Zerstörergeschwader 2 (ZG 2—2nd Destroyer Wing) (lit. destroyer wing) was a Luftwaffe heavy/destroyer Fighter Aircraft-wing of World War II.
Formation Zerstörergeschwader 2 (ZG 2—2nd Destroyer Wing) was formed with one Gruppe (group) before the war. Initially, no Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit), II. Gruppe (2nd group) nor III. Gruppe (3rd group) was formed. I. Gruppe (1st group) was formed by renaming I(l). Gruppe (1st group) of Jagdgeschwader 137 (JG 137—137th Fighter Wing) to I. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 231 (ZG 231—231st Destroyer Wing) on 1 November 1938 flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109D-1 single engine fighter. On 1 May 1939, I. Gruppe of ZG 231 became I. Gruppe of ZG 2. During this entire time, the Gruppe was commanded by Hauptmann Johannes Gentzen. This unit was initially based at Bernburg until it was moved to Groß Stein, present-day Kamień Śląski in south-western Poland, on 6 August 1939.
World War II Invasion of Poland and Phoney War On 1 September 1939 I./ZG 2 was informally named as Jagdgruppe 102 (JGr 102—102nd Fighter Group) and flew the Bf 109D. Production at Messerschmitt plants had not reached expectations and the Bf 110 was not delivered to ZG 2 until 1940. Bf 109s equipped seven of the ten Zerstörer groups. I. and II. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 26 (ZG /Destroyer Wing) "Horst Wessel" were the only exceptions. Just 102 Bf 110s were in service on 1 September 1939. The unit was attached to Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (StG 77—77th Dive Bomber Wing), a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka unit under the command of Günter Schwartzkopff. All three staffeln and the Geschwaderstab was operational at Gross-Stein (Stab., 1 and 3 staffeln) and Zipser-Neudorff (2. Staffel). StG 77 and its subordinated Jagdgruppe were placed under the command of Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's Fliegerführer zbV which became the Fliegerkorps VIII. Richthofen's forces operated under the command of Luftflotte 4. According to German plans, Richthofen's forces were to strike into Lesser Poland, toward Kraków, Łódź and Radom in support of the 10th and 14th Armies. JGr 102 [I./ZG 2], had 46 Bf 109Ds combat ready.
The German invasion of Poland began on the 1 September 1939. The invasion began World War II. The Bf 110 Zerstörergeschwader, Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76—76th Destroyer Wing) and ZG 26 distinguished themselves in the fighter escort role as the long-range bomber pilots from Kampfgeschwader 27 attacked Warsaw airfields to destroy the Polish Air Force. JGr 102, under the command of Hauptmann Gentzen claimed 28 Polish aircraft in aerial combat and a further 50 on the ground. Colonel Stefan Pawlikowski's Warsaw Pursuit Brigade resisted fiercely but lost 17 percent of its fighting strength on 1 September which rose to 72 over the next five days. The unit may have claimed as many as 29 in the air and 78 on the ground. One of JGr 102's missions was providing fighter escort for Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers in the Bombing of Wieluń. No Polish aerial resistance was encountered. Gentzen claimed seven victories in two days: on 3 September he shot down a PZL.37 Łoś medium bomber and two PZL P.11 fighters. The next day he claimed four PZL.23 Karaś attack-bombers. On the 3rd, the Polish Air Force flew 90 sorties in the Częstochowa-Radomsko area as bombing intensified. The Poles did lose nine P.23s in the area as JGr 102 [I./ZG 2] and I./JG 76 were unleashed on combat patrols.
