JG26 · Top Guns of the Luftwaffe by Caldwell, Donald -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Half Title Dedication Title Page Copyright Page Contents

Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Origins (1935–1939)

The Resurgent Luftwaffe The Condor Legion Days of Peace Albert Leo Schlageter War Looms

2. Sitzkrieg and Blitzkrieg (1 September 1939–26 June 1940)

War Begins Formation of the Third Gruppe The Geschwader’s First Victory 10(Nacht)/JG 26 and the Battle of the Helgoland Bight The Winter Doldrums The Blitzkrieg Strikes West Breakthrough on the Meuse The Dunkirk Evacuation Operation Paula—The Air Attack on Paris The End of the Campaign

3. JG 26 in the Battle of Britain (24 July 1940–9 February 1941)

Return to Germany The First Phase—Channel Attacks and Free Hunts The Second Phase—Adlerangriff 13 August—Adlertag 15 August—The Luftwaffe’s Black Thursday 18 August—The “Hardest Day” Galland Takes Command Decimation of the Defiants The Third Gruppe in Action The Third Phase—Attacks on London 15 September—The Battle’s Climax The Fourth Phase—Fighters as Bombers Conclusions

4. The 7th Staffel in the Mediterranean Theater (February–August 1941)

A New Theater of War The Scourge of Malta Flank Duty for the Balkan Campaign Back to Sicily Malta Reprieved Return to the Kanalfront

5. Defense in the West (1941)

New Equipment Cover for the Navy Back to the Channel The Nonstop Offensive Arrival of the FW 190 A Successful Summer Galland to Berlin

6. Abbeville Kids and st. Omer Boys (1942)

One Day on the Kanalfront Winter on the Channel Coast The Channel Dash Formation of the Jabostaffeln Renewal of the British Offensive Focke-Wulf Summer The Dieppe Raid A New Enemy A Time of Trials

7. Schlageter Fighters on the Eastern Front (January–July 1943)

The First Gruppe Leaves the Kanalfront The Situation in the North Is Stabilized The Seventh Staffel on the Leningrad Front Springtime Lull The Return

8. Holding in the West (January–June 1943)

The Jabo Effort Peaks Change of Command Battles with the RAF A Slow Buildup Arrival of the Thunderbolts

9. Temporary Ascendancy (July–December 1943)

The Battles Escalate The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid Steady Pressure Defensive Reorganization The Muenster Raid The Second Schweinfurt Raid The Dueren Raid Harder Battles

10. The Allies Command the Skies (January–May 1944)

The War of Attrition Big Week The Berlin Raids Jaegerschreck—Fear of Fighters The First Attacks on the Oil Industry

11. The Invasion Front (6 June–3 September 1944)

D-Day The Defensive Plan and Its Execution Hopeless Inferiority Successes and Failures A Black Day for the Lightnings Retreat to the Reich

12. Support for the Army (September–December 1944)

Disorganization and Recovery Operation Market Garden A Dreary Autumn The Battle of the Ardennes III/JG 54 Returns to Combat

13. Unternehmen Bodenplatte—The Attack on Allied Airfields (1 January 1945)

JG 26 Gets the Word I/JG 26 and III/JG 54 Attack Grimbergen II/JG 26 Attacks Brussels-Evere III/JG 26 Attacks Brussels-Evere The Balance

14. The Final Battles (January–May 1945)

Attrition Continues The Spirit of the Geschwader Breakup and Consolidation The Defenses Break Himmelfahrtskommandos—Missions to Heaven The Lines Close In

Sources Table of Equivalent Ranks—German Air Force, U.S. Army Air Force, and Royal Air Force Glossaries:

1. Abbreviations (non-German) 2. Aviation Terms 3. Aircraft Types 4. German Terms

JG 26 Tables of Organization JG 26 Victory Claims—A Statistical Summary JG 26 Casualties—A Statistical Summary Index