, the "Pik As" (Ace of Spades) Geschwader - was one of the oldest German fighter units of World War II with its origins going back to 1937. JG53 flew the various models of Bf-109 throughout the second world war.

Campaign in the West
The Geschwader commenced its wartime operations with a high proportion of its personnel experienced ex Condor Legion pilots. Including Oblt. Werner Mölders ; Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 53 based at Wiesbaden. On 14 May 1940 JG 53 claimed some 43 on that one day. The Battle of France thus saw the Geschwader score heavily during May and June 1940, with some 275 claims against Armee de l'Air and Royal Air Force forces, Mölders claiming 25 kills thus far, and Lt. Friedrich-Karl "Tutti" Müller with 8 kills. Geschwaderkommodore of JG 53 during the spring and summer of 1940 was Major Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel. While JG 53 was making a reputation for itself during the Battle of Britain, according to RAF Air Ministry intelligence summary no 60, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was informed that Major Jurgen von Cramon-Taubadel's wife was Jewish. Göring then ordered the whole of Stab/JG 53 to remove the "Pik As" emblem from their planes, and replace it with a red stripe around the engine cowling as punishment. All of Stab./JG 53's planes immediately were stripped of their "Pik As" insignia, and soon after the whole of the Stab./JG 53 had also stripped the swastikas off the tails of their planes in protest. During this phase of the Battle of Britain, Stab.JG 53's planes were easily recognizable because of the red band and the absence of a swastika on the tail of their Bf-109's. On 30 September Major Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn became Kommodore and the Stab.JG53 was allowed to paint the "Pik As" back on their Bf-109's, removing the red band from their cowlings.

The Geschwader was one of the most effective during the Battle, claiming 258 kills for 51 pilots killed or POW, with Hpt. Hans Karl Meyer the top scorer with 21 kills, Hpt. Bretnutz 18 and Lt Schmidt 17 claims. JG 53 claimed its 500th victory in November 1940.

Campaign in the East
In April 1941 the Geschwader then transferred to the Russian Front for Operation Barbarossa. Under the control of Luftflotte 2 commanded by Feldmarschall Albert Kesselring, The Geschwader, now equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109F, flew operations from Warsaw-Bielany. On 31 July 1941 JG 53 shot down its 1,000 aircraft. In the period 22 June 1941 – 5 December 1941 JG 53 claimed to destroy 762 Soviet aircraft, losing 35 in aerial combat, and two on the ground.

Campaign in the South
Later in the year JG 53 moved to bases in Sicily for operations against Malta (though elements also served in the Netherlands from July to November 1941). The III. Gruppe was transferred to North Africa for a short time in December 1941 while the rest of JG 53 was eventually moved to Comiso in Sicily for operations against Malta, which ended in May 1942. In the summer of 1942, II./JG 53 operated from the island of Pantelleria for operations over Malta and as escort missions for attacks on British supply convoys. Almost 200 kills are recorded by JG 53 during those five months, the majority of victims Hurricanes and Spitfires. Oblt. Franz Schiess (67 victories) recorded 11 victories over Malta, including his 20th, a Spitfire shot down on 18 July 1942. Hpt. Gerhard Michalski was the most successful German fighter pilot over Malta, claiming 26 victories. Michalski became Gruppenkommandeur II./JG 53 in June 1942 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 41 victories in September. On 15 October Michalski was shot down by the No. 126 Squadron RAF Spitfires of F/L. Jones and F/Sgt Varey. He bailed out of his Bf 109 G-2, landing in the sea, and was rescued by the German air-sea rescue service.

Splitting up
In May 1942 after the termination of the German air offensive against the British island fortress of Malta the "Pik As" Geschwader was split up, with its three Gruppen scattered over three theatres of operation. III./JG 53 again saw service in North Africa supporting Rommel's planned advance on Cairo. Stab and II./JG 53 which were left behind on Sicily after the end of the "Malta Blitz" in May for service over the central Mediterranean, and I./JG 53 was moved to the Eastern front, where it was to take part in the German summer offensive in the southern sector aimed at Stalingrad and the Caucasus.

