Jagdgeschwader 300
Encyclopedia
Jagdgeschwader 300 was a Luftwaffe
fighter
-wing
of World War II
. JG 300 was formed on June 26, 1943 in Deelen
as Stab/Versuchskommando Herrmann, from July 18, 1943 as Stab/JG Herrmann, and then finally redesignated on August 20, 1943 to Stab/JG 300. Its first Geschwaderkommodore
was Oberstleutnant
Hajo Herrmann
.
, a decorated bomber pilot advocated the use of single-seat day fighters in a night fighting role to combat the RAF's escalating Night Bomber Offensive. He suggested that single seat fighters could operate in the bombers' general target area using the light of target indicators, massed searchlights and the fires on the ground to spot their targets. These operations were trialed over Berlin during May and June 1943 and codenamed 'Wilde Sau'.
Recruiting a group of experienced bomber pilots and former instructors with the requisite blind-flying experience, a test unit was set up on June 26, 1943 in Deelen
as Stab/Versuchskommando Herrmann to test Herrmann's theory. Standard Fw 190-A
's and Bf 109-G
's were used, initially 'borrowed' from their parent day units, principally Jagdgeschwader 1
and Jagdgeschwader 11
.
Jagdgeschwader 300 employed the Wilde Sau tactic in single engine fighters for the first time on the night of 3/4 July 1943 when 653 RAF aircraft attacked Cologne's industrial area on the east bank of the Rhine. The German fighters, taking advantage of the illumination from searchlights, target indicator flares and ground fires claimed 12 aircraft shot down, but had to share their claims with the anti-aircraft batteries who also claimed the downings. To avoid losses to friendly fire
, anti-aircraft batteries were ordered to restrict the height of their flak barrage and the fighters operated above that pre-agreed ceiling.
The test unit expanded into JG 300, its I. Gruppe officially formed on August 20, 1943. Sister units JG 301 and JG 302 were also formed on similar lines at this time, collectively brought together as 30. Jagd-Division
under Herrmann's command. Special variants of the Bf 109 were later adapted for this night fighter duty; the Bf 109 G-6(N) and Bf 109 G-6(Y). The former was fitted with the FuG 350 "Naxos Z"
passive homing detector and the latter with the "Y" interception radio system. Initially however these single seat fighters used no radar or radio aids whatsoever.
Although 30. Jagd-Division was initially far from a fully established Jagdgeschwader the formation process was rapidly sped up with RAF Bomber Command
deployment in July 1943 of 'Window'; radar-jamming tin-foil strips which had rendered the Luftwaffe radar control system
ineffective. JG 300 and its sister units were the only real interim counter measure while Luftwaffe radar research technology strove to overcome this jamming.
JG 300's night operations met with considerable success initially. Its first formal defensive operation on 27/28 July 1943 saw the unit claim four of the 17 bombers downed that night for one loss. Some 13 (out of a Nachtjagd total of 56 claimed) bombers were claimed shot down by JG 300 on the night of 24 August, while a further 12 were claimed downed on 27-28 August. 10 (from a total of 47) were claimed 1 September, and another 18 on 5-6 September.
However, the number of night accidents involving single-seat fighters caused by poor weather conditions in the winter of 1943 led to unsustainable losses in pilots and aircraft.
Thus by the end of 1943 JG 300 fielded 3 Fw 190 A-6 (Stab), 14 Bf 109 G-6 (I Gruppe), 4 Fw 190 A-6 (II Gruppe) and 1 Bf 109 G-6 (III Gruppe).
On 1 January 1944 parts of the I./JG 300 was detached and used to form 1./Nachtjagdgruppe 10
. By early 1944 the Nachtjagdgeschwaders has been equipped with the advanced and "window-proof" Lichtenstein SN-2
VHF airborne radar, and thus JG 300 gradually evolved into a standard day fighter unit, flying operations against the USAAF 8th and 15th Air Forces over Western Europe as a part of Reichsverteidigung (Defense of the Reich
).
