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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Jagdgeschwader'' 5}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=''Jagdgeschwader'' 5
| image= JG5 emblem.jpg
| image_size = 150
|caption=
|dates=1942–45
|country={{flag|Nazi Germany}}
|branch=[[Luftwaffe]]
|type=[[Fighter Aircraft]]
|role=[[Air superiority]]
|size=Air Force Wing
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|nickname=''Eismeer''
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|identification_symbol=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=
|notable_commanders=[[Heinrich Ehrler]] (May 1944 - February 1945)
}}

'''Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5)''' was a German [[Luftwaffe]] fighter [[Wing (air force unit)|wing]] during [[World War II]]. It was created to operate in the far north of Europe, namely [[Norway]], Scandinavia  and northern parts of [[Finland]], all nearest the [[Arctic Ocean]], with [[Luftflotte 5|''Luftflotte'' 5]], created specifically to be based in [[German occupation of Norway|occupied Norway]], and responsible for much of northern Norway.
{{TOC limit}}

== Formation ==
In 1942, the Luftwaffe reorganized its fighter units based in Norway and Finland. In this context, the new fighter wing ''Jagdgeschwader'' 5 (JG&nbsp;5—5th Fighter Wing) was created, the wing was later referred to as "''Eismeergeschwader''" (Arctic Sea Fighter Wing). Creation of JG&nbsp;5 happened in three stages, in January, March and July 1942. On 10 January, the ''[[Stab (Luftwaffe designation)|Stab]]'' (headquarters unit) of ''[[Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen]]'' was detached and formed the ''Geschwaderstab'' of JG&nbsp;5. At the same time a new Stab of ''Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen'' was created and placed under the command of ''[[Oberst]]'' (Colonel) [[Carl-Alfred Schumacher]]. ''[[Major (Germany)|Major]]'' [[Gotthard Handrick]] received the command position of ''[[Geschwaderkommodore]]'' (wing commander) of JG&nbsp;5. However, Handrick assumed command of JG&nbsp;5 in late April 1942. Until then, Schumacher acted in his behalf.{{sfn|Mombeek|2003|p=97}}

=== I. ''Gruppe'' ===
On 3 January 1942, I. ''[[Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945)#Gruppe|Gruppe]]'' (1st group) of [[Jagdgeschwader 77|''Jagdgeschwader'' 77]] (JG&nbsp;77—77th Fighter Wing), already stationed in Norway, was renamed to I. ''Gruppe'' and assigned to JG&nbsp;5.{{sfn|Hafsten|1991|p=145}} The ''Gruppenstab'' remained unchanged and was commanded by ''Major'' Joachim Seegert. 1. ''[[Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945)#Staffel|Staffel]]'' (1st squadron) of JG&nbsp;77 was renamed to 1. ''Staffel'' of JG&nbsp;5, 2./JG&nbsp;77 to 2./JG&nbsp;5 and 3./JG&nbsp;77 to 3./JG&nbsp;5.{{sfn|Mombeek|2003|p=98}}

=== II. ''Gruppe'' ===
In 1941, [[Luftflotte 5|''Luftflotte'' 5]] (5th Air Fleet) had created ''Jagdgruppe'' z.b.V. (JGr&nbsp;z.b.V.—''zur besonderen Verwendung''), a fighter group for special deployment, under the command of ''Major'' Henning Strümpell. On 3 January 1942, JGr&nbsp;z.b.V. became the nucleus of II. ''Gruppe'' of JG&nbsp;5. The 13. ''Staffel'' of JG&nbsp;77 was renamed to 4./JG&nbsp;5. The 5. ''Staffel'' was officially created from 15. ''Staffel'' of JG&nbsp;77, a squadron which had just been created. Creation of 6. ''Staffel'' was deferred until mid-March 1942. On 21 March, 1./JG&nbsp;5 was renamed and became 6./JG&nbsp;5.{{sfn|Mombeek|2003|p=98}} Shortly later, a new 1./JG&nbsp;5 was created from 10. ''Staffel'' of [[Jagdgeschwader 1 (World War II)|''Jagdgeschwader'' 1]] (JG&nbsp;1—1st Fighter Wing).{{sfn|Mombeek|2003|p=105}}

