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JG2
Country : Germany
Founded : 1st May 1939
| David Pentland JG2 Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Assi and Julius by David Pentland. Tournai, France, 19th May 1940. While on an escort mission for He111s, the Me109Es of 4 Staffel JG2 were engaged by the RAF Hurricanes of 87 Squadron. In the ensuing battle Staffelkapitan Hans Assi Hahn and his trusty wingman Julius Meimberg claimed a Hurricane each. |
First Combat by David Pentland. Franco-German border, 22md November 1939. While flying a routine border Frei Jagd for some reconnaissance Dorniers, eight Me109s of 3./JG2 were engaged by fourteen French Curtiss Hawks of GC II/4. During the ensuing dogfight, the first combat for the Richthofen Geschwader since WW1, two of the French fighters were shot down. The first by Lt Helmut Wick, was flown by the French ace Adjutant Camille Plubeau (14 victories) the other by Ofw Erwin Kley. Wick was to go on to become one of the great aces of the Battle of Britain, achieving 56 victories before his death in November 1940. |
Lucky 13 by David Pentland. St Nazaire, France, 3rd January 1943. The Fw190A4 of Georg-Peter Schorsch Eder, 7/JG2, streaks past Meat Hound, a B17F of th 423rd Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group en route to attack the U-boat pens at St Nazaire. Along with his Gruppenkommandeur Egon Mayer, it was Eder who pioneered the head on pass tactic against the Flying Fortresses. On this day he to achieve his thirteenth victory, and second B17. By the end of the war he had accounted for some 36 heavy bombers. |
African Expedition by David Pentland. Tunisia, North Africa, 4th January 1943. At 1600 hours, eight Fw190s from JG2 were scrambled from Kairouan airfield to intercept enemy aircraft flying recon over the Sbeitla and Fondouk areas. The Allied formation came from Thelepte airfield and consisted of 6 Spitfires from the US 4th Fighter Squadron, 52 Fighter Group, and 6 Spitfires from the US 5th Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Group, escorting 5 P-39s. The Fw190s were south of Ousseltia when air combat with the escorting Spitfires began. It was during this engagement that Staffelkapitan Oberleutnant Rudorffer Yellow 1 of 6/JG2 claimed 2 of the American Spitfires. |
Tip of the Spear by David Pentland. Isle of Wight, England, 28th November 1940. Late in the afternoon, the Me109s of JG2 took off on a Frei Jagd or fighter sweep over southern England. At its head, and leading the Stabschwarm was the Geschwaderkommodore Helmut Wick, along with his wingmen Erich Leie, Rudolf Pflanz, and Erich Rudorffer. When RAF Spitfires were sighted Wick gave the order to engage and the staff flight pulled away to give battle - it was to be his final dogfight. In the ensuing battle, Wick, Pflanz, and Gunther Seeger each claimed a Spitfire, but Wick in turn was lost to the RAF. |
Head on Pass by David Pentland. St Nazaire, France, 1st January 1943. Leading the Focke Wulf 190s of III Gruppe, Jagdgeswader 2, Gruppenkommandeur Egon Mayer, cut a swathe through the attacking waves of US Eigth Airforce B17s. The recently developed tactic of the head on pass was proving successful against the daylight heavy bombers, with Mayer claiming 2 for himself in this engagement. |
Stabsschwarm by David Pentland. Etaples, Northern France, 13th October 1941. Me109F-4s of Stabsschwarm JG2, flown by Geschwaderkommodore Major Walter Oesau, Oberleutnant Erich Leie, Oberleutnant Rudolf Rudi Pflanz, and Gefreiter Gunther Hupatz Seeger. Each was a notable ace in his own right but together they were a formidable combination. On this sortie alone they accounted for 5 RAF Spitfires. |
| JG2 Aircraft details |
