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*,"I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 'Schlageter'","I./JG 26"|

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*,"I./JG 26 was formed on May 1, 1939, in Cologne-Ostheim in Germany out of the renamed I./JG 132. It was comprised of a headquarters flight and 3 Staffeln: Stab, 1., 2. and 3., and equipped with Bf 109 E-1s and E-3s.
Since late August 1939, the Gruppe had been covering the western border of Germany, allocating half of the 2./JG 26 personnel to form III./JG 26 in September. Since May 10, 1940, I./JG 26 took part in the Western Campaign, operating over the Netherlands and Belgium; later that month, it fought in the Dunkirk and Calais area. In early June, the Gruppe was engaged in Operation Paula, and then in the final phase of the campaign; on June 26, it was recalled to Bönninghardt, Germany, for rest.
On July 15, I./JG 26 returned to France, beginning operations out of Cap Gris-Nez near Calais, where it took part in the Battle of Britain. Since October, aircraft from 3./JG 26 had been used as fighter-bombers over southern England, and on December 7, I./JG 26 moved to Abbeville-Drucat, where it would stay until February 1941.
On February 9, 1941, the Gruppe was recalled to Dortmund, Germany for rest and reinforcement; it converted to Bf 109 E-7s, and then on April 1, 1941, redeployed to France, where it was engaged in air defence of Brest. On June 1, I./JG 26 moved to St. Omer and resumed missions over the Channel; it was then that it began converting to Bf 109 F-4s. In November, the Gruppe was transferred to the nearby Arques Airfield, where it would stay until September 20, 1942; it also began converting to Fw 190 A-1s and A-2s.
In early 1942, I./JG 26 continued providing air defence of the French coastline; on February 12, 1942, it took part in providing air cover for the breakthrough of battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen from Brest to Germany, and on August 19, in repelling the Allied landings in Dieppe. On September 20, 1942, the Gruppe was transferred to the neighbouring St. Omer-Wizernes Airfield, where it spent the rest of the year repelling enemy bomber raids.
On January 22, 1943, I./JG 26 was recalled to Heiligenbeil, southwest of Königsberg, to have a rest and convert to Fw 190 A-4s and A-5s, and then deployed to the Eastern Front; from early February, it began operating on the northern flank near Lake Ilmen. In the run-up to Operation Citadel, on May 9, 1943, the Gruppe moved to the central part of the front near Smolensk, and on May 20, to Oryol. Due to the postponement of the operation, on June 6, I./JG 26 was sent first to Rheine in Germany and then to Poix near Reims in France.
On June 23, 1943, the Gruppe was urgently returned to Rheine to cover the Ruhr area; by July 14, it was transferred to Woensdrecht, north of Antwerp; on August 31, 1943, it relocated to Grimberghen near Brussels. On October 1, I./JG 26 was expanded to four Staffeln: 4./JG 26 was formed out of 8./JG 26. On December 18, the Gruppe moved to Florennes, where it would stay until April 1944, performing air defence missions.
On April 6, 1944, I./JG 26 was transferred to Vendeville near Lille, and after the Allied landings in Normandy, on June 6, it moved to Chaumont-en-Vexin near Beauvais, beginning operations over the invaded area. After changing several airfields, by September 3, the Gruppe was recalled to Krefeld-Linn in Germany for rest and reinforcement. On October 29, I./JG 26 flew to Greven, and on November 24, 1944, to Fürstenau, taking part in the Ardennes Counteroffensive since December 17; it began converting to Fw 190 D-9s.
On January 1, 1945, the Gruppe together with III./JG 54, was engaged in Operation Bodenplatte, targeting Grimbergen Airfield, practically vacant at that time. The operation turned out an abject failure: the attack team lost 21 fighters (with a further two damaged) and 17 pilots to enemy AA fire and fighters en-route and over the target, claiming only 6 enemy aircraft.
After the failure of the Ardennes operation, I./JG 26 had been stationed in Fürstenau until March 25, when it was forced to start changing airfields, retreating to northern Germany alongside ground troops. On May 2, 1945, the Gruppe relocated to Flensburg near the Danish border, where on May 7, it surrendered to the British troops."