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| Aviation Art Collecton - JG3 |
Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 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. Commanders of IV./JG 3 Major Franz Beyer, 1. June 1943 Hauptmann Heinz Lang , 11 February 1944 Major Friedrich-Karl Müller, 26 February 1944 Hauptmann Heinz Lang , 11 April 1944 Major Wilhelm Moritz, 18 April 1944 Hauptmann Hubert-York Weydenhammer, 5 December 1944 Major Erwin Bacsila, 5 January 1945 Oberleutnant Oskar Romm, 17 February 1945 Hauptmann Gerhard Koall, 25 April 1945 Hauptmann Günther Schack, 1 Mai 1945 |
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| Aircraft for : JG3 | ||
| A list of all aircraft known to have been flown by JG3. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
Fw190 
Manufacturer : Fokke-Wulf Production Began : 1940 Retired : 1945 | Fw190 The Focke-Wulf 190 development project began in 1937. Conceived as a hedge against total dependence on the Messerchmitt 109, the 190 was designed by Kurt Tank utilizing a radial engine. This was against generally accepted design criteria in Germany, and many historians believe that the decision to produce a radial engine fighter was largely due to the limited manufacturing capacity for in-line, water-cooled engines which were widely used on all other Luftwaffe aircraft. Despite these concerns, Tanks design was brilliant, and the 190 would become one of the top fighter aircraft of WWII. The first prototype flew in mid-1939. The aircraft had excellent flying characteristics, a wonderful rate of acceleration, and was heavily armed. By late 1940 the new fighter was ordered into production. Nicknamed the butcher bird, by Luftwaffe pilots, early 190s were quite successful in the bomber interceptor role, but at this stage of the war many Allied bombing raids lacked fighter escort. As the war dragged on, Allied bombers were increasingly accompanied by fighters, including the very effective P-51 Mustang. The Allies learned from experience that the 190s performance fell off sharply at altitudes above 20,000 feet. As a result, most Allied bombing missions were shifted to higher altitudes when fighter opposition was likely. Kurt Tank had recognized this shortcoming and began working on a high-altitude version of the 190 utilizing an in-line, water-cooled engine. Utilizing a Jumo 12-cylinder engine rated at 1770-HP, and capable of 2,240-HP for short bursts with its methanol injection system, the 190D, or Long Nose or Dora as it was called, had a top speed of 426-MPH at 22,000 feet. Armament was improved with two fuselage and two wing mounted 20mm cannon. To accommodate the changes in power plants the Dora had a longer, more streamlined fuselage, with 24 inches added to the nose, and an additional 19 inches added aft of the cockpit to compensate for the altered center of gravity. By mid 1944 the Dora began to reach fighter squadrons in quantity. Although the aircraft had all the right attributes to serve admirably in the high altitude interceptor role, it was not generally focused on such missions. Instead many 190Ds were assigned to protect airfields where Me-262 jet fighters were based. This was due to the latter aircrafts extreme vulnerability to Allied attack during takeoff and landing. The 190Ds also played a major role in Operation Bodenplatte, the New Years Day raid in 1945 which destroyed approximately 500 Allied aircraft on the ground. The High Command was impressed with the 190Ds record on this raid, and ordered most future production of the Doras to be equipped as fighter-bombers. In retrospect this was a strategic error, and this capable aircraft was not fully utilized in the role for which it was intended. | |
Me109 
Manufacturer : Messerschmitt Production Began : 1937 Retired : 1945 Number Built : 33984 | Me109 Willy Messerschmitt designed the BF109 during the early 1930s. The Bf109 was one of the first all metal monocoque construction fighters with a closed canopy and retractable undercarriage. The engine of the Me109 was a V12 aero engine which was liquid-cooled. The Bf109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and flew to the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter squadrons. During the Battle of Britian the Bf109 was used in the role of an escort fighter, a role for which it was not designed for, and it was also used as a fighter bomber. During the last days of May 1940 Robert Stanford-Tuck, the RAF ace, got the chance to fly an Me109 which they had rebuilt after it had crash landed. Stanford-Tuck found out that the Me109 was a