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| Aviation Art Collecton - JG4 |
agdgeschwader 4 (JG 4) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. JG 4 was formed as a full Geschwader on 15 June 1944 in Ansbach from Stab/Jagdgeschwader z.b.V. and its first Geschwaderkommodore was Major Gerhard Schöpfel. I./JG 4 was formed earlier on 7 August 1942 in Mizil, Romania from the Ölschutzstaffel/Jagdgeschwader 77, with 2./JG 4 formed 1 December 1942. Stab I, 3. and 4./JG 4 were formed on 10 January 1943 at Mizil, and the I Gruppe was now complete. II. Gruppe was formed in July 1944 at Salzwedel from I./Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1) and partially from Sturmstaffel 1. III. Gruppe was formed in July 1944 at Rotenburg from III./ZG 1. IV./JG 4 was formed on 20 October 1944 at Finsterwalde from II./Jagdgeschwader 5. I./JG 4 was assigned in early 1943 as defensive protection of the Mizil and Ploiești oil complexes in Romania. I./JG 4 first saw action in combat against the force of B-24 Liberators dispatched on the low-level attack against Ploiești on 1 August 1943, code-named Operation "Tidal Wave", claiming 12 Consolidated B-24 bombers downed. The unit saw further action over the Balkans against the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 15th Air Force heavy bombers flying from bases in North Africa and Italy. The unit was later deployed to the defence of Rome and northern Italy. I./JG 4 first saw action in combat against a strike force of B-24 Liberators dispatched on the celebrated low level attack against Ploiești on 1 August 1943 as Operation "Tidal Wave". Stab and I./JG 4 claimed twelve B-24 bombers shot down. JG 4 was then deployed in the German defensive campaign in Italy during the first half of 1944, prior to being shifted to the France for the Normandy invasion. Over the Lake Bracciano area on 7 May 1944, I./JG 4 encountered Spitfires of No. 72 Squadron RAF, who claimed nine Bf 109's shot down; I Gruppe lost 4 killed and 2 wounded in the action.[1] During their Italian campaign, I./JG 4 lost 40 men killed or missing, 26 wounded, and 7 taken prisoner.[2] JG 4 were then withdrawn after heavy losses back to the Reich in September 1944. and was disbanded on March 19, 1945. |
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| Aircraft for : JG4 | ||
| A list of all aircraft known to have been flown by JG4. 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 : JG4 | |||||||
| 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 | ||||||
 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. | ||||||
  Major Gerhard Schopfel Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Major Gerhard Schopfel
| Major Gerhard Schopfel Gerhard Schopfel was Staffelkapitan of 9./JG26 at the outbreak of war, and became Kommandeur of III./JG26 in August 1940. In December 1941 he succeeded Adolf Galland as Kommodore of JG26 until Januray 1943. Later, Kommodore of JG4 and JG6. He flew over 700 combat missions, achieving 40 victories, all in the West. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1940. Died 17th May 2003.
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