Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3) was a Luftwaffe night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 3 was formed on 29 September 1941 in Stade from Stab./Zerstörergeschwader 26. Pilots of NJG 3 claimed approximately 820 aerial victories by day and night.
Commanding officers
Geschwaderkommodore Major Johann Schalk, 29 March 1941 – 1 August 1943 Oberst Helmut Lent, 1 August 1943 – 7 October 1944 Oberst Günther Radusch, 12 November 1944 – 8 May 1945
Gruppenkommandeur
I. Gruppe Hauptmann Günther Radusch, 7 October 1940 – 2 October 1941 Hauptmann Hans-Dietrich Knoetzsch, 3 October 1941 – 30 September 1942 Major Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld, 1 October 1942 – 31 May 1943 Hauptmann Erhard Peters, 1 June 1943 – 14 August 1943 Hauptmann Walter Mylius, 15 August 1943 – 13 December 1943 Hauptmann Paul Szameitat, 14 December 1943 – 2 January 1944 Major Werner Husemann, 4 January 1944 – 8 May 1945
II. Gruppe Hauptmann Günther Radusch, 3 October 1941 – 1 August 1943 Major Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 15 August 1943 – November 1943 Hauptmann Paul Szameitat, December 1943 – 14 December 1943 Major Klaus Havenstein, 15 December 1943 – September 1944 Hauptmann Hüschens, September 1944 – February 1945
III. Gruppe Oberstleutnant Heinz Nacke, 1 November 1941 – 21 April 1943 Hauptmann Walter Mylius, 22 April 1943 – 14 August 1943 Hauptmann Rudolf Sigmund, 15 August 1943 – 4 October 1943 Major Walter Barthe, 15 October 1943 – 8 May 1945
IV. Gruppe Major Erich Simon, 1 November 1942 – 7 October 1943 Hauptmann Albert Schulz, 8 October 1943 – January 1944 Hauptmann Franz Buschmann, January 1944 – July 1944 Hauptmann Heinz Ferger, July 1944 – November 1944 Major Berthold Ney, November 1944 – 4 March 1945 Hauptmann Freidrich Tober, 5 March 1945 – 8 May 1945
Surviving aircraft
Two aircraft that served with NJG 3 are displayed together at the Royal Air Force Museum London, one of the two sites of the Royal Air Force Museum. These are Messerschmitt Bf 110 G Werk Nr. 730301, which was surrendered to the British at the end of the war in 1945, and Junkers Ju 88 R-1, Werk Nr. 360043, which came into British hands in 1943. Both aircraft are almost unique - each is one of only two intact survivors of their type.
References
Bibliography