First group also fought in the defensive battles in deteriorating weather conditions. Itfloatedfour Bf 109s from 30 November to 19 December 1942; half to fighters. In air combat it claimed six Soviet aircraft on 7 December. On 31 December 1942 first groups 5. "Staffel" lost its commanding officer "Oberstleutnant" Josef Graf von und zu Honsbrock. In the first ten days of February 1943 2. "Staffel" claimed five enemy aircraft, the group's last until May. The main contribution was the support of the Waffen SS at the Third Battle of Kharkov, which allowed the Germans to recapture the city and Belgorod. In May it converted to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It was positioned in the Izyum sector until July 1943.