wonderful little plane, it was slightly faster than the Spitfire, but lacked the Spitfire manoeuvrability. By testing the Me109, Tuck could put himself inside the Me109 when fighting them, knowing its weak and strong points. With the introduction of the improved Bf109F in the spring of 1941, the type again proved to be an effective fighter during the invasion of Yugoslavia and during the Battle of Crete and the invasion of Russia and it was used during the Siege of the Mediteranean island of Malta. The Bf109 was the main fighter for the Luftwaffe until 1942 when the Fw190 entered service and shared this position, and was partially replaced in Western Europe, but the Me109 continued to serve on the Eastern Front and during the defence of the Reich against the allied bombers. It was also used to good effect in the Mediterranean and North Africa in support of The Africa Korps. The Me109 was also supplied to several German allies, including Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia. The Bf109 scored more kills than any other fighter of any country during the war and was built in greater numbers with a total of over 31,000 aircraft being built. The Bf109 was flown by the three top German aces of the war war. Erich Hartmann with 352 victories, Gerhard Barkhorn with 301 victories and Gunther Rall with 275 kills. Bf109 pilots were credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen Luftwaffe Aces scored more than 200 kills. Altogether this group of pilots were credited with a total of nearly 15,000 kills, of which the Messerschmitt Bf109 was credited with over 10,000 of these victories. The Bf109 was the most produced warplane during World War II, with 30,573 examples built during the war, and the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945. Bf109s remained in foreign service for many years after World War II. The Swiss used their Bf109Gs well into the 1950s. The Finnish Air Force did not retire their Bf109Gs until March 1954. Romania used its Bf109s until 1955. The Spanish Hispanos flew even longer. Some were still in service in the late 1960s. | |
| Signatures for : JG3 | |||||||
| A list of all signatures from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | |||||||
| Name | Info | ||||||
 Heinz Bar Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Heinz Bar
| Heinz Bar Lieutenant Colonel Oskar-Heinz Heinrich Pritzl Bär born 25 May 1913 was a German Luftwaffe flying ace who served throughout World War II in Europe. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He flew over a thousand combat missions, and fought in all major German theatres of the war, including the Western, Eastern and Mediterranean fronts. On 18 occasions he survived being shot down, and he was credited with 220 aerial victories. Heinz Bär, a Saxon with a strong accent, joined the Reichswehr in 1934 and transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935. Serving first as a mechanic, then as a pilot on transport aircraft, he was informally trained as a fighter pilot. He claimed his first aerial victory in September 1939 on the French border. By the end of the Battle of Britain, his tally of victories had increased to 17. Transferred to the Eastern front to participate in Operation Barbarossa, he quickly accumulated further victories, a feat that earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for 90 aerial victories in February 1942. During the remainder of World War II, Heinz Bär was credited with 130 other aerial victories, including 16 while flying one of the first jet fighters, the Me 262, an achievement which would normally have earned him the coveted Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds However, Hermann Göring's personal dislike of Bär, coupled with Bär's insubordinate character and lack of military discipline, deprived him of this award. After World War II, Bär continued his career as an aviator and was killed in a flying accident on 28 April 1957 near Braunschweig. | ||||||
  Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob
| Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob After success in the Battle of Britain, Hans-Ekkehard Bob took over leadership of 9./JG54 in 1940. The following year he was awarded the Knights Cross. Transferring to the Eastern Front his victories rose steadily to 50 by September 1942. His Group later transferred back to the West for a short period, where in April 1943, he rammed a B-17 Fortress. Returning to the Eastern Front as Kommander of IV./JG3, he ended the war as Adjutant of Gallands JV44 in the West. In his 700 missions he scored 60 victories.
