Jagdgeschwader 20
Encyclopedia
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
fighter wing
Wing (air force unit)
Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....
during the early phase of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Europe. JG 20 was founded on 15 July 1939 in Jesau
Nivenskoye
Uzhnyi was an interceptor aircraft air base in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia located 17 km south of Kaliningrad. A large mile-wide taxiway ring on west side fed a series of aircraft revetments. There were remote bomber or alert revetments for about 5 aircraft...
comprissed of just one Gruppe and two Staffeln. A third Staffel was added on 5 November 1939 in Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
-Briest. The sole Gruppe was redesignated as 3rd Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51
Jagdgeschwader 51
Jagdgeschwader 51 Mölders was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during World War II, named after the fighter ace Werner Mölders in 1942. JG 51's pilots won more Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes than any other Jagdgeschwader, and flew combat from 1939 in all major theatres of war. Flying Bf 109s and then...
(III./JG 51) on 4 July 1940. During the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
it was subordinated to Luftflotte 2
Luftflotte 2
Luftflotte 2 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed February 1, 1939 in Braunschweig and transferred to Italy on November 15, 1941...
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Gruppenkommandeure
- Major Siegfried Lehmann, July 1939 – 18 September 1939
- Hauptmann Hannes TrautloftHannes TrautloftJohannes "Hannes" Trautloft was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1932 until the end of the war and again from 1957-1970. He flew 560 combat sorties and was credited with 58 victories. He was regarded as a very competent leader, and much respected from those...
, 19 September 1939 – 4 July 1940