At the start of the campaign, JG 3 was subordinated to the V. Fliegerkorps (5th Air Corps), under command of General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, which was part of Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under command of Generaloberst Alexander Löhr.

These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South), with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital Kiev.

Gruppe's primary task was providing fighter escort to Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft and Heinkel He 111 bombers shuttling supplies for the encircled German forces fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad.

On 17 December, Langer and the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 3, Major Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, escorted 16 Ju 52 transport aircraft to the Pitomnik Airfield which was located within the Stalingrad pocket.

While taking off at Pitomnik Airfield, his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 13739—factory number) ran over unexploded ordnance which then exploded, destroying his aircraft and significantly injuring Langer.

Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 3 after its former commander Hauptmann Wolfgang Ewald was shot down behind enemy lines and taken prisoner of war.

The next day, the Gruppe was ordered to Chasiv Yar and then back to Germany where it was based at Münster-Handorf Airfield.

[7] On 14 October, during the Second Raid on Schweinfurt, Langer claimed the destruction of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber shot down 8 kilometers (5.0 miles) east of Hammelburg.

[12] On 27 May, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force sent 1,126 heavy bombers, escorted by 1,135 fighter aircraft, to railroad infrastructure and Luftwaffe airfields in southwest Germany and northeast France.

Gruppe led by Langer were scrambled at 11:26 and vectored to Karlsruhe where they began their pursuit of an escorted B-17 bomber formation heading for Strasbourg.