I./JG 53 in the Eastern Front and the Battle of Stalingrad
Together with the whole JG 3 and JG 52, plus Stab and II./JG 77, I./JG 53 was deployed in Luftflotte 4's Fliegerkorps VIII to support Operation Blau. Led by Major Herbert Kaminski, during the period May–September 1942 in the Eastern Front, I./JG 53 claimed 918 victories but suffering in return the loss of 34 Bf.109s, 18 pilots killed in action and nine wounded.

In August, I. Gruppe 's Hauptmann Friedrich-Karl "Tutti" Müller claimed 25 Soviet Air Force victories, and between 1 September 1942 – 19 September 1942, claimed another 35 victories. On 19 September, he claimed his 100th and 101st victories resulting in the award of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was awarded the Oak Leaves on 23 September. Leutnant Walter Zellot was also very successful in August 1942, claiming 44 out of his 86 victories that month. Ofw. Wilhelm Crinius recorded the 1,000th victory for I./JG 53 on 27 August. Flying with Wolfgang Tonne and "Tutti" Müller in I./JG 53, Crinius was particularly successful during this period, recording 40 victories in August and 46 victories in September, including his 100th victory on 22 September. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub on 23 September and promoted to Leutnant. The Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 53, Oberleutnant Wolfgang Tonne also was credited with his 100th, 101st and 102nd kills on 22 September 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad.

In spite of all these impressive achievements, during the Stalingrad campaign the I./JG 53 faced stiff resistance of the Soviet VVS and PVO both in the air and the ground, and several of the unit's aces were shot down, wounded, captured or killed.
 * 30 June 1942: A Yak-1 fighter shot down Leutnant Joachim Louis's Bf.109F-4 W.Nr 10206, who bailed out and was became a POW. Louis was the Gruppenadjutant and had then 22 victories to his credit.
 * 8 July 1942: Wilhelm Crinius (then an Unteroffizier with 12 kills) was shot down by flak over Voronezh at 8:50 hs.
 * 6 August 1942: Leutnant Hans Röhrig (flying Bf.109G-2 W.Nr 13480) is forced to bail out by a Yak-1 fighter, apparently flown by Soviet ace Starshiy Leytenant Mikhail Baranov (183 IAP, 269 IAD). At that time Röhrig had under his belt eight out of the 75 victories he would be credited with. Baranov subsequently would shot down the Ju.87D-3 of Unteroffizier Herbert Oswald (2./StG 2), one of the Stukas the I. Gruppe was escorting.
 * 19 August 1942: Walter Zellot's Bf.109G-2 W.Nr.14189 was shot-up by a Soviet fighter, probably the Yak-1 flown by future ace Boris M. Vasilyev (929 IAP).
 * 7 September 1942: While escorting a Fw.189A-1 of 4.(H)/10, 10-kills ace Feldwebel Wilhelm Budke was caught by surprise by Soviet Yak-7B ace Sultan Amet-Khan (4 IAP), and had to bail out of his Bf.109G-2 W.Nr. 13680. Amet-Khan's comrade ace Ivan Stepanenko shot up the Fw.189 (W.Nr. 2230), which was damaged beyond repair (65%) and was scrapped.
 * 8 September 1942: 38-victories experte Oberfeldwebel Hans Kornatz is downed and injured in air combat, probably by Spanish Yak-1 pilot José Pascual Santamaría (788 IAP, 102 IAD PVO), who shot down three Bf.109 that day, but was also forced to bail out and died when his parachute failed to open.
 * 9 September 1942: 60-kills experte Leutnant Alfred Franke (flying Bf.109G-2 W.Nr 13442, 2./JG 53) was downed in air combat by Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik pilot Pavel S. Vinogradov (694 IAP, 228 ShAD) and perished in the crash.
 * 10 September 1942: three I./JG 53 experten were killed or wounded over Stalingrad: Unteroffizier Heinrich Wöhrle (10 victories, WIA), Feldwebel Franz Hagedorn (37 kills, killed by another Il-2 Shturmovik) and Leutnant Walter Zellot (86 victories), who was shot down and killed by flak.
 * 13 September 1942: While escorting Ju.88s, 11-kills ace Unteroffizier Erwin Meier (2./JG 53) jumped the Yak-1 of female pilot Raisa Belyaeva. However, was surprised by another Yak-1 flown by future leading female ace Lydia Litvyak and had to bail out of his flaiming Bf.109G-2 W.Nr. 13556, being taken prisoner by Soviet troops.