=== III. ''Gruppe'' ===
In January 1942, various residual ''Ergänzungsjagdgruppen'', supplementary fighter groups of multiple fighter wings, were consolidated in [[Vannes]], France and formed IV. ''Gruppe'' (4th group) of JG&nbsp;1 with three squadrons named 10., 11. and 12. ''Staffel''. IV. ''Gruppe'' first major task was [[Operation Donnerkeil]], an [[air superiority]] operation to support the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]{{'s}}'' (German Navy) [[Operation Cerberus]]. The objective of this assignment was to give the German [[battleship]]s {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}} and {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}} and the [[heavy cruiser]] {{ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}} fighter protection in the breakout from [[Brest, France|Brest]] to Germany. End-February to early March 1942, IV. ''Gruppe'' began relocating north to [[Trondheim Airport, Værnes|Trondheim]]. On 21 March, IV./JG&nbsp;1 was renamed to III. ''Gruppe'' of JG&nbsp;5 and placed under the command of ''[[Hauptmann]]'' (Captain) [[Günther Scholz]].{{sfn|Mombeek|2003|pp=98–99}}

7. ''[[Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945)#Staffel|Staffel]]'' (7th squadron) of JG&nbsp;5 was created from the ''Ergänzungsjagdgruppe'' 3 of [[Jagdgeschwader 3|''Jagdgeschwader'' 3]] (JG&nbsp;3—3rd Fighter Wing). On 31 December 1941, the ''Ergänzungsjagdgruppe'' 3 was detached from JG&nbsp;3 and subordinated as an autonomous ''Staffel'' to ''Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen''.{{sfn|Mombeek|2003|p=101}} On 24 April 1942, 7. ''Staffel'' arrived in [[Pechenga (urban-type settlement), Murmansk Oblast|Pechenga]], also referred to as Petsamo, where it was subordinated to III. ''Gruppe''.{{sfn|Mombeek|2003|p=161}} 8. ''Staffel'' had its roots in the ''Ergänzungsjagdgruppe'' of [[Jagdgeschwader 26|''Jagdgeschwader'' 26]] (JG&nbsp;26—26th Fighter Wing) which had been created on 22 June 1941. On 27 January 1941, the ''Staffel'' became 11./JG&nbsp;1 and was moved to [[Trondheim Airport, Lade|Trondheim-Lade]] on 6 March. There it was renamed to 8./JG&nbsp;5.{{sfn|Mombeek|2003|p=103}}

== 1942 ==
Other elements came from [[Jagdgeschwader 1 (World War 2)|''Jagdgeschwader'' 1]] in May. The unit had the responsibility for providing fighter-cover over occupied territories under [[Luftflotte 5|''Luftflotte'' 5]], and also to provide fighter support for the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] units having a war on the Arctic front in the [[Murmansk]] area.

at the start of the polar summer of 1942, ''Luftflotte'' 5 had been reinforced and by July 1942 possessed a total of 250 serviceable aircraft. Due to the air superiority established by II. and III./JG 5 early in the year, ''Luftflotte'' 5 enjoyed a numerical and considerable qualitative superiority, and the Soviet opposition amounted to just 170 serviceable combat aircraft. The command also benefited from an early-warning [[Freya radar]] network.

During the summer the Soviet air force brought in new units, including 20 IAP equipped with the new [[Yakovlev Yak-1]], an effective counter to the Bf 109F. ''Luftflotte'' 5 recorded 26 combat losses in July 1942, while the VVS lost 32 of its own aircraft shot down or missing, mainly to JG 5. On 21 August, 6./JG 5 claimed 14 Soviet fighters shot down. According to Soviet records, 2 LaGG-3s and 2 I-16s were shot down over [[Severomorsk|Vayenga]] and two aircraft made forced landings. JG 5 lost two Bf 109s, one was posted missing. JG 5 claimed some 72 victories in August, but Soviet records indicate 24 Soviet aircraft lost with another 7 damaged and 13 aircraft missing, and another 4 were shot down by ground fire. For the rest of 1942, elements of the unit were stationed in [[Trondheim]] and [[Kirkenes]], from where they undertook attacks on the [[Arctic convoys of World War II|Arctic convoys]].

