3—3rd Fighter Wing) on 9 May 1941. The Ergänzungsgruppe of JG 3, a supplementary training group, was formed in April 1941 in Krakau, present-day Kraków, under the command of Major Alfred Müller. The Gruppe was made up of two Staffeln (squadrons): The first squadron, designated 1. (Ergänzungsstaffel) or 1. Erg./JG 3, under the command of Haupmann Hans-Curt Graf von Sponeck, son of Hans Graf von Sponeck, was detached in January 1942 and a new created in February 1942 under command of Oberleuntnant Heinz Bohatsch. The second squadron, designated 2. (Ergänzungsstaffel) or 2. Erg./JG 3, was placed under the command of Oberleutnant Erwin Neuerburg. In July, the Ergänzungsgruppe was ordered to the Netherlands, providing fighter escort for German shipping on the English Channel. While the Stab (headquarters unit) and 2. Staffel were based at Amsterdam-Schiphol Airfield, 1. Staffel operated from an airfield at Bergen aan Zee near Alkmaar. On 20 August, ten Royal Air Force (RAF) Bristol Blenheim bombers, escorted by Supermarine Spitfire fighters, attacked 1. Staffels airfield at Bergen aan Zee. Defending against this attack, Kirschner claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down one of the escorting Spitfire fighters. In total, he flew 27 combat missions while assigned to the Ergänzungsgruppe. On 22 December, he was transferred to 5. Staffel of JG 3. At the time, this squadron was headed by Oberleutnant Harald Moldenhauer and subordinated to II. Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 3 commanded by Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Krahl. At the time of Kirschner's posting to II. Gruppe, the unit was based at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment after it had returned to Germany from the Eastern Front. In January 1942, II. Gruppe was ordered to move to Sicily. The Luftwaffe concentrated many units in Sicily, placed them under the command of II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps), in order to defeat the RAF in the Siege of Malta. Equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 trop, the Gruppe and their equipment travelled by train to Bari in southern Italy. There the aircraft were reassembled and flown to Comiso Airfield, Sicily. The transfer was completed on 24 January and the Gruppe was then placed under the command of the Geschwaderstab of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) which was already stationed there. On 26 March, II. Gruppe escorted Junkers Ju 87 to Malta. On this mission, Kirschner shot down a Spitfire fighter northwest of La