Reunited on the African front
On 1 November 1942, Hauptmann "Tutti" Müller was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 53 and led the unit back to the Mediterranean Theater. By November 1942 the entire Geschwader was again concentrated on Sicily for a belated offensive against Malta, in this case an abortive and short-lived blitz foiled by the much-strengthened defenders. During its 1942 operations over North Africa, Sicily and Malta JG 53 had claimed a total of at least 388 aircraft shot down. Hauptmann Gerhard Michalski claimed 25 over Malta (the Luftwaffe's top scorer) Major Günther von Maltzhan claimed 13, while Oblt Franz Schieß claimed 10. With the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November, the Geschwader again found its components separated.

The Tunisian theatre saw several Luftwaffe fighter units thrown into battle ; II./JG 2, III./ZG 2, I./JG 53, II./JG 51 and JG 77 with the Regia Aeronautica’s 155° Gruppo C.T. The Wehrmacht launched its offensive on Kasserine on 14 February 1943, and although the Luftwaffe did its utmost and scored heavily against the Allied fighter cover, lack of resources doomed the Afrika Korps to defeat. The Bf 109-Gs of JG 53 and JG 77 were left alone to defend Tunisia.

III./JG 53 returned from North Africa to Sicily in November, having claimed another 113 air kills, to add to the 61 claimed over Malta earlier in the year. Losses, however, had been heavy, with 14 pilots killed, 3 POW and 7 more badly injured. Obfw. Walter Stumpf (47 kills) was the unit's top scorer, though he was killed by flak on 13 October 1942.

With Allied navies dominating the sea lanes, a vast air supply route was organized between Tunisia and Sicily, I./JG 53 being one of the units organizing escort for the slow transport Junkers Ju-52 aircraft. Here Lt. Crinius quickly recorded another 14 victories, until 13 January 1943, when in combat with RAF Spitfires Crinius’ aircraft was hit and, wounded in the thigh, he ditched his Bf 109 G-2 and was rescued by French sailors, becoming a prisoner of war. Oblt Franz Schieß also claimed 20 kills over Tunisia.

The second half of 1943 saw German forces retreating north through Italy. During these months JG 53 saw continuous action over Italy with losses mounting alarmingly to an unprecedented level coupled with diminishing success. Oblt Franz Schieß, now Staffelkaptän of 8./JG 53 and with 67 claims, was killed in action versus P-38's on 2 September 1943.

Defense of the Reich
II./JG 53 was withdrawn from Italy in October 1943, and was the first Gruppe of the Geschwader to be employed on Reichsverteidigung (Defense of the Reich) operations, stationed near Vienna from October 1943 to March 1944, before moving to south Western Germany. On 7 January 1944 now based at Vienna-Seyring, II./JG 53 were scrambled to intercept a large formation of bombers. At 8,000 metres they intercepted up to 25 P-38 fighters. In the ensuing combat, which drifted south and ended over northern Yugoslavia, II./JG 53 claimed some 15 P-38s shot down.

The winter of 1943/44 saw bitter fighting over Italy, where the Geschwaderstab, I. and III./JG 53 facing overwhelming odds in their struggle over both the front lines at Cassino and Anzio bridge head, and Northern Italy.