==1943==
By January 1943, the units of the wing were stationed in southern Norway and Finland and were equipped with the [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190]] aircraft. 
Mid-1943 saw JG 5 at its maximum strength, consisting of 14 ''Staffeln''; 12 regular single-engined fighter ''Staffeln'' equipped with the [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Bf 109]] and [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190|Fw 190]], one Bf 110-equipped ''Zerstörerstaffel'', and the ''[[Fighter-bomber|Jabo]]'' unit, 14.(J)/JG 5 with the Fw 190A under the command of ''Hauptmann'' [[Friedrich-Wilhelm Strakeljahn]]. 1943 was also the last year in which JG 5's four ''Gruppen'' operated as a single unit. I and II. ''Gruppe'' left Norway and Finland in late 1943 to fight the rest of the war away from their parent ''Geschwader''.

In mid-1943, half of the 70 to 80 fighters of JG 5, contained in I ''Gruppe'' were based above the Arctic Circle, protecting supply-shipping.{{sfn|Claasen|2001|p=325}}

On 1 September 1943, ''Major'' [[Günther Scholz]] succeeded ''Oberstleutnant'' [[Gotthard Handrick]] as ''[[Geschwaderkommodore]]'' (Wing Commander) of JG&nbsp;5.{{sfn|Mombeek|2010|p=62}}

In November 1943, I./JG 5 was moved to [[Romania]] as protection for the [[Ploieşti]] oil refineries. It was placed under the command of [[Luftflotte 1|''Luftflotte'' 1]] and then redesignated as III./[[JG 6]]; it was not replaced. IV./JG 5 was stationed on the Arctic Front and then in Southern Norway. Up to the end of the war, this unit formed the air defence against the Allied raids on the submarine bases at [[Trondheim]] and [[Bergen]] in Norway.

==1944==
On 1 August 1944, [[Heinrich Ehrler]] was appointed ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of JG&nbsp;5, replacing ''Oberstleutnant'' Scholz who was given the position of ''[[Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen]]''.{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=89}}

On 12 November 1944 [[Avro Lancaster]] bombers of RAF Squadrons [[No. 9 Squadron RAF|9]] and [[No. 617 Squadron RAF|617]] attacked the ''[[German battleship Tirpitz|Tirpitz]]'' in Tromsø fjord. Ehrler, commanding officer of JG 5, scrambled a formation to intercept, but the German fighters were too late. The ''Tirpitz'' was sunk with the loss of a thousand sailors. Ehrler was court-martialed; he sentenced to three years and stripped of his command. Ehrler was later reinstated; he was killed flying with [[JG 7]] on 4 April 1945. [[Karl Dönitz]] was the driving force behind the conviction. Only Ehrler's record as a fighter pilot saved him from execution.{{sfn|Claasen|2001|p=239}}

==1945==
In early January 1945 and following Ehrler's conviction by the ''[[Reichskriegsgericht]]'', ''Oberstleutnant'' Scholz, in addition to his obligations as ''Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen'' in Stavanger-Forus, assumed command of JG&nbsp;5 again.{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=141}}

The [[German surrender at Lüneburg Heath]] is signed on 4 May 1945. All German armed forces in the Netherlands, in northwestern Germany, including the [[Frisian Islands]] and [[Heligoland]] and all other islands, as well forces in [[Schleswig-Holstein]] and in Denmark, lay down their arms and to surrender unconditionally. This surrender includes the last German soldiers in Norway as well as JG&nbsp;5.{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=203}} In total, pilots of JG&nbsp;5 claimed approximately 3,200 aerial victories during World War II. At the end of hostilities, losses had amounted to 435 men either [[killed in action]] or taken [[prisoner of war]].{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=208}}

== Commanding officers ==
=== ''Geschwaderkommodore'' ===
{|
| {{*}}''Oberst'' [[Carl-Alfred Schumacher]] || 10 January 1942 || – || March 1942{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Oberstleutnant'' [[Gotthard Handrick]] || March 1942 || – || 31 August 1943{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Oberstleutnant'' [[Günther Scholz]] || 1 September 1943 || – || 26 July 1944{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Major'' [[Heinrich Ehrler]] || 1 August 1944 || – || December 1944{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Oberstleutnant'' Günther Scholz || January 1945 || – || 8 May 1945{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|}

