Dans le ciel de France, JG 2 Richtoffen, Vol. 06. 1945

More than sixty years after the end of the Second World War were necessary for the first volume of a detailed chronicle of the Jagdgeschwader 2, the second fighter wing of the Luftwaffe, undoubtedly the most prestigious and therefore the most “to finally appear. covered” by German propaganda units. Bearing the honorary name “Richthofen” from 1935, the squadron claimed numerous victories during the Western Campaign and then during the Battle of Britain. It remained in France when most of the fighter units moved to the Soviet front in the spring of 1941.

JG 2 then received the thankless task of defending the Norman and Breton airspaces (as well as part of the Picardy sky and the Provençal region) against intrusions by Allied aviation until the summer of 1944.

This sixth and final volume covers in detail the last eight months of the “Richthofen”, from its return to German soil in September 1944 until the capitulation of the Wehrmacht. This period was marked by desperate battles, notably above the ruins of Berlin, and deadly operations, such as the famous “Bodenplatte”.

They caused an incredible casualty rate among the young pilots of JG 2.

During thirty years of research, the author was able to speak with a hundred veterans of the squadron (or familiars) who, through their moving stories and their personal documents, give this chronicle a human dimension which will not be missed. to touch the reader.