Jagdegeschwader 53 - or as it was better known, the "Pik As" (Ace
of Spades) Geschwader - was one of the oldest German fighter units
of World War II with its origins going back to the year 1937. This
first volume, of a planned three volume set, covers the early years
of the Geschwader from its founding in the spring of 1937 up to May
of 1942. This book appears here for the first time in English, and
contains over 200 additional photos not published in the original
German language edition. The book also contains revised text and
maps, and aircraft line drawings, as well as updated aerial victory
and loss listings. The service record of JG53 can undoubtedly be
regarded as uniquely representative for the rise and fall of the
Luftwaffe, with the unit seeing action on every major war front.
JG53 had a considerable share in the successes achieved by the
Luftwaffe in the early stages of the war in the West, and at the
outset of the war in the East until mid-1942, and through the tough
battles fought over the Mediterranean fronts and suffering bitter
losses in the vain attempt to stop the Allied bomber-offensive
against the Reich. Equipped exclusivedly with the legendary
Messerschmitt Bf 109, JG 53 "Pik-As" first saw front line action in
the southwest of the German Reich, where at that time the only
direct border line with France was the stage for some of the first
clashes with the French Armee de\l Air as well as parts of the
Royal Air Force\s BEF, and became the Luftwaffe\s most successful
unit during the so called "Phony War." When on May 10, 1940, the
Wehrmacht invaded France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands,
the "Pik-As" Geschwader was in the center of the action and during
the six weeks of fighting in the West the Geschwader continued to
prove its outstanding fighting qualities, and ranked highly amongst
the top scoring Luftwaffe units when the cease-fire became
effective on June 25, 1940. JG 53 later took part in the Luftwaff\s
foreseeably futile attempt to subdue Great Britain by ways of a
strategic aerial campaign in the summer and autumn of 1940 which,
although the pilots of JG 53 gave their utmost and took a heavy
toll from the defending British Spitfires and Hurricanes, cost the
Geschwader sad and irreplaceable losses. Given only a short time to
recover and re-equip in the Reich at the beginning of 1941, and
after another short period of action on the Channel Coast between
April and early June 1941, the "Pik-As" Geschwader along with a
majority of the Luftwaffe forces was moved to the East, where it
took part in German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.
After only a few months of service on the Eastern front at a time
when the complete failure of the German war effort against the
Soviet Union was just beginning to become apparent, JG 53 was
withdrawn to the Reich for another short period of rest and
re-equipping, though two of its Gruppen were posted to the
Netherlands in the fall of 1941, where they saw comparatively
little action. This changed completely when at the end of 1941 the
entire Geschwader was transferred to the Mediterranean theatre of
operations, where III. Gruppe was first sent to North Africa to
take part in the dramatic struggle there, while the remainder of
the Geschwader went to Sicily as part of the offensive forces of
the Luftwaffe that were concentrated there for the planned air
offensive against the British island fortress of Malta, later to be
joined by III. Gruppe after its return from Africa. Iochen Prien is
also the author, with Peter Rodeike, of Messerschmitt Bf 109 F/G/K
Series: An Illustrated Study (available from Schiffer Publishing
Ltd.).
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