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 Feldwebel Oskar Bosch Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Feldwebel Oskar Bosch | Feldwebel Oskar Bosch Flew Fw190s in the East and West with JG3 scoring 18 victories. | ||||||
 Generalmajor Josef Haibock Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Generalmajor Josef Haibock | Generalmajor Josef Haibock Flew Me109s & Fw190s in the West & East with JG26, JG52 & JG3 scoring 77 victories. | ||||||
 Unteroffizier Gerhard Kott Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Unteroffizier Gerhard Kott | Unteroffizier Gerhard Kott Luftwaffe Fw190 with 8 victories. Kott joined III./JG3 in 1943 flying Me109s on the Eastern front. Transferring to IV./JG3 he converted to the Fw190 Sturm, before joining JG4 Sturmgruppe, also on Fw190s. Here he shot down four B-17s and one B-24. After a period instructing he returned to the East, adding to his score. He finished the war with a total of 8 victories. | ||||||
  Oberleutnant Erwin Leykauf Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Oberleutnant Erwin Leykauf | Oberleutnant Erwin Leykauf Born in January 1918, Erwin Leykauf learned to fly at glider school and Luftkriegschule, before being called up to fly at the beginning of the war. He flew with JG21 at the beginning of the Battle of Britain, which soon became JG54 where he scored his first 7 victories. Transferring to the Balkans and later the Eastern Front he was forced into an emergency landing behind enemy lines during Operation Barbarossa, eventually making his way back to rejoin his unit. On the night of 22nd - 23rd June 1942, he claimed 6 victories in less than one hour. In August 1943, Leykauf began converting with JG54 to the Fw190 fighter. At the end of the war he was with JG7, flying the Me262, although he did not get a chance to fly any missions on the jet fighter. Erwin was awarded the Iron Cross I and II and his victories had climbed to 33. | ||||||
 Walter Loos Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Walter Loos | Walter Loos Walter Loos was one of the last German Experten. He came as a newly trained pilot to the III./JG3 in January 1944, and was one of the few new pilots of 1944 who survived the war. He claimed his first aerial victory during a fierce aerial battle when the 8th US Air Force attacked Berlin on 6th March 1944. While with the Sturmgruppe IV./JG3, he downed several four-engine bombers and was hand picked by Walther Dahl for Geschwaderstab /JG300. Loos made a great success as a Sturmflieger, but was himself shot down nine times in only a few months. Sta/JG301 was equipped with the Ta152, the most modern propeller fighter, in order to protect the bases of the jet fighters from spring 1945. It was natural to include Loos in this unit. On 24th April 1945, Loos encountered a formation of Soviet fighters over Berlin and managed to down two of them. In spite of flying only 66 missions, he was credited with 38 confirmed victories, including 30 four-engine bombers, plus 8 unconfirmed victories. Six days later on 30th April, JG301 took off for their last battle of the war. Russian fighters attacked the formation and Loos shot down one Yak-9 – one of the last two victories claimed by JG301. That was his 38th victory. While 38 victories for WW2 German fighter pilots was not a huge number, when one considers that over 100 aces achieved over 100 victories, it is outstanding when one considers that Loos achieved his 38 victories in only 66 missions. Few pilots in history have achieved that ratio of kills to sorties. | ||||||
  Leutnant Siegfried Muller Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Leutnant Siegfried Muller | Leutnant Siegfried Muller Born in 1924, Siegfried Muller first flew with JG1 Molders in the south of France. In 1943 he took part in the air battles over Salerno and Monte Cassino. He joined IV./JG3 Udet in June 1944, where he was promoted to Staffelkapitan of 16 Staffel /IV Sturm Gruppe flying heavily armoured Fw190s. With this Gruppe he took part in the Ardennes Offensive and on 1st January 1945, Operation Bodenplatte. At the end of the war he was attached to JG7 for training on the Me262 jet fighter. Awarded the Iron Cross 1 and 2, he scored 17 victories, including 9 four-engined bombers. | ||||||
 Oberfeldwebel Helmut Ruffler Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Oberfeldwebel Helmut Ruffler
