On 21 July 1943,
Jagdgruppe Süd der ObdL was formed as a high-altitude fighter unit to combat the RAF's Mosquito twin-engine bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. On 15 August 1943 the unit was redesignated
Jagdgeschwader 50 and was commanded by
Major Hermann Graf, the first pilot in history to achieve 200 aerial victories. It was planned to equip JG 50 with the
Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket fighter and began training on glider aircraft. Both JG 50 (and its sister unit
Jagdgeschwader 25) were ultimately unsuccessful in effectively countering the Mosquito and were more successfully used for interception of the US
heavy bomber formations during the
daylight offensive over Europe in 1943-44. Only one Mosquito was taken down, and even that is subject to dispute. JG 50 were initially equipped with eight
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-5s and Bf 109G-6s. These aircraft were polished to increase speed, and equipped with a special internal tank for liquefied
nitrous oxide as part of the
GM-1 engine power boosting system, which was injected directly into the supercharger intake. This allowed the pilot to boost the rated horsepower of the
DB 605 engine. The unit was later also equipped with specially supercharged
Fw 190A-5. Graf was allowed to pick any pilots he wished for the new unit, and he chose a further three aces
Alfred Grislawski,
Ernst Süß, and
Heinrich Füllgrabe from his old unit - the
9. Staffel of
JG 52. Graf was charged with assessing new methods of attacking American bomber formations. JG 50 was the first formation to use the
Werfer-Granate 21 rocket mortar, with one carried under each wing. While these rockets could bring down a bomber with one hit, they were designed to disperse the
combat boxes of Allied aircraft rather than as a direct fire weapon. On 31 July 1943 the unit was declared operational, with a total of 19 aircraft. On 17 August 1943 the unit was one of those who intercepted American bomber forces attacking
the Messerschmitt factory in Regensburg and the ball bearing plants in Schweinfurt. Grislawski claimed two
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses downed on this raid. On 6 September the unit's pilots shot down four Flying Fortresses over
Stuttgart, one to Grislawski, and two claimed by Graf with the WfGr.21, who was then shot down but survived a forced landing. Grislawski claimed one other kill with the unit, a B-17 on 14 October. By October, JG 50 had been disbanded and merged with
I Gruppe,
JG 301. Graf was appointed commander of
JG 11 in November 1943. On 6 November 1943 Grislawski was appointed
Staffelkapitän of 1./
JG 1 based at
Deelen, the Netherlands. Two of the Karaya Quartet survived the war; Süß and Füllgrabe were killed in action. ==References==