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Nickname by the RAF the "Abbeville Kids" or
"Abbeville Boys" II/JG 26 flew from Abbeville-Drucat from 1942 to early 1943.
The name was extended by the Americans to any especially aggressive and/or
skillful German formation. JG 26 was niether a specially-selected or otherwise
elite unit, it was however; considered to be the best German Jagdgeschwader by
both the Allies and the Luftwaffe. They were often rumored to be Hermann
Göring 's personal squadron, but that was not true.
I have heard many tales about "The Abbeville
Kid's", and how they would attack the bomber formations in a wall like
formation. Often the fighters would total more than forty Me109's and Fw 190's
at a time, sometimes in rows and columns. Once the fighters had disabled an
aircraft, it would drop out of formation losing the protection of the other
bombers weapons. Some times these German pilots would then fly close enough to
the bombers that the crews could see their faces.
Even though the fighters where often described as
being all white with yellow nose cones and tails, their actual color scheme was
a gray camouflage. The yellow markings where standard for European units and
did not indicate any specific unit.
Uffz. Albert Boeckl of III/JG 26 piloting a Bf 109G
and two JG2 pilots were credited with the downing of my fathers B-24.
For more information on JG 26 visit
"The Top Guns of the
Luftwaffe" |
