Volume 5 of the Paul Stipdonk/Michael Meyer ZG/NJG series is now published in hardback by JAPO. Click on the cover image to go to the JAPO web site for a contents listing and sample pages. Another 304-page book of Zerstörer, this volume is devoted primarily to III./ZG 26, ZG 52, V./KG 40 and ZG 76 and features around 600 photos, the majority processed by the authors from the original negatives and reproduced in high quality by JAPO. The text comprises outline histories of each individual Staffel and StaKa with loss details where known.
Vols 1-4 of this series were previewed on this blog here
A few examples of each of these volumes are still available from the authors at this link, while in the US you can still get these from ebay seller 'Luftdad'.
Elsewhere the current issue of "Flypast" has published a review by Andy Thomas of Book 2 of the Casemate Illustrated two-volume set on the NJG aces
And a comment from a blog reader just received;
".. Just received the night fighters book - very nicely done! Actually a few pics I have not seen before, including that He 219 pic and several others. Only criticism was on page 20 where Hajo Herrmann was listed as one of 4 KIA. Great personal accounts of mission action and using Claes Sundin as the profile artist is top notch... "
Extracted from a period 'booklet' published in late 1941 ("our third Christmas at the front") for members of 5./ZG 26 and apparently written/compiled by the Staffelkapitän of 5./ZG 26 Hptm. Rossiwall and individually signed by him. I was given this on a trip to Belgium a few years ago. Rossiwall's introduction alludes to the fact that ZG 26 had by this stage of the war shot down over 700 enemy aircraft and destroyed around 1,000 on the ground and the last sentence of his diary text concludes " [..].. the end of the huge campaign in the East is slowly drawing near.."
Die England-Einsätze
".. the period of missions against England ('England-Einsätze') began in mid-August 1940. For obvious reasons I can't go into as much detail as I have done on the campaigns already concluded. Looking back on it though everyone says that it was the best time in terms of combat ("..so sagt jeder, dass es kämpferisch die schönste Zeit war..") We shifted from Crécy to St.Omer and found ourselves assigned the best accommodation in a small farmhouse with running water and electricity. We later moved to St. Aubin near Lisieux were we were put up in a villa with a bathroom and warm running water. In total we flew 45 missions over England, firstly against London and targets in the vicinity of the capital - usually from our Absprungshafen or 'jump-off' airfield at Théville - and then against towns along the south coast, penetrating inland as far as Yeovil and Bristol.
The Staffel was extremely fortunate (..' Die Staffel war ausgesprochen vom Glück begünstigt..'). We shot down twenty enemy aircraft - all fighters - for the loss of just a single crew. Although this one hit us hard - Ofw. Rochel and his BF Uffz. Schöffler failed to return from an 'enemy flight' on 2 September (Feindflug or sortie). It was not until 24 September that we were enormously relieved to hear that they were both uninjured in British captivity. Uffz. Franke with his radio operator Uffz. Hübner were assigned to 6. Staffel the unit they were flying with when they were shot down on 30 August. We learnt on 13 September that they too were in British hands..attempting to put down on one engine on 2 September Fw. Müller crashed from a height of 10 metres and flipped over on his back. He himself was able to return to the Staffel in December but his Funker Uffz. Gröhl was badly injured and as I write this is still undergoing hospital treatment. On 23 August we lost Oblt. Niebuhr who was posted to take charge of 4. Staffel. He took Uffz. Thiessen with him. On 31 August Uffz. Lohoff - BF in Uffz. Leinfelder's crew - was slightly injured and hospitalised in Brussels. On 29 September Oblt. Hubel took over the leadership of 4. Staffel with his BF Uffz. Schrodt following the death of Oblt. Niebuhr ( shot down and KIA on 27 September in Bf 110 '3U+IM' with his BF Thiessen near Arne, Dorset) Oblt. Ihrcke was transferred to 6. Staffel... "
ZG 26 Kommodore was Oberst Huth up to 31 August 1940, succeeded from 01 September by Oberstleutnant Johannes Shalk. ZG 26’s I Gruppe was commanded by Hptm. Wilhelm Makrocki through the Battle of Britain. Awarded the RK in October 1940 he was shot down on 21 May 1941 off the coast of Crete during the operation to take the island - 'Merkur'. Hptm Ralph von Rettberg headed II Gruppe during the Battle of Britain. Rettberg was awarded the RK on the eve of Barbarossa on June 14, 1941.
In addition to these aces, ZG 26’s line-up included several among the Staffelkapitäne: Hptm Wilhelm Spies (RK also on 14 June, 1941) of 1./ZG 26 later Kommandeur I./ZG 26, Oberleutnant Johannes Kiel of 4./ ZG 26 and Oblt Theodore Rossiwall of 5./ZG 26 who had replaced Hptm. d'Elsa badly wounded on 18 May.
