page_title: Nachtjagdgeschwader 1
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 / World War II
context_page_description: Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 was a German Luftwaffe night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 1 was formed on 22 June 1940 and comprised four Gruppen. NJG 1 was created as an air defence unit for the Defence of the Reich campaign; an aerial war waged by the Luftwaffe against the bombing of the German Reich by RAF Bomber Command and the United States Air Force. In 1941 airborne radar was introduced with radar operators, and standardised in 1942 and 1943. Consequently a large number of German night fighter aces existed within NJG 1.
  NJG 1 operated all of the major twin-engine night fighters produced by German industry during the war. It fought in notable campaigns, such as the Battle of the Ruhr and Battle of Berlin. By the end of the war, lack of fuel, technical setbacks, lack of training and advances by the Allied powers rendered the Luftwaffe night force ineffective from August 1944 until the end of the war in May 1945. NJG 1 was the most successful night fighter wing and had claimed some 2,311 victories by day and night, for some 676 aircrew killed in action.
context_section_description: In the autumn, 1940 the Luftwaffe began long-range intruder operations (Fernnachtjagd) to forestall the increasing number of Bomber Command raids. The Luftwaffe signalling service were able to determine when Bomber Command operations were going to begin. Night fighters were ordered to patrol the German coast, fly to known Bomber Command bases and follow the bombers back to England along known routes. I./NJG 2 became the sole intruder unit for this type of operation, but the results were costly. The wing lost 32 aircrew killed in action and 12 aircraft lost in exchange for 18 RAF claimed shot down. Over Europe, the German defences were limited in 1941. The Nazi propaganda machine dismissed RAF bombers as "tired old cows", but the limited range of the precise Würzburg radar, and the inability to distinguish friend from foe, left the Luftwaffe at a disadvantage. The Helle Nachtjagd (illuminated night fighting) belt, which provided three radars per searchlight battery, covered the area from the Danish border to Maubeuge, and could detect bombers entering and exiting the zone with great accuracy, but RAF bomber pilots learned to dive upon departing the belt, accelerate past the search light batteries at low-altitudes and escape the most hazardous part of the defence zone. The system bore the burden of the defensive battles in 1941. In 1942, the introduction of the Handley-Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster would produce further problems. The bombers could outrun a Bf 110C or D in a shallow dive and at altitudes of over 5,000 m (16,000 ft). German pilots would have to detect the bomber early in order to be able to dive from much greater heights. The introduction of newer radar variants, such as the Freya radar, eventually improved the range and identification problems prevalent in 1941.
  In mid-1940, the Stab/NJG 1 was based at Düsseldorf and Deelen under Falck and equipped with three Bf 110Bs. At Bönninghardt, I./NJG 1 mustered 34 Bf 110Cs and Ds with 22 operational. At Düsseldorf, II./NJG 1 could field 11 Ju 88Cs, four operational, and 10 Do 17Zs, nine operational. At Cologne, III/NJG 1 still operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109; 13 Bf 109Cs, four operational, three Bf 109 Ds and one combat ready, 17 Bf 109 Es were present with all but one operational. On the night of 19/20 July, Werner Streib, 2./NJG 1, claimed one of the first aerial victories for NJG 1; an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley shot down at 02:15 near Saerbeck. Streib would become Gruppenkommandeur II./NJG 1 only two months later. Oberfeldwebel Föster of 8./NJG 1 was given the distinction of the first NJG 1 air victory on the night of the 9 July 1940. At this time, NJG 1 was experimenting in night interceptions using their Bf 110s and Do 17s with the support of a single searchlight regiment. Only 42 British bombers were claimed shot down in 1940 by German night fighters. I. and II./NJG 1 experienced difficulties in locating bombers in 1940 and their failures encouraged Kammhuber to introduce tighter control-based tactics for night fighters, searchlight batteries and radar. The night fighters were guided to a light and radio beacon located behind an "illuminated belt" of searchlights. Once a bomber was detected the night fighter flew into the belt, turned behind the bomber and engaged in combat. Würzburg radars were required for the intercept; one to track the fighter, while the other focused on the bomber in order to coordinate the searchlight. The Himmelbett (canopy bed) replaced this system in 1941. The system remained the same, but the accurate, long-range Freya was introduced to maintain overall surveillance and often could bring the radar-less night fighters into visual range of the bomber.
  In mid-1941, NJG 1 began experimenting with Lichtenstein radar, which had become operational. Ludwig Becker shot down six RAF bombers while flying a radar-installed Dornier Do 215 B-5 between 10 August and 30 September 1941. The only Lichtenstein radar in service then became unserviceable for the next successes were not recorded until June 1942. Lichtenstein was in short supply unt
caption: Bf 110 G night fighter with radar. The BF 110 was the mainstay of NJG 1
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