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Hans-Joachim Jabs
| Oberstleutnant Hans-Joachim Jabs (deceased) After seeing combat as a pilot in Czechoslovakia and the great air battles over France and Belgium, Hans-Joachim Jabs flew the Messerschmitt Me110 Zerstorer throughout the Battle of Britain with II./ZG76 Sharks Gruppe. During this time he shot down eight Spitfires and four Hurricanes and was awarded the Knights Cross in October 1940. Hans-Joachim Jabs retrained as a night fighter pilot, briefly returning to daylight operations to escort the German capital ships on the famous Channel Dash. He became Kommandeur of IV./NJG1, and from March 1944, Kommodore. He was awarded Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross in March 1944. In April 1944 he acheived two remarkable day victories, both over Spitfires. Hans-Joachim Jabs flew 710 missions and scored 22 day and 28 night victories. Born 14th November 1917, died 26th October 2003. Born in Lubeck Germany in 1917, Han-Joachim Jabs, one of the highest scoring Bf- 110 aces to survive the War, joined the Luftwaffe in late 1936. He was originally trained as a Bf-109 pilot, but in March of 1940 he was transferred to ZG-76 which flew the Bf- 110, twin-engine fighter. Jabs honed his fighter pilot skills during the Battle of France, during which he downed four French fighters and two Spitfires, making him an ace. As the Battle of Britain commenced, most Bf-110s were initially assigned the role of escort for German bombers. Pitted against large numbers of Hurricanes and Spitfires flown by well-trained pilots of the RAF, many of these Zerstorer pilots would not survive the Battle of Britain. Hans-Joachim Jabs was an exception. He was one of the few German Bf-110 aces to attain numerous victories against Hurricanes and Spitfires during the Battle of Britain, during which he downed eight Spitfires and four Hurricanes. Downing the superior-performing Spitfires and Hurricanes in the twin-engine Bf-110 was considered by fellow Zerstorer pilots as the ultimate achievement of a fighter pilot. However, by mid 1941 it was very clear that the Bf-110 needed to be withdrawn from front-line daytime fighter service. Many 110s were retrofitted for the night fighter role, where the aircraft would not encounter fighter opposition. Jabs was retrained in late 1941, and he joined NJG-3 in the defense of Hamburg from the RAF night bombing attacks. He did participate in a daylight mission to provide air cover for the famed Channel Dash of the Prinz Eugen and several other capital ships. Jabs had few good scoring opportunities until he was transferred to NJG-1 operating in Holland. This unit was equipped with a later variant of the 110 with better radar and with heavier armament. Jabs night fighter score began to mount, with most of his victims being RAF bombers. By January of 1944 he had attained a total of 44 victories. He was promoted to Kommodore of NJG-1, but continued to fly missions with the men under his command. Major Heinz Schnaufer, the top-scoring night fighter ace of all-time, with 121 victories, served for a while under Jabs' command. While preparing to return from a mission on April 29, 1944, Jabs' 110 was jumped by several Spitfires. Turning into the enemy and firing with his long range cannons, Jabs bagged one the Spitfires, and temporarily sent the others scurrying. The Spitfires regrouped and once again Jabs turned into them and downed one of his pursuers. The ace's 110 had taken quite a few hits and Jabs now desperately tried to return to his base. He was able to land the badly shot-up aircraft and seek cover before the remaining Spitfires strafed his Zerstorer into a burning piece of rubble. Jabs' final victories came on the night of February 21, 1945, when he downed two Lancasters. Jabs total of fifty aerial victories, which included twenty-two daytime victories and twenty-eight night fighter victories were all attained in the Bf-110. Following the end of the War, Jabs began a new life as a businessman and public servant. Jabs married in 1940 and has two sons. He died 23th October 2003. |
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Incident over Mannheim by Ivan Berryman. On the night of 12th September 1944, Lancaster NF958 (LS-M) of No.15 Sqn was lost in the skies above Mannheim when it was attacked by the Messerschmitt Bf.110G-2 of Ofw Ludwig Schmidt of II/NGJ 6, the bomber receiving hits to the bomb bay which ignited the incendiaries still in their racks. Five of the crew bailed out and were taken prisoner of war once captured. The pilot, F/O Norman Overend RNZAF, did not escape the aircraft. Flt Sgt Harry A Beverton was seen to leave the stricken Lancaster but was not seen again. Crew of Lancaster LS-M : F/O Norman Overend RNZAF Sgt Barry J Howarth (survived) Sgt George B Thomson (survived) Flt Sgt John D Jones (survived) Flt Sgt Robert P E Kendall (survived) Flt Sgt Harry A Beverton Sgt I Spagatner (survived). |
One - Tens Over Kent by Nicolas Trudgian Messerschmitt Me110s and 109s of the Luftwaffes 210 Gruppe based at Calais-Marck in northern France, make a low-level run across the Kent countryside after a surprise attack on R.A.F. Biggin Hill, August 30, 1940 |
Clipped Signature - Hans-Joachim Jabs. Scored 12 victories over fighters while flying his Me110 in the Battle of Britain. Later as a night-fighter scored 28 night victories. Awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, he scored a total of 50 victories. He died in 2003. |