Above; Hptm. Makrocki with RK awarded 6 October 1940.
A 'souvenir' photo of flying personnel and ground-crew of I./ZG 26 taken in northern France (St. Omer) probably just prior to the Battle of Britain during June. Makrocki's Bf 110 with Kommandeur chevrons is the backdrop.
Frankreich-West.- Zerstörergeschwader 26, Oberleutnant Theodor Rossiwall am Cockpit seiner Messerschmitt Me 110 (BA Bild 101I-341-0496-33)
Bottom left; portrait in Rossiwall's booklet of Oblt. Sophus Baagoe who claimed two Spitfires off Dover on 14 July and two more on 18 August ('the hardest day') and made further Spitfire claims on 11,12 and 13 September with 8./ZG 26. At the time of his death - just prior to the landings on Crete - he was flying with 5./ZG 26 and with around 14 claims was one of the leading Zerstörer pilots. His BF Ofw. Daniel Becker is lower right.
With John Vasco at the launch of "Zerstörer: The Combat History of the Me 110 in 1940" (published by Wingleader) at the Kent Battle of Britain museum, Hawkinge, 27 September 2025.
Authored by John Vasco & Peter Cornwell this brand new extensively revised and re-worked reissue of the earlier Luftwaffe book 'classic' has 304 pages with around 500 photos. Available in hardback at £55..
Alternatively buy from the book shop at the Battle of Britain museum Hawkinge and the funds stay with the museum. The museum is open every day up to 8 November while their bookshop is open through the winter months on a Friday and Saturday.
Nearly 15 years after volume 4 (but only three years after the successful "German fighters in the West), Volume 5 of the six-part series on the Luftwaffe Zerstörer and night fighter units 1935-45 – and the first to be published by JAPO - has been announced on the JAPO website. Caption writing and text editing is completed and the publisher is hard at work designing and preparing the lay-out...
Volume 4 concluded with coverage of 8./ZG 26 and this 5th volume takes up the story with extensive photo coverage of, among others, 9./ZG 26, the Ju 88-equipped V./KG 40 and ZG 76 and its Me 410s in the defence of the Reich. English-language text features brief career details for all Verbandsführer.
Born in Sprottau (now a town in western Poland) on January 30, 1914, Herbert Treppe studied at Breslau university, joining the Marineschule Mürvik in April 1935 where he learned to fly. He studied at the Luftkriegsschule Gatow 1935-36 (note two 's') and received his A/B licences at Celle in September 1936. His 'Lehrlingszeit' concluded with five months blind-flying at the Blindflugschule Wesendorf and subsequently he became an instructor in Brandis. Determined to join a front unit he was posted to KG 26 late in 1940 and according to one source flew in the 'Luftschlacht um England' (Battle of Britain). He flew both day-and-night sorties against land and shipping targets in England and Scotland. On one occasion he succesfully belly-landed his badly shot-up Heinkel He 111 with four wounded crew members in Beauvais after surviving a night-fighter attack. On February 21, 1941 he was forced to ditch in the North Sea/Skagerrack and spent five hours in a dinghy in temperatures well below freezing before being found. He did not return to flying duties until October that year. After a spell as Ic to the Fliegerführer Nord he flew combat against England, Murmansk and in support of the German army in the Far North. He was appointed Staffelkapitän of 13.(Zerstörer)/JG 5 on June 1, 1943. He wrote an account of one of his first sorties leading the Staffel that summer, claiming two Bostons downed for a 'Doublette' - as he put it, ".. not bad for a new boy". There are apparently no corresponding Boston losses in Soviet records.
13.(Z)/JG 5 re-equipped with the Bf 110 G early in 1943. Treppe flew Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-2 "1B+AX" (W. Nr. 120 037) out of Kirkenes during autumn 1943 as illustrated here by Kjetil Åkra in Eduard-Info 2015.
The Zerstörer Staffel was re-named 10./ZG 26 in July 1944. Later in the year Treppe was named as Gruppenkommandeur of IV./ZG 26 (formed during the summer of 1944) and claimed an RAF Coastal Command Liberator on 28 September 1944 timed at 1245 hrs at only 5 metres altitude (over the sea).
IV./ZG 26 became the new II./JG 5 in February 1945 with Treppe as Kommandeur. As related by Jan Bobek in Eduard-Info 2015-10 the newly reformed II. Gruppe was built up from elements of 9., 12., and 16./JG 5, and partly from the Stab IV./ZG 26 and 10./ZG 26. Interestingly the Messerschmitt Bf 110 Gs from the defunct Zerstörerstaffel were divided amongst the three Gruppen of JG 5 with single-engined fighters and were flown up to the end of the war.