 Fw190 Manufacturer : Fokke-Wulf | Fw190 The Focke-Wulf 190 development project began in 1937. Conceived as a hedge against total dependence on the Messerchmitt 109, the 190 was designed by Kurt Tank utilizing a radial engine. This was against generally accepted design criteria in Germany, and many historians believe that the decision to produce a radial engine fighter was largely due to the limited manufacturing capacity for in-line, water-cooled engines which were widely used on all other Luftwaffe aircraft. Despite these concerns, Tanks design was brilliant, and the 190 would become one of the top fighter aircraft of WWII. The first prototype flew in mid-1939. The aircraft had excellent flying characteristics, a wonderful rate of acceleration, and was heavily armed. By late 1940 the new fighter was ordered into production. Nicknamed the butcher bird, by Luftwaffe pilots, early 190s were quite successful in the bomber interceptor role, but at this stage of the war many Allied bombing raids lacked fighter escort. As the war dragged on, Allied bombers were increasingly accompanied by fighters, including the very effective P-51 Mustang. The Allies learned from experience that the 190s performance fell off sharply at altitudes above 20,000 feet. As a result, most Allied bombing missions were shifted to higher altitudes when fighter opposition was likely. Kurt Tank had recognized this shortcoming and began working on a high-altitude version of the 190 utilizing an in-line, water-cooled engine. Utilizing a Jumo 12-cylinder engine rated at 1770-HP, and capable of 2,240-HP for short bursts with its methanol injection system, the 190D, or Long Nose or Dora as it was called, had a top speed of 426-MPH at 22,000 feet. Armament was improved with two fuselage and two wing mounted 20mm cannon. To accommodate the changes in power plants the Dora had a longer, more streamlined fuselage, with 24 inches added to the nose, and an additional 19 inches added aft of the cockpit to compensate for the altered center of gravity. By mid 1944 the Dora began to reach fighter squadrons in quantity. Although the aircraft had all the right attributes to serve admirably in the high altitude interceptor role, it was not generally focused on such missions. Instead many 190Ds were assigned to protect airfields where Me-262 jet fighters were based. This was due to the latter aircrafts extreme vulnerability to Allied attack during takeoff and landing. The 190Ds also played a major role in Operation Bodenplatte, the New Years Day raid in 1945 which destroyed approximately 500 Allied aircraft on the ground. The High Command was impressed with the 190Ds record on this raid, and ordered most future production of the Doras to be equipped as fighter-bombers. In retrospect this was a strategic error, and this capable aircraft was not fully utilized in the role for which it was intended. |
| JG2 Pilot and aircrew signature details |
 Kurt Buhligen Our estimated value of this signature : £65 Died : 1985 | Kurt Buhligen Kurt Buhligen was born in 1917. He had a strong desire to fly so he joined the Luftwaffe on its inception. He joined initially as a mechanic but his forceful character soon qualified him as fighter pilot material. The Luftwaffe accepted his request for a transfer, and he underwent pilot training throughout 1938 – 1939. By July 1940 he was assigned to JG2 Richthofen. He scored his first victory on 4th September 1940 during the Battle of Britain, one year later his score had risen to 21. In December 1942 he was transferred to Tunisia, where he showed what a true fighter pilot he was – shooting down no less than forty aircraft. Transferred back to the west in defence of his homeland in early 1943, his score had reached 96. By 1944 he had shot down his 100th victim. While flying over Soviet held territory his engine malfunctioned and he was forced to land. He was captured by the Russians and held as a POW until 1950. He had scored a total of 112 victories. Buhligen loved to fight P-47s. He would let the P-47 get on his tail, then would do an Immelmann Loop, come up on the P-47s tail and shoot it down. He was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Buhligen died at his home on 11th August 1985. All our signatures of Kurt Buhligen were signed during an interview in the 1980s. |
  Adolf Dickfeld Our estimated value of this signature : £55 Died : 2009 | Adolf Dickfeld A highly successful Ace, Adolf Dickfeld was posted to Russia with III/JG52 in 1941. He was one of the first pilots to score 100 victories. Later with JG2 in North Africa, and JG11 in Defence of the Reich, bringing his total to 136 victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross. Sadly, Adolf Dickfeld died 17th May 2009. |
