Kampfgeschwader 26 (KG 26) "Löwengeschwader"''' (in English Bomber Wing 26 aka "Lions' Wing" by virtue of its insignia) was a German air force Luftwaffe bomber wing unit during World War II. Its units participated on all of the fronts in the European Theatre until the end of the war. It operated three of the major German aircraft medium bomber types; the Heinkel He 111, Junkers Ju 88 and the Junkers Ju 188. The unit engaged in both strategic bombing, close air support, anti-shipping and aerial interdiction operations. The majority of its operational life – not entirely unlike another Luftwaffe wing designated KG 40 — was spent on anti-shipping missions.
History
Kampfgeschwader 26 was formed on 1 May 1939 at Lüneburg with Stab./KG 26 and I. Gruppe (Group). II. Gruppe was formed near Lübeck Blankensee. III Gruppe was not formed until 1 November 1939 near Jesau (Kaliningrad Oblast). It was disbanded as redesignated K.Gr. 126. The Gruppe second formation took place on 20 February 1940 at Lübeck.
War Time Service
Poland
During the Polish Campaign Stab./KG 26 operated from Gabbert under 1. Fliegerdivision (1st. Air Division), Luftflotte 1 (Air Fleet 1). On 7 September the unit was placed under the command of 2. Fliegerdivision, Luftflotte 4. Stab./KG 26 was ordered to Lübeck-Blankensee in North West Germany on 12 September to begin operations in the North Sea. II. Gruppe had 35 Heinkel He 111s with 31 serviceable on 1 September 1939. Based at Gabbert-Pomerania under 1. Fliegerdivision, Luftflotte 1. It attacked targets around Poznań throughout the campaign, attacking railway targets and Polish Army troop concentrations in the path of the German Fourth Army's advance between 2–4 September. Operations shifted to airfields on 4–5 September in the Łódź and Warsaw area. On 7 September the units assaulted rail targets in the Lvov area in support of the German Fourteenth Army. I./KG 26 was withdrawn from operations over Poland on 12 September.
North Sea operations
Stab./KG 26 began operations from the Lübeck base under the command of 10. Fliegerdivision on 12 September. I./KG 26 had played no part in the Polish Campaign. It had been ordered to Lübeck with 36 He 111s, 32 serviceable, under the command of 4. Fliegerdivision Luftflotte 2 for anti-shipping operations. On 1 September the unit conducted a reconnaissance over the Thames Estuary. 1.Staffel attacked the Royal Navy aircraft carrier on 26 September. 3. Staffel conducted anti-shipping missions against Britain's east coast with some success.
On 28 October 1939, a Heinkel He 111H bomber from KG 26, bearing the Geschwaderkennung of 1H+JA (the "A" denoting the Geschwaderstab or command flight), officially became the first German aircraft to be shot down on British soil by the Royal Air Force. As it returned from a reconnaissance over the Firth of Clyde, Supermarine Spitfire fighters of 602 and 603 Squadron intercepted the bomber over Inchkeith. It crash landed near the small hamlet of Humbie, near the town of Dalkeith in East Lothian, Scotland, and is often referred to as the 'Humbie Heinkel'. Archie McKellar was credited with the victory.
On 22 February 1940, a Heinkel He 111 bomber from KG 26 bombed and sank the , who lost 280 of her crew and was survived by 60. During operations to save the crew, the also sank when it hit a mine, losing all hands. A post-war investigation determined that she had drifted into a newly laid British minefield. Hitler ordered a court of inquiry to be convened to investigate the cause of the losses and it concluded that both ships that been sunk by bombs from the He 111. The Kriegsmarine had failed to notify its destroyers that the Luftwaffe was making anti-shipping patrols at that time and had also failed to inform the Luftwaffe that its destroyers would be at sea.
3. Staffel sank five small vessels near the Firth of Forth on 7 December 1939. On 16 March 1940 3.Staffel attacked Scapa Flow and hit and one other ship, though the latter was not significantly damaged.