Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76) was a Zerstörer (heavy fighter; lit. "destroyer") geschwader (wing) of the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The wing operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in the early phases of World War II, then the Messerschmitt Bf 110 for the duration of the war.
Created in 1939 based on the Zerstörer concept advocated by Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, the wing was only partially equipped with the Bf 110. Some units were designated Jagdgruppe 76 and flew the Messerschmitt Bf 109 during the Phoney War. Those elements (gruppen, or groups) that operated the Bf 110 fought in the Invasion of Poland in September 1939 which began World War II. Thereafter, ZG 76 fought in the Battle of the German Bight in December 1939 which encouraged RAF Bomber Command to switch to night bombing. In April 1940 it supported the German invasion of Denmark and fought in the Norwegian Campaign. From May to October 1940 ZG 76 served in the Battle of Belgium, Battle of France and Battle of Britain. Elements of the wing fought in the German invasion of Yugoslavia, Battle of Greece and Battle of Crete. The majority of the gruppen were disbanded in late 1941 after serving in the early stages of the Defence of the Reich by defending the German-occupied Low Countries.
In 1943 ZG 76 was reformed. The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe felt the heavy fighters could be successful against the unescorted United States Army Air Force bombers. The introduction of long-range US fighter escorts in 1944 resulted in heavy casualties and operations were scaled down until the final disbandment of ZG 76 in September 1944. The remaining pilots were transferred to the Bf 109 wing Jagdgeschwader 76.
Formation Zerstörergeschwader 76 was formed on 1 May 1939 from Zerstörergeschwader 144. I. Gruppe and II. Gruppe formed without a Geschwaderstab. The II. Gruppe was initially equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and was known as Jagdgruppe 176, while it retained its heavy fighter identity officially, then re-equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110 over the winter, 1939/40. The organisation and equipment of the Zerstörergeschwader units was typical at this time. Zerstörergeschwader 26 (ZG 26—26th Destroyer Wing) was operated and organised in a similar fashion.
The Geschwaderstab was created on 15 April 1940 in Köln-Wahn. The III. Gruppe was raised on 26 June 1940 in Trier-Euren with the Messerschmitt Bf 110.
World War II
Invasion of Poland and Phoney War On 1 September 1939 the German Wehrmacht invaded Poland beginning World War II in Europe. ZG 76 operated with one gruppe during the campaign. I./ZG 76 was based at Gablingen under the command of 6. Fliegerdivision (6th Air Division). Approximately 100 Bf 110s were combat ready for action in Poland indicating a shortfall in production. A ratio of one rotte [flight] per kampfstaffel [bomber squadron] had to suffice.
Alexander Löhr, commanding Luftflotte 4, regarded the destruction of the Polish Air Force of such importance he ordered Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's air command to attack airfields near Kraków. I./ZG 76 was ordered to provide fighter escort for bombers from I. and III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 4 (KG 4—4th Bomber Wing) and I. and III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 77 (KG 77—77th Bomber Wing). The attacks on these airfields involved 150 sorties. KG 4 dropped 200 tons of bombs on 1 September. The group claimed 19 Polish fighters destroyed. Future German fighter pilots Wolfgang Falcke, Helmut Lent and Gordon Gollob made claims in aerial combat. I./ZG 76 provided effective protection to Kampfgeschwader 27 (KG 27—27th Bomber Wing) on its long-range bombing missions.
Other heavy fighter units claimed victories as well; I.(Z) Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 1 (LG 1—1st Demonstration Wing) claimed wildly optimistic total of 34 Polish fighters shot down, while Zerstörergeschwader 2 (ZG 2—2nd Destroyer Wing) claimed 78 in the air and 50 on the ground. The true losses of Colonel Stefan Pawlikowski's Pursuit Brigade were 10 fighters destroyed and 24 "unserviceable" [presumably meaning damaged]; 62 percent of its strength. Total German losses across Poland was 25 aircraft. The Polish loss percentage increased to 72 percent by the 5 September.
On 2 September I./ZG 76, led by Lent, claimed 11 aircraft at Dęblin, while KG 4 dropped 180 tonnes of bombs in 13 staffeln-sized operations. The aircraft destroyed were not frontline aircraft, but were from training units. Later in the day the gruppe was credited with nine Łódź Army fighters, attached to protect the Polish army on the approaches to Warsaw. Only three were actually lost. The survivors, however, lost five to Bf 109s to JGr 102. The Pursuit Brigade was transferred to an unspecified sector giving Luftwaffe bombers a free hand. The cost of the air battle to ZG 76 was three Bf 110s.
On 3 September the Zerstörergruppen escorted bombers attacking the PZL P.11 factory in Warsaw. They claimed three of the 40 defending fighters losing one. From 4 September Polish aerial resistance had been reduced, and consequently were ordered to conduct a larger number of close air support operations. I./ZG 76 was temporarily transferred to Ulrich Grauert's 1. Fliegerdivision and fought in the Battle of Iłża from 9 September.
After the Polish capitulation following the Soviet Invasion of Poland on 17 September 1939, ZG 76 reorganised in the Phoney War period. II. and III./ZG 76 finally were able to convert from the Bf 109 to Bf 110 and shed their Jadggruppe designations. ZG 76 flew protection patrols (Defence of the Reich) over the German North Sea coast in late 1939. Elements of it took part in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight on 18 December 1939 and the wing claimed five Vickers Wellington bombers shot down. RAF losses were 12 bombers destroyed, three damaged and 57 men killed, though German claims were far higher.
