Table Of ContentJagdgeschwader Sl .
'Molders
I
Osprey'sprimaryLuftwaffe
authorandartist,JOHNWEAL
haswrittenand/orillustrated
morethan20titlesinthe
AircraftoftheAces,Combat
AircraftandAviationElite
Unitsseriessince1994.
Possessingoneofthelargest
privatecollectionsoforiginal
German-languageliterature
fromWorldWar2,his
researchisfi.rmlybased
onthishugearchive.Fluent
inGerman,Wealhasalso
spentmuchtimeestablishing
contactwithex-membersof
theLuftwaffe,fromGeneral
StaffOfficersoftheRLMto
frontlineaircrew.Hehasoften
usedtheseprivatesourcesto
gainaccesstofurtherarchival
material,includingcomplete
Luftwaffeordersofbattlefor
thevariousfightingfrontsand
individualcombatreports.
WealalsohelpshisGerman
wiferunasmalltechnical
translationandinterpreting
agency.
OSPREY
Aviation Elite Units
PUBLISHING
Jagdgeschwader 5 1
'Molders
I
OSPREY
Aviation Elite Units • 22
PUBLISHING
lagdgeschwader 51
'Molders
I
John Weal
Series editor Tony Holmes
FrontCover FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin2006byOspreyPublishing
Itwasshortlyafter1400hrson MidlandHouse,WestWay, Botley,Oxford,0X2OPH
6September1940whenMajor
443ParkAvenueSouth,NewYork,NY, 10016,USA
WernerMolders,Kommodoreof
E-mail:[email protected]
JG51,liftedoffinhisBf109Efrom
Pihen/StInglevert- thebasewhich
theGeschwaderstabsharedwith ©2006OspreyPublishingLimited
HauptmannBrustellin'sI.Gruppefor
muchoftheBattleofBritain.The
Allrightsreserved.Apartfromanyfairdealingforthepurposeofprivatestudy,
weakearlyautumnsunhadlong
sinceburnedoffthelasttracesof research,criticismorreview,aspermittedundertheCopyright,Designand
groundmistclingingtoPihen's PatentsAct 1988,nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedina
grassysurfaceashortdistanceinland retrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
fromCapGrisNez,butalighthaze
electrical,chemical,mechanical,optical,photocopying, recordingorotherwise
stillpersistedovertheStraits.
withoutpriorwrittenpermission.Allenquiriesshouldbeaddressedtothe
TheyellowrudderofMolders'
Emilwasdecoratedwith32killbars. publisher.
Thefirst25ofthesehadbeenscored
duringhispreviousservicewith ISBN 10: 184603045 5
JG53,whilethelastthree ISBN 13:978 184603045 1
representedatrioofHurricanes
broughtdowninthespaceoflittle
EditedbyTonyHolmes
morethantenminutesnortheast
ofFolkestonejustsixdaysearlier. PagedesignbyMarkHolt
NowMoldersandhiswingman, CoverArtworkbyMarkPostlethwaite
OberleutnantGeorgClaus,were AircraftProfilesbyJohnWeal
headingforthesameareaoftheKent
IndexbyAlanThatcher
coastforanotherfreieJagdsweep.
OriginatedbyPPSGrasmere,Leeds,UK
Butthistimepickingswerefewer,
PrintedandboundinChinathroughBookbuilders
andtheKommodorewasableto
claimonlyasingle(unidentified)
SpitfireoverFolkestone- victory 06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
number33outofthefinaltotalof
101thatwouldbecreditedtothe
ACKNO~EDGEMENTS
pilotmanyconsidertobethe
Theauthorwouldliketothankthefollowingindividualsfortheirgenerous
greatestLuftwaffefighterleader
ofWorldWar2(Coverartworkby helpinprovidinginformationandphotographs- PeterBaines,AlfredBieler,
MarkPostlethwaite) WilhelmT Goebel,ManfredGriehl, RolfHase, thelateHansLanger,Walter
Matthiesen,GerhardNolte,AxelPaul,TomasPoruba,DrAlfredPrice,thelate
FrankSchermerhorn,KH Schmeelke,JerryScuttsandRobertSimpson.
