Strana 33
#7475
BOXART STORY
By April 1943, no part of Jagdgeschwa-
der 27 (JG 27) fighter unit remained in Africa.
Its I. Gruppe, which had gained fame due to fi-
ghter ace Hans-Joachim Marseille, had been wi-
thdrawn to Germany in November 1942 and was
engaged in combat operations in France from
January 1943. The JG 27 headquarters and its II./
JG 27 were operating from Sicily, while the III. and
IV. Gruppe were based in occupied Greece or on
its islands. The burden of intense aerial combat
in Tunisia was now borne by JG 53, JG 77, and II./
JG 51. All these units were equipped with Messer-
schmitt Bf 109 fighters, primarily the G-6 variant.
A change in command of JG 27 occurred
on April 22, 1943. Until then, it had been led by
32-year-old Oberstleutnant Eduard Neumann,
a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, where he had
achieved two aerial victories. During World War II,
he added another eleven to his record. After the
war, Neumann became a key figure in the unit’s
veterans’ organization. At the helm of JG 27, he
was succeeded by Major Gustav Rödel, who had
previously commanded II./JG 27 and had over 70
confirmed kills. With his promotion, a new com-
mander was needed for II. Gruppe. The choice fell
on Hauptmann Werner Schroer, at this time the
commander of 8./JG 27, stationed on Crete. Sch-
roer had 63 victories to his name and was already
a recipient of the Knight’s Cross.
In April 1943, Schroer’s new unit II./JG 27 was
based in Trapani, Sicily, primarily escorting con-
voys and transport aircraft on routes to Tunisia.
Losses of Ju 52 and Me 323 transports were so
severe that even Bf 110 crews were tasked with
fuel supply missions for German forces in Tunisia.
During March and April, II./JG 27 lost 21 aircraft
in combat, while another 39 were written off due
to accidents.
Schroer achieved his first victories with his
new unit on April 29, shooting down two Lightning
fighters near Marettimo, west of Sicily. On May
5, in the same area, he downed a B-24 bomber,
though given the combat conditions, there may be
a typo in the victory records and his victim was
possibly B-25 Mitchell.
On May 9, II./JG 27 engaged a formation of 26
Liberators with a fighter escort of Lightnings be-
tween Capo San Vito and Capo Gallo. Schroer’s
unit claimed three B-17s, likely a misidentificati-
on, and two P-38s. Schroer himself claimed one
B-24, but Allied records do not confirm these
losses.
After the Tunisian campaign ended, II./JG 27
increasingly engaged four-engine bombers whi-
le defending Sicily. The American fighter escorts,
provided by three P-38 Fighter Groups, were still
refining their tactics. On the German side at Sicily,
both fighter vectoring and air combat strategies
were in an improvised state against four engine
bombers operating in high altitudes. Luftwaffe
command exerted immense pressure on the pi-
lots, threatening court-martial for unsatisfactory
performance.
Between April and July 1943, Schroer scored
20 victories, half of them four-engine bombers.
Under his command, II./JG 27 claimed nearly
100 victories, but at a steep cost, 41 pilots were
killed, missing, captured, or wounded, represen-
ting nearly 100% losses in its personnel strength.
Additionally, between May and July 1943, the unit
lost 74 fighters in combat and another 47 due to
other causes.
In early August 1943, Schroer’s unit transferred
its 17 remaining Bf 109s to other units in Italy and
withdrew to Germany, relocating to the Wiesba-
den-Erbenheim airbase. By late August, II./JG 27
had moved to Eschborn, equipped with new air-
craft, and prepared to defend Vaterland against
American bomber raids. Their first engagement
in this theatre occurred on September 6, during
an attack targeting the Stuttgart area. This was
the first deep penetration raid into Germany sin-
ce the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission, with
over 300 bombers participating, the largest force
deployed by the U.S. Army Air Forces at that time.
The mission was later officially labeled a “Cost-
ly Fiasco” by the American command, as 45 B-17s
were lost due to various reasons and 10 more
were written off after landing due to damage.
Schroer’s unit claimed nine victories over B-17s.
Schroer himself was credited with one confirmed
kill and forced two other bombers out of forma-
tion, marking his 86th to 88th victories. This air
battle is the subject of Antonis Karydis’ box art
illustration.
Antonis Karydis
From the Mediterranean to Germany
Text: Jan Bobek
INFO Eduard
33
March 2025