page_title: Jagdgeschwader 53
section_title: Invasion of France; Battle of Britain
hierarchical_section_title: Jagdgeschwader 53 / World War II / Invasion of France; Battle of Britain
caption_attribution_description: Information added by Wikimedia users.English: Luftwaffe soldiers of the Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) fighter wing (also known as "Ace of Spades") resting at an airfield infront of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 with an open cowling. Behind in the background is a Junkers Ju 52; KBK LW 3.
context_page_description: Jagdgeschwader 53 was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. It operated in Western Europe and in the Mediterranean.
  Jagdgeschwader 53 - or as it was better known, the "Pik As" Geschwader - was one of the oldest German fighter units of World War II with its origins going back to 1937. JG 53 flew the various models of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 throughout World War II.
context_section_description: The Geschwader commenced its wartime operations with a high proportion of its personnel experienced ex-Condor Legion pilots including Werner Mölders. On 14 May 1940, JG 53 claimed some 43 victories in one day. The Battle of France thus saw the Geschwader score heavily during May and June 1940, with some 275 claims against Armee de l'Air and Royal Air Force forces.
  While JG 53 was making a reputation for itself during the Battle of Britain, according to RAF Air Ministry intelligence summary no. 60, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was informed that Major Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel's wife was Jewish. Göring then ordered the whole of Stabschwarm/JG 53 to remove the "Pik As" emblem from their planes, and replace it with a red stripe around the engine cowling as punishment. All of Stab./JG 53's planes immediately were stripped of their "Pik As" insignia, and soon after the whole of the Stab./JG 53 had also stripped the swastikas off the tails of their planes in protest.
caption: Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1's of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) "Pik As" c. 1939/1940
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