Night operations were still sometimes flown, as on the 24/25 March 1944, when I. and II./JG 300 claimed 7 RAF bombers of one loss. By this time Oblt. Klaus Bretschneider
of 5./JG 300 had, as a “Wilde Sau” night fighter, claimed 14 night victories during 20 combats
By May 1944, JG 300 at last had numbers approaching a full establishment of aircraft , with I./JG 300 having 42 (14 operative) Bf 109 G-6 at Bonn
Hangelar; II./JG 300 stationed at Dortmund
with 25 (13) Fw 190 A-6 and III./ JG 300 with 46 (25 operative) Bf 109 G-6 at Wiesbaden
/Erbenheim. Major Walther Dahl
was appointed Kommodore of JG 300 on 27 June.
JG 300 lost several of its top aces in the summer of 1944. On 28 July 1944, Oblt. Ernst-Erich Hirschfeld (24 claims, 9 at night) of 5. JG 300 was shot down and killed in his Fw 190 A-8 near Erfurt
, as was Leut. Gerhard Bärsdorf (7 claims) who collided with his wing man. On 29 July 1944, Oberfeldwebel Hermann Wischnewski (26 claims) of I./JG 300 shot down two B-17 bombers and a P-51 fighter but then shot down himself and badly injured.
In the summer of 1944 Strumgruppen units were raised, comprising modified heavily armoured and armed FW 190 fighters, and charged with breaking up the massed ranks of USAAF daylight bombers. Initially manned by volunteers, each pilot was trained to close with the enemy and engage in extremely short-range combat, attacking from the front and the rear in tight arrowhead formations, even to contemplate deliberately ramming
enemy bombers when circumstances permitted.
II./ JG 300 became such a Strumgruppen unit at this time and, equipped with the Focke-Wulf 190 A-8/R2 or R8 with two MK 108
30mm cannon, and two MG 151/20
20mm cannon , enjoyed initial success in downing bombers, but also suffered heavy losses to the massed fighter escorts. From June 1944 until the end of October 1944 II gruppe suffered some 73 killed, 2 missing, and 32 wounded.
On 7 July 1944 a force of 1,129 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberator
s of the United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF) Eighth Air Force
set out from England to bomb aircraft factories in the Leipzig
area and the synthetic oil plants at Boehlen, Leuna
-Merseburg and Lützkendorf. This formation was intercepted by a German Gefechtsverband comprising IV.(Sturm) Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 3
, escorted by two Gruppen of Bf 109s from JG 300 led by Major Walther Dahl
. Dahl drove the attack to point-blank range behind the Liberators of the 492nd Bomb Group before opening fire, which at the time was temporarily without fighter cover. Within about a minute the entire squadron of twelve B-24s had been annihilated. The USAAF 2nd Air Division lost 28 Liberators that day, the majority to the Sturmgruppe attack. IV./JG 3 lost nine fighters shot down and three more suffered damage and made crash landings; five of the unit's pilots were killed.
USAAF escort fighters were increasingly effective. On 11 September 1944 II.(Sturm)/JG 300 lost 13 Fw 190s to P-51 Mustangs, with 10 pilots killed and two wounded. They claimed nine Mustangs, actual Mustang losses was just one 339th Fighter Group P-51, damaged by Flak and shot down by an Me 262. I./JG 300, flying top cover lost 13 Bf 109s without claiming a kill. One pilot was killed and one wounded.
Major Alfred Lindenberger
, (a forty-seven year old Prussian World War I ace with 12 victories) was posted to II./JG 300 in June 1944 and was made Gruppenkommandeur later in 1944. On 28 September 1944 he was shot down by P-51s and wounded. Owing to his age and inexperience with modern fighters he flew most sorties as a wingman. Lindenberger claimed two US four-engined bombers on 17 December 1944.
As the year progressed the 30 Jagddivision was broken up, as JG 301 left for Ploesti in Romania while JG 302 flew combat over Hungary and Austria. Only JG 300 remained in the Reich. Major Dahl was dismissed from his command of JG 300 by Hermann Göring
on 30 November 1944 for refusal to launch what he considered a suicidal interception mission.
During the Ardennes offensive in late 1944 JG 300 was one of the few units remaining on Reich defence
duties with most other fighter units sent to support attacking ground forces.
The Geschwader took heavy losses in late 1944, particularly on 17 December when 100 aircraft of JG 300 intercepted USAAF bombers, claiming 33 shot down but losing 43 of their own number.
