Zerstörergeschwader 76 Zerstörergeschwader 76 or ZG 76 ( lit . " destroyer wing " ) was a Luftwaffe heavy / destroyer Fighter Aircraft - wing of World War II . History . Zerstörergeschwader 76 was formed on 1 May 1939 with the I . " Gruppe " and II . " Gruppe " without a " Geschwaderstab " . The II . " Gruppe " was initially equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and was known as Jagdgruppe 176 . The " Geschwaderstab " was created on 15 April 1940 in Köln - Wahn . The III . " Gruppe " was raised on 26 June 1940 in Trier - Euren . On 1 September 1939 Germany attacked Poland although bad weather initially precluded a large scale deployment of ZG 76 . I . / ZG 76 engaged Polish fighters formations and made their first claims , although also suffered their first losses . Future ' ace ' Leutnant Helmut Lent participated in the attack on Poland , destroying several aircraft on the ground and a PZL P . 11 fighter in the air on 2 September 1939 for his and ( I . / ZG 76 ) first victory . However , on 12 September , following the destruction of an aircraft on the ground he was attacked by another fighter and his starboard engine was hit and put out of action . This necessitated a forced - landing , fortunately behind his own lines , in which he received minor injuries . On 29 September , I . / ZG 76 was withdrawn to the Stuttgart area to provide " Reichsverteidigung " ( Defense of the Reich ) against the Western Allied Air Forces . I . / ZG 76 claimed 31 kills during the campaign , of which 19 were confirmed . On 18 December 1939 the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) sent a force of Vickers Wellington s to raid Wilhelmshafen during the day . I . / ZG 76 under Hptm . Gunther Reinecke , intercepted . " Staffelkapitän " of 2 . / ZG 76 , Wolfgang Falck , and wingman Uffz . Heinz Fresia were the first to engage , claiming two Wellingtons each , though Falck ' s aircraft was hit by defending fire and he crash - landed on Wangerooge . Others of I . / ZG 76 intercepted at intervals , unit claims totalling 15 Wellingtons shot down . The RAF lost 12 , with total Luftwaffe unconfirmed claims being 38 . Norway 1940 . I . / ZG 76 then supported the landings in Norway with 1 . Staffel charged with gaining air superiority over Oslo prior to landings there by Junkers Ju 52 transports . Before reaching Oslo they were attacked by Norwegian Air Force Gloster Gladiators and lost two aircraft . Oblt . Gordon Gollob led 3 . / ZG 76 to Stavanger - Sola airfield . Two Bf - 110 ' s collided and crashed into the sea with both crews killed . During April , I . / ZG 76 encountered RAF bombers on several occasions and victories were claimed by Wolfgang Falck , Helmut Lent and Helmut Woltersdorf . On 30 April I . / ZG 76 ' s " Gruppenkommandeur " Hptm . Gunther Reinecke was shot down following combat with a Bristol Blenheim . The Gruppe lost two ' experten ' when Lt . Helmut Fahlbusch and Ofw . Georg Fleischmann were killed against RAF bombers . The " Staffelkapitän " of 1 . Staffel , Werner Hansen , took over temporary command of the Gruppe until the new " Gruppenkommandeur " , Hptm . Werner Restermeyer was posted on 11 May . Lt . Helmut Lent recorded four victories during the campaign in Norway and was promoted to " Oberleutnant " on 1 July . Battle Of France 1940 . During the Battle of France ZG 76 saw intensive action resulting in losses against Allied fighters . Major Walter Grabmann , " Geschwaderkommodore " of ZG 76 was shot down on 18 May . He survived and re - joined the unit after a period of captivity . Oblt . Heinz Nacke , Staffelkapitän of 6 . / ZG 76 , gained his initial success on 12 May 1940 , when he shot down a Morane - Saulnier M . S . 406 fighter . He added a further eight victories during the campaign . Battle of Britain 1940 . During the Battle of Britain , II . / ZG 76 , stationed in Northern France , flew escort for bomber units attacking Southern England . Losses however mounted quickly . On 11 July III . / ZG 76 were over the Channel as escort to Ju - 87s . The Bf 110s came under fierce attack by RAF fighters , and Lt . Friedrich - Wolfgang Graf von und zu Castell ( 7 . Staffel ) was killed while " Staffelkapitän " of 9 . Staffel , Oblt . Gerhard Kadow force - landed inland of the English coast ; the most notable loss however was the nephew of Hermann Göring , Oblt . Hans - Joachim Goring , crashed fatally near Portland . One other Bf 110 was lost . On 15 August , II . / ZG 76 were heavily involved in action over the Channel as escorts to the Ju 88s of Lehrgeschwader 1 . Under heavy attack from RAF squadrons and the unit lost 6 Bf - 110 ’ s , with another 2 written off in France . III . / ZG 76 later flew escort to Ju - 87s . While protecting their charges , III . gruppe lost 4 aircraft , including " Gruppenkommandeur " Hptm . Friedrich - Karl Dickore . His place was taken by Rolf Kaldrack of 7 . Staffel . Further North , Luftflotte 5 made its initial entry into the Battle . Operating from Scandinavia , 34 Bf - 110s of I . / ZG 76 escorted 65 Heinkel He 111s of KG 26 raiding the North East coast airfields . Several RAF squadrons intercepted the raiders over the North Sea . " Gruppenkommandeur " Hptm . Werner Restermeyer and 6 others of I gruppe were shot down . The losses thus suffered resulted in I . / ZG 76 taking no further direct part in the Battle and the unit was eventually recalled to Germany to be converted to a night fighter role . On 30 August 1940 Oblt . Nacke claimed three Hawker Hurricane s shot down , and was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross in November 1940 for 12 victories . During the Battle , ZG 76 lost some 98 aircrew killed , missing or POW . By October , most of the Bf 110 units had been withdrawn from France and some reformed as night fighter units . I . Gruppe remained at Stavanger until 7 September 1940 , when it was transferred to the night fighter arm and re - designated II . / NJG 1 while II . / ZG 76 was withdrawn to Jever in September 1940 and III . / ZG 76 went to Stavanger - Sola . 1941 . The Anglo - Iraqi War saw the Luftwaffe commit 4 . / ZG 76 as part of a small air component covering the Iraqi Nationalist forces as part of " Fliegerführer Irak " in early May 1941 . The campaign lasted a mere ten days , with two RAF Gloster Gladiator s claimed by future night fighter " Experten " Lt . Martin Drewes . By 26 May no Bf 110s remained serviceable and all Luftwaffe personnel were evacuated . On 26 June , 6 . / ZG 1 was redesignated 9 . / ZG 76 with the original 9 . / ZG 76 redesignated 6 . / SKG 210 on 24 April 1941 . II . " Gruppe " became the III . " Gruppe " of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 on 1 November 1941 . At the same time the " Geschwaderstab " became the Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen and III . " Gruppe " was disbanded . 1943 - 44 . In the autumn of 1943 most day " Zerstörergruppen " were recalled from the Eastern Front and Mediterranean and formed into Reich defence units . The ZG 76 " Geschwader " was reformed again in August 1943 under the experienced Major Theodor Rossiwall . The Geschwaderstab and I . " Gruppe " were raised in Ansbach , the II . " Gruppe " in Wertheim and III . " Gruppe " in November in Öttingen . The formation of III . Gruppe was never completed , and in April 1944 the personnel were incorporated into I . / ZG 76 . I . and III . / ZG 76 were based in Austria , and II . / ZG 76 based in France . Hpt . Herbert Kaminski ( 7 kills ) was appointed " Gruppenkommandeur " of II . / ZG 76 on 5 October 1943 and led the Gruppe until 9 August 1944 on Reichsverteidigung operations . On 4 October 1943 I . and II . / ZG 76 attacked a formation of USAAF heavy bombers on missions to Frankfurt and Wiesbaden . They were in turn intercepted by P - 47s of the 56th Fighter Group over the Eifel mountains and 7 of the 40 Bf 110G - 2s shot down . The Bf 110s against this formation destroyed 4 B - 17s . By spring 1944 I . / ZG 76 were based around Prague , and operating a number of Bf 110G - 2 / R1 types with an under - slung BK 3 , 7 37 mm cannon in a conformal - mount ventral gun pod . On 16 March 1944 ZG 76 Bf - 110G - 2s claimed 18 B - 17s shot down but lost 26 aircraft to Allied P - 51s , " 4 Staffel " alone losing 10 of its 12 - strong formation , including " Staffelkaptain " Oblt . Helmut Haugk ( 18 claims ) , who parachuted to safety . On 9 April 1944 77 Bf 110s of ZG 76 intercepted a USAAF raid on Berlin . However , large formations of P - 51 Mustangs attacked the defenders and the Bf 110 force lost a further 23 aircraft . On 2 July 1944 I . / ZG 76 , together with I . / ZG 1 and II . / JG 27 claimed 45 aircraft destroyed over Budapest , of which 34 were bombers . 8 were claimed by I . / ZG 76 without loss . On 8 July I . / ZG 76 lost eight Me 410s due to P - 38 ' s of the 82nd Fighter Group . Such losses curtailed further missions against the day bombers by October 1944 . II . / ZG 76 were one of the last two of the day " Zerstörergruppen " operational and were stationed in Czechoslovakia and then East Prussia by August – October 1944 . Although the unit was meant to convert to the FW - 190 as II . / JG 76 , in reality the pilots were distributed among numerous existing fighter units by the end of 1944 . See also . Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II