Gerhard Homuth

On 1 August 1943, Homuth was given command of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which was fighting on Eastern Front.

(leichte Jagd) Gruppe, the light fighter group, of Lehrgeschwader 2 (LG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing) was created at Graz Airfield.

[4] World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland.

[6] On 1 October 1939, the new I. Gruppe (1st group) of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing) was created at Münster-Handorf Airfield and placed under command of Hauptmann Helmut Riegel.

[7] On 22 January 1940, the Gruppe moved to Krefeld Airfield where they were tasked with flying fighter protection during the "Phoney War" along the German – Belgian border.

Staffel intercepted eight low flying Blenheim bombers on a mission to bomb the bridges crossing the Meuse and Albert Canal near Veldwezelt.

On a combat air patrol to Dunkirk on 2 June, Homuth claimed two Supermarine Spitfire fighters shot down.

[16] On 5 June, German forces launched Fall Rot (Case Red), the second phase of the conquest of France.

[17] One of the M.S.406 fighters may have been piloted by Sous lieutenant René Pomier Layrargues from Groupe de Chasse II/7, who was killed in action.

On 14 June, Homuth claimed his last and ninth aerial victory of the Battle of France when he shot down a Bloch MB.131 bomber near Léchelle.

[20] In preparation in what would become the Battle of Britain, I. Gruppe was moved to the English Channel on 2 July where they were based at an airfield near Plumetot.

[21] On 20 July, I. Gruppe escorted a number of Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers on a Kanalkampf mission against Convoy Bosom to the Isle of Purbeck.

[22] On 12 August, JG 27 escorted bombers to Portsmouth, claiming two aerial victories, including a Spitfire fighter by Homuth near Bembridge.

Here the Gruppe was subordinated to the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) and tasked with patrolling the German Bight.

[24] On 3 December 1940, I. Gruppe was again withdrawn from the English Channel and relocated to Döberitz located approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) west of Staaken.

There, the ground crew began preparations for the air elements to arrive at the designated airfield at Ayn al-Ġazāla.

The orders for I. Gruppe that day were to attack and destroy the Yugoslavian air defenses in the area of Laibach, present-day Ljubljana in Slovenia.

[27] Following Operation Marita, the air elements briefly returned to Munich-Riem before they transferred to North Africa, arriving in Ayn al-Ġazāla between 18 and 22 April 1941.

I. Gruppe was dispatched to the combat area near Sollum and the Halfaya Pass where Homuth claimed a Hurricane fighter shot down.

[32] On 14 September, German forces sent an armored reconnaissance mission to Sidi Barrani, approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) into Egypt.

[36] His 60th claim came on 27 October, when he shot down a Spitfire over Bi'r Mu'min Busak located approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) west of Sidi Abdel Rahman.

He replaced Oberleutnant Hans Götz who had temporarily led the Gruppe after its former commander Major Reinhard Seiler had been wounded in combat on 6 July.

[42] The following day, the Gruppe flew multiple combat missions in support of German ground forces retreating in the area north and northwest of Oryol.

[43] Flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 (Werknummer 550436—factory number), he was shot down and likely killed in action 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Kromy.

A Bf 109 E of I./JG 27 similar to those flown by Homuth