first success when he shot down two B-24s over Budapest on 2 July. Reschke rammed a B-24 on 7 July when his guns malfunctioned, successfully baling out of his stricken fighter. On 8 July 1944 I./JG 302 took off from Götzendorf under Hpt. Heinrich Würzer to intercept 15th Air Force heavy bombers over Bratislava and Vienna. The unit claimed nine B-24s and three B-17s, with I./ JG 302 losing one pilot killed and four wounded. On this day Hpt. Wurzer shot down two B-24s. However, he was wounded in the right arm during this combat and had to make an emergency landing with his Bf 109 G-6 near the Götzendorft airfield. On 25 July 1944 420 B-17s and B-24s bombed the tank factories in Linz while other bombers hit the Villach marshalling yards. Nearly 200 Luftwaffe fighters opposed the attacks, drawn from II./ JG 27, Stab, I. and II./JG 300 and I./ JG 302. 16 bombers were downed, while the USAAF bombers and escort fighters claimed over 60 fighters shot down. I./ JG 302 lost four killed, two wounded, and 12 planes lost for six bombers claimed destroyed. On 24 August, Reschke claimed a further B-24 but shortly afterwards, during an attack on a second, his aircraft was hit by return fire, and he baled out when P-51 fighters attacked his Bf 109. Hpt. Wurzer was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 302 on 28 August 1944. In September I./JG 302 was reformed as III./JG 301 and re-equipped with the Fw 190 A-8. A new commander, Ritterkreuz holder Hpt. Wilhelm Fulda (one victory), was appointed to lead the unit. Commanding officers Major Ewald Janssen, November 1943 – February 1944 Major Kurd Peters, February 1944 – June 1944 References Citations Bibliography Reschke, Willi (2011). Chronik Jagdgeschwader 301/302 "Wilde Sau" (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. . Fighter wings of the Luftwaffe 1933-1945 Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944