page_title: Jagdgeschwader 26
section_title: Western Front and Defence of the Reich
hierarchical_section_title: Jagdgeschwader 26 / World War II / Western Front and Defence of the Reich
caption_attribution_description: Information added by Wikimedia users.Pilot in photo is most probably Klaus Mietusch, photo taken between 26 March 1944 and 18 November 1944.
context_page_description: Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter was a German fighter-wing of World War II. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran, Freikorps member, and posthumous Nazi martyr, arrested and executed by the French for sabotage in 1923. The wing fought predominantly against the Western Allies.
  Formed in May 1939, JG 26 spent the Phoney War period guarding Germany's western borders following the German invasion of Poland and the outbreak of World War II. In May and June 1940 it served in the Battle of Belgium and Battle of France. From July 1940 it operated over England in the Battle of Britain under the command of Adolf Galland, future General der Jagdflieger. JG 26 remained in France and Belgium fighting against the RAF Fighter Command Circus offensive in 1941 and 1942, with considerable tactical success. In 1943 it faced the USAAF Eighth Air Force, and along with the rest of the Luftwaffe fighter force, was worn down over Western Europe combating the Combined Bomber Offensive in Defence of the Reich. In 1944, JG 26 resisted the Normandy landings and served as a "tactical" or frontline unit during Operation Market Garden and Battle of the Bulge.
context_section_description: The air war changed considerably in the first months of 1943. Fighter Command continued its offensive over Northwest Europe with growing numbers of the Spitfire IX ending the performance superiority of the Fw 190 A. Bomber Command's area offensives began in earnest with the Battle of the Ruhr and attack on Hamburg and the US Eighth Air Force, operational since mid-1942, was in sufficient strength to strike into Germany in January 1943 beginning the Combined Bomber Offensive, which began to grind down Luftwaffe strength. In North Africa, the Axis collapsed in May, having expended enormous manpower and material strength to hold African and Mediterranean positions while providing US forces with invaluable experience and intelligence on the quality of their enemy. The same month, Black May in U-Boat campaign ensured the German navy could no longer alter the course of the war. On the Eastern Front, the defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad and the failure of Operation Blue denied Hitler victory and forced a continuation of the war which compelled the Luftwaffe to fight multiple enemies with inferior resources. From this point, the Luftwaffe, unprepared to fight a war of attrition over Germany, was gradually forced away from the peripheries of German-occupied Europe to defend the homeland. JG 26 was among those fighter wings that switched to reinforce the home defence, which became Luftflotte Reich, and back to the Channel Front when required. The Luftflotte 3 operations staff reported in April 1943, the main defensive effort was against USAAF daylight raids
  From September to December 1942 JG 26 come into contract with the US Eighth Air Force with growing frequency. One of the earliest collaborations between the RAF and United States Army Air Force (USAAF) was Operation Oyster on 6 December 1942. JG 26 engaged the American element of the raid, which acted as a diversion. Only one victory was achieved at the cost of two pilots. Galland placed pressure on Schöpfel to increase the rate of successful interceptions. The general demanded head-on and in rear attacks, in formation, then to end the attack above, not below the bombers, where a pilot could find himself alone. The psychological impact of the US bombers' return fire encouraged German pilots to break off and attacks were rarely carried out exactly as Galland prescribed. JG 26 faced the first major American attack into Europe against Lille on 9 October. III. Gruppe shot down four bombers, the worst single American loss at the time. The US bombers claimed 56 fighters destroyed, 26 probably destroyed and 20 damaged. President Franklin Roosevelt quoted the figures in a radio broadcast, which amused the German unit for it had suffered a single casualty. Nevertheless, some early raids were not intercepted at all, earning JG 26 the wrath of Göring and Galland. Galland was concerned at the perceived timidity of the fighter pilots and visited Schöpfel several times to assure himself that his former command had not declined in quality.
  
  In January 1943 Schöpfel handed command of JG 26 to Josef Priller. The first months of 1943 were not intensive in combat terms for JG 26; one author described them as "The Last Pause". On 27 January 1943, the weather conditions finally allowed for an attack on German soil and the US Eighth Air Force bombed Wilhelmshaven. From June to July 1943, the pace of aerial fighting increased. The Eighth Air Force began "Blitz Week" to signal its intention to fulfill the Pointblank directive. The appearance of the P-47 Thunderbolt presented a new longer-range threat to the Luftwaffe. The US fighter was heavily armed and had a powerful engine with a super-charger, and performed well at high altitudes. However, lacking drop tanks its range was little better than the Spitfire. With drop tanks, both aircraft could reach the German-Dutch border in 1943; the external tanks were only fourth on the Eighth Air Force's list of priorities. Pressurised drop-tanks were used in a raid on Emden on 27 September 1943, the first time US fighter escorts had made the flight over Germa
caption: Major Klaus Mietusch, commanded III. Gruppe until his death in September 1944
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