Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 ( StG 1 ) was a Luftwaffe Dive bomber - wing of World War II . It was formed in November 1939 History . " StG 1 " was formed in November 1939 and remained active until October 1943 , when all " Sturzkampfgeschwader " were renamed " Schlachtgeschwader 1 " ( SG 1 ) . War time service . Norwegian campaign . " Fliegerkorps X " was the only " Luftwaffe " fleet to take part in the campaign and I Gruppe StG 1 was the only component of StG 1 to take part . Part of the Corps ' order of battle was I . Gruppe StG 1 , equipped with longer ranged Junkers Ju 87R as well as the standard Ju 87Bs . The unit was initially based at Kiel - Holtena . On 9 April I . / StG took part in raids against Oscarsborg Fortress after it sank heavy cruiser " Blücher " . Soon afterwards the gruppe was takes with naval interdiction . Its primary target was the Royal Navy ' s Home Fleet . The same day , the unit hit the 600 ton torpedo boat " Aeger " in the engine room . It was run aground and scuttled . The units first loss occurred in 19 April . While attacking " HMS Cairo " , Leutnant Karl Pfeil and his gunner Gerhard Winkels were shot down and captured near Namsos . The same day , a British raid by Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua and Fairey Swordfish Aircraft destroyed six Ju 87s near Trondhiem / Vaernes from carriers " HMS Ark Royal " and " HMS Glorious " . Ju 87s did manage to sink anti - submarine trawlers " Siretoco " , " Jardine " and " Warwickshire " . " HMS Bittern " was badly damaged and sunk by " HMS Juno " . Later , on 1 May 1940 , I . Gruppe failed to hit " Ark Royal " during an interdiction against British naval forces off the coast . " Staffelkapitan " of 2 " Staffel " , " Oberleutnant " Heinz Bohne claimed to have hit the carrier ( he did not ) and failed to mention in his report that he lost one of his Ju 87s ( " Oberfeldwebel " Erich Stahl and " Unteroffizier " Friedrich Gott ) to two Sea Gladiators of No . 802 Squadron RAF . This was the only loss on 1 May . The next few missions on the afternoon of 1 May and 3 May , the Ju 87s had more success . The French large destroyer " Bison " was sunk along with by I . / " Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 " on 3 May 1940 during the evacuation from Namsos . " Bison " s forward magazine had been hit killing 108 of the crew . " Affridi " , who had attempted to rescue " Bison " s survivors was sunk with the loss of 63 sailors . On 4 May Ju 87s of I . Gruppe sank Norwegian steamers " Blaafjeld " , " Sekstant " , " Pan " and " Aafjorld " . On 8 May " Gruppenkommandeur " " Hauptmann " Paul - Werner Hozzel , Oblt . Elmar Schaefer and Lt . Martin Möbus and veteran observer Unteroffizier Gerhard Grenzel , became the first " Stuka " crews to receive the " Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross " . Grenzel was the first NCO in the " Luftwaffe " to receive the award . On 24 May 1940 I . Gruppe sank the Norwegian trawler " Ingrid " in Bodo harbour . The Gruppe suffered one loss ; Feldwebel Kurt Zube , to a No . 263 squadron Gladiator . He was rescued by German forces . I . Gruppe also took part in the Battles of Narvik . Heinz Bohne and his gunner was killed on 2 June 1940 over Narvik . He was the victim of Sgt . H H Kitchener and Flt Lt A T Williams of No . 263 Squadron RAF . Two Ju 87s were shot down on the morning of the 2 June 1940 . Lt Klaus Kuber and his gunner were killed , the victim of a No . 43 Squadron RAF Hawker Hurricane . Mk . I flown by Sgt B L Taylor whilst Feldwebel Hans Ott and his gunner Sonderfuhrer Brack fell victim to Flg Off . John F Drummond . Western Europe , 1940 . No units of StG 1 took part in the western campaign in 1940 . Stab . / StG 1 , I . / StG 1 and III . / StG 1 ( which had I . St / TrG 186 specialised anti - shipping unit under its command ) were committed to the " Unternehmen Adlerangriff " ( Operation Eagle Attack ) offensive under Hugo Sperrle ' s " Luftflotte 3 " . All units were based at Angers , France , under the operational command of " General der Flieger " Wolfram von Richthofen . The total strength of the " Geschwader " was 80 Ju 87s with 55 operational . On 14 July 1940 StG 1 engaged various convoys heading westward through the English Channel . II . / StG 1 and IV . ( St ) . " Lehrgeschwader 1 " sank five ships between them , including " HMS Boreas " and " HMS Brilliant " . Two II . Gruppe machines were lost . The same day III . Gruppe Ju 87s were forced to abandon a raid on Portland Harbour when engaged by RAF fighters . They suffered one shot down and two damaged . The last major convoy action took place on 8 August 1940 against Convoy CW 9 ( " Peewit " ) , comprising 20 merchant ships and nine naval vessels . Two " Stuka " attacks were organised . The first involved StG 1 who lost two Ju 87s and two damaged . A second attack from 60 Ju 87s of I . StG 1 , III . / StG 2 and III . / StG 3 resulted in the destruction of four merchant ships and damaged seven . In exchange three I . / StG 3 Ju 87s were lost and another four damaged . A third attack sank . In mid - August StG 1 was ordered to cease missions owing to the Ju 87s unacceptable losses . It continued operating over the channel until February 1941 . The Balkans . I Grupp . / StG 1 took part in the Balkans Campaign . Supported by 1 , 200 aircraft , 27 German divisions ( including seven Panzer ) of the " Army " made short work of the Yugoslav Army , and then the Greek Army and the small British Army contingent sent to assist . I . / StG operated from bases in eastern Romania . The Gruppe also participated in attacks on Malta ' s convoys . North Africa . I Gruppe was rushed to North Africa in February 1941 to support the Afrika Korps ( " Deutsches Afrikakorps " ) . Eastern Front . StG 1 participated in most of the battles in the Soviet Union . At the end of " Barbarossa " , StG 1 had lost 60 " Stukas " in aerial combat and one on the ground . See also . Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II