Many of the pilots killed were irreplaceable Experten , including on 24 December 1944, the Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 300 Oblt Klaus Bretschneider
who was shot down by 357th FG P-51s (who claimed 28 fighters for 2 losses).
On 14 January 1945 a mixed formation of JG 300 and JG 301 were attacked by USAAF escort fighters during an interception against the USAAF 3rd Air Division bombing oil targets over central Germany. The two Geschwaders claimed 18 B-17s, 7 P-51s and one P-47 downed, although the mixed formation lost 89 aircraft with 52 killed and 18 wounded. (JG 300 lost 51 fighters, with 32 pilots killed and 10 wounded).The 357th Fighter Group claimed over 50 kills, and the 56th FG and the 20th FG also claimed victories.
On 14 February 1945 operations against the USAAF bomber streams by JG 300 and JG 301 led to I. and III./JG 300 losing 3 Bf 109s and II./JG 300 losing 6 Fw 190s.
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
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
-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....
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...
. JG 300 was formed on June 26, 1943 in Deelen
Deelen
Deelen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is largely located in the municipality of Ede, Netherlands, but a small part lies in the municipality of Arnhem.Deelen is best known for the Deelen Air Base, a military airfield close to the village....
as Stab/Versuchskommando Herrmann, from July 18, 1943 as Stab/JG Herrmann, and then finally redesignated on August 20, 1943 to Stab/JG 300. Its first Geschwaderkommodore
Geschwaderkommodore
Geschwaderkommodore is a Luftwaffe position , originating during World War II, that is the equivalent of a RAF Group Commander or USAF Wing Commander. A Geschwaderkommodore is usually of Oberstleutnant or Oberst rank...
was Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant is a German Army and Air Force rank equal to Lieutenant Colonel, above Major, and below Oberst.There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant...
Hajo Herrmann
Hajo Herrmann
Hans-Joachim 'Hajo' Herrmann was a Luftwaffe bomber pilot and later after the end of World War II, focusing his activities as a lawyer on civil and criminal law. In World War II, he was a high ranking and influential member of the Luftwaffe. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the...
.
Genesis and Wilde Sau
JG 300 had its origins in April 1943, when Major "Hajo" HerrmannHajo Herrmann
Hans-Joachim 'Hajo' Herrmann was a Luftwaffe bomber pilot and later after the end of World War II, focusing his activities as a lawyer on civil and criminal law. In World War II, he was a high ranking and influential member of the Luftwaffe. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the...
, a decorated bomber pilot advocated the use of single-seat day fighters in a night fighting role to combat the RAF's escalating Night Bomber Offensive. He suggested that single seat fighters could operate in the bombers' general target area using the light of target indicators, massed searchlights and the fires on the ground to spot their targets. These operations were trialed over Berlin during May and June 1943 and codenamed 'Wilde Sau'.
Recruiting a group of experienced bomber pilots and former instructors with the requisite blind-flying experience, a test unit was set up on June 26, 1943 in Deelen
Deelen
Deelen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is largely located in the municipality of Ede, Netherlands, but a small part lies in the municipality of Arnhem.Deelen is best known for the Deelen Air Base, a military airfield close to the village....
as Stab/Versuchskommando Herrmann to test Herrmann's theory. Standard Fw 190-A
Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:...
's and Bf 109-G
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
's were used, initially 'borrowed' from their parent day units, principally Jagdgeschwader 1
Jagdgeschwader 1
Jagdgeschwader 1 may refer to one of two German military units:*Jagdgeschwader 1 , a unit of the Luftstreitkräfte in World War I, commanded by Manfred von Richthofen ; also known as Jagdgeschwader 1 Flying Circus...
and Jagdgeschwader 11
Jagdgeschwader 11
Jagdgeschwader 11 was a German fighter wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Its primary role was the defense of Northern Germany against Allied day bomber raids...
.
Jagdgeschwader 300 employed the Wilde Sau tactic in single engine fighters for the first time on the night of 3/4 July 1943 when 653 RAF aircraft attacked Cologne's industrial area on the east bank of the Rhine. The German fighters, taking advantage of the illumination from searchlights, target indicator flares and ground fires claimed 12 aircraft shot down, but had to share their claims with the anti-aircraft batteries who also claimed the downings. To avoid losses to friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
, anti-aircraft batteries were ordered to restrict the height of their flak barrage and the fighters operated above that pre-agreed ceiling.