  General Adolf Galland Our estimated value of this signature : £80 Died : 1996 | General Adolf Galland Adolf Galland fought in the great Battles of Poland, France and Britain, leading the famous JG26 Abbeville Boys. He flew in combat against the RAFs best including Douglas Bader, Bob Stanford Tuck and Johnnie Johnson. In 1941, at the age of 29, he was promoted to Inspector of the Fighter Arm. In 1942 Hitler personally selected Galland to organise the fighter escort for the Channel Dash. He became the youngest General in the German High Command but open disagreements with Goering led to his dismissal at the end of 1944. He reverted to combat flying, forming the famous JV44 wing flying the Me262 jet fighter, and was the only General in history to lead a squadron into battle. With 104 victories, all in the West, Adolf Galland received the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Born 19th March 1912, died 9th February 1996. Born in 1911, Adolf Galland learned to fly at a state-sponsored flying club in the early 1930s. In 1933 he was selected to go to Italy for secret pilot training. Galland flew for a brief time as a commercial airline pilot prior to joining the clandestine Luftwaffe as a Second Lieutenant. In April of 1935 he was assigned to JG-2, the Richtofen Fighter Wing, and in 1937 he joined the ranks of the Condor Legion flying the He-51 biplane fighter in support of General Franco during the Spanish Civil War. Despite flying 280 missions, Galland attained no aerial victories, a rather inauspicious start for a pilot would go on to attain more than 100 aerial victories - the highest for any pilot who flew on the Western Front. During Germanys invasion of Poland, Galland was assigned to an attack squadron and he flew over fifty ground sorties. He was promoted to Captain for his efforts, but Galland was anxious to return to a fighter squadron, and he got his wish in October of 1939 when he was transferred to JG-27. It was with JG-27 that Galland first learned to fly the Bf-109. In May of 1940 JG-27 flew in support of the invasion of Belgium, and Galland achieved his first combat victory on May 12. Two months later his score had risen to more than a dozen, and at this time he was once again transferred to JG-26 situated on the Channel Coast. Engaging the RAF on a daily basis during the Battle of Britain, Gallands score rose steadily until it exceeded 40 victories by September. After a short leave Galland rejoined JG-26 in Brittany, where the squadron played a defensive role. Following Germanys invasion of Russia in June of 1941, JG-26 became one of only two German fighter squadrons left on the Channel Coast. This resulted in plenty of flying, and by late in 1941 Gallands victory totals had reached 70. Following a near brush with death when the fuel tank of his 109 exploded, Galland was grounded for a time, and sent to Berlin where he was made the General of the Fighter Arm, reporting directly to Goring and Hitler. Galland spent most of the next few years carrying out inspection tours, and was at odds with his superiors about the need for an adequate fighter defense to negate ever-increasing Allied bombing of Germanys cities. He continued to fly combat missions when the opportunity presented itself, despite Gorings orders to the contrary. In January of 1945 almost 300 fighters were lost in an all-out attack on Allied airfields in France, a mission Galland did not support. He was dismissed as General of the Fighter Arm for his insubordination, but reflecting his flying abilities Hitler ordered Galland to organize JV-44, Germanys first jet-equipped fighter squadron. By March of 1945 Galland had recruited 45 of Germanys best surviving fighter pilots, and this new squadron was given the difficult task of trying to counter the daily onslaught of 15th Air Force bombers coming at Germany from the South. Gallands final mission of the War occurred on April 26 when he attained his 102nd and 103rd confirmed aerial victories prior to crash landing his damaged Me262. Several days later the War was over for both Galland and Germany. General Galland died in 1996. |