While the 'Luftwaffe Officer career summaries' page indicates that Treppe passed away in 1984, Jägerblatt published a 75th birthday profile in the December 1989 issue. At this time Treppe was 'Vorsitzender' of the 'Traditionsverband JG 5'.
Seen in Lippspringe this 2./ZG 1 Me 110 G-2 was flown by pilot (Flugzeugführer) Uffz. Josef ( Bert) Holzmann seen here on his return from a combat sortie on 10 October 1943 during which he claimed 2 Viermot bombers shot down on the 8th USAF raid on Münster. Three days later 2./ZG 1 became 2./ZG 26. On 30 May 1944 the 8th USAF was sent to aviation factories and airfields in the western occupied zone. That morning from 10:00 I./ZG 26 in Königsberg-Neumark committed 13 of its new Me 410s. Ten made contact and seven were shot down including Holzmann who was KIA during combat (Reichsverteidigung). He may have made as many as thirteen claims in as many sorties.
Below middle; Holzmann on the wing of his Bf 110.
Images currently on offer here via Michael Meyer's Ebay sales
It has been a while since the Luftwaffe blog last looked at John McIllmurray's superb decal sheets in his AIMs decals series. (See " Monotone Me's " here for a variety of Bf 109s and 110s finished in a variety of single-colour schemes). One of his latest sheets -"Stab Bf 110's" - comprises no fewer than 24 subjects for the 72nd scale package and covers aircraft displaying some of the Luftwaffe's most impressive Stab markings - the symbols of command. The sheets cover the Bf 110 Zerstörer Gruppen of ZG 76, ZG 26 and also feature various Nachtjagdgruppen from NJG 1, NJG 4 and NJG 6, each machine on the sheet displaying a variety of impressive chevrons or bars or combination of both!
Below; pic in my collection via Boiten. ZG 26 Bf 110 C with pre-war style Geschwaderkommodore markings assigned to Oberslt. Huth, a WW I vet with one air victory. Standard 70/71/65 finish seen at Lille during or after the Westfeldzug almost certainly coded 3U+AA
Each subject is fully illustrated in colour with John's detailed explanatory notes and picture references over no less than five A-4 sheets. Even if you are not planning on a great deal of model building, this set represents an excellent reference source to add to your library. In fact this is such an large and comprehensive sheet that I will be devoting a number of posts to its various subjects and hopefully building one or two of the subjects as well.
Above; another of Kommodore Huth's Bf 110s after a gear collapse around September 1940. He preceeded Schalk as GKr of ZG 26
This first selection I have chosen to cover from the sheet features III./ ZG 26 during the Battle of Britain and the reference source is a Wochenschau film clip that can be viewed below. The following images are screen captures. The film depicts III./ZG 26 Bf 110s taking off from their base at Arques possibly on a sortie during the Battle of Britain but more likely when transferring back to the Reich during October 1940 at the 'conclusion' of the battle. Aircraft appear in a mix of early and later camouflage schemes. The clip opens with " 3U+LR " rolling past the camera and turning onto the takeoff strip. The painted letter "N" on the cowling above the exhaust indicates that this machine is powered by DB 601 N engines running on C3 100 Oktan (octane) fuel.
Next up is Bf 110 C "3U+AD", the usual aircraft of the Kommandeur Hptm Johann Schalk. Schalk had five claims confirmed during the Battle of Britain, his Bordfunker Uffz. Scheuplein one claim confirmed. Schalk took over as Kommodore ZG 26 on 01 October 1940 following the award of the RK on 5 September 1940. Other leading III./ ZG 26 pilots were Lt. Botho Sommer (Gr. Adj. and KIA on 07 October 1940) and Ofhr. Alfred Wehmeyer, both with five claims during the Battle of Britain.
John's AIMS site for decal orders and more is here
John is an enthusiast (and very skilled) modeller himself and provides us lesser mortals with a fantastic product at a reasonable price so please do support him!
Ju 188 E with 800 litre Zusatztank, a machine probably with the Stabsstaffel of KG 4, seen during the summer of 1944..
KG 30 'black men' working on the port radiator of Ju 88 A "4D+.N" of 5. Staffel seen in northern Norway during 1942 (possibly Banak?). Note the wrecked C 445 in the background.
Bf 110 F-2 displaying the Wasp emblem of ZG 1 alongside that of I./SKG 210 (1./ZG 1) in Belgorod during the summer of 1942. Seated on the aircraft is Wart Friedbert Ott.
