The Night Tests

In Germany, prior to the Second World War, flight test centres known as Erprobungs-Stelle (abbreviated as E-Stelle) began operating. These centres were responsible for testing new types of aircraft, their armament, and on-board systems. One such centre, E-Stelle Rechlin, also began testing captured equipment from 1940 onwards.

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In Germany, prior to the Second World War,

flight test centres known as Erprobungs-Stelle

(abbreviated as E

-

Stelle) began operating. These

centres were responsible for testing new types of

aircraft, their armament, and on-board systems.

One such centre, E

-

Stelle Rechlin, also began

testing captured equipment from 1940 onwards.

In April 1942, the E

-

Stelle Werneuchen was

established at the airfield of the same name.

Its mission was to test and develop radar and

targeting equipment for air combat and naval

reconnaissance, working closely with the

Flugfunkforschungsinstitut at Oberpfaffenhofen.

Branches for testing ground-based radar

equipment were located in Weesow and Tremmen.

Flight tests of newly developed equipment

were initially carried out by the Erprobungsstaffel

within the Technisches Versuchskommando (TVK).

Among its tasks was the development and testing

of equipment designed to defend against jamming

and deception by enemy air forces.

In January 1944, Nachtjagdgruppe 10 (NJGr. 10)

was established, with Major Rudolf Schoenert,

a successful night fighter pilot, appointed as

its commander. At that time, Schoenert had

55 aerial victories to his credit and had previously

commanded II./NJG 5 in Western Europe and

I./NJG 100 on the Eastern Front. He was also one of

the main proponents of installing oblique forward-

firing guns, known as Schräge Musik.

The task of his new unit was to test night-time

radio-electronic warfare equipment in combat,

using both single- and two-seat aircraft. In this

role, NJGr. 10 took over from the aforementioned

Erprobungsstaffel TVK and continued close

cooperation with E

-

Stelle Werneuchen. Thus NJGr.

10 was based at the same airfield as the E

-

Stelle.

Some aircraft, including the Me 262 and

Ar 234 B-2/N test jets, continued to fall under

the authority of E

-

Stelle Werneuchen. Aircraft

intended for combat testing, however, were

assigned to Schoenert's NJGr. 10. His unit was

organized into a staff (Stab) and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd

Staffeln (squadrons). Later, probably in August

1944, a 4th Staffel was established.

Single-engine aircraft of various Bf 109 F/G and

Fw 190 A variants were concentrated within the 1st

Staffel, which was partly formed from personnel

of I./JG 300. Its commander was the experienced

night fighter Hauptmann Friedrich-Karl "Nasen"

Müller. Articles about him can be found in INFO

magazine issues 11/2023 and 11/2019. Within

the 2nd Staffel, during 1944 various versions of

the Ju 88, several Bf 110s, and one He 219 were

concentrated. In February 1944, Hauptmann Martin

Lüdtke was appointed commander of 2./NJGr. 10,

and in early March 1945, he took over command of

the entire NJGr. 10.

Several well-known night fighter pilots served

with NJGr. 10, including Heinz-Martin Hadeball and

Kurt Welter, the latter of whom later participated

in the deployment of the Me 262 as a night fighter.

During 1944, NJGr. 10 achieved a total of

18 victories, lost an equal number of aircraft in

combat, and wrote off an additional 23 aircraft

due to non-combat reasons. Müller's 1st Staffel

accounted for ten of these victories, with Müller

himself credited with half of them.

The second most successful pilot of the 1st

Staffel was former transport airman Oberleutnant

Fritz Krause, whose aircraft is depicted in a box

art illustration by Piotr Forkasiewicz. Krause

achieved his first success on 8 July 1944, when

he shot down a Mosquito from No. 692 Sqn RAF.

Details of this dramatic battle can be found on Neil

Page’s blog.

His Fw 190 A-6 (WNr. 550143), equipped with FuG

217 Neptun radar, was later handed over, without

its radar equipment, to the operational training

unit of JGr. West, where it was designated "Yellow

26." It was subsequently destroyed in a fatal crash

on 7 October 1944.

During his service with 1./NJGr. 10, Fritz Krause

was forced to abandon his aircraft several times,

once even after being shot down by his own flak.

He apparently achieved one more victory with the

unit, claiming a Lancaster from No. 419 Sqn RCAF

on 4 November 1944. In this engagement, however,

he was shot down while flying a Bf 109. Some

sources suggest that he scored this victory as

a member of 3./NJG 11.

Krause's colleagues from the 1st Staffel scored

two additional four-engine bombers and two

Mosquitos. At the end of August 1944, half of

the 1./NJGr. 10 personnel were detached to form

2./NJG 11. The remaining members of 1./NJGr. 10

were similarly transferred to 3./NJG 11 in October.

In 1945, NJGr. 10 continued its combat operations,

engaging both night bombers and conducting night

attacks on Red Army ground columns. However,

I have not found any record of air victories by this

unit in 1945 in Theo Boiten’s publications. NJGr. 10

was disbanded in April 1945, with its remaining

elements absorbed by NJG 5.

Text: Jan Bobek

Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz

The Night Tests

INFO Eduard32

May 2025