I Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 26, Audembert, 10 July 1940

The first operation with a new unit can always turn out a tad confusing, and this one was no exception.

I've just arrived with I/JG26, chosen not for its subsequent fame but for its proximity to the coast, so we'll have less far to fly than many others. Thereby minimising one of my main objections to flying a campaign based on escorting (as opposed to intercepting) bombers.



The first sign that all is not well is our stated objective. It's 'to attack the enemy's ships in the English Channel.' The Ops Officer must have badly overdone the schnapps. For one thing, unless he has really messed up the map, our objective is in the Thames Estuary, not the Kanal. And for another - well, we jagdfleiger may be very flexible people, but we don't, and indeed can't, sink ships for a living. Not unless and until - perish the thought! - they find a way to hang bombs under our bellies as in that experimental fighter bomber unit that's now operating on the Channel Front. Until then - one for the Stukas or the other bomber boys. I decide to interpret the job as a fighter sweep.



This I get to do, because I'm in charge. We seem to have a lot of Oberleutnants in the unit, but I must be the senior one since I'm leading our eight Messerschmitts (or maybe it's because I set 'Always lead' in Workshop screen!).

My next problem is of my own making. I select a different skin, and by mistake pick one from JG2 which is labelled as JG2 6, not realising the gap isn't a typo. So this is the aircraft with which I start. I still have glossiness turned down, incidentally, as it better suits early to mid war RAF aircraft.



Everybody else is in proper JG26 colours complete with the unit's emblem, a black 'S' (for Leo Schlageter, the Nazi hero) on a white shield. However, they have a mix of gruppe symbols (after the fuselage cross) and staffel colours (white for a gruppe's first staffel, red or black for the second, and yellow for the third). So I'm not the only one who's improperly dressed, just the worst offender. Yellow motor cowlings are widespread, though they only came in from about early August, I believe.



Next problem is the airfield. The technical officer probably deserves the blame for putting us slap in the middle of a forest, with rather tall trees awaiting anyone who doesn't get off the ground smartly enough. Which nearly includes me, giving a fine impression of Quax the Crash Pilot (although that film was not made until later - I have a pic somewhere of a captured French AT-6 that was used in its making).



Anyhow, a miss is as good as a mile (or 1.6 kilometres if you like) and I'm soon skimming over the French countryside in fine style.

It's a bit galling, though, when only a short way from Audembert, I find myself flying past the sort of airfield they should have put us on - Marquise West, apparently. No forests in the way of either take-off or landing.



It's as we're coming around in a wide sweep towards the French coast that I realise there's more than eight of us.



In fact I think we've put up twelve aircraft, in three fours. Eight would have been fine, as the German staffel was smaller than the RAF fighter squadron. And the gruppe could have put up two 8-aircraft staffeln instead, which would have been more realistic (the gruppe being the normal Luftwaffe flying unit, not staffel). It would have helped if they'd mentioned it at the briefing. In high enough concentrations, schnapps must do terrible things to a fellow's concentration.

Never mind - we're soon climbing out over the Channel. The briefed height is about 5,000 metres if I recall right and I don't want to be too far short of that height by the time we cross the English coast, near Dover. Which is not very far away.



We make a fine sight in the fine weather.



Hopefully, the Tommies will also be impressed - one way or another.

...to be continued!