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Nachtjagdgeschwader 3
Active	1941 – 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Type	Night Fighter
Role	Air superiority
Size	Air Force Wing
Engagements	World War II
Insignia
Identification symbol	Geschwaderkennung of L1 (inherited from LG 1), later D5

Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3) was a Luftwaffe night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 3 was formed on 29 September 1941 in Stade from Stab./Zerstörergeschwader 26. Pilots of NJG 3 claimed approximately 820 aerial victories by day and night.

Commanding officers

Geschwaderkommodore

• Major Johann Schalk, 29 March 1941 – 1 August 1943
• Oberst Helmut Lent, 1 August 1943 – 7 October 1944
• Oberst Günther Radusch, 12 November 1944 – 8 May 1945

Gruppenkommandeur

I. Gruppe

• Hauptmann Günther Radusch, 7 October 1940 – 2 October 1941
• Hauptmann Hans-Dietrich Knoetzsch, 3 October 1941 – 30 September 1942
• Major Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld, 1 October 1942 – 31 May 1943
• Hauptmann Erhard Peters, 1 June 1943 – 14 August 1943
• Hauptmann Walter Mylius, 15 August 1943 – 13 December 1943
• Hauptmann Paul Szameitat, 14 December 1943 – 2 January 1944
• Major Werner Husemann, 4 January 1944 – 8 May 1945

II. Gruppe

• Hauptmann Günther Radusch, 3 October 1941 – 1 August 1943
• Major Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 15 August 1943 – November 1943
• Hauptmann Paul Szameitat, December 1943 – 14 December 1943
• Major Klaus Havenstein, 15 December 1943 – September 1944
• Hauptmann Hüschens, September 1944 – February 1945

III. Gruppe

• Oberstleutnant Heinz Nacke, 1 November 1941 – 21 April 1943
• Hauptmann Walter Mylius, 22 April 1943 – 14 August 1943
• Hauptmann Rudolf Sigmund, 15 August 1943 – 4 October 1943
• Major Walter Barthe, 15 October 1943 – 8 May 1945

IV. Gruppe

• Major Erich Simon, 1 November 1942 – 7 October 1943
• Hauptmann Albert Schulz, 8 October 1943 – January 1944
• Hauptmann Franz Buschmann, January 1944 – July 1944
• Hauptmann Heinz Ferger, July 1944 – November 1944
• Major Berthold Ney, November 1944 – 4 March 1945
• Hauptmann Freidrich Tober, 5 March 1945 – 8 May 1945

Surviving aircraft

Two aircraft that served with NJG 3 are displayed together at the Royal Air Force Museum London, one of the two sites of the Royal Air Force Museum. These are Messerschmitt Bf 110 G Werk Nr. 730301, which was surrendered to the British at the end of the war in 1945, and Junkers Ju 88 R-1, Werk Nr. 360043, which came into British hands in 1943. Both aircraft are almost unique - each is one of only two intact survivors of their type.

References

1. Aders 1978, p. 239.
2. ^ Aders 1978, p. 228.
3. Simpson, Andrew. "INDIVIDUAL HISTORY MESSERSCHMITT Bf110G - 4/R6 W/NR.730301 AIR MINISTRY 34; 8479M MUSEUM ACCESSION NUMBER 78/AF/954" (PDF). Retrieved 13 April 2015.

Bibliography

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• Aders, Gebhard (1978). History of the German Night Fighter Force, 1917–1945. London: Janes. ISBN 978-0-354-01247-8.
• Balss, Michael (1997). Deutsche Nachtjagd. Materialverluste in Ausbildung und Einsatz Erganzungen zu Personalverlusten in Ausbildung und Einsatz (in German). VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-925480-36-2.
• Bergström, Christer (2015). The Battle of Britain: An Epic Conflict Revisited. Oxford, UK: Casemate. ISBN 978-1612-00347-4.
• Boiten, Theo (1997). Nachtjagd: the night fighter versus bomber war over the Third Reich, 1939–45. London: Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1-86126-086-4.
• Boiten, Theo (1999). Night Airwar: Personal Recollections of the Conflict Over Europe, 1939-45. London: Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1-86126-298-1.
• Boog, Horst; Krebs, Gerhard; Vogel, Detlef (2006). Germany and the Second World War: Volume VII: The Strategic Air War in Europe and the War in the West and East Asia, 1943-1944/5. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-822889-9.
• Bowman, Martin (2011). 100 Group (Bomber Support): RAF Bomber Command in World War II. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-418-0.
• Bowman, Martin (2016a). Nuremberg: The Blackest Night in RAF History: 30/31 March 1944. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-5211-2.
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• Cooper, Alan (1992). Air Battle of the Ruhr. London: Airlife Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-85310-201-1.
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• Foreman, John; Parry, Simon; Mathews, Johannes (2004). Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939–1945. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-0-9538061-4-0.
• Franks, Norman (1994). The Battle of the Airfields: 1 January 1945. London: Grub St. ISBN 978-1-898697-15-2.
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• Hinchliffe, Peter (1998). Luftkrieg bei Nacht 1939–1945 [Air War at Night 1939–1945] (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-01861-7.
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• Hooton, E.R. (1999). Eagle in Flames: Defeat of the Luftwaffe. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-1-85409-343-1.
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