The test unit expanded into JG 300, its I. Gruppe officially formed on August 20, 1943. Sister units JG 301 and JG 302 were also formed on similar lines at this time, collectively brought together as 30. Jagd-Division
30th Fighter Division (Germany)
30. Jagd Division was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed in September 1943 in Berlin and disbanded on 16 March 1944....
under Herrmann's command. Special variants of the Bf 109 were later adapted for this night fighter duty; the Bf 109 G-6(N) and Bf 109 G-6(Y). The former was fitted with the FuG 350 "Naxos Z"
Naxos radar detector
The FuG 350 Naxos radar warning receiver was a World War II German countermeasure to SHF band centimetric wavelength radar produced by a cavity magnetron...
passive homing detector and the latter with the "Y" interception radio system. Initially however these single seat fighters used no radar or radio aids whatsoever.
Although 30. Jagd-Division was initially far from a fully established Jagdgeschwader the formation process was rapidly sped up with RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
deployment in July 1943 of 'Window'; radar-jamming tin-foil strips which had rendered the Luftwaffe radar control system
Kammhuber Line
The Kammhuber Line was the name given to the German night air defense system established in July 1940 by Colonel Josef Kammhuber.- Description :...
ineffective. JG 300 and its sister units were the only real interim counter measure while Luftwaffe radar research technology strove to overcome this jamming.
JG 300's night operations met with considerable success initially. Its first formal defensive operation on 27/28 July 1943 saw the unit claim four of the 17 bombers downed that night for one loss. Some 13 (out of a Nachtjagd total of 56 claimed) bombers were claimed shot down by JG 300 on the night of 24 August, while a further 12 were claimed downed on 27-28 August. 10 (from a total of 47) were claimed 1 September, and another 18 on 5-6 September.
However, the number of night accidents involving single-seat fighters caused by poor weather conditions in the winter of 1943 led to unsustainable losses in pilots and aircraft.
Thus by the end of 1943 JG 300 fielded 3 Fw 190 A-6 (Stab), 14 Bf 109 G-6 (I Gruppe), 4 Fw 190 A-6 (II Gruppe) and 1 Bf 109 G-6 (III Gruppe).
On 1 January 1944 parts of the I./JG 300 was detached and used to form 1./Nachtjagdgruppe 10
Nachtjagdgruppe 10
Nachtjagdgruppe 10 was a German Luftwaffe night fighter-Gruppe during World War II. NJG 10 was formed on 1 January 1944 at Werneuchen with 3 Staffel . It was subordinated to the 1. Jagd-Division , stationed at Döberitz. On 6 March 1945 NJGr 10 transferred to Liebenwalde and disbanded in April 1945...
. By early 1944 the Nachtjagdgeschwaders has been equipped with the advanced and "window-proof" Lichtenstein SN-2
Lichtenstein radar
Lichtenstein radar was a German airborne radar in use during World War II. It was available in at least four major revisions, the FuG 202 Lichtenstein B/C, FuG 212 Lichtenstein C-1, FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 and FuG 228 Lichtenstein SN-3.- FuG 202 Lichtenstein B/C :Early FuG 202 Lichtenstein B/C...
VHF airborne radar, and thus JG 300 gradually evolved into a standard day fighter unit, flying operations against the USAAF 8th and 15th Air Forces over Western Europe as a part of Reichsverteidigung (Defense of the Reich
Defense of the Reich
The Defence of the Reich is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe over German occupied Europe and Germany itself during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the destruction of German military and civil industries by the Western Allies...
).
Night operations were still sometimes flown, as on the 24/25 March 1944, when I. and II./JG 300 claimed 7 RAF bombers of one loss. By this time Oblt. Klaus Bretschneider
Klaus Bretschneider
Klaus Bretschneider was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II...
of 5./JG 300 had, as a “Wilde Sau” night fighter, claimed 14 night victories during 20 combats
By May 1944, JG 300 at last had numbers approaching a full establishment of aircraft , with I./JG 300 having 42 (14 operative) Bf 109 G-6 at Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
Hangelar; II./JG 300 stationed at Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
with 25 (13) Fw 190 A-6 and III./ JG 300 with 46 (25 operative) Bf 109 G-6 at Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
/Erbenheim. Major Walther Dahl
Walther Dahl
Walther Dahl was a German Oberst Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military...
was appointed Kommodore of JG 300 on 27 June.