II./JG 53 was the sole ‘Pik As’ gruppe to see action against the Allied invasion forces on 6 June 1944. The Luftwaffe fighter units in France suffered catastrophic losses, and II./JG 53 was no exception. In just one month of operations, the Gruppe reported 42 aircraft lost through enemy action, 18 in accidents, 20 abandoned and a further 20 through other causes; approximately 200% of its operational strength. On 22 August while escorting low-level operations against the American XV Corps near Mantes, II gruppe were surprised by a large formation of P-38's and suffered seven aircraft lost.

III./JG 53 also returned from Italy in June 1944 and after a short period refitting was active in the Defence of the Reich. When the Allies launched Operation Market Garden both II. and III./JG53 were called into action. Autumn 1944 also saw the addition of a new IV. Gruppe to the Geschwader with Stab, II., III, IV./JG 53 based along the south western sector of the Western Front.

I./JG53 was later moved to Romania to protect the vital oilfields of Ploesti and also saw further action in Hungary, where it was to take part in the fierce fighting on the South Eastern part of the Russian Front in late 1944 and early 1945, eventually retreating into Czechoslovakia and Austria before it was finally disbanded in April 1945 - its remnants amalgamated into II./JG 52.

For the remainder of the war the Geschwader (minus I. Gruppe) stayed in the southwest where it fought until the end, retreating into Southern Germany and finally disbanded days before VE Day.

Geschwaderkommodore

 * Oberst Bruno Löerzer, March 1937 – March 1938
 * Oberstleutnant Werner Junck, April 1938 – September 1939
 * Major Hans Klein, 1 September 1939 – 15 December 1939
 * Major Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel, 1 January 1940 – 30 September 1940
 * Oberst Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, October 1940 – October 1943
 * Major Friedrich-Karl Müller (acting) October 1943 – October 1943
 * Major Kurt Ubben (acting) October 1943 – November 1943
 * Oberstleutnant Helmut Bennemann, November 1943 – April 1945

I./JG 53

 * Hauptmann Lothar von Janson, 1 May 1939
 * Hauptmann Albert Blumensaat, 1 July 1940
 * Hauptmann Hans-Karl Mayer, 1 September 1940
 * Hauptmann Hans-Heinrich Brustellin, October 1940
 * Oberleutnant Wilfried Balfanz, 1 June 1941
 * Hauptmann Franz von Werra, July 1941
 * Hauptmann Ignaz Prestele (acting), August 1941
 * Major Herbert Kaminski, 1 November 1941
 * Hauptmann Walter Spies, August 1942
 * Hauptmann Friedrich-Karl Müller, November 1942
 * Major Jürgen Harder, 15 February 1944
 * Hauptmann Wolfgang Ernst (acting), January 1945
 * Hauptmann Erich Hartmann (acting), February 1945
 * Hauptmann Helmut Lipfert, 15 February 1945 - 17 April 1945

II./JG 53

 * Major Hubert Merhart von Bernegg, 1 May 1939
 * Major Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, 19 August 1939
 * Hauptmann Heinz Bretnütz, 9 October 1940
 * Hauptmann Walter Spies, June 1941
 * Hauptmann Gerhard Michalski, July 1942
 * Hauptmann Hans-Jürgen Westphal (acting), 19 June 1943
 * Major Karl-Heinz Schnell (acting), July 1943
 * Major Julius Meimberg, 24 April 1944

III./JG 53

 * Hauptmann Werner Mölders, 1 November 1939
 * Hauptmann Rolf Pingel (acting), June 1940
 * Hauptmann Harro Harder, July 1940
 * Hauptmann Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, 13 August 1940
 * Major Erich Gerlitz, May 1942
 * Hauptmann Franz Götz, October 1942
 * Hauptmann Siegfried Luckenbach, 18 January 1945
 * Hauptmann Wolfgang Ernst (acting), April 1945

One of the last living pilots of III./JG53 was Hans-Georg Tewes. He died 2011 in Lingen/Germany at the age of 90 years

IV./JG 53

 * Hauptmann Hans Morr, 25 October 1944
 * Hauptmann Friedrich Müer, October 1944
 * Hauptmann Alfred Hammer, 9 January 1945

Ergänzungsgruppe

 * Hauptmann Hubert Kroeck, November 1940