The Battle of Britain will be remembered as one of the most important battles ever fought. It is the setting for "Eagles of the West", which portrays the Luftwaffe’s leading Battle of Britain Ace - Helmut Wick. Recently promoted Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG2 ‘Richthofen’, Wick is seen leading a group of Bf109s back to their base in Normandy following a sweep over the English Channel and Normandy coast during the closing stages of the battle.
Following a promotion to Major and appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG2 – the youngest Luftwaffe officer to hold such a position - Wick’s luck ran out on 28 November 1940, he was shot down and killed in an encounter with Spitfires near the Isle of Wight.

Helmut Wick

In January 1939, he was transferred to 1./JG 53, flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 under the command of Werner Mölders. Wick was transferred to JG 2 on 30 August 1939, assigned to 3./JG 2 and served with the unit in the air defence of Berlin during the Polish Campaign. He recorded his and the Geschwader’s first victory on 22 November 1939 when he shot down a French Hawk 75 fighter near Strasbourg. He was particularly successful during the French campaign recording 12 confirmed and two unconfirmed victories, including four French fighters shot down on 5 June to record his fourth through seventh victories and his 10th victory shot down on 8 June. Wick was to have continued success during the Battle of Britain. He was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 2 on 1 August 1940, although he had been leading the unit since 23 June. He recorded his 19th and 20th victories on 25 August and on 26 August claimed a further two to take his score 22. For this feat, Oberleutnant Wick was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 27 August 1940. On 4 September 1940, he received promotion to the rank of Hauptmann and took command of 6./JG 2.

Wick was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 2 on 9 September. On 5 October, he shot down five RAF fighters in the Isle of Wight areag gaining him the immediate award of the Eichenlaub. Further promotion followed and, at 25 years of age, Wick was the youngest Major in the Wehrmacht. Wick was appointed Kommodore of JG 2 on 20 October 1940.

On 28 November 1940, Wick achieved his 55th victory to become the leading fighter ace in the world. Later in the day Wick scored his 56th victory, a Spitfire. In turn, his aircraft was shot down by British ace Flight Lieutenant John Dundas of 609 Squadron, RAF. Wick was seen to bale out over the Channel but his body was never recovered.

Siegfried Lemke

In the autumn of 1942, Unteroffizier Lemke was posted to the first staffel of Jagdgeschwader 2, based on the French coast. His was to remain with JG2 throughout the rest of the war. His first victory came on 12 March 1943 when he downed an RAF Spitfire near Fécamp. He was promoted to Staffelführer of his squadron on 12 September 1943.
In late January 1944, his squadron was transferred to the south of France. On 9 February 1944 Lemke shot down four Spitfires southeast of Cannes - one of which was flown by American pilot Bob Hoover - to move his tally to 19 victories. His squadron were again transferred to Italy to counter the Allied landings at Anzio. In March, 1944. By the early summer of 1944, Lemke's squadron was again moved, this time to Creil, an airfield north of Paris. On 14 June 1944 Leutnant Lemke was awarded the Ritterkreuz for his then tally of 47 victories and shortly after on 23 June he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG2.
Lemke flew a total of 325 combat missions and ultimately reached 70 victories, including 25 Spitfires, eight P-47 Thunderbolts, six P-51 Mustangs and at least five four-engine bombers (B-17s).

Günther Rall

Günther Rall was a young pilot with III./JG52 at the outbreak of war, and quickly demonstrated his natural ability and leadership qualities. He scored his first victory early in the Battle of France, and by July 1940 was leading 8./JG52. After transferring to the Eastern Front his victories soon mounted but he was hospitalized following a crash. Returning to combat as Kommandeur of III./JG52, he gained the Wing's 500th victory, before being posted Kommandeur of II./JG11 on the Western Front, flying high altitude intercepts in Me109Gs. He was later Kommandeur of JG300, and finished the war as the 3rd highest Ace in history with 275 victories.
He was awarded the Knight ’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Hermann Neuhoff

