page_title: Jagdgeschwader 11
section_title: Bomber interception tactics of JG 11
hierarchical_section_title: Jagdgeschwader 11 / Bomber interception tactics of JG 11
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Focke Wulf 190 mit 21cm Wurfgranate 42 Details der Aufhängung und Mechanismus
context_page_description: Jagdgeschwader 11 was a fighter wing of the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Its primary role was the defense of Northern Germany against Allied day bomber raids. Formed in April 1943 as a split from Jagdgeschwader 1, the unit primarily used the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
  The unit was initially based along the North German coast, protecting the northern flank of occupied Europe. During the summer of 1943, as the unescorted bombers penetrated deeper into Germany, JG 11 saw intensive action, with about 40 percent of some 1,200 claims submitted by the Western Front fighter wings in this period being credited to JG 1 and JG 11.
  JG 11 trialled new tactics such as dropping 250 kg bombs on top of the bomber formations or using the heavy-calibre Werfer-Granate 21 unguided, underwing-launched rockets. In spring of 1944 the introduction of P-51 Mustang made the job of units such as JG 11 very difficult as they fought through the escorts to reach the bombers. Several measures were introduced to counter the bomber offensive such as the introduction of Bf 109–G high altitude aircraft with a pressurized cockpit.
context_section_description: As JG 11 formed in 1943 the bombers of Eighth Air Force were starting to extend their bombing operations, and JG 11 pilots avoided combat until the escorts were forced to break off.
  As a means of combating the massed firepower of bomber streams, JG 11 personnel trialed the viability of bombing the formations from above with 250 kg bombs, a practice pioneered by Luftwaffe Oberleutnant Heinz Knoke in March 1943. On 28 July 1943 Unteroffizier Fest of 5./JG 11 claimed three B-17's with a single bomb. However the loss in performance of the bomb-laden Bf 109's, along with their vulnerability to escorting fighters, soon curtailed the practice. 5./JG 11 were at the forefront of tactical developments for effectively intercepting the day bomber formations. The most effective tactic were mass frontal assaults, while other methods trialed were the use of the aforementioned BR 21 heavy-calibre rocket ordnance. These were inaccurate but were used primarily to break up the bomber formations.
caption: Picture from the Technical Specifications of underwing mortar WGr 21.
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