Invasion of Poland On 25 August the unit was transferred to
Langenau under the Command of
Luftflotte 4. It began the
Polish Campaign attacking airfields and railway yards.
Stab/KG 4 was withdrawn on 20 September. I./KG 4 attacked airfields at
Dęblin and
Kraków on 1 September and again on 2 September. From 3–6 September rail targets in Eastern Poland were attacked, and between 6–9 September bridges along the
Vistula River and in
Warsaw itself were bombed. From 6–14 September rail targets were again bombed. Troop concentrations became the main targets after this until the Polish surrender. II./KG 4 also supported
10.Armee over
Kutno in mid September. After the campaign the unit began training in night flying and began to lay mines of the Norwegian coast in January 1940, in preparation for the
Norwegian Campaign. III./KG 4 participated in the
Battle of the Bzura in which the Polish Army was surrounded and destroyed (largely by the
Luftwaffe).
Invasions of Denmark and Norway In December 1939 III./KG4 transferred from Nordhausen to Vechta and commenced intensive training for night flying and minelaying operations, while conversion to the Junkers Ju 88 began in February-1940. On 1 February 1940 transferred to
Quakenbrück in northern Germany. II./KG 4 were part of the bomber fleet that flew a "demonstration of strength" raid over
Copenhagen on 9 April 1940. The unit attacked rail and airfield targets as well as anti-shipping strikes. A
Staffel of Ju 88s of III./KG 4 attacked the airfield at
Sola Air Station near
Stavanger and sank the Norwegian destroyer
Æger near Stavanger on 9 April.
Battle of the Netherlands and France KG 4 commanded by "Geschwaderkomodore" "Oberst" Martin Fiebig helped neutralise
Dutch air power on 10 May 1940 by striking at airfields and Dutch
AA positions and airlifted supplies to the
Fallschirmjäger units in the
Netherlands. Three Heinkels 111 leading an attack on Waalhaven-airport, Rotterdam in the early morning of May 10 belonged to "Stabsstaffel". Ca. 30 planes followed. After the German bombing, First Lieutenant P.Noomen of Dutch 3 JaVa took off as patrol commander in a Fokker G.I.A-311 armed with eight machineguns and managed to hit the leading, middle Heinkel 111 (5J+DA) flown by pilot Hlubeck and commanded by "Oberst" Fiebig. It tried to escape by flying lowly back northward over the Northsea. It was subsequently downed by famous Dutch pilot G. Sonderman flying his Fokker G-1 after he had successfully hit and downed both a German Junkers Ju 52 and a Messerschmitt. After the quick surrender of the Dutch, KG 4 shifted its attention to
Belgium. During the
Battle of France KG 4 helped paralyse Allied rail networks across Belgium. also flew sorties over
Dunkirk. The II Gruppe also took part in the bombing of Rotterdam. After the Belgian capitulation on 3 June KG 4 took part in
Operation Paula striking at airfields in and around
Paris to destroy the remaining units of the Armée de l’Air. By 5 June French aerial resistance, while never effective and sporadic, ceased. ‘Fall Rot’ (Operation Red), the second phase of the conquest of France was launched on 5 June 1940. From 5–19 June, KG 4 attacked harbours and rail targets around Dieppe, and then military columns retreating through the Loire valley and the Tours area. After the French surrender on 25 June 1940 the unit was ordered to Soesterberg, the Netherlands in July 1940, to begin operations over
Great Britain.
Battle of Britain Before the French campaign was over, KG 4 struck at British ports and targets in
Wales. On the night of 18/19 June KG 4 lost six Do 17s and He 111s, including
Major Dietrich von Massenbach,
Kommandeur of II./KG 4, who was shot down over Norfolk by a Blenheim of 23 squadron flown by Flt Lt Duke-Woolley, He 111 5J+DM crash landed on the beach at Cley Next the Sea, where the entire crew were taken prisoner. On 4 September II./KG 4 had 37 He 111s (30 serviceable). II./KG suffered light losses during this period, due to flying at night. III./KG 4 had 25 Ju 88s on strength with 23 serviceable on 13 August 1940. By 4 September that had shrunk to 14 combat ready out of a total of 30 machines, due to losses. The
Battle of Britain was a costly failure. had operated a minelaying unit along the British coast and participated in the
Blitz and the raids on
Coventry on the night of the 14/15 November. Bombing missions continued until February 1941, when III./KG 4 transferred to Gerbini, Sicily.
Balkans Campaign and Mediterranean theatre On 29 March 1941 the unit relocated to
Wien-Aspern in
Austria to begin operations over
Yugoslavia and
Greece for the coming
Balkans Campaign. During the Yugoslavian invasion, II./KG 4 participated in the
bombing of Belgrade, with 25 He 111s (out of 28 serviceable) on 6 April 1941. II.
Gruppe mined the waters off
Alexandria and the
Suez Canal. A detachment, 4.
staffel, under the command of
Hauptmann Schwanhauser, was sent to
Iraq to support pro-Axis Iraqi forces during the
Anglo-Iraqi War. On 6 April 1941 III./KG4 bombed and mined
Piraeus harbour, sinking several vessels and damaging the harbour installations. On 11 April elements of III./KG 4 attempted to lay mines at the entrance to Volos harbour. High-scoring RAF ace S/L “Pat” Pattle of No. 33 Squadron attacked the units involved and shot down a Ju 88 of III./
KG 30 and a Ju 88A-5 ‘4D+FS’ of 8./KG 4.
Eastern Front Stab. supported
Army Group North during its advance to
Leningrad. In January 1942 the unit relocated to
Pskov. On 22 January 1942 it helped drop supplies to the
Kholm Pocket, and in February–March it flew supply missions over the
Demyansk Pocket suffering heavy losses. I.
Gruppe was committed to supporting
Army Group Centre II.
Gruppe began its aerial offensive over the city on 1 October. During the winter the unit also flew bombing raids over
Moscow. II.
Gruppe supported
Army Group South and its offensive into the
Ukraine. II.
Gruppe flew its 10,000th sortie on 9 March 1943. A notable success occurred on 14 March when the
Gruppe attacked a
Soviet airfield around
Kursk destroying 40 enemy machines and damaging 23 others. II.
Gruppe also flew strategic bombing missions, against the Tank factory at
Gorky and missions against the rubber factories near
Yaroslavl. III.
Gruppe was committed to the Southern wing of the front and managed to hit targets over
Astrakhan. In October 1943 the unit was partially equipped with the
Heinkel He 177A to perform
heavy bomber missions. In the period 1943-45 the
Kampfgeschwader covered the continuous retreat of the
Wehrmacht until the end of the war, in the tactical and supply role. On 8 May 1945 the unit surrendered to British forces. ==Organisation==