page_title: Jagdgeschwader 2
section_title: Normandy and the Western Front
hierarchical_section_title: Jagdgeschwader 2 / World War II / Normandy and the Western Front
caption_attribution_description: Information added by Wikimedia users.Beladen einer Fw 190 A-8 mit 21-cm-Werfergranaten (WfG. 21) zur Abwehr von schweren Bombern. Unter dem Rumpf trägt die Maschine am ETC-501-Rumpfpylon einen 300-l-Zusatztank.
context_page_description: Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 2 operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 single-seat, single-engine Interceptor aircraft.
  Named after the famed World War I flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, the origins of the wing can be traced to 1934. Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 which began World War II, JG 2 served protecting the German border with France during the Phoney War. On 10 May 1940 it served in the Battle of Belgium and Battle of France. Thereafter it fought in the Battle of Britain and then remained on the English Channel front until September 1944. Elements of JG 2 fought in the latter stages of the North African Campaign, notably in the Battle of Tunisia in 1942 and 1943.
  After the expulsion of German forces from France and Belgium following the Normandy landings, JG 2 served in the Defence of the Reich and fought on the Western Front, most notably at the Battle of the Bulge in the winter, 1944/45. JG 2 surrendered in May 1945.
context_section_description: In May 1944, the OKL confronted a further major challenge; how to bolster Luftflotte Reich while building up strength for the Allied invasion of France, expected that summer. Luftflotte 3 was responsible for stocking airfields, and preparing for the stream of reinforcements from Luftflotte Reich once the invasion started. JG 2 and JG 26 were expected to form the mainstay of the German fighter defence in the initial phase. Both geschwader were sent to southern France in rotation, one gruppe at a time, to rest and rebuild for the battle. By the time the Normandy landings, D-Day, took place on 6 June 1944, a fourth Geschwaderkommodore was dead. Kurt Ubben had commanded JG 2 for just under two months before he was killed in combat with US fighters on 27 April 1944. He was the final wing commander of JG 2 to die in battle, by far the highest fatality of the position in any German fighter wing.
  In the days before the invasion. III. Gruppe, under the command of Herbert Huppertz, vacated Cormeilles for Fontenay le Comte north of La Rochelle. II. Gruppe departed Creil on 28 May for Germany, to replace its worn out Bf 109 Gs with newer sub variants of the G-6. I. Gruppe was sent to Nancy, 200 miles (320 km) to the east.  On the morning of the Allied invasion, JG 2 were quick to respond. The new commanding officer Oberstleutnant Kurt Bühligen led JG 2 in fighter patrols over the invasion area. JG 2 fought in aerial combat, but was also involved in anti-shipping operations off Gold beach with WGr 21 rocket-propelled mortars. III. Gruppe flew a low-level interception against the airborne landings near Caen. The surprised 12 P-51s strafing road convoys and claimed eight without loss, a feat at this stage of the war was an exception. I. and III. Gruppe claimed no fewer than 18 Allied fighters on D-Day for three losses in total. The Geschwaderkommodore claimed his 99th victory and reached 100 soon after. The next day, JG 2 claimed 10 Allied fighters. The first 48 hours were successful, but proved short-lived. In the last three weeks of June, JG 2 suffered 70 casualties. Eight were Staffelkapitäne and three Gruppenkommandeure. Among those killed was III./JG 2s commanding officer Herbert Huppertz. His replacement, Hauptmann Josef Wurmheller, a 100+ victory ace, died in action 14 days later. II./JG 2 arrived to Creil from Cologne on 14 June. At the turn of July 1944 the casualties among the inexperienced pilots were high; on average 12 were lost per day. Within 12 days, II. Gruppe had only 17 Bf 109s operational from the 50+ it brought from Germany. The other two Fw 190 gruppen had fought nearly to extinction over Normandy—five and eight Fw 190s were left in first and second gruppe. III. Gruppe left France for Husum on 11 July to refit and rebuild. II. and III./JG 2 carried on the fight and claimed some 16 victories over July but lost three times that number. Among the dead was Ruthard von Richthofen, 10. Staffel, a distant relation of JG 2s namesake Manfred von Richthofen. The OKL issued an order to restrict flying and conserve fuel stocks in Normandy. Only unrestricted operations were permitted against US heavy bombers. By this stage, Luftflotte 3 had barely 75 fighters operational. I. Gruppe arrived from rebuilding in Germany on 13 August, and was committed to battle. losing six pilots and claiming four US fighters over Châtres-la-Forêt. In the final two weeks of the campaign, this group suffered another 20 casualties. Twelve days later, as Paris fell, the seven surviving pilots of III. Gruppe retreated to Germany to rebuild, and the rest of JG 2 began to pull out of France.
  In September JG 2 relocated to airfields around Frankfurt. I. Gruppe moved to Merzhausen, II. Gruppe to Nidda after reinforcements. JG 2 was not afforded any rest and on 9 September the unit lost eight Fw 190s in action with P-47s and another eight three days later in combat with P-51s. At this point the Western Front and Defence of the Reich merged into one, and though formally JG 2 remained part of Luftflotte 3 and its new incarnation Luftwaffenkommando West, Luft
caption: Fw 190 A-8 with the under-wing WGr 21 rocket-propelled mortar. The weapon was developed from the 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42 infantry weapon.
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