Third Battle of Kharkov
Second group remained with Fliegerkorps IV and fought at the Third Battle of Kharkov which stabilised the front-line in March 1943. It also operated in the Belgorod sector and the town was captured four days after Kharkov. I./KG 51 played an instrumental role in stopping Markian Popov's tank force as it advanced on Zaporozhye. It was the group's last contribution. It left the base of Poltava for Germany to convert to heavy fighters and redeploy to Defence of the Reich duties.