During the Battle of Łódź, the Łódź Army was left without a fighter shield which had been destroyed by Zerstörer groups days earlier. Gentzen's Bf 109 group completed its destruction by claiming five of its number on 2 September 1939. JGr 102's parent unit, StG 77 continued to support the invasion, and fought in the Battle of Radom and the Siege of Warsaw. Johannes Gentzen, the commanding officer, remarked that the Bf 109 pilot's success over Poland depended largely on luck. Gentzen remarked the Polish were masters of camouflage, the olive-brown combination blended excellently with the landscape. On one occasion, he managed to shoot down a Polish fighter, which glided and landed on a heavily camouflaged airfield before it burst into flames while the pilot ran for cover. The German pilots would not have noticed its existence but for the aerial combat. According to Glentzen, the group proceeded to strafe the airfield, knocking out five Polish bombers and then firing at a row of haystacks which masked more fighter aircraft. JGr 102 based itself at Kraków airfield during the northward advance. Gentzen proved to be the sole Bf 109 flying ace over Poland. The action occurred at Widzew, east of Lodz. The Polish 161 Eskadra lost five fighters. The group continued to fly three to four sorties per day. Based at Debrica on 13 September, a German reconnaissance aircraft delivered a message notifying the unit that an airfield at Brody was full of aircraft. For one Bf 109D, they claimed seven PZL.37 Łoś while Gentzen claimed four two-seater aircraft which were flying nearby, apparently without gunners. Over Brody, in 48 hours, the group claimed 26 Polish aircraft destroyed. The Soviet invasion of Poland occurred on 17 September 1939, and Polish resistance to the aggressor nations ended on 6 October. Luftflotte 4 operations were restricted until the Polish capitulation.
JGr 102 relocated to Lachen–Speyerdorf for the duration of the Phoney War. They countered French Air Force patrols and reconnaissance aircraft from the Groupe de Reconnaissance Strategique (GR). On one such occasion, on 6 November 1939, Gentzen at the head of 27 Bf 109Ds of JGr 102, patrolled the River Saar, only to meet nine French Hawk H 75As of Groupe de Chasse 11/5 escorting a Potez 63 reconnaissance aircraft of the GR 11/22. Gentzen was summoned to Berlin to explain why JGr 102 lost a 25 percent of its strength to a force approximately one-third of its size. The German unit had just dispatched two Mureaux 115s from GAO I and II/506. The resulting dogfight cost Gentzen four pilots. The 15-minute air battle cost the French no casualties, and they claimed four Bf 109s and a further four as probably destroyed. Three of the German pilots were captured after coming down on the French side of the lines. The German pilots had wandered too far to the west near Plappeville. Lieutenant Pierre Houze's fighter suffered some damage from Gentzen during the battle. The cause of this reverse for JGr 102 was the wrong tactical approach of Gentzen and his pilots. Though the Curtis was slightly inferior overall to the Bf 109D, it had a lighter wing loading, was more manoeuvrable, had a faster rate of roll, which enabled it to out-turn the Bf 109D. The automatic constant-speed propeller kept up maximum engine performance/efficiency whereas the Bf 109D pilot had to adjust pitch manually, which caused distractions in a dogfight. Instead of using the Bf 109-preferred tactic of dive-and-zoom, the German pilots stayed to turn and fight. Over-confidence, the experience of Poland, and the spectre of the World War I dogfighting traditions, while speculative, may have led to the JGr 102's defeat. After this encounter, operations were suspended for three months due to inclement weather conditions.
JGr 102 was placed under the command of I Fliegerkorps, based at Bonn-Hangelar on 15 December 1939. In March 1940 JGr 102 began to equip with the Bf 110, shedding its status and becoming I./ZG 2. Ernst Udet increased production by introducing a 10-hour working day. The efforts led to the creation of 30 Kampfstaffeln (bomber squadrons) and 16 Jagdstaffeln (fighter squadrons). Five Zerstörergruppen posing as Jagdgruppen (JGr 101, 102, 126, 152 and 176) finally received Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters in the spring. On 10 May, now ZG 2, Stab and I. Gruppe were assigned to Jagdfliegerführer 3 at Darmstadt-Griesheim. The small fighter command was subordinated to Luftflotte 3. ZG 2 was appointed a Geschwaderkommodore, Oberstleutnant Friedrich Vollbracht, a World War I fighter pilot who finished his military career with six aerial victories [two in the Great War and four in World War II].
