JG 2 'Richthofen' question.

[Airframes]

At some point during the summer of 1941, the famous 'R' shield badge of JG2 was removed from their Bf109s. I've checked all my references, and searched the 'web', and the only reference I can find concerning this is a brief note in Osprey's 'JG 2' book, stating that the badge was removed following "an official edict".
Does anybody know when it was removed, and why?

 

[Crimea_River]

I vaguely recall something about this Terry but it might have been in regard to something else or another unit where Goering ordered something removed because someone pi$$ed him off.

I posted your question over at LEMB. Let's see if anything comes up.

 

[imalko]

I know that on the Eastern front colorful badges were removed from JG 54 (and other fighter units) aircraft so that Soviets couldn't identify the unit's deployment. Maybe there was a similar reason for removal of JG 2 and JG 26 badges in the West.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Andy and Igor. I know that JG53 had to remove their 'Pik As' motif, and replace it with a red ring around the cowlings of their 'Emils'; this was the one the 'Fat Man' was involved with. It could very well be that JG2 removed the badges due to the east front thing, as it seems to have happened around the time of Barbarossa, so perhaps it was a 'blanket order' for all units.

 

[Crimea_River]

Terry, from a reply at LEMB:

"I found no evidence of any "official edict" in that respect.

I believe that the said emblem, along all the other JG2 and JG26 emblems, was removed when the Luftwaffe fighter strength on the Channel was reduced to the two Geschwader (i.e. some 200 aircraft) in the wake of the RAF so-called "Non-stop" aerial offensive that coincided with the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. In short, this was a sort of counter-intelligence measure to disguise the Luftwaffe's diminishing strength on the Channel."

 

[imalko]

So the reasons were rather the same, to deceive the enemy of own fighter strength and disposition... Though the measure was taken in the East quite later, sometime in 1943 I believe. Possibly on the eve of Operation Citadel. In any case about the same time as when code letter/black triangle insignia was discontinued from usage on Schlachtgeschwader' aircraft.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much Andy. It seems logical in either respect - cover-up exact identities of who was who on the Channel Front, and also make it more difficult to identify which units were moving East. Every little bit of info not available to the enemy makes it more difficult for him to assess the strengths and weaknesses etc of the perceived opposition.
Not so sure about the 'other emblems' being removed though, as, certainly in JG 2, the III Gruppe emblems were still employed after the removal of the Geschwader zeichen shield.
Just need to find when 'Assi' Hahn changed form the yellow nosed '109F-2, with the shield, to the '109F-4, without the shield, and with just the lower cowling panel in yellow, which was sometime in mid summer, AFAIK, but this isn't that important for a planned project.

 

[III/JG53_Johann]

i gues it also has somthing to do with that theory of deployment of forces hiding.