Signature: Jabs, Hans-Joachim

After seeing combat as a pilot in Czechoslovakia and the great air battles over France and Belgium, Hans-Joachim Jabs flew the Messerschmitt Me110 Zerstorer throughout the Battle of Britain with II./ZG76 Sharks Gruppe. During this time he shot down eight Spitfires and four Hurricanes and was awarded the Knights Cross in October 1940. Hans-Joachim Jabs retrained as a night fighter pilot, briefly returning to daylight operations to escort the German capital ships on the famous Channel Dash. He became Kommandeur of IV./NJG1, and from March 1944, Kommodore. He was awarded Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross in March 1944. In April 1944 he acheived two remarkable day victories, both over Spitfires. Hans-Joachim Jabs flew 710 missions and scored 22 day and 28 night victories. Born 14th November 1917, died 26th October 2003. Born in Lubeck Germany in 1917, Han-Joachim Jabs, one of the highest scoring Bf- 110 aces to survive the War, joined the Luftwaffe in late 1936. He was originally trained as a Bf-109 pilot, but in March of 1940 he was transferred to ZG-76 which flew the Bf- 110, twin-engine fighter. Jabs honed his fighter pilot skills during the Battle of France, during which he downed four French fighters and two Spitfires, making him an ace. As the Battle of Britain commenced, most Bf-110s were initially assigned the role of escort for German bombers. Pitted against large numbers of Hurricanes and Spitfires flown by well-trained pilots of the RAF, many of these Zerstorer pilots would not survive the Battle of Britain. Hans-Joachim Jabs was an exception. He was one of the few German Bf-110 aces to attain numerous victories against Hurricanes and Spitfires during the Battle of Britain, during which he downed eight Spitfires and four Hurricanes. Downing the superior-performing Spitfires and Hurricanes in the twin-engine Bf-110 was considered by fellow Zerstorer pilots as the ultimate achievement of a fighter pilot. However, by mid 1941 it was very clear that the Bf-110 needed to be withdrawn from front-line daytime fighter service. Many 110s were retrofitted for the night fighter role, where the aircraft would not encounter fighter opposition. Jabs was retrained in late 1941, and he joined NJG-3 in the defense of Hamburg from the RAF night bombing attacks. He did participate in a daylight mission to provide air cover for the famed Channel Dash of the Prinz Eugen and several other capital ships. Jabs had few good scoring opportunities until he was transferred to NJG-1 operating in Holland. This unit was equipped with a later variant of the 110 with better radar and with heavier armament. Jabs night fighter score began to mount, with most of his victims being RAF bombers. By January of 1944 he had attained a total of 44 victories. He was promoted to Kommodore of NJG-1, but continued to fly missions with the men under his command. Major Heinz Schnaufer, the top-scoring night fighter ace of all-time, with 121 victories, served for a while under Jabs' command. While preparing to return from a mission on April 29, 1944, Jabs' 110 was jumped by several Spitfires. Turning into the enemy and firing with his long range cannons, Jabs bagged one the Spitfires, and temporarily sent the others scurrying. The Spitfires regrouped and once again Jabs turned into them and downed one of his pursuers. The ace's 110 had taken quite a few hits and Jabs now desperately tried to return to his base. He was able to land the badly shot-up aircraft and seek cover before the remaining Spitfires strafed his Zerstorer into a burning piece of rubble. Jabs' final victories came on the night of February 21, 1945, when he downed two Lancasters. Jabs total of fifty aerial victories, which included twenty-two daytime victories and twenty-eight night fighter victories were all attained in the Bf-110. Following the end of the War, Jabs began a new life as a businessman and public servant. Jabs married in 1940 and has two sons. He died 23th October 2003.