Battle of Low Countries and France The Wehrmacht began the invasions of Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and France on 10 May 1940 under the codename Fall Gelb. The goal of the operation was to lure the powerful French Army and supporting British Army into the Low Countries and then attack in the centre, north of the Maginot Line, and south of the mobile Allied forces through to the English Channel, thereby encircling the latter against the sea. Luftflotte 3 began Offensive counter air operations in the first days of the offensive.
On 11 May I./ZG 2 flew escort for Kampfgeschwader 3 (KG 3—3rd Bomber Wing) Heinkel He 111 bombers in the Mourmelon area. It encountered Hawker Hurricanes from No. 73 Squadron RAF and No. 501 Squadron RAF. In the ensuing battle, 1. and 3. Staffel suffered the loss of one crew. The escort could not prevent three 4. Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 53 (KG 53—53rd Bomber Wing) bombers from being shot down. The performance of the gruppe, according to RAF Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) losses, was limited to a single 73 Squadron Hurricane shot down. On 12 May the German army captured Sedan. German bomber wings were operational in the Charleville–Méziéres–Rethel area. II Fliegerkorps supported the 12th army. III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 2 (KG 2—2nd Bomber Wing) concentrated on road traffic in the Charelville area. I. and II. Gruppe of KG 3 bombed targets Vouziers. I./KG 53 bombed the Sedan II. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 55 (KG 55—55th Bomber Wing) attacked targets in Rethel. Escorts were provided from V(Z)/LG 1 and I./ZG 2. French fighter units GC I/5, GC II/2, GC III/7 supported by 501 Squadron attacked the bombers. I./ZG 2 fought No. 501 Squadron, the RAF pilots claimed one of their aircraft. Two of the British Hurricanes were shot down. One pilot was killed. ZG 2 was involved the defence of the bridges over the Meuse during the Battle of Sedan. On 14 May the AASF suffered heavy losses and the day's actions became known in the Luftwaffe as "the day of the fighters." In supporting Ju 87 operations I./ZG 2 claimed one No. 3 Squadron RAF Hurricane in the Sedan area, the pilot surviving. The following day, I./ZG 2 are known to have fought No. 73 Squadron RAF over Vouziers; one Bf 110 crew were captured and another machine from Stab. I./ZG 2 was severely damaged. Three No. 73 Squadron fighters were shot down with the pilots surviving wounded. On 20 May, as the Panzer Divisions reached the English Channel and completed the encirclement, I./ZG 2 escorted Dornier Do 17s from I./KG 3 as they attacked targets near Abbeville. One 3./KG 3 was damaged, but Staffelkäpitan Fritz Lüders and his gunner from the Stabstaffel were killed.
The Zerstörergeschwader wings followed the advance across France. I Gruppe was transferred to Bruno Loerzer's air corps and was ordered to escort KG 53 in bombing rail and road traffic between the Seine and Aisne. ZG 2 operated in the western reaches of this air space. I./ZG 2 were based at a forward airfield at Neufchâteau, Liège by 26 May as the Battle of Dunkirk began. The area experienced nuisance raids by RAF Bomber Command. Gentzen, commanding I./ZG 2, angered by the persistent attacks, took off to chase a formation of Bristol Blenheims only to crash and die on 26 May 1940. Major Ernst Ott took command of I./ZG 2. Loerzer's II Fliegerkorps had rendered aerial interdiction support to the 2nd army and 12th army through to 23 May [operations suspended due to bad weather]. With Robert Ritter von Greim's V Fliegerkorps, they struck at rail targets 54 times and "localities" 47 times from 20 to 23 May. On 25 May Loerzer's airmen flew 254 bombing raids to support the advance to Amiens. I./ZG 2 was ordered specifically to escort KG 53 through this period.
Battle of Britain