World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces
invaded Poland. On 28 March 1940, III.
Gruppe of JG 3 was considered operationally ready and transferred to
Detmold Airfield where it was tasked with defending Germany's western border during the "
Phoney War". On 10 April, the
Gruppe relocated to
Hopsten Airfield. In preparation for the
Battle of France, III.
Gruppe was subordinated to
Luftflotte 2, supporting
Army Group Bs attack into the Netherlands. Following the
Armistice of 22 June 1940, III.
Gruppe was ordered to
Dieppe on 29 June where the unit was tasked with patrolling the French coast at the
English Channel. Beyer claimed his first aerial victory on 14 August 1940 during the
Battle of Britain with the
Royal Air Force (RAF). Around midday, III.
Gruppe flew a
combat air patrol to the area of
Folkestone and
Dover where they encountered a formation of
Hawker Hurricane fighters. In this engagement, III.
Gruppe pilots claimed four Hurricane fighters shot down, including one by Beyer, for the loss of one of their own pilots
killed in action. He claimed his second aerial victory on 5 September, a
Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down on a mission over southern England. Two days later on 7 September, the Luftwaffe launched
Operation "Loge", 350 bombers escorted by 648 fighters, attacked various targets in the greater London area. The
Gruppe protected those bombers returning from the
docks in the
East End of London. That day, Beyer claimed a Hurricane fighter shot down. On 15 February 1941, III.
Gruppe was ordered to
Gütersloh Airfield in Germany for a period of rest and replenishment. At Gütersloh, the
Gruppe received a full complement of the then new Bf 109 F-2 variant. On 3 May, III.
Gruppe moved back to the English Channel front where it was based at
Lillers. On 9 June, III.
Gruppe was withdrawn again from the west and ordered to transfer to
Breslau-Gandau, now known as 'Wrocław Airport' in Poland.
War against the Soviet Union The
Gruppe relocated to an airfield at
Moderówka on 18 June where the
Gruppe concluded their last preparations for
Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 was subordinated to the
V. Fliegerkorps (5th Air Corps), under command of
General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, which was part of
Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under command of
Generaloberst Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported
Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's
Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South), with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital
Kiev. On 12 July 1941, Beyer was appointed
Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 8.
Staffel of JG 3. He replaced
Oberleutnant Winfried Schmidt who had been wounded the day before. He was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 30 August 1941 for 30 aerial victories and further destroying ten aircraft on the ground. On 27 February 1943, III.
Gruppe moved to an airfield at
Pavlohrad, supporting German forces fighting in the
Third Battle of Kharkov. Here on 1 April, Beyer claimed his 80th aerial victory over a
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter, his last on the Eastern Front.
Group commander and death On 31 May 1943, Beyer was transferred and command of 8.
Staffel was passed on to
Oberleutnant Emil Bitsch. As part of the Luftwaffe plan to expand its fighter force, a fourth
Gruppe was to be added to every
Geschwader. This was achieved by transferring some of the other
Gruppens personnel and equipment. This created the nucleus of a newly formed
Gruppe. IV.
Gruppe of JG 3 was officially created on 1 June 1943 at
Neubiberg Airfield and Beyer was selected as its first
Gruppenkommandeur (group commander). The
Gruppe was initially equipped with the
Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6, some carrying a pair of 20 mm
MG 151/20 cannons installed in conformal
gun pods under the wings. Beyer was not given much time to prepare his pilots for combat, already in mid-June, the
Gruppe was ordered to Italy to fight in the
Mediterranean theater. On 11 July, IV.
Gruppe was ordered to an airfield at
Ramacca, Sicily. There, the
Gruppe supported German forces defending against the
Allied invasion of Sicily. Due to the advancing Allied forces, the airfield had to be abandoned on 15 July, forcing the
Gruppe to retreat to
Leverano. Beyer claimed his first aerial victory in this theater of operations on 19 July when he shot down a
Supermarine Spitfire fighter. On 23 July, the airfield at Leverona came under a heavy attack, killing one pilot and injuring six. The ground personnel suffered 30 killed and further 31 men were wounded. In the attack, the
Gruppe lost 40 Bf 109s destroyed. In consequence, the airfield was abandoned by IV.
Gruppe on 26 July, relocating to
San Severo Airfield. On 21 August, approximately 50 to 60
Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers without fighter escort were intercepted by Luftwaffe fighters from IV.
Gruppe of JG 3 and I.
Gruppe of
Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Bomber Wing) in the vicinity of
Naples. Luftwaffe fighter pilots claimed four bombers shot down, including one by Beyer who was credited with his 82nd aerial victory. IV.
Gruppe was ordered back to Germany on 24 September where it was initially again based at Neubiberg Airfield. Over the following weeks, the
Gruppe was assigned new pilots and aircraft and trained for
Defense of the Reich missions. The head on attack was practiced in mock combat against
Heinkel He 111 bombers from III.
Gruppe of
Kampfgeschwader 53 (KG 53—53rd Bomber Wing). The
Gruppe flew its first combat mission against
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 19 December. The day the USAAF
Fifteenth Air Force attacked
Innsbruck and the
Messerschmitt factory at
Augsburg. Defending against this attack, Beyer claimed a
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber shot down. On 28 January 1944, IV.
Gruppe relocated to
Venlo Airfield. On 11 February, the USAAF
Eighth Air Force targeted the German railroad infrastructure at
Frankfurt. In parallel to this attack, a formation of
Martin B-26 Marauder bombers, escorted by Spitfire fighters, attacked various targets in Belgium. IV.
Gruppe intercepted this formation in the vicinity of
Liège. In this encounter, IV.
Gruppe claimed two aerial victories but lost Beyer. Flying Bf 109 G-6 (
Werknummer 411036—factory number), he was chased by Spitfire fighters and collided with a tree south of Liège. Beyer was buried with military honors at Venlo on 17 February and later reinterred at the
Ysselsteyn German war cemetery. Command of IV.
Gruppe was temporarily passed to
Hauptmann Heinz Lang before command was officially handed to
Major Friedrich-Karl "Tutti" Müller on 26 February. ==Summary of career==