Engine change on a ZG 1 Bf 110, currently on offer here
Above; greeting an unknown but successful crew on completion of their 200th combat sortie.1./ ZG 1 seen in Poltawa, spring 1943. on the right is Staffelkapitän Oblt. Rüdiger Ossmann. The Wespe emblem just visible on the nose of the aircraft.
Celebrating the 200th combat sortie - Feindflug - of an unknown crew in 1. ZG 1 seen in Poltawa, spring 1943. Second from the left is Staffelkapitän of 1./ZG 1 Oblt. Rüdiger Ossmann, second from right, Lt. Fritz Lyons, third from left Fw. Gille (back to camera)..
Thanks to all those blog readers who have messaged me recently. No, the 'Blog..' wasn't closed, or at least not definitively. Having resolved some PC issues and managed to close down the 'mirror' sites copying these pages directly, 'The Luftwaffe blog' may now perhaps resume something approaching normal service ..although be aware that my interests are evolving, and I'm now doing much more modelling than Luftwaffe 'research', so I'll mostly be posting what I consider to be good modelling reference..
Me 110 C/D mit dem Wespenwappen des ZG 1 der 4./SKG 210 in Rußland im Sommer 1941
below; Me 110 E displaying the ZG 1 Wespe emblem on the strength of 5./SKG 210 in Scheikowa or Shaikowka, late summer 1941. Note the enlarged oil cooler, the 300 litre Zusatztank and a small row of Abschußbalken on the rudder.
Above; displaying the upper surface finish neatly for the camera this is a Me 110 G-2 coded "3U+." of III./ZG 26 in Trapani 1943
Above; Me 110 G-2 "3U+.. " of III./ZG 26 in Trapani 1943. The two Warte are painting the white ring of 7. Staffel onto the prop hub
Given the six Abschußbalken visible on the tailfinthis may well be the III./ZG 26 Bf 110 D/E assigned to the future Ritterkreuzträger Ofw. Helmut Haugk during 1941 on Sicily. Haugk flew at the start of the war with 7./ZG
26 and was posted to 9. Staffel on 14 April 1942. Haugk achieved his sixth victory on 28 September 1940 and his seventh and eighth came on 24 November 1941. Perhaps his most successful sortie was flown on 29 August 1942 against USAAF bombers - he claimed two B-24 Liberators shot down and forced the bomber
Pulks to emergency jettison their loads. He was awarded the RK during December 1942. Currently on offer here
The original history of V.(Z) /KG 40, 'Bloody Biscay', is just about due for a reprint from Crecy. However if you already have the old text then you might like to consider this much more colourful edition just published by Lela Presse in their Batailles Aeriennes quarterly series. Entitled 'Wolves over the Atlantic', this French-language 100-page A-4 format soft back monograph features new photographic material, super Thierry Dekker artwork and a fifteen-page 'presentation' of the Junkers Ju 88 C-6 with photos and handbook drawings from the archive of Jean-Louis Roba - all for just 12 euros..
V.(Z)/KG 40 was the Zerstörergruppe or heavy fighter wing of KG 40 and
was initially established with a complement of three Staffeln to which a fourth
was later added. The unit’s long range
fighters were chiefly deployed on U-boot
and shipping escort protection sorties over and across the Bay of
Biscay, where vessels of all types could potentially come under attack from RAF Coastal Command and US Air Force aircraft.
A formation flight of Ju 88 C-6 machines of 14./KG 40 seen in the late spring/early
summer of 1943 over southern France. The aircraft in the shot are
"F8+OY" and "F8+LY". A number of the Staffel’s aircraft typically wore this light camo finish.
Above; Oblt. Kurt Necesany and his crew flew 14./KG 40’s 500th Feindflug or combat sortie
on 21 May 1943 and were duly feted on their return home to Lorient by their Staffel comrades in front of their Ju 88 C-6 "F8+RY". They were presented with flowers and a sign reading: "Congratulations
on the 500th combat flight".. Of the unit's other leading pilots, Lt. Knud Gmelin of 13./KG 40 brought down an RAF B-24 Liberator on 3 September 1943. On 18 September 1943 the Rotte of Oblt. Dieter Meister and Lt. Knud
Gmelin of 13./KG 40 encountered a Horsa cargo glider under tow by a Halifax.
Both pilots lined up firing passes on the four-engine machine which promptly
cast off the glider. The Halifax came under heavy fire from Lt.
Gmelin, but managed to escape. Oblt. Meister finished off theHorsa glider. The nose armament of the Ju 88 C Zerstörer (eg "F8+MX" of 13./KG 40 in early 1943 in Bordeaux-Merignac) typically comprised three MG 17 7,9 mm in the upper nose and a single MG 15 7,9 mm mounted in the lower nose.
And a comment from a blog reader just received;
