JG53 Markings during The Battle of Britain

[robert_schulte]

According to Stephen Bungay in "The Most Dangerous Enemy" this was meant as sign of disapproval of the marriage by Göring himself. The author also states, that the red band was a first answer of the Geschwader, not ordered by Göring.

[Nefiakoff]

Hello,

I’ve read in my polish- and english-language sources, that Göring ordered to change the name of JG 53 from Pik As to ”die rote Ring Geschwader”. There’s no any clear answer what was the reason, but the matter of von Cramon’s wife had a big connectoin. Göring was a paranoid – I think it was very possible to punish Geschwader for its Kommodore.

The order was canceled after 500th claim of JG 53 achived by Fw. Stefan Litjens of 4./JG 53 (he shoot down 2 Spitfires on November 11th). It was also possible because of a new Geschwaderkommodore, Maj. Günther Graf von Maltzahn, who replaced von Cramon on October 9th.

The first 109 with a red ring I know is a plane of Hpt. Harro Harder, Gruppenkommodore III/JG 53, KIA on August 12th over Isle of Wight.

Some pilots (like Hpt. Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, new III/JG 53 co) prefered the Pik As badge and some 109s had their swastika painted on its rudders in protest of Göring’s order. It’s a next example of solidarity between pilots against Göring during BoB, like famous words spoken to Reichsmarschall by Adolf Galland or Heinz Bär.

There were also flying 109s without any badges and with swastika in that time, like Bf 109 E “white 8” of Hpt. Hans-Karl Mayer, I/JG 53 co, from Etaples airfield in September.

One of the last pictures I know – without swastika AND WITH Pik As on the engine is quite popular foto of 2 Bf 109s E from 9./JG 53, made in Sempy airfield. The owners were Lt. Erich Schmidt and Oblt. Franz Götz. The plane of Erich Schmidt has 17 victory bars on the rudder – so the foto had to be taken after November 30th, when “Schmidtchen” claimed a Spitfire, his last victory in 1940.

The only information about Uffz. Hempel of 8./JG 53 is that he died on September 6th afternoon (about 17.30) in explosion and it is sure he was a victim of P/O Bennions.

Nef

[VtwinVince]

Truebenbach, Kommodore of JG 52 during the Battle, did not receive the Ritterkreuz either.