Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 (StG 1 - Dive Bomber Wing 1) was a Luftwaffe dive bomber wing during World War II.
StG 1 was formed in May 1939 and remained active until October 1943, when it was renamed and reorganised into Schlachtgeschwader 1 (SG 1). It operated the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber exclusively in the combat role.
StG 1 served the German war effort on every front including limited Bandenbekämpfung operations in support of Wehrmacht and Nazi paramilitary forces.
Formation StG 1 was formed at the close of the 1930s as the Luftwaffe rushed to form and reorganise its combat units. I./StG 1 was formed first, not the ('command') ('squadron'), on 1 May 1939 in Insterburg, East Prussia. Major Werner Rentsch was appointed as the group's first commanding officer. The group was created by renaming I./StG 160. It remained there with all 38 Ju 87s serviceable, and two of its three Dornier Do 17Ps operational for reconnaissance.
Stab./StG 1 was formed on 18 November 1939 at Jüterbog, and the wing had its first Geschwaderkommodore, Oberst Eberhard Baier. It was equipped with three Ju 87s and six Do 17s by 10 May 1940. The unit was placed under the command of VIII. Fliegerkorps. All but one of the aircraft was combat ready. II./StG 1 was formed on 9 July 1940 in France, possibly at Saint-Inglevert Airfield, around Marquise, northeast of Boulogne. Anton Keil was appointed commander.
III./StG 1 also did not exist until 9 July 1940 when it was formed at Falaise. Helmut Mahlke became the first commanding officer. The group was formed by renaming I./Tr.G. 186. The strength of the second and third groups at the commencement of combat operations is unknown.
War service I./StG 1 was assigned (Air Force Command East Prussia), under the (Air Force Learning Division), and later under the command of (Flying Leader z.b.V). The group was then the only existing combat unit of the wing, and fought as an independent group, and was not subordinated to another dive-bomber wing.
Poland and "Phoney War" On 1 September 1939 the German Wehrmacht began the invasion of Poland with the cooperation from the Soviet Union and Red Army, which began World War II. 1. and 3./StG 1 opened the attack on Poland, carrying out possibly the first air raid of the war. Bruno Dilley's squadron was ordered to destroy the bridge at Tczew, near Danzig.
Personnel of the wing had travelled across the bridge via the former Prussian Eastern Railway and learned that the detonation cables for the demolition charges ran along the slope of the railway embankment between the station and the bridge. At 04:45, Dilly and his unit attacked at low-level, hitting the bunkers and array of cables. The mission was a partial success, but turned to failure when Polish Army engineers repaired the cables and blew the bridge before German forces arrived. The cause for the failure has been blamed on the German Army failing to follow up the attack with a speedy advance.
Later that day, StG 1 truck at radio stations in Babice and Lacy, near Warsaw. The group also attacked airfields in the Kraków area. The group lost three Ju 87s on this first day; one crew was killed flying into the ground on the return flight from Dilley's mission. On 3 September the group supported the 3rd Army's advance to Mława. Accurate bombing to within five metres of the bunkers stunned the Modlin Army defenders allowing the Germans to overrun their defences. The group took part in the Battle of Radom, in which six Polish divisions were destroyed from 8 to 13 September. It also reduced the Iłża pocket. The Prusy Army was severely damaged by air attacks by I./StG 1, StG 2, I./StG 77 and III./StG 151. ./LG 2, I., II./KG 55 and I./KG 77 supported.
The group passed through field strips, as far south as Górowo and Orońsko. It ended the campaign at the latter location on 29 September 1939, a week before the Polish surrender. I./StG 1 moved to Cologne and stayed there until March 1940. At Delmenhorst the group became the first to receive the Ju 87R, which had long-range tanks fitted for Maritime interdiction operations.
Scandinavia In February and March 1940 the Wehrmacht began preparations to invade Denmark and Norway, christened Operation Weserübung. X. Fliegerkorps was the only German combat air formation committed. I./StG 1 was placed under the air corps' command and based at Kiel-Holtenau. The group possessed 39 Ju 87s. The force was a mixture of Ju 87Bs and Rs.
The group participated in the Norwegian Campaign from 9 April. The long-range Ju 87s appear not to have needed staging grounds for operations against Norwegian targets and probably did not play a role in the invasion of Denmark earlier in the day. The first attacks were directed and coastal fortresses to prevent them from interfering with the seaborne landing. The group attacked Akershus Fortress. In the late morning, the group attacked Oscarsborg Fortress after the Norwegian coastal fortress had sunk the heavy cruiser Blücher. The group moved to Arhus, Denmark and then to Stavanger. 1 moved to Oslo Fornebu. Naval interdiction and was a priority and the main target was the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. The same day, the unit hit the 600 ton torpedo boat in the engine room. It was run aground and scuttled. The sinking did not save the German freighter Roda, which was carrying anti-aircraft guns to Stavanger. The Norwegian destroyer sank her before her own demise. III./KG 4 have also been credited with the attack that sank her: the group was operating in the same area.
The group attempted to repel Royal Navy forces interdicting German supply lines. On 17 April seven aircraft bombed , hitting a turret. Only three days earlier Suffolk sank the German tanker Skagerrak northwest of Bodø. On 19 April three Ju 87s attacked British warships in Namsos. It was their first action in the Namsos Campaign. 1./StG 1 was ordered, by Martin Harlinghausen, to operate from frozen lakes for want of appropriate landing grounds.