At the outbreak of World War Two, Neuhoff was serving with 3./JG 53. but was later transferred to III./JG 53. He recorded his first victory on 2 March 1940 when he shot down an RAF Hurricane southwest of Diedenhofen. He added a further four victories during the French campaign and participated in the Battle of Britain gaining a further four victories. Operating over the Eastern front, Neuhoff gained considerable success, reaching 30 victories. Neuhoff accompanied III./JG 53 when it was relocated to the Mediterranean theatre in November 1941. Following a lengthy spell of instruction and officer training Neuhoff returned to combat duty in March 1942. III./JG 53 was now based in Sicily operating over Malta and Neuhoff claimed four RAF fighters shot down over and around the island. On 9 April, Neuhoff was appointed acting Staffelkapitän of 6./JG 53. Neuhoff led his new Staffel over Malta and attacked three RAF Spitfire fighters. During the subsequent combat Neuhoff was shot down. He baled out to become a prisoner of war.

Neuhoff was credited with 40 victories in 452 missions. He recorded 23 victories over the Eastern front.

Erich Rudorffer

Erich Rudorffer began his career with JG2 during the Battle of France, he then served in the Battle of Britain alongside top aces such as Helmut Wick and Gunther Seeger. His Gruppe was then relocated to northern Africa. Now flying the heavily-armed Fw190, he began to demonstrate his skill at downing a number of aircraft on a single sortie. On the 9th February 1943 he claimed eight British aircraft.

By June of the same year, Rudorffer had moved to the Eastern Front, assuming command of II/JG54, the famous ‘Green Hearts’, and continued to display his remarkable ability. On the 6th November 1943, he tangled with a large force of Soviet aircraft and shot down no fewer than thirteen of them, a record for a single mission. Shortly after, he was given the command of I/JG7, flying the potent Me262 jet fighter in which he shot down a further twelve aircraft. By the war’s end, Erich Rudorffer had flown more than 1000 sorties, scored 222 victories and was the seventh-highest Ace in the history of aerial combat

Hugo Dahmer

Hugo Dahmer was born on 7 May 1918 at Koblenz. Dahmer initially served with 4./JG 26. Unteroffizier Dahmer recorded his first victory on 16 May 1940 when he shot down aFrench Morane 406 over Tournai. In August, he transferred to 6./JG 26. He performed well during the Battle of Britain taking his score to nine by the end of September 1940.
On 1 February 1941, Dahmer was transferred to 1./JG 77 based in Norway. He flew with the unit during the invasion of Russia, claiming 11 victories during the first three weeks of the campaign. In March 1942, 1./JG 77 was redesignated 6./JG 5. Oberfeldwebel Dahmer was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 30 July for 22 victories. Dahmer rejoined JG 26 based on the Channel front in December 1942 but transferred to JG 2 a few weeks later. He recorded his 39th victory in January 1943 and, at the beginning of March, shot down two USAAF B-17 four-engined bombers in one mission over Brittany in France. Dahmer was appointed Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 2 on 17 August 1943. On 11 September, he was badly wounded in combat with RAF Spitfires near Rouen and spent the rest of the war instructing at fighter schools. Hugo Dahmer was credited with 45 victories in 307 missions although some sources quote his score as 57.

Ernest Giefing

Ernest Giefing was born on February 7th, 1924 in Stockerau, Austria. After graduating from flight school he
joined the training unit "Jagdschule 107" in July, 1943 and later joined "Jagdschule 107" as a flying instructor. Five months later, Giefing was posted to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG2), followed by a posting to JG 7 in December, 1944. Ernest Giefing held the rank of Flight Sergeant by the end of the war, having flown approximately 75 combat missions including 12 in Me262 jets, and gaining four confirmed aerial victories, two in the Me262 and two flying the Me109. Ernest Giefing was shot down four times, the fourth time on March 24th, 1945 - the day of his last combat mission.