EDITOR'SNOTE
Tomakethisbest-sellingseriesasauthoritativeaspossible, theEditorwouldbe
interestedinhearingfromanyindividualwhomayhaverelevantphotographs,
documentationorfirst-handexperiencesrelatingtotheworld'selitepilots,and
theiraircraft,ofthevarioustheatresofwar.Anymaterialusedwillbecredited
toitsoriginalsource.PleasewritetoTonyHolmesviae-mailat:
[email protected]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
FORMATION AND PHONEYWAR 6
CHAPTER TWO
BATTLES OFFRANCE AND BRITAIN 18
CHAPTER THREE
EASTERN FRONT1941-43 58
CHAPTER FOUR
II. GRUPPE1942-44 94
CHAPTER FIVE
DEFEATIN THE EAST1943-45 103
CHAPTER SIX
POSTSCRIPT- WERNERWHO? 119
APPENDICES 121
COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 124
BIBLIOGRAPHY 127
INDEX 127
L.U FORMATION AND
Z
o
a:
.L. U
a..
«
PHONEY WAR
:::c
u
M
any ofthe early fighter pilots, both Allied and enemy, who
survived World War 1 subsequently went on to serve their
countriesonceagaininWorldWar2.
Mostofthosewho chose, andwereselected, to remain in theservices
during the intervening years (which, for the German veterans, would
meanfirstbeingacceptedintothe1OO,OOO-manstandingarmypermitted
bythepost-WorldWar1TreatyofVersailles,andthentransferringtothe
covert air arm of the Weimar Republic before the emergence of the
Luftwaffe proper in 1935) had risen to high rank and positions of
authority,andcommand,bytheoutbreakofWorldWar2.
Incontrast,themajorityofthosewhohadopted,orhadbeenobliged,
toreturntocivilianlifeintheaftermathofthefirstconflict,butwhothen
answered their country's call to arms by rejoining the ranks upon the
outbreakoffreshhostilitiesinSeptember1939,oftenfoughttheirsecond
warfrombehindhumblerdesks.
Veryfewfromeithercategorymanagedtogetbackonoperationsandfly
AyouthfulTheodorOsterkamp
combatmissionsinbothworldwars. Fewerstillclaimedacestatusinboth
perchesonthewheelofhisFokker
conflicts, and were honoured in each with the highest decoration their
DVIIIinFlandersinthelatesummer
nationcouldthenbestow.Onesuch,however,wasTheodorOsterkamp. of1918
6
OneofOsterkamp'spre-war o"'T1
commandswasII./JG134,which :0
s:
heactivatedon15March1936.
):>
Here,infullparadeuniform, --i
completewithearly-patternsteel o
helmetandbouquetofflowers Z
tuckedintohisbrocadewaist-belt, ):>
Z
MajorOsterkamp(centre)prepares o
toleadhisGruppeinitsfirst -0
ceremonialmarch-pastthroughthe I
o
unit'shometownofWerlon7April Z
1936.Similarlyattiredtotheir m-<
Kommandeurare(left)Oberleutnant
WalterKienzleand(right)leutnant
WernerMolders
Born in Duren, in the Rhineland, on 15 April 1892, Osterkamp
universallyknownasTheo- volunteeredfor the ImperialNavy's newly
established Marine-Fliegerkorps within days of the outbreak ofWorld
War 1inAugust 1914.Aftertraining,hewastospendnearlythreeyears
as an observer, before remustering as a pilot and joining 1. Marine
Feldjagdstaffil(1st Naval Land-based Fighter Squadron) atAertryke, in
Flanders,onhis25thbirthday.
FlyingtheAlbatrosDIll,LeutnantderReserveOsterkampclaimedhis
firstaerialvictoryoverSteenbruggeon28April 1917.Ayearlaterhewas
OntheoutbreakofWorldWar2,the appointedleaderof11.Marine-Feldjagdstaffil,andon2September1918
nowOberstleutnantOsterkampwas
withhisscorestandingat27- hewasawardedthePourIeMirite,or'Blue
commandingJagdfliegerschule1at
Werneuchen.Againinfullrig,with Max'. Addingfive more kills to his total in the final two months ofthe
thePourIeMeriteprominentathis conflict, Osterkamp ended thewar as Germany's highest scoringNaval
throat,thebenignandavuncular AirServicefighterpilot.