On 20 April the wing suffered their first loss. While attacking the anti-aircraft cruiser , Leutnant Karl Pfeil and his gunner Gerhard Winkels were shot down and captured near Namsos by anti-aircraft fire; no hits were scored. On 25 April, a British raid by Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua and Fairey Swordfish aircraft destroyed six or seven Ju 87s near Trondheim/Værnes. Carriers and escaped retaliation attacks. Five other aircraft were damaged and Major Paul-Werner Hozzel's 1. was effected. Erhard Milch used 800 civilian forced labourers to repair the extensively damaged airfield.
On 28 April attacks against ships in Ålesund and Åndalsnes were carried out and a small ship was sunk. Ju 87s did manage to sink anti-submarine trawlers Siretoko, Jardine and Warwickshire. was badly damaged by Elmo Schäfer and sunk by . Later, on 1 May 1940, they failed to hit Ark Royal during an interdiction against British naval forces. of 2. , Oberleutnant Heinz Böhme claimed to have hit the carrier (he did not, it was a near-miss) and failed to mention in his report that he lost one of his Ju 87s (Oberfeldwebel Erich Stahl and Unteroffizier Friedrich Gott) to two Sea Gladiators of 802 Squadron FAA. This was the only loss on 1 May.
The next few missions on the afternoon of 1 May and 3 May, the Ju 87s had more success As allied forced contemplated withdrawal. The French large destroyer was sunk along with by I./StG 1 on 3 May 1940 during the evacuation from Namsos. Bisons forward magazine were hit killing 108 of the crew. Afridi, who had attempted to rescue Bisons survivors was sunk with the loss of 63 sailors. Three other ships were damaged by the group in attacks on convoys off the coast. The trawlers were later scuttled; St Goran (), HMS Aston Villa of the 15th Antisubmarine Striking Force, (), Gaul ().
On 4 May the group sank the Norwegian steamers Blaafjeld, Sekstant, Pan and Aafjord. StG 1 flew 100 missions against shipping. It attempted to sink the British aircraft carriers but none of the attacks were a success. On 8 May Paul-Werner Hozzel, Elmar Schaefer and Martin Möbus and veteran observer Gerhard Grenzel, became the first Stuka crews to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Grenzel was the first non-commissioned officer in the Luftwaffe to receive the award. Allied officer commanding, Major General Adrian Carton de Wiart recommended ceasing supply operations in the face of German air superiority. Maritime interdiction was the Luftwaffe's most effective contribution.
On 22 May the group raided Bodø harbour, and sank the Norwegian trawler Ingrid. The group probably sank the freighter Skerstad at Rognan. Two days later, an armed trawler was sunk at Bodø. On 27 May the town was bombed in an effort to destroy the radio station but numerous houses were also destroyed. The suffered one loss; Kurt Zube, to a No. 263 Squadron RAF Gloster Gladiator flown by Flight Commander Caesar Hull. Zube was rescued by German forces. By this date StG 1 maintained 39 Ju 87s with 27 operational.
The group took part in the Battles of Narvik. Heinz Böhme, commanding 2. , and his war correspondent gunner were killed on 2 June 1940 over Narvik. The German crew purportedly fired on Allied soldiers from the wreck. Böhme was the victim of Sergeant H H Kitchener and Flight Lieutenant A T Williams of No. 263 Squadron RAF. Two more Ju 87s were shot down on the morning of the 2 June. Klaus Kuber and his gunner were killed, the victim of a No. 43 Squadron RAF Hawker Hurricane flown by Sergeant B L Taylor whilst Hans Ott and his gunner Brack fell victim to Flying Officer John F Drummond. The campaign ended with the Withdrawal of Allied forces on 10 June.
Belgium and France
Only Stab./StG 1 took part in Fall Gelb, the attack on Western Europe. Three Ju 87s and six Do 17s (five operational) were placed under the command of II. Fliegerkorps, attached to Luftflotte 3. To bolster strength, II./StG 2 and I.(St)/TrG 186, a specialised anti-shipping unit was placed under Eberhard Baier's command.
The Stab unit did take part of in the attack on Fort Eben-Emael; which led to the crucial victory at the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael and probably continued to support German forces in the Battle of Belgium and Battle of France. With KG 76 and KG 77, the StG 1 elements supported the break out of the XV Panzer Corps across the Meuse between Houx and Dinant. The StG 1 contingent was present in the Amiens sector on 25 May assisting KG 77 repulse French armoured counter-attacks.
On 9 June it did take part in air attacks against Pont-Sainte-Maxence. Specific operations of these small contingent are unknown. I./StG 1 arrived in France at Evreux on around the third week of June. The group attacked fortified positions around the Cherbourg Peninsula. The fighting ended with the Armistice of 22 June 1940.
Britain and Channel Front In July 1940 all units were relocated to based at Angers, France, under the operational command of Wolfram von Richthofen., commanding VIII. Fliegerkorps. StG 1 prepared for (Operation Eagle Attack) which began the Battle of Britain. StG 1 formed part of Hugo Sperrle's Luftflotte 3. The total strength of the was 80 Ju 87s with 55 operational. First group began using airfields around Caen while third group used Théville for its base of operations.
On 7 July, III./StG 1 formed officially two days later according to records, flew their first combat mission over the English Channel in the Kanalkampf phase of the air battle. Their assignment was to destroy shipping (maritime interdiction) but the pilots found no ships. On 13 July II./StG 1 flew shipping operations escorted by JG 51. Convoy CW 5 became the target. 11 Hawker Hurricanes from 56 Squadron engaged before the Bf 109s could react and the group suffered two damaged Ju 87s. The Ju 87s had some success; was disabled by near-misses and was taken under tow by tug Lady Duncannonand and repaired in November.