Gruppenkommandeure

=== ''Gruppenkommandeure'' ===
==== I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 5 ====
Formerly the I. ''Gruppe'' of JG&nbsp;77, re-designated to II. ''Gruppe'' of [[Jagdgeschwader 6|''Jagdgeschwader'' 6]] on 15 October 1944:{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
{|
| {{*}}''Hauptmann'' Walter Grommes || 1 February 1941 || – || 19 June 1941{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Major'' Joachim Seegert || 28 June 1941 || – || 20 March 1942{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Hauptmann'' Gerhard von Wehren || March 1942 || – || 31 March 1943{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Hauptmann'' Gerhard Wengel || 1 April 1943 || – || 10 January 1944{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Major'' Erich Gerlitz || 25 January 1944 || – || 16 March 1944{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Oberleutnant'' Robert Müller (acting) || 17 March 1944 || – || 15 April 1944{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Major'' [[Horst Carganico]] || 16 April 1944 || – || 27 May 1944{{KIA}}{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Hauptmann'' [[Theodor Weissenberger]] || 4 June 1944 || – || 14 October 1944{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|}

==== III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 5 ====
Formerly the IV. ''Gruppe'' of JG&nbsp;1:{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=296}}
{|
| {{*}}''Hauptmann'' [[Günther Scholz]] || 21 March 1942 || – || 31 August 1943{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=296}}
|-
| {{*}}''Major'' [[Heinrich Ehrler]] || 1 September 1943 || – || 31 July 1944{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|-
| {{*}}''Hauptmann'' [[Franz Dörr]] || 1 August 1944 || – || 8 May 1945{{sfn|Mombeek|2011|p=295}}
|}

==References==

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book
  |last=Claasen
  |first=A.R.A
  |year=2001
  |title=Hitler's Northern War: The Luftwaffe’s Ill-Fated Campaign, 1940–1945
  |location=Lawrence
  |publisher=[[University Press of Kansas]]
  |isbn=0-7006-1050-2
 }}
* {{Cite book
  |last=Hafsten
  |first=Bjørn
  |display-authors=etal
  |year=1991
  |title=Flyalarm - Luftkrigen over Norge 1939–1945
  |language=Norwegian
  |location=Oslo
  |publisher=Sem & Stenersen
  |isbn=82-7046-058-3
  }}
* {{Cite book
  |last=Mombeek
  |first=Eric
  |date=2003
  |title=Eismeerjäger—Zur Geschichte des Jagdgeschwaders 5—Band 2
  |trans-title=Fighters in the Arctic Sea—The History of the 5th Fighter Wing—Volume 2
  |location=Linkebeek, Belgium
  |publisher=ASBL, La Porte d'Hoves
  |isbn=978-2-9600236-4-0
  }}
* {{Cite book
  |last=Mombeek
  |first=Eric
  |date=2010
  |title=Eismeerjäger—Zur Geschichte des Jagdgeschwaders 5—Band 3
  |trans-title=Fighters in the Arctic Sea—The History of the 5th Fighter Wing—Volume 3
  |location=Linkebeek, Belgium
  |publisher=ASBL, La Porte d'Hoves
  |isbn=978-2-930546-02-5
  }}
* {{Cite book
  |last=Mombeek
  |first=Eric
  |date=2011
  |title=Eismeerjäger—Zur Geschichte des Jagdgeschwaders 5—Band 4
  |trans-title=Fighters in the Arctic Sea—The History of the 5th Fighter Wing—Volume 4
  |location=Linkebeek, Belgium
  |publisher=ASBL, La Porte d'Hoves
  |isbn=978-2-930546-05-6
  }}
{{Refend}}

{{Jagdgeschwader of the Luftwaffe}}
{{Knight's Cross recipients of JG 5}}
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[[Category:Fighter wings of the Luftwaffe 1933-1945|Jagdgeschwader 005]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1942]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945]]