Gruppe of JG 3 fighters near Pas-de-Calais, Wessling claimed a Hawker Hurricane fighter shot down. On 15 February, III. Gruppe was withdrawn from the English Channel. The remaining serviceable aircraft were transferred to Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). The Gruppe then traveled to Gütersloh Airfield by train. The pilots then went on a skiing vacation in Kleinwalsertal from 8 to 26 March. On 17 April, the Gruppe was reequipped with Bf 109 F-2. On 3 May, the Gruppe was again sent to France were they were based at Auchy-au-Bois. On 21 May, the RAF launched "Circus" No. 10 which sent eleven bombers from No. 21 and six bombers No. 110 Squadron to bomb the power station, benzole refinery at Gosnay. Defending against this attack, Wessling shot down the Blenheim bomber V6390 from No. 110 Squadron. The Gruppe flew its last mission against the RAF on 7 June. In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, III. Gruppe was ordered to relocate east on 9 June. During the layover at Straubing, the commanding officer of 9. Staffel, Oberleutnant Max Jaczak, who had led the Staffel since 30 October 1940, was killed in a flying accident. In consequence, command of 9. Staffel was passed to Oberleutnant Viktor Bauer before the Gruppe continued their journey to Breslau-Schöngarten Airfield, present-day Copernicus Airport Wrocław. War against the Soviet Union The Gruppe relocated to an airfield at Moderówka on 18 June where the Gruppe concluded their last preparations for Operation Barbarossa. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 was subordinated to the V. Fliegerkorps (5th Air Corps), under command of General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, which was part of Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under command of Generaloberst Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South), with the objective of capturing the Ukraine and its capital Kiev. Wessling claimed his first aerial victory of the campaign on 3 October. By then, the Gruppe was based at Gluchow and was engaged in the Battle of Moscow. That day, he was claimed an I-17 fighter, an early war designation for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1. On 5 October, Wessling claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft destroyed. Wessling claimed his next aerial victories in March 1942 while German forces were fighting in the Demyansk Pocket, an area southeast of Lake Ilmen. The Gruppe had been moved to an airfield at Soltsy on 10