II./JG 77 Emils in Brest - archive photo scan (5). A new JG 77 monograph due soon!

 

..these photos simply labelled "Brest".  II./JG 77 departed Scandinavia** for France in early November 1940. Machine with Kommandeur chevrons and 'Seeadler' emblem probably belonged to Hptm. Karl Hentschel. Click on the image to view large!

A detailed account of II./JG 77 actions against RAF Bomber and Coastal Commands during the summer of 1940 appears in this blogger's "Luftwaffe Fighters -Combat on all Fronts" Volume I, published by Mortons)

Coming soon from the publishers of AÉROJOURNAL - due on 12 January 2024 is a 'special' (HS N° 47) devoted to JG 77 available to preorder now here

"..Heinz Bär, Joahnnes Steinhoff, Siegfried Freytag, Kurt Ubben, Wolf-Dietrich Huy, Gordon Gollob, Joachim Müncheberg or Armin Köhler - a number of illustrious Experten passed through JG 77, the Luftwaffe fighter arm's "ace of hearts" Geschwader, whose Gruppen quickly distinguished themselves at the start of the Second World War: I. /JG 77 in the Polish campaign and II./JG 77 protecting the Bay of Germany from RAF bomber raids. This was followed by the Western campaign for the former, the Norwegian campaign and protection of the fjords for the latter, and the unprecedented creation of III./JG 77 in July 1940 from the planned carrier fighter Gruppe that was to have manned the 'Graf Zeppelin', which was never completed. After the hard-fought Battle of Britain and victory in the Balkans and Crete, the three Gruppen of JG 77 were scattered across all fronts, in the Soviet Union of course, but above all in the Mediterranean. Hard-fought campaigns over Malta, North Africa and Italy were the Geschwader's 'finest hour' but which relentlessly wore down its fighting strength. In 1944, elements of the Geschwader took part in the Battle of Normandy and the defense of the Reich, with JG 77's last bloody feats of arms coming in the Ardennes and the "Bodenplatte" operation in December 1944-January 1945. This exceptional special issue is the complete history of this JG, which claimed some 4,000 victories between 1939 and 1945..."