La Kampfgeschwader 54. L'escadre Ă  la tĂȘte de mort - Tome 1 (Expected November 2024)

Kampfgeschwader 54, the Totenkopfgeschwader, is a unit well known to fans of the air war of the Second World War due to its insignia on the skull inherited from the hussar squadrons. But, above all, KG 54 distinguished itself as having been one of the few Luftwaffe wings to have fought from the first to the last day of the conflict - even if it was in various forms and with often varying numbers.
Derived from KG 254, KG 54 started modestly with a single Gruppe engaged in September 1939 in Poland. In April 1940, his second Gruppe was set up during the Phoney War and took part in the fighting in Scandinavia. Then, the following month, the squadron increased to three Gruppe was launched into the Westfeldzug: the Great Campaign to the west.
Amputated of its third Gruppe disbanded after suffering greatly throughout the May/June engagements, KG 54 fought in the Battle of Britain, continuing its missions over England during the Night Blitz.
In June 1941, the two Gruppe called to the USSR during the 'Barbarossa' fought vigorously, multiplying missions but suffering such heavy losses that they were recalled to the Reich at the end of the year. The military situation had become such that the Totenkopf was forced to disperse its forces at that time, with I./KG 54 reaching the Mediterranean while II./KG 54 returning to the USSR (with a brief stay in France). During the fighting on Malta, I./KG 54 operated in conjunction with K.Gr. 806, then renamed III./KG 54. These two Gruppe supported Field Marshal Rommel's Afrika Korps before being joined in 1943 in Sicily by II./KG 54, the squadron taking part in the last battles over Africa (Tunisia).
Now fully strengthened, the 54th Squadron faced the Allied landings in Sicily before experiencing various withdrawals to mainland Italy.
The Totenkopf definitively left the Mediterranean sector at the end of 1943 to return to the west. But it was to operate on England as part of the bloody 'Steinbock' operation. Losses were so high that II./KG 54 was disbanded in April 1944. And two months later, it was a squadron reduced to two Gruppe that faced the Allied landings in Normandy in missions that were just as costly in terms of men and equipment.
Fighting foot by foot, KG 54 returned to the Reich where, in September 1944, it became a fighter unit receiving the famous Me 262 jet aircraft. However, the aircraft still suffered from serious 'teething problems', and KG (J) 54 (although reinforced by a second Gruppe) could hardly distinguish itself against the vastly superior Allied air force and was decimated. On 8 May 1945, the surviving personnel of the Death's Head Wing surrendered, with their numbers then mainly dispersed in Austria and Czechoslovakia.