JG 300 lost several of its top aces in the summer of 1944. On 28 July 1944, Oblt. Ernst-Erich Hirschfeld (24 claims, 9 at night) of 5. JG 300 was shot down and killed in his Fw 190 A-8 near Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
, as was Leut. Gerhard Bärsdorf (7 claims) who collided with his wing man. On 29 July 1944, Oberfeldwebel Hermann Wischnewski (26 claims) of I./JG 300 shot down two B-17 bombers and a P-51 fighter but then shot down himself and badly injured.
Sturmgruppen
Aerial ramming
Aerial ramming or air ramming is a last-ditch tactic in air combat, sometimes used when all else has failed. Long before the invention of aircraft, ramming tactics in naval warfare and ground warfare were common...
enemy bombers when circumstances permitted.
II./ JG 300 became such a Strumgruppen unit at this time and, equipped with the Focke-Wulf 190 A-8/R2 or R8 with two MK 108
MK 108 cannon
The MK 108 was a 30 mm caliber autocannon manufactured in Germany during World War II by Rheinmetall-Borsig for use in aircraft.-Development:...
30mm cannon, and two MG 151/20
MG 151 cannon
The MG 151 was a 15 mm autocannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser starting in 1940. It was in 1941 developed into the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon which was widely used on many types of German Luftwaffe fighters, fighter bombers, night fighters, ground attack and even bombers as part of or as...
20mm cannon , enjoyed initial success in downing bombers, but also suffered heavy losses to the massed fighter escorts. From June 1944 until the end of October 1944 II gruppe suffered some 73 killed, 2 missing, and 32 wounded.
On 7 July 1944 a force of 1,129 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
s of the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(USAAF) Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
set out from England to bomb aircraft factories in the Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
area and the synthetic oil plants at Boehlen, Leuna
Leuna
Leuna is a town in the Saalekreis, Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany, south of Merseburg and Halle. It is known for the Leunawerke , at 13 km2 one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany, where a very wide range of chemicals and plastics is produced...
-Merseburg and Lützkendorf. This formation was intercepted by a German Gefechtsverband comprising IV.(Sturm) Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 3
Jagdgeschwader 3
Jagdgeschwader 3 Udet was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. The Geschwader operated on all the German fronts in the European Theatre of World War II. It was named after Ernst Udet in 1942.-Campaign in the West :...
, escorted by two Gruppen of Bf 109s from JG 300 led by Major Walther Dahl
Walther Dahl
Walther Dahl was a German Oberst Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military...
. Dahl drove the attack to point-blank range behind the Liberators of the 492nd Bomb Group before opening fire, which at the time was temporarily without fighter cover. Within about a minute the entire squadron of twelve B-24s had been annihilated. The USAAF 2nd Air Division lost 28 Liberators that day, the majority to the Sturmgruppe attack. IV./JG 3 lost nine fighters shot down and three more suffered damage and made crash landings; five of the unit's pilots were killed.
USAAF escort fighters were increasingly effective. On 11 September 1944 II.(Sturm)/JG 300 lost 13 Fw 190s to P-51 Mustangs, with 10 pilots killed and two wounded. They claimed nine Mustangs, actual Mustang losses was just one 339th Fighter Group P-51, damaged by Flak and shot down by an Me 262. I./JG 300, flying top cover lost 13 Bf 109s without claiming a kill. One pilot was killed and one wounded.
Major Alfred Lindenberger
Alfred Lindenberger
Leutnant Alfred Lindenberger was a World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories. He also scored four victories during World War II....
, (a forty-seven year old Prussian World War I ace with 12 victories) was posted to II./JG 300 in June 1944 and was made Gruppenkommandeur later in 1944. On 28 September 1944 he was shot down by P-51s and wounded. Owing to his age and inexperience with modern fighters he flew most sorties as a wingman. Lindenberger claimed two US four-engined bombers on 17 December 1944.