  Major Erich Rudorffer Our estimated value of this signature : £70 Died : 2016 | Major Erich Rudorffer Erich Rudorffer was born on November 1st 1917 in the town of Zwickau in Saxony. Erich Rudorffer joined the Luftwaffes I./JG2 Richthofen in November 1939, and was soon flying combat patrols in January 1940 and was assigned to I/JG 2 Richthofen with the rank of Oberfeldwebel. He took part in the Battle of France, scoring the first of his many victories over a French Hawk 75 on May 14th, 1940. He went on to score eight additional victories during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. Rudorffer recalled an incident in August 1940 when he escorted a badly damaged Hurricane across the Channel - ditching in the English Channel was greatly feared by pilots on both sides. As fate often does, Rudorffer found the roles reversed two weeks later, when he was escorted by an RAF fighter after receiving battle damage. By May 1st 1941 Rudorffer had achieved 19 victories, which led to the award of the Knights Cross. In June 1941 Rodorffer became an Adjutant of II./JG2. In 1942 Rudorffer participated in Operation Cerberus (known as the Channel Dash) and flew over the Allied landings at Dieppe. Erich Rudorffer along with JG2 was transferred to North Africa in December 1942. It was in North Africa that Rudorffer showed his propensity for multiple-victory sorties. He shot down eight British aircraft in 32 minutes on February 9th 1943 and seven more in 20 minutes six days later. After scoring a total of 26 victories in Tunisia, Rudorffer returned to France in April 1943 and was posted to command II./JG54 in Russia, after Hauptmann Heinrich Jung, its Kommodore, failed to return from a mission on July 30th 1943. On August 24th 1943 he shot down 5 Russian aircraft on the first mission of the day and followed that up with three more victories on the second mission. He scored seven victories in seven minutes on October 11th but his finest achievement occurred on November 6th when in the course of 17 minutes, he shot down thirteen Russian aircraft. Rudorffer became known to Russian pilots as the fighter of Libau. On October 28th 1944 while about to land, Rudorffer spotted a large formation of Il-2 Sturmoviks. He quickly aborted the landing and moved to engage the Russian aircraft. In under ten minutes, nine of the of the II-2 Sturmoviks were shot down causing the rest to disperse. Rudorffer would later that day go on and shoot down a further two Russian aircraft. These victories took his total to 113 and he was awarded the Oak Leaves on April 11th 1944. Rudorffer would on the 26th January 1945 on his 210th victory receive the addition of the Swords. In February 1945 Rudorffer took command of I./JG7 flying the Me262. He was one of the first jet fighter aces of the war, scoring 12 victories in the Me262. He shot down ten 4-engine bombers during the 'Defense of the Reich missions'. He was the master of multiple scoring - achieving more multiple victories than any other pilot. Erich Rudorffer never took leave, was shot down 16 times having to bail out 9 times, and ended the war with 222 victories from over 1000 missions. He was awarded the Knights Cross, with Oak Leaves and Swords. Erich Rudorffer died on 8th April 2016. |
  Oberleutnant Gunther Seeger Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2013 | Oberleutnant Gunther Seeger In February 1940, Gunther Seeger was an Unteroffizier with 3./JG2, scoring his first victory in the early days of the Battle of Britain. he served on the Channel Front until December 1942, including several months with the Geschwaderstabsschwarm. He transferred to the Mediterranean theatre with II./JG2 before joining 6./JG53. In February 1943 he joined 7./JG53 becoming Staffelkapitan in September 1944. Awarded the Knight's Cross, Gunther Seeger scored 56 victories. |
  General Johannes Steinhoff Our estimated value of this signature : £80 Died : 1994 | General Johannes Steinhoff By early 1940 Macky Steinhoff was leading 4 / JG-52 during the Battle of Britain. He was then transferred to the eastern front where his success continued. In the final stages of the defence of the Reich he joined JV-44 flying the ME 262 in which he scored 6 victories before being seriously burned in a crash. He flew 939 missions scored 178 victories and was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak leaves and swords. |
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