Norwegian campaign On 9 April 1940, German forces began Operation Weserübung, an invasion of Denmark and Norway. X Fliegerkorps was allocated to the operation, which was conducted in cooperation with the German Army and the Kriegsmarine. The air corps was commanded by Generalleutnant Hans Ferdinand Geisler. Only I./ZG 76 from the wing participated based at airstrips near Westerland. 3. Staffel of Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing) was attached to it. The immediate objective was to secure airfields in northern Denmark to secure the air space and communications links to the Norwegian capital Oslo from Royal Navy intervention. The German invasion of Denmark was carried out in the space of 24 hours. 1./ZG 76 assisted in the seizure of Aalborg airport on the northern Danish coast granting air superiority over the Skagerrak. Signallers, ground crews, clerks and essential equipment was flown in by Junkers Ju 52s from KGzbV 1. II./KGzbV 1 flew to Oslo Airport, Fornebu to land soldiers and Fallschirmjäger battalions. Lent and 1./ZG 76 gave air cover. The staffel claimed one Royal Norwegian Air Force Gloster Gladiator in combat and two on the ground in exchange for one Ju 52. Commander Hansen and Helmut Lent maintained over claiming an RAF Coastal Command Short Sunderland probing Oslo fjord.
The Haerens Flygevåpen possessed only 24 combat aircraft (13 serviceable) and five Tiger Moth trainers. Most flew north to continue the fight against the invaders. Six aircraft, including four Curtiss P-36 Hawks, were destroyed by ZG 76. The landing at Stavanger was successful, but 3./KG 4 and 3./ZG 76 failed to prevent eight Caproni Ca.135 bombers escaping north. From Stavanger Airport, Sola, on 12 April, Hauptmann Günther Reinecke's I./ZG 76 claimed five Wellingtons on this date but the Luftwaffe could not stop the destruction of 12 aircraft and the damage to 31 others at Bergen and Stavanger-Sola to 2 May. ZG 76 carried out strafing missions countering the Åndalsnes landings and Namsos campaign. Kampfgeschwader 26 (KG 26—26th Bomber Wing) and Kampfgeschwader 1 (KG 1—1st Bomber Wing) destroyed the ammunition dumps and razed the wharves. HMS Glorious flew in Gladiator squadrons to Lesjaskogsvatnet on 24 April. In response, LG 1, escorted by Bf 110s from ZG 76 and sometimes the Zerstörergruppe (Z) of Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30—30th Bomber Wing), destroyed the airfield in eight hours, eliminating 19 fighters. The survivors flew to the airstrip at Setnesmoen, which was destroyed in further attacks while the last five Norwegian combat aircraft and five Moths flew north.
Further south, I./ZG 76 was less successful. On 12 April it accounted for two No. 149 Squadron Wellingtons and Squadron Leader Nolan, No. 38 Squadron. All crews were killed. Nolan was probably shot down by the future night fighter ace Helmut Woltersdorf. On 30 April RAF Bomber Command struck at Stavanger. ZG 76 lost their commanding officer, Hauptmann Günther Reinecke killed in action with British bombers, along with other flying aces Leutnant Helmut Fahlbusch and Oberfeldwebel Georg Fleischmann. Reinecke was replaced by Hauptmann Werner Restermeyer. The gruppe claimed four bombers between 20:40 and 21:00 in the last minutes of daylight preventing the action from being classified as night fighter interceptions.
ZG 76 fought in the Battles of Narvik to counter the threat from RAF fighter units operating from Bardufoss Airport. The aerial battles were complicated for ZG 76 by the introduction of the Bf 110D-0 "dachshund" belly which provided the aircraft with a 30-minute increase in endurance but at the cost of further reductions in maneuverability in an already unmanuverable aircraft in combat nimble single-seat fighters. The wing supported I./StG 1 and its bombing offensive against Bodø, which damaged much of the town. Among the final known air combats over Norway during the campaign involved Lent. Flight Lieutenant Caesar Hull was shot down by Lent on 27 May and on the 2 June No. 263 Squadron, aircraft serial number N5893 piloted by Pilot Officer J.L. Wilkie were downed. I./ZG 76 remained in Norway with Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) for air defence after the campaign. On 9 July 1940 they two units shot down seven from 12 Blenheim bombers (from No. 12 Squadron) sent to bomb Stavanger.
The Luftwaffe considered a glider-borne assault on the Allied-held airfield at Bardufoss but it had only nine gliders available. Further operations were precluded by the Allied withdrawal in view of the worsening situation in France. The cost of the campaign to the Luftwaffe was 260 aircraft, including 86 transports. 1,130 aircrew became casualties, including 341 killed, and 448 missing. They destroyed 93 of the 169 British aircraft lost including 43 in air combat, 24 by Luftwaffe-controlled anti-aircraft units. The most successful unit was ZG 76 which was credited with 16 enemy aircraft followed by JG 77 with 13.
Western Europe Stab and II./ZG 76 was assigned to the Fliegerkorps I under the command of Generaloberst Grauert near Cologne-Wahn. On 10 May 1940 the German offensive opened with Fall Gelb, the Battle of the Netherlands and Battle of Belgium as a prelude to the larger Battle of France. During the first day of operations the heavy fighter wings flew 2,000 sorties with the Bf 109-equipped units. ZG 76 supported the southern flank of Army Group B and the northern flank of Army Group A during the Panzer Divisions dash to the English Channel following the breakthrough at Sedan from 14 May. With JG 2, JG 53 and JG 77 the wing protected the bridges over the Meuse at Sedan. The French and RAF Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) air attacks were repulsed with heavy losses.