As the year progressed the 30 Jagddivision was broken up, as JG 301 left for Ploesti in Romania while JG 302 flew combat over Hungary and Austria. Only JG 300 remained in the Reich. Major Dahl was dismissed from his command of JG 300 by Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
on 30 November 1944 for refusal to launch what he considered a suicidal interception mission.
During the Ardennes offensive in late 1944 JG 300 was one of the few units remaining on Reich defence
Defense of the Reich
The Defence of the Reich is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe over German occupied Europe and Germany itself during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the destruction of German military and civil industries by the Western Allies...
duties with most other fighter units sent to support attacking ground forces.
The Geschwader took heavy losses in late 1944, particularly on 17 December when 100 aircraft of JG 300 intercepted USAAF bombers, claiming 33 shot down but losing 43 of their own number.
Many of the pilots killed were irreplaceable Experten , including on 24 December 1944, the Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 300 Oblt Klaus Bretschneider
Klaus Bretschneider
Klaus Bretschneider was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II...
who was shot down by 357th FG P-51s (who claimed 28 fighters for 2 losses).
On 14 January 1945 a mixed formation of JG 300 and JG 301 were attacked by USAAF escort fighters during an interception against the USAAF 3rd Air Division bombing oil targets over central Germany. The two Geschwaders claimed 18 B-17s, 7 P-51s and one P-47 downed, although the mixed formation lost 89 aircraft with 52 killed and 18 wounded. (JG 300 lost 51 fighters, with 32 pilots killed and 10 wounded).The 357th Fighter Group claimed over 50 kills, and the 56th FG and the 20th FG also claimed victories.
On 14 February 1945 operations against the USAAF bomber streams by JG 300 and JG 301 led to I. and III./JG 300 losing 3 Bf 109s and II./JG 300 losing 6 Fw 190s.
Geschwaderkommodore
- Oberstleutnant Hajo HerrmannHajo HerrmannHans-Joachim 'Hajo' Herrmann was a Luftwaffe bomber pilot and later after the end of World War II, focusing his activities as a lawyer on civil and criminal law. In World War II, he was a high ranking and influential member of the Luftwaffe. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the...
, June 1943 – 26 September 1943 - Oberstleutnant Kurt Kettner, 26 September 1943 – 27 June 1944
- Oberstleutnant Walther DahlWalther DahlWalther Dahl was a German Oberst Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military...
, 27 June 1944 – 26 January 1944 - Major Kurd Peters (acting), December 1944 – January 1945
- Major Anton HacklAnton HacklAnton "Toni" Hackl was a German former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords during World War II...
, 30 January 1945 – 20 February 1945 - Major Kurd Peters (acting), March 1945 – April 1945
- Major Günther RallGünther RallLieutenant-General Günther Rall was the third most successful fighter ace in history. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He achieved a total of 275 victories during World War II: 272 on the Eastern Front,...
, 20 February 1945 – 8 May 1945
I. Gruppe/JG 300
- Oberstleutnant Ewald Janssen, 1 July 1943 – 29 October 1943
- Hauptmann Gerhard Stamp, 1 November 1943 – November 1944
- Major Baier, November 1944 – March 1945
II. Gruppe/JG 300
- Hauptmann Kurd Peters, November 1943 – 29 June 1944
- Major Alfred LindenbergerAlfred LindenbergerLeutnant Alfred Lindenberger was a World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories. He also scored four victories during World War II....
, June 1944 - 28 September 1944 - Hauptmann Waldemar RadenerWaldemar RadenerWaldemar Radener was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Waldemar Radener was killed on 8 January 1957 in a...
, 23 February 1945 – 16 April 1945 - Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Dietsche, 16 April 1945 – 8 May 1945
III. Gruppe/JG 300
- Major Iro IlkIro IlkIro Ilk was a German World War II Luftwaffe bomber pilot, Fighter Ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat...
, 31 January 1944 – 25 September 1944 - Hauptmann Herbert Nölter, 26 September 1944 – 6 December 1944
- Major Hans-Karl Kamp, 7 December 1944 – 31 December 1944
- Hauptmann Peter JennePeter JennePeter Jenne was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. On 2 March 1945, Peter Jenne was shot down and killed...
, 1 January 1945 – 2 March 1945