Jagdgeschwader 400

Jagdgeschwader 400
JG 400 Emblem: Baron Munchausen's cannonball ride
Active1944–45
Country Nazi Germany
BranchLuftwaffe
TypeFighter Aircraft
RoleAir superiority
SizeAir Force Wing
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Wolfgang Späte
Aircraft flown
FighterMe 163

Jagdgeschwader 400 (JG 400) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. JG 400 was formed on 1 February 1944 in Brandis with Stab only for the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket fighter, as the only military aviation unit of any size in history, to actively use rocket-powered combat aircraft in wartime.

Major Wolfgang Späte, of JG 54 was transferred into the experimental flying unit Erprobungskommando 16 at Bad Zwischenahn in Northern Germany, where the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was under development and tactical testing.

Once the Me 163B was declared operational in July 1944, Späte was given command of the formally raised JG 400, ultimately the only front-line unit to use the Me 163 operationally.

Due to the meteoric rate of climb and limited endurance of the Komet, the Luftwaffe intended to locate individual Staffeln of Komets at strategic points in Germany to intercept Allied bomber formations en route to targets. JG 400 was initially based at Venlo, Netherlands, before moving to Brandis near Leipzig, Germany.