It later existed under the reformed Luftwaffe from 1947 to 1991 as BG54/B54 A B and C. Originally, JG 54 flew most of its missions on the Eastern Front where it claimed more than 9,600 aircraft shot down.

The unit was transferred to the Eastern Front in the spring of 1941 in preparation for the invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.

Equipped with Bf 109s, their operations consisted of ground attack, air superiority and escorting Stukas.

The Luftwaffe operated by advancing in front of the German army to destroy French airfields and bomb cities, industrial complexes and transportation hubs.

JG 54's role was to escort the bombers (Stukas and Heinkel He 111s mostly) and to conduct fighter sweeps in French airspace in order to maintain air superiority.

In a British raid on the Soesterberg airfield, III./JG 54 suffered heavy ground crew and equipment losses.

[2] Dissatisfied with the fighter arm's performance in the operation, Göring's purge led to a command shakeup in mid-1940.

JG 54 was assigned to Army Group North during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 as part of the Luftwaffe's Luftflotte 1.

June 30 was one of its most successful days of the entire war: JG 54 claimed no less than 65 kills (mostly bombers without fighters escort) over the town of Daugavpils.

[5] The "Grünherz" pushed on, still supporting Army Group North, towards the Gulf of Finland, fighting through Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.

In the period 22 June - 5 December 1941 the unit destroyed 1,078 Soviet aircraft in return for 46 losses in aerial combat and a single fighter on the ground.

[8] On February 23, "Grünherz" obtained another of their greatest victories of the war, claiming 32 kills for no losses, in the Leningrad area.

and IV./ JG 54 ended the war fighting around the Baltic region, supporting the troops of Army Group North through Latvia and Estonia, and into the Courland Pocket.

The Russians never defeated Army Group North, which held out until the last day of the war, surrendering 210,000 Germans to the Soviets in Courland.

Intensive training in the more rigorous techniques of fighting on the Western Front were only partly successful, and Oberst Josef Priller, Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26 and charged with III.

Operating from Berlin, the unit's Fw 190s saw intensive action against Soviet ground targets such as road and rail supply columns, flak positions, armour and the bridges across the River Oder.