Top Night Fighter by Stan Stokes. Major Heinz Schnaufer, with 121 victories, was the top-scoring night fighter ace of all time. He became a Luftwaffe pilot in 1942 and obtained his first victory in June of that year. By August his victory count had reached twenty-two and he was put in command of the 9th Staffel of the IV/BJG1. On the evening of December 16, 1943 Schnaufer downed four RAF Lancaster 4-engine bombers, and on February 21, 1945 he claimed a total of nine Lancasters in one evening. He received the highest award which could be obtained, the Diamonds to the Knights Cross, upon attainment of his 100th victory. Schnaufer survived the War, but was killed in a motoring accident in 1950. As depicted by Stan Stokes in his dramatic painting entitled Top Night Fighter, Schnaufer, who primarily flew the night fighter version of the Messerschmitt Bf-110 Zerstorer, homes in on an RAF Lancaster heavy bomber. The Bf-110 grew out of Herman Gorings specifications for a multipurpose aircraft capable of penetrating deep into enemy airspace to clear the sky of enemy fighters in advance of German bomber formations. The aircraft would also be utilized as a long range interceptor, and as a ground support and ground attack bomber. The Bf-110 prototype first flew in 1936. The prototype was under powered with its Daimier Benz DB 600A engines. Several months passed before a go ahead was given for large scale production which commenced in 1938. Utilizing improved DB 601 engines, the early production 110s were as fast as any single engine fighter at that time, and had superior fire power. Their biggest apparent weakness was in the areas of armor protection for the crew, and in terms of maneuverability when compared to single seat fighters. The 110 was produced in large numbers and in many different variants. The 110D was the long range model. An additional belly tank was fitted to that aircraft, with several later variants having the more traditional drop tanks. The first serious test for the Bf-110 came during the Battle of Britain. About 300 Bf-110s were involved. They became easy prey for Hurricane and Spitfire pilots, and Bf-109s were often required to assist the 110s in their own defense. On August 15, 1940, which became known as Black Tuesday, the Bf-110s were ravaged by the RAF, and for the month over 100 aircraft were lost. On the Eastern Front the Bf-110 performed admirably in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa. With the Soviet Air Force weakened in the first several weeks of the attack, 110s were effectively utilized in a ground attack role. Ultimately, the Luftwaffe re-equipped a significant number of its 110s as night fighters. The aircraft performed well in this role because it was a good gun platform with sufficient speed to overtake the RAF night bombers. Such night missions were typically carried out with no Allied fighter escort, so the 110 night fighters would not have to engage or elude Allied fighters in this role. |
Air Armada by Robert Taylor. In just six weeks Hitler's forces had overrun western Europe as once proud armies swiftly fell before the might of the German blitzkrieg. It was a devastating defeat, and now only Britain stood alone. Few thought she could survive. As Churchill pledged that Britain would never surrender, a German invasion seemed inevitable. But before any invasion could take place the Luftwaffe must neutralise the RAF and win control of the skies over southern England. Awaiting them was a small but resilient band of young men, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command. First the Germans attacked the coastal convoys, hoping to draw the RAF en-masse into battle. They failed. And then on 12th August, they turned their full attention to the forward fighter bases and radar stations, hoping to obliterate them once and for all. From Norway in the north, through the Low Countries and northern France to Brittany in the west, the Luftwaffe threw every available aircraft into the attack. For the young men of Fighter Command the next seven days of fighting would leave them exhausted and all but spent. They were to be the hardest days of the Battle of Britain, culminating on Sunday 18th August. This painting recreates a moment on that day as Heinz Bar, the Luftwaffe's top-scoring NCO Ace of the Battle of Britain and one of the greatest Aces in history, climbs away from his airfield near Calais with the other pilots of 1./JG51 to escort the Dornier Do17s of KG76 for yet another deadly attack on the RAF. Away in the distance, Me110s from EPRG210 also prepare to join the epic encounters that lie ahead. |
The Greatest Day by Robert Taylor. Sunday 15 September 1940 and Luftwaffe supremo Hermann Goering believed victory over the RAF was at hand. Today, he decreed, would be the day that his 'glorious' Luftwaffe would finally break the back of Fighter Command's stubborn resistance. Or so he believed. In response to a massed formation of enemy aircraft detected heading for London, Air Vice Marshal Keith Park commanding 11 Group scrambled his squadrons. He also requested that 12 Group bring Douglas Bader's 'Big Wing' down from Duxford. Every available pilot and machine was committed. Prime Minister Winston Churchill turned to Park and asked "What other reserves have we" "There are none", Park replied. Bader now had five squadrons racing south, meeting what remained of the enemy on the outskirts of London. With a successful morning behind them the RAF fighters raced back to re-fuel and re-arm. Just after 14.00 hrs another enemy battle group was observed and this time the formations were even larger. Bader's Wing was scrambled once more. |
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