Achtung Jabos!
Text: Jan Zdiarský
Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz
Cat. No. 82166
Although Jagdgeschwader 4 is considered a classic Defense of the Reich unit (Reichsverteidigung), operating against American four-engine bombers, this definition is not entirely correct. With some exceptions, its I. Gruppe deviated from this role description.
It was founded on July 31, 1942 and operated in southern and southeastern Europe, primarily in the defense of the oil fields around Ploesti, Romania, and related industrial and transport facilities.
When the Stab, and later II. and III. Gruppe, JG 4, were established in the summer of 1944, I. Gruppe had already been in combat for almost two years. Maj. Gerhard Michalski became its commander after a short period of Maj. Gerhard Schöpfel fulfilling that function. II. and III./JG 4 were formed mainly from elements of Zerstörergeschwader 1, whose Gruppe had previously operated in both eastern and western Europe and their operations ranged from frontline combat in the east tasked with ground attack to long-range flights over Biscay and the Atlantic, where they operated against RAF Coastal Command bombers. The Bf 110 and Ju 88G heavy fighter pilots from ZG 1 were supplemented in the newly formed unit by young personnel fresh out of flight training and veterans from other units, especially Sturmstaffel 1. The latter had been disbanded in the spring of 1944 and were recruited to join the II. Gruppe by its commander, Major Günther von Kornatzki. This had its significance. II. Gruppe was established as a Sturmgruppe and was equipped with armored Fw 190A-8/R2. It was to use the tactic of attacking bombers from close range, using 20 and 30mm cannons, a tactic that Sturmstaffel 1 was developing. From this unit, von Kornatzki also adopted the identification marking of his aircraft for JG 4, comprising a black-white-black band on the fuselage. This was gradually taken over from II.(Sturm)/JG 4 by III., then IV., established in October 1944, and finally, the oldest I. Gruppe. The same was true of the emblem with a knight's helmet, which of course evokes the armored Fw 190 of the II. Gruppe, but the other three Gruppe and Stab units also adopted it. This is also why both the markings on the fuselage and the emblem on the engine cowl appear on the aircraft, which is the theme for the current Bf 109K-4 box art.
When JG 4 became a full-fledged unit in the summer of 1944, I. Gruppe was moved from northern Italy back to Germany. There, however, it did not join the unit's tactical system. In it, III. (and later IV.) Gruppe, flying Bf 109s, was supposed to provide priority protection for the Focke-Wulfs from its II. (Sturm)/JG 4 sister unit (they thus formed a tactical group, the so-called Gefechtsverband JG 4). Instead, I. Gruppe was moved to the Kassel area to operate in the defense of the western and southwestern parts of Germany against advancing Allied troops. The unit was supplemented with new pilots and armed with the Bf 109G-6 and G-14. Until the beginning of September 1944, the Gruppe mainly carried out training flights. The first clashes with the enemy, including battles related to the Arnhem operation, came soon after.
Over the Western Front, I. Gruppe clashed primarily with aircraft from the US 9th Air Force, supporting Allied ground forces. The exception to this pattern was the period between October 6thand the end of November, 1944, during which I./JG 4 moved to Gahro near Finsterwalde to operate as part of the entire JG 4. It took part in its first deployment against American bombers six days later. I./JG 4's main clash with the US 8th Air Force was the battle on the 2nd of November, 1944. On that day, JG 4 operated at the full strength of four Gruppe and Stab. During this battle, three pilots from I./JG 4 claimed to have shot down a B-17, but the Gruppe also lost nine Messerschmitt fighters, of which only three were combat losses. The remainder fell victim to collisions or various technical issues.
I./JG 4 began moving to the Darmstadt area in the West on November 20th. Their opponents were again primarily the ‘Jabos’ – the Lightnings and Thunderbolts of the 9th AF. In December, 1944, the remaining elements of JG 4 equipped with Bf 109s joined them. With the ever-increasing Allied superiority in the continental skies, the defense based on the hard fist of the Sturmgruppe was in the process of losing its clout. II.(Sturm)/JG 4 itself was gradually transformed into a fighter unit in the classic sense. Germany essentially gave up its air defense against strategic bombers and in this regard relied only on the gradual deployment of the jet Me 262.
I./JG 4, flying the Bf 109K-4, resisted the pressure of the Western Allies until the 21st of January, 1944, when it was transferred to the Eastern Front with the rest of JG 4. There, in the Oder region, it participated in holding back Soviet and, exceptionally on the West, American troops until the end of the war. From high-altitude fighters and proud Sturmjäger, they became fighter-bomber pilots, attacking ground targets and Soviet Il-2s and were tasked with escorting bombers and Mistel composites.
I./JG 4 was disbanded on March 29th, 1945. Its pilots were to be transferred in part to III. and IV. Gruppe, with the remainder slated to convert on to the Me 262. Bitterness was inevitable. Some suspected it, others refused to admit it, but there were only a little over 5 weeks left until the end of the terrible war...