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Jagdgeschwader 77
Unit insignia
Active	1939–45
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Type	Fighter Aircraft
Role	Air superiority
Size	Air Force Wing
Nickname(s)	Herz As
Engagements	Western Front Battle of France Battle of Britain Eastern Front (World War II) German-Soviet air war 22 June 1941 Operation Barbarossa
Commanders
Notable commanders	Gordon Gollob Johannes Steinhoff

Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77) Herz As ("Ace of Hearts") was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during World War II. It served in all the German theaters of war, from Western Europe to the Eastern Front, and from the high north in Norway to the Mediterranean.

All three gruppen (groups) within the unit operated variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 109. II. Gruppe was the only German unit entirely equipped, albeit only during November–December 1943, with the Macchi C.205, a highly regarded Italian fighter.

Formation

Initially, JG 77 was created with two Gruppen (groups) and without a Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit). I. Gruppe of JG 77 was created from IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 132 (JG 132—132nd Fighter Wing), which had become I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 331 (JG 331—331st Fighter Wing) on 3 November 1938 before it was renamed to I. Gruppe of JG 77 on 1 May 1939. II. Gruppe of JG 77 was derived from one of the oldest units of the Luftwaffe and based on the Küstenjagdgruppe (Coastal Fighter Group) named I./136. On 1 October 1936, this unit was relabeled and became I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 136 (JG 136—136th Fighter Wing), which was then renamed to II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 333 (JG 333—333rd Fighter Wing) on 1 November 1938 before it became II. Gruppe of JG 77 on 1 May 1939. The Geschwaderstab was eventually formed on 1 October 1939 at Neumünster and its first Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) was Oberstleutnant Eitel Roediger von Manteuffel.

III. Gruppe of JG 77 was formed on the Trägerjagdgruppe (Carrier Fighter Group) with the designation II./186 (T), at the time based at Trondheim, Norway. I./JG 77 was reorganized on 21 November 1940 into IV./JG 51 and a new I./JG 77 was established. In January 1942 I./JG 77 was transferred to I./JG 5 and a new I./JG 77 was created. In April 1942 I. Staffel was transferred to Romania and designated the defence unit for the Ploieşti oil fields at Mizil. (This staffel was redesignated I./JG 4 in August 1942.)

World War II

I./JG 77 took part in the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, while attached to Luftflotte 3. In April 1940 JG 77 took part in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway. After the invasion of France, I. Gruppe supported 10th Air Corps (under Luftflotte 5) in operations against the United Kingdom from bases in Norway. While stationed in Norway and Denmark in 1940 II./JG 77 claimed some 79 victories, for 6 pilots killed, before leaving in November 1940 for defence duties in Brest, France. In May 1941 II. and III./JG 77 were used in support of the invasion of Greece and the paratroop assault on Crete.

Following the operations in Crete, JG 77 was withdrawn to Romania; III. Gruppe was converted to the new Bf 109F. As Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, started on 22 June 1941, II. and III. Gruppe plus Stab supported the advance East as part of Army Group South, while I. Gruppe served on the Finnish front. The Jagdgeschwader scored quickly. On 25 June, Walter Hoeckner of 6./JG 77 shot down 8 of 10 Tupolev SB claimed by III./JG 77, while on 26 June, Oblt. Kurt Ubben shot down 4 SB and Ofw. Reinhold Schmetzer shot down 5 SB. In the period from 22 June to December 1941 the unit, and its attachment I.(J)/LG 2, destroyed 1,166 Soviet aircraft, in return for 52 losses in aerial combat and two aircraft on the ground.

I. Gruppe, which was still based in Norway, was reorganized into I. Gruppe/JG 5 in January 1942, and the entire JG 77 (with a newly created I. Gruppe) was then transferred south to the Mediterranean area from June - December 1942. JG 77 saw extensive action against the Desert Air Force fighter-bombers. Total Allied air superiority led to the various JG 77 bases in Tunisia coming under constant air attack, and a large number of Bf 109's were written off on the ground. Following the death in late March 1943 of the unit's commander Joachim Müncheberg during a mid-air collision during combat Oberstleutnant Johannes Steinhoff was appointed commander of the unit.

While I. and II./JG 77 returned to Germany to re-equip, III./JG 77 remained in Italy, based at Foggia, north-east of Naples and flying sorties into Sardinia and Sicily. In mid-June, I./JG 77 flew into Sciacca on Sicily.

The Geschwader, as part of 2nd Air Corps, was then stationed in Italy and Sicily. During the rest of 1943 and 1944 JG 77 was stationed on the Southern Front, mainly in the Balkans, Sardinia and Italy, but also in Romania. Luftwaffe II.Gruppe of JG 77 operated with requisitioned Macchi C.205Vs, for two months, from October until the end of 1943, in December, when the German unit was re-equipped with new Bf 109s. Thus there are photos of C.205s with black crosses painted over the mid-fuselage Italian white strip markings.

In 1945 JG 77 was relocated to Germany itself to help with the Reichsverteidigung (Defense of the Reich). In the last months of the war part of JG 77 was employed against the Soviet Air Force in Silesia. In this area on 7 March 1945 Kommodore Major Erich Leie, a 118-kill ace, was killed in combat with Yak-9 fighters.

