[2] The Gruppe was also converted to the Heinkel He 111 and used as a delivery platform to launch V-1 flying bombs against the United Kingdom from the spring to late summer, 1944.

[7] The command was independent from Luftflotte 1, and was to support the 3rd Army's drive Toruń, Płock, Warsaw and Polish Corridor.

[10] KG 3 losses are unknown, but II./KG 3 lost a bomber in mid-air explosion owing to a faulty fuze; with III./KG 4, and I./KG 152 from 3–6 September 1939.

[10] The Geschwader ceased operations on 21 September 1939 and were ordered to western Germany to face a possible Allied attack, which petered out.

[10] The group command was change to Oberstleutnant Albrecht Jahn in April, but only to the 16 May, when he was replaced mid-campaign, but Hauptmann Otto Pilger.

von Chamier-Gliczinski's command unit had all six Do 17s operational on the opening day of Fall Gelb, the attack on France and the Low Countries.

KG 3 was to support the operations of Army Group A, as it sought a break through in the Ardennes region—the critical objective of the Manstein Plan.

[17] The French fighters intercepted the elements of KG 3 as they attacked Suippes airfield—very little damage was done though the nearby village was destroyed and casualties were heavy.

[19] A lone bomber from 7./KG 3, piloted by Unteroffizier Wolfganag Gräfe was shot down by 1 Squadron over Metz, but return fire forced a Hawker Hurricane to crash-land.

The British refusal to surrender or come to terms with Germany, precipitated Adolf Hitler's order for Operation Sealion, an amphibious invasion of Britain which was to take place after Luftwaffe had secured air superiority over the English Channel.

The German Air Staff, Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL), was ordered by Hermann Göring, to begin attacks on targets in southern England after the publication of his 30 June 1940 directive.

I./KG 3 experienced its first loss of the air campaign on 2 July 1940 when an I./KG 3 Do 17 piloted by Oberleutnant Scharpkowski and three crew were posted missing in action.

[33] On 13 August, the Germans initiated Adlertag (Eagle Day), intended to strike a crippling blow at RAF Fighter Command.

No claim was made for a bomber by British fighters: presumably the pilots responsible for the two missing German crews were killed in the combat.

KG 3 dropped 100 bombs on the field which destroyed several light bombers and caused extensive damage to the airfield.

All three groups were involved in the daylight attack on London which began the nine-month aerial bombardment of British cities.

The group assisted the rapid southward advance and was known to have operated over Corinth on 23 April, losing one Do 17 to anti-aircraft artillery.

The lack of preparedness on the Soviet side allowed the Staffelkapitän, 3./KG 3, Ernst-Wilhelm Ihrig was free to make six low-level passes.

[2] By 9 September 1941, KG 3 had been credited with the destruction of 450 aircraft on the ground, 21 in aerial combat, 30 tanks, 488 vehicles, 349 rail cars, seven armoured trains, 27 artillery guns and 14 bridges from 22 June.

[1] The Do 17 elements disrupted flew 290 sorties against troop concentrations, barracks, supply depots and interrupted rail traffic on 332 occasions.

II./KG 3 bombed Kirov on the opening day, Moscow on the 27 October and 9 November, as well as Kaluga on 21 December, weeks after the Soviet counteroffensive.

[2] I./KG 3 ended the year with the loss of its commander Oberstleutnant Fridtjof Pasquay who was posted missing in action on 25 November.

[10] Information for the period January 1942 – December 1943 is extremely sparse since much fewer of KG 3's records survive in comparison to other bomber wings.

6th Staffel was trained and deployed as a train-busting unit equipped with the Ju 88C and P. The group returned to Shatalovka 26 May and then to Velikiye Luki on 14 June.

As the Battles of Rzhev concluded, and the front in the centre stabilised, operational losses for the group stood at 70 aircrew over the spring and summer, 1943.

[2] The battles cost KG 3 their Geschwaderkommodore Jobst-Heinrich von Heydebreck who was posted missing on 3 January 1943—he had only served as wing commander for two months after taking over from Heinrich Conrady on 1 November 1942.

It moved to Bagerovo in the Crimea on 13 April 1943 and spend several weeks on attacks along the Black Sea coast until returned to Munster in June 1943.

It lost two commanding officers in action over this period—Hauptmann Ernst-Wilhelm Ihrig on 30 November 1942 and his successor Siegfried Jungklaus on 22 April 1943.

By December 1942 three dedicated railway (Eisenbahn) Staffeln (squadrons) had been established and produced several expert train-busting pilots.

It was reshaped as an illumination (pathfinder) group for single engine, none radar-equipped, night fighters engaged in the Defence of the Reich.