Nachtjagdgeschwader 1

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Nachtjagdgeschwader 1
Active 1940 – 1945
Country Germany
Branch Air Force
Type Night Fighter
Role Air superiority
Size Air Force Wing
Engagements World War II

Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1) was a Luftwaffe night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 1 was formed on 22 June 1940 in Mönchengladbach. By the end of the war it was the most successful night fighter unit and had claimed some 2,311 victories by day and night. for some 676 aircrew killed in action. [1]

Contents

[edit] Formation

I Gruppe was formed in June 1940 from elemnts of I./ZG 1 and IV./ZG 26, while II Gruppe was formed from IV./(N)JG 2, althought the Gruppe was redesignated III./NJG 1 in July 1940, while a new II Gruppe was formed from Z./KG 30. Again this Gruppe were redesignated as I./NJG 2 and a third II Gruppe was raised in September 1940 from I./ZG 26.

IV./NJG 1 was raised in October 1942 from parts of II./NJG 2.


[edit] Operational History

In common with all other air forces of the time, the Luftwaffe did not possess an organised night fighter force at the outbreak of war. Although 5 Staffeln of Bf 109's and Bf 110's were designated as dual day/night fighter units, no specialist aircraft or trained crews existed and all night fighting took place on an ad-hoc basis by existing front line units.

By 1940 it was clear the Bf 110 twin engine fighter was more suitable for night defence duties, and in mid 1940 NJG 1 was formed from a cadre of experienced Zerstörer crews. Based at Ziese, Holland, the unit were part of the 1st Night Fighter Division under Oberst Josef Kammhuber. With little techical equipment or training, interceptions of night flying RAF bombers were sporadic through the year, although by October the first [[Himmelbett]] zones were in place to aid the aircrews with radar guidance and radio assistance from the ground.

Stretching across the approaches to the vital industrial targets in the Ruhr, each 'Himmelbett' zone had a searchlight battery and two Würzburg radar, one of which linked the fighter to a ground control, and one to a master searchlight to illuminate the bombers. The plotting control room enabled the single night fighter manning each zone to be vectored towrds the bombers. The system first became known as 'Helle nachtjagd' and was evolved in to 1941 to include the longer range Würzburg radars, the short range Freya, and a single NJG 1 night fighter allocated to each 30 mile square zone.

Simple though the interception system was, NJG 1 did obtain a certain degree of success in 1941. Many future Night Experten would learn their trade in these early days, such as Lt Helmut Lent, who with 6./NJG 1, claimed his first kill in March 1941. By the end of 1941 Lent (with 20 kills) and Werner Streib (22 kills) would be the top scorers of NJG 1.

However, the need for an airborne radar interception system became increasingly obvious. The first JU 88C fighters , equipped with Lichtenstein FuG 202 airborne radar were delivered to I./NJG 1 at Venlo early in 1942. This allowed the crews to track a target over a range of 3,500 to 6,100 yards, the image appearing as a 'blip' on two cathode ray tubes.

NJG 1 also started receiving the upgraded Bf 110 G-4 in February 1942, able to be fitted with numerous 'conversion kits', giving the Geschwader flexibility in weapons, fuel capacity and engine performance. In 1942 the Dornier Do 217 J was also trialed in service with NJG 1; however the lack of performance made the type unpopular with crews.

In early 1943 the heavy fighters of the Nachtgeschwadern, NJG 1 among them , were also being used against the increasingly heavy raids by the daylight bombers of the US 8th Air Force, where it was thought the heavier armaments and longer endurance would complement the day fighters. However, most night fighter crews had little experience of day combat techniques, and the missions inevitably saw a steady attrition of these specialist, highly trained crews. For instance, Hptm. Ludwig Becker, an 44-kill ace of 12.NJG 1, was lost against B-24's over the North Sea in February 1943.

By the start of 1943, almost all NJG 1's fighters were equipped with radar and the nachtgeschwadern were inflicting ever higher loses on Bomber Command (Lent had claimed his 50th kill in January). The battle in the night skies became an ever more accelerated technological race between the RAF's need for accurate navigation and bombing aids and the Luftwaffe's requirement for tracking and location of the bomber streams.

Gradually, the old Himmelbett system was now becoming increasing saturated and with the RAF introducing 'Window' counter- measures in July 1943, new tactics were needed.Zahme Sau enabled the fighters to be directed en masse into the bomber stream by R/T running commentaries from the Jagd division. Once fed into the stream, fighters made radar contact with individual bombers and maintained contact as far as their ammunition and fuel held out. This resulted in a far more economic use of crews and the commencment of 'multiple' kills by the NJG 1 nighter fighter crews; Strieb claimed 5 on 11 June, Hptm Frank 6 on 21 June, and Leutnant Musset 5 over Peenemunde on 17 August.

[edit] Commanding Officers

[edit] Kommodore

[edit] Gruppenkommandeure

[edit] I./NJG 1

[edit] II./NJG 1

[edit] III./NJG 1

[edit] IV./NJG 1

[edit] References

  • Hinchliffe, Peter (1998). Luftkrieg bei Nacht 1939-1945. Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-613-01861-6.