How Did The JagdStaffel Number Their Aircraft?

[Jim Oxley]

Did each Staffel within a Gruppe use a different colour? Was it possible to identify a particular aircraft as belonging to a particluar Staffel, as was the case with USAAF and RAF aircraft? When did symbols start being used in place of numbers?

What I'm trying to get at is was there any rhyme or reason with Luftwaffe staffel codes.

[Leo Etgen]

Hello Jim

Generally the first Staffel within a Gruppe used white numbers, the second Staffel used black or in some cases red numbers such as 8./JG 27 later in the war and 11./JG 27 and the third Staffel used yellow numbers or in the case of 6./JG 26, 3./JG 51 and 12./JG 51 brown numbers. When Gruppen were expanded to four Staffeln in August 1944 the fourth Staffel usually used blue numbers but occasionally red (12./JG 54) or even green (4./JG 11) numbers were used. Symbols such as chevrons were used to denote machines of either the Gruppenstab or Geschwaderstab. I am sure that others can add much more to this.

Horrido!

Leo

[Andy Fletcher]

http://rhorta.home.xs4all.nl/jgmark.htm

[JohnnyB]

Take a look at this (german) page :

http://www.zweiter-weltkrieg-lexikon....php?f=5&t=109


scroll down to find

Organisation der Jagdwaffe und Markierungen von Flugzeugen

Standard color was :

1., 4., 7. and 10. Staffel white
2., 5., 8. and 11. Staffel red
3., 6., 9. and 12. Staffel yellow


Reagrds,

Rainer

[John Vasco]

I'm not convinced of the colour brown being used for the third Staffel in a Gruppe (such as 6./JG 26 and 3./JG 51, as has been quoted; 3./Erpr. Gr. 210 has also been quoted as having brown numbers, when this is patently incorrect), particularly for the 1940 period. I believe it is more a case of mis-identifying the colour on B&W photos. I would, however, be most interested to see official German documentation on the use of the colour brown for front-line units.

[John Manrho]

John,

there are more than enough VLM of II./JG 26 stating that 7./JG 26 carried brown colors...."braune" everywhere...

regards,

john

[John Vasco]

Originally Posted by John Manrho

John,

there are more than enough VLM of II./JG 26 stating that 7./JG 26 carried brown colors...."braune" everywhere...

regards,

john

John,

1940, or later years?

John V.

[John Manrho]

Definetely later years....1944/1945. Not in 1940.

John

[Nick Beale]

A couple of 1945 examples from BA-MA RL2 III/1172:
Fw 190 D-9 W.Nr. 210086, braune 6 of II./JG 26
Fw 190 D-9 W.Nr. 500379, braune 7 of II./JG 26

Also (same source):
Bf 109 G-6 W.Nr. 165644, 3 rotbraun of IV./Erg.JG 1

Just to complicate matters, from III./JG 1:
Bf 109 G-14 W.Nr. 780375, graue 22
Bf 109 G-14 W.Nr. 784090, graue 23

[Jim Oxley]

Thanks for the info guys, appreciate it.

Andy, that link was exactly what I was after. Super.