Commanding officers

Geschwaderkommodore

Gruppenkommandeure

I. Gruppe of JG 77

First formation, IV.(l)/JG 132 was renamed to I./JG 331 on 3 November 1938 which then became the I./JG 77 on 1 May 1939.

On 3 November 1940, I. Gruppe leaves JG 77 and becomes IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51. A new I. Gruppe was formed from I.(Jagd) Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 2 on 6 January 1942.

II. Gruppe of JG 77

Formed from I./136 which was renamed to II./JG 333 on 1 November 1938 and then became the II./JG 77 on 1 May 1939.

III. Gruppe of JG 77

Formed from II.(T)/186 and was renamed to III./JG 77 on 5 July 1939.

Notes

1. The suffix 'T' denotes Träger (carrier) in German use.

References

Citations

1. Prien et al. 2000a, p. 268.
2. Prien et al. 2000a, p. 275.
3. Prien et al. 2001, p. 449.
4. Prien et al. 2000b, p. 34.
5. Weal 2001, p. 28.
6. Bergström 2007, p. 116.
7. Holland 2020, p. 79.
8. Neulen 2000, p. 78.
9. ^ Prien 1995, p. 2370.
10. ^ Prien 1995, p. 2371.
11. ^ Prien 1995, p. 2373.
12. ^ Prien 1995, p. 2375.

Bibliography

• Bergström, Christer (2007). Barbarossa - The Air Battle: July–December 1941. Hinkley: Midland Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-270-2.
• Holland, James (2020). Sicily '43: The First Assault on Fortress Europe (Hardback). London: Bantam Press. ISBN 978-1-7876-3293-6.
• Neulen, Hans Werner (2000). In the Skies of Europe. Ramsbury, Marlborough, UK: The Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1-86126-799-3.
• Prien, Jochen (1995). Geschichte des Jagdgeschwaders 77—Teil 4—1944–1945 [History of Jagdgeschwader 77—Volume 4—1944–1945] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-29-8.
• Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2000a). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 1—Vorkriegszeit und Einsatz über Polen—1934 bis 1939 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 1—Pre-War Period and Action over Poland—1934 to 1939] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-54-0.
• Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2001). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 2—Der "Sitzkrieg"—1.9.1939 bis 9.5.1941 [The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 2—The "Phoney War"—1 September 1939 to 9 May 1940] (in German). Eutin, Germany: Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-59-5.
• Prien, Jochen; Stemmer, Gerhard; Rodeike, Peter; Bock, Winfried (2000b). Die Jagdfliegerverbände der deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945 Teil 3—Einsatz in Dänemark und Norwegen 9.4. bis 30.11.1940—Der Feldzug im Westen 10.5. bis 25.6.1940 [Fighter Pilot Association of the German Luftwaffe 1934 to 1945 Part 3—Assignments in Denmark and Norway 9 April to 30 November 1940—The campaign in the West 10 May to 25 June 1940] (in German). Struve-Druck. ISBN 978-3-923457-61-8.
• Weal, John (2001). Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Aircraft of the Aces. Vol. 37. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-084-1.

v t e Jagdgeschwader (fighter wings) of the Luftwaffe
Named	1 "Oesau" 2 "Richthofen" 3 "Udet" 5 "Eismeer" 6 "Horst Wessel" 7 "Nowotny" 26 "Schlageter" 27 "Afrika" 51 "Mölders" 53 "Pik As" 54 "Grünherz" 77 "Herz As" 134 "Horst Wessel" 142 "Horst Wessel" 234 "Schlageter"
Numbered	4 11 20 21 25 28 50 52 70 71 72 76 80 130 131 132 133 135 136 137 138 141 143 144 231 232 233 300 301 302 331 333 334 400
Training	101 103 104 Ergänzungs-Jagdgeschwader
Special	Jagdgeschwader z.b.V. Jagdverband 44 Kommando Nowotny

v t e Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of Jagdgeschwader 77
Johann Badum Heinz-Edgar Berres Walter Brandt Jürgen Brocke Lutz-Wilhelm Burckhardt Erwin Clausen (Oak Leaves) Siegfried Freytag Friedrich Geisshardt (Oak Leaves) Gordon Gollob (Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds) Anton Hackl (Oak Leaves & Swords) Heinz Hackler Günther Hannak Jürgen Harang Franz Hrdlicka Wolf-Dietrich Huy (Oak Leaves) Herbert Ihlefeld (Oak Leaves & Swords) Herbert Kaiser Armin Köhler Kurt Lasse Anton Mader Emil Omert Johann Pichler Alexander Preinfalk Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert (Oak Leaves & Swords) Rudolf Schmidt Franz Schulte Heinrich Setz (Oak Leaves) Johannes Steinhoff (Oak Leaves & Swords) Kurt Ubben (Oak Leaves) Alexander von Winterfeldt Bernhard Woldenga
Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves with JG 3. Swords with JG 11. Swords with JG 27. Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves with JG 52

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