| Oberfeldwebel Helmut Ruffler Helmut Ruffler joined 9./JG3 in February 1941 and was soon to prove himself a masterful fighter pilot. His scores began to mount quickly and by the end of 1942 his tally had risen to 50 victories. Surviving being shot down in 1943, he was posted as a much needed fighter instructor but was soon back in the fray - joining 4./JG3 in the home defence of the Reich. In March 1945 he was promoted Staffelfuhrer of 9./JG51. Shot down 5 times during the war, Helmut Ruffler fleww over 690 missions and scored 98 victories. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in December 1942. He died on 21st September 2001. | ||||||
  Captain Gunther Schack Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Captain Gunther Schack
| Captain Gunther Schack Major Günther Schack was born in Bartenstein, a small town in Eastern Prussia, on 12 November 1917 as the son of Dr. Willy Schack and his wife, Dorothea (maiden name: Nietzki). He studied at the University of Stuttgart and at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule. In 1937, when he first tried to join the Luftwaffe, he was categorised as wehruntauglich (unsuited for military service) because of a sports injury earlier in his life. Günther Schack resubmitted an application as a volunteer and was accepted into the Luftwaffe on 2 September 1939. After being trained as a fighter pilot, Schack was posted to 7th Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51. Schack claimed first aerial victory in combat on 23 July 1941 on the Eastern front. Meanwhile, he had been promoted to the rank of Unteroffizier. After his 48th aerial victory, he was ordered back to Germany to serve as a flight instructor and was promoted to Leutnant on 1 January 1943. In mid 1943 he returned back to the Eastern front, now serving in the 9th Staffel of JG 51. He claimed his century mark in aerial combat on 3 September 1943. On 8 December 1943 he was made Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 51. Leutnant Günther Schack was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 April 1944 for 133 aerial victories.[2] Schack was then promoted to Hauptmann on 1 July 1944. In December 1944, now a Gruppenkommandeur, in charge of I./JG 51. After this Gruppe was disbanded on 1 May 1945 he briefly was named commander of the 4th Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3. By the end of the war, he had scored 174 victories in 780 aerial combats, and was shot down 15 times. Günther Schack died 14 June 2003 in Schmidt near Nideggen he was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1939 until the end of World War II in 1945. He claimed 174 enemy aircraft shot down, all of them on the Russian front. He survived being shot down 15 times during his 780 combat missions. After the war he lived secluded in the Eifel Mountains, and devoted himself to philosophical research. | ||||||
 Leutnant Hermann Schleinhage Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Leutnant Hermann Schleinhage | Leutnant Hermann Schleinhage Born in 1916 Hermann Schleinhage joined I./JG3 as an Unteroffizier in 1941 before being posted to join II./JG54 Green Hearts in May 1942. He then flew continuously with JG54 through to the end of the war, by which time he was Staffelkapitan of 8./JG54. Flying a total of 484 combat missions, by the end of the war Hermann Schleinhage had reached a total of 98 victories, including 38 Soviet Il-2 Shturmoviks. In February 1945 he was awarded the Knights Cross. | ||||||
  Oberleutnant Walter Schuck Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Oberleutnant Walter Schuck | Oberleutnant Walter Schuck Initially with JG3, Walter Schuck was posted north to 7./JG5 in April 1942. On 15 June 1944 he chalked up his 100th victory during a day when he shot down 6 aircraft. Two days later he had his most successful day, achieving 12 victories in twenty-four hours, a feat never surpassed in JG5. On 1 August, he assumed command of 10./JG5. Walter Schuck transferred to fly the Me262 as Staffelkapitan of 3./JG7, and achieved 8 further victories flying the new jet. His final tally was 206 air victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves. | ||||||
 Hauptmann Hans Weik Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Hauptmann Hans Weik
| Hauptmann Hans Weik Born in 1922, Hans Weik was one of the younger Luftwaffe Aces who, after commissioning, was posted to Russia in the spring of 1943 as a young Leutnant flying with the Geschwaderstab JG3. In the spring of 1944 he was promoted Staffelfuhrer 10./JG3 and as such was to become one of the most respected Staffel commanders in the home defence of Germany. In the final weeks of the war he transferred to Lechfeld for training on the Me262. Hans Weik flew over 100 combat missions and achieved a total of 36 victories, 24 of them in the west. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in July 1944. He died 5th June 2001. | ||||||
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