Taghon, Peter -La Kampfgeschwader 54. L'escadre à la tête de mort - Volume 1

Kampfgeschwader 54, the Totenkopfgeschwader, is a unit well known to Second World War air war enthusiasts, given its skull and crossbones insignia inherited from hussar squadrons. But, above all, KG 54 distinguished itself as one of the few Luftwaffe squadrons to have fought from the first to the last day of the conflict - albeit in various forms and with often varying numbers of personnel.
The offspring of KG 254, KG 54 got off to a modest start with a single Gruppe engaged in September 1939 in Poland. In April 1940, its second Gruppe, formed during the Phony War, took part in the fighting in Scandinavia. Then, the following month, the squadron was increased to three Gruppes and launched in the Westfeldzug: the Great Western Campaign.
With its third Gruppe disbanded after suffering greatly throughout the May/June engagements, KG 54 fought in the Battle of Britain, continuing its missions over England during the Night Blitz.
In June 1941, the two Gruppe called up in the USSR during Barbarossa fought vigorously, multiplying their missions but suffering such heavy losses that they were recalled to the Reich at the end of the year. However, the military situation had become such that the Totenkopf was forced to disperse its forces, with I/KG 54 moving to the Mediterranean and II/KG 54 returning to the USSR (although it did have a brief stay in France). During the fighting on Malta, I/KG 54 operated in conjunction with K.Gr. 806, then renamed III/KG 54. These two Gruppe supported Field Marshal Rommel's Afrika Korps before being joined in 1943 in Sicily by the II./KG 54, the squadron taking part in the final battles over Africa (Tunisia).
Now fully manned, 54 Squadron fought the Allied landings in Sicily before falling back to the Italian mainland.
The Totenkopf left the Mediterranean for good at the end of 1943, returning west. But it was to operate on England as part of the bloody Steinbock operation. Casualties were so high that II/KG 54 was disbanded in April 1944. Two months later, a squadron once again reduced to two Gruppes faced the Allied landings in Normandy on missions that were just as costly in terms of men and equipment.
Fighting tooth and nail, KG 54 returned to the Reich where, in September 1944, it became a fighter unit equipped with the famous Me 262 jet. However, the aircraft still suffered from serious youth diseases, and KG (J) 54 (despite having been reinforced by a second Gruppe) was hardly able to stand out against the vastly superior Allied air force, and was decimated. On 8 May 1945, the surviving personnel of the skull and crossbones squadron surrendered, their numbers having been dispersed mainly to Austria and Czechoslovakia.