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Jagdverband 44 (JV 44) was a special fighter unit of top German fighter ace pilots in the Luftwaffe during the last months of World War II.〔Robert Forsyth;'Jagdverband 44- Squadron of Experten' (Osprey Publishing), 2008.〕 The main aircraft used by the unit was the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. They were known by various nicknames, including "Der Galland-Zirkus" (The Galland Circus). The commander of JV 44 was General Adolf Galland (104 victories) the former ''General der Jagdflieger'' (General of Fighter pilots) who had recently been sacked from his staff post by Hermann Göring for relentlessly criticizing the operational policies, strategic doctrine, and tactics mandated by the Luftwaffe High Command. It may have been hoped by Galland's superiors that his return to combat-flying in a front-line command would result in his death in action. Galland was charged with setting up a small Me 262 unit of staffel strength to demonstrate that the jet could be developed into the superior fighter it promised to be. The unit was to be independent of all other Luftwaffe commands, including division, corps or air fleets. Galland inspected a number of facilities, and eventually settled on Brandenburg-Briest airfield, west of Berlin for its initial base. In late February, Galland discussed his personnel and logistical requirements with the Luftwaffe Chief of General Staff. The staff approved the establishment of JV 44, with its cadre of pilots provided through the normal channels, and ground personnel provided from ''16 Staffel,'' JG 54. Col. Johannes Steinhoff was also recruited as Operations Officer, who had just been replaced as ''Kommodore'' of JG 7. Galland also compiled a list of experienced pilots whom he considered to be competent enough to convert quickly to the Me 262. The list included some of the Jagdwaffe's most skilled and successful formation leaders. Thus JV 44 eventually comprised a core of highly experienced pilots chosen from Galland's former staff or otherwise recruited from units which had been disbanded or were being re-equipped. With an aircraft that could make devastating strikes on bombers and easily escape any Allied fighter, and would be flown by a collection of the Luftwaffe's top surviving aces, JV 44 performed with great success during its brief history, achieving a 4-to-1 kill ratio. However, it had relatively few operational jet planes available for any single sortie and was repeatedly forced to relocate due to the approach of Allied ground forces. At war's end the unit was disbanded and its brief history came to an end. ==The Jet Experten== If measured by the accumulated victories of its pilots the Jagdverband 44 (literally "hunting formation") was the most elite fighter unit in the history of military aviation. The unit was established in February 1945 as a jet fighter squadron; many of its flying personnel were high-scoring aces or ''Experten''—the unit's top five aces alone had more than 1,000 combined victories. Other Luftwaffe pilots joked that the Knight's Cross (''Ritterkreuz'') was part of standard uniform in the Jagdverband 44, because all of the pilots were such highly decorated fighter aces. The unit eventually comprised some fifty pilots and 25 Me 262 jets, although no more than six of the latter were operational at any one given time. Early in the war, some efforts were made to convert the Me 262 fighter into a fast tactical bomber. Before D-Day this plan was supported by the High Command within the German government. In late 1944 German industry was struggling to produce enough Me 262's as fighters for defense against the constantly growing Allied bomber formations. The Me 262's superior speed (about 800–860 km/h or 500-550 mph) relative to piston-engined aircraft meant sorties could be scrambled quickly to defend factories and other targets throughout Germany. JV-44 was responsible for defending southern areas of the Reich, especially around the cities of Stuttgart, Ulm, München and parts of current-day Austria including Innsbruck and Salzburg. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jagdverband 44」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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