Osterkampwasbythistimeknown
There followed a brief stint as a member of the Kampfgeschwader
throughouttheluftwaffeas'Onkel
Theo' (Sachsenberg',whichwasavolunteerunitsetuptofighttheBolsheviksin
Courland in 1919. However, by the beginning of 1920, like so many
other ex-servicemen, Theo Osterkamp found himselfdemobilised and
withalivingtomakeasacivilian.
Despiteforgingasuccessfulcareerasacarsalesman, Osterkamp'sfirst
loveremainedflying.Andwhen, in 1926,theofferofajobwiththefirm
ofSeveracamealong,hejumpedatit. Operatingfloatplanes outofKiel
Holtenau, and ostensibly formed to undertake civilian charter work,
SeveraalsoflewundercontractfortheGermanNavy,carryingouttarget
towing duties during fleet anti-aircraft gunnery exercises, artillery
spottingandotherancillarytasks.Fromactivitiessuchasthese,itwasbut
ashortstepbackinto themilitaryproper.Andagain Osterkampneeded
littlepersuasiontomakethechange. HejoinedthestillcovertLuftwaffe
on 1August1933withtherankofhauptmann.
BythetimewarbrokeoutinSeptember1939Osterkamphadrisento
therankofoberstleutnant,andwascommandingJFS 1- thefighterpilot
schoolatWerneuchen, northeastofBerlin. Itwasfrom herethathewas
orderedtoMunster-LoddenheidetosetupJagdgeschwader51.
Formally activated on 25 November 1939, the now Oberst
Osterkamp'snewunitthusbecamethethirdofthefiveJagdgeschwaderto 7
UJ The1October1938issueofFlying
oZ magazinedevotedapagetothe FLTI 0
a::: GermanannexationofAustria U T-----
UJ sevenmonthsearlier.Theheading
I
:a<::.c!. GpheormtoagnrafpighhitsercsaopntioAnsekde,r'nM(osdice)rn neFMoowllo"bw,He'n.J",u.rtyhbfef"oOracUneltnstt.exulapntditouondtlhonef,stAhuuensdt,ramirada,tioGfaeGjrrmcrmfon-yracnet.ocokTdhiosnveeyIrs.
u Aerodrome,Vienna'.Infact,astheir
fuselagecodesindicate,theseare
He51sof3./JG135,whichwas...
beaddedtotheLuftwaffe'sorderofbattleduringtheeightmonthsofthe
PhoneyWar. The Stiibeof]Gs 27and77had both beenestablishedon
1 October 1939, that of]G 1 followed on 8 December, and the last,
Stab]G54,cameintobeingon 1February1940.
Asyet,however,OberstOsterkamphadonlytwocomponentGruppen
to his organisational name, and even these were subordinated to other
Stiibe. The first, currently based at Mannheim-Sandhofen under the
controlof]G 52,wasHauptmannHans-HeinrichBrustellin'sI./]G 51.
ThisGruppecouldtraceitshistorybacknearlythreeyears.
Itwason15March1937thatthethenI./]G135hadbegunformingon
He51s.Asthefirst]agdgruppetobeactivatedwithintheareaofLuftkreis
(AirRegion)V,whichcoveredalmostallofsouthernGermany,ittookup
residence on the still unfinished airfield at Bad Aibling, close to the
AustrianbordertothesoutheastofMunich.
InitiallycomprisingjusttwoStaffeln,I./]G 135,commandedbyMajor
Max Ibel, was brought up to full establishment with the creation ofa
3. StaffelunderOberleutnantHans-HeinrichBrustellinon 1July 1937.
Towardstheendoftheyear3./]G135'scolourfulHeinkelbiplanes-each
8 trimmed,appropriatelyenough,intheblue-and-whitecoloursofBavaria
