Welcome to the Homebase of Stab/JG52
We are an international squadron currently flying and fighting for the German Luftwaffe in the combat flight simulator IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover. Our squadron's members come from all around the globe including the USA, Australia, England, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Romania and Estonia.
Our squadron was formed by XRay and Molders in the early days of Janes WWII Fighters at HyperLobby. Both were previously members of JG26 "The Abbeville Boys" and since they both were passionate about Luftwaffe aircraft, they decided to form another online axis squadron like JG26.
In Janes WWII Fighters, the only flyable aircraft (without some trick modifications) were fighters, hence the name. The only flyable Luftwaffe propeller driven planes were the Bf109G-6 and the FW190A-8. So it was only natural that a fighter squadron should be formed. And with the pursuit of excellence in mind, and since it was not taken at that time, it seemed fitting to adopt JG52.
Although the real JG52 never had a catchy nick-name, it was decided that our squad would adopt one. Contrary to what many might believe, the nick-name isn't totally in reference to the FW190 which was also known as "the Butcher Bird" (also XRay's plane of choice), only partly. We use it more to identify the group of pilots forming our squadron and loosely as a term similar to "War Birds". And thus, JG52 "The ButcherBirds" was born.
As Paul Harvey would say, "And now you know the rest of the story..."
One might also point out that the real JG52 didn't fly any other aircraft than the Bf109 in combat, although some of its members had --at one time or another-- flown others like the FW190 and Ju87. This was largely due to the fact that JG52 wasn't supplied with any other type and that later, if given the opportunity to choose a different type of fighter, they often preferred to stick with the Bf109. However, we DO have access to the different Luftwaffe planes in the sims and we DO exercise our freedom to fly them. So in that regard, we aren't one of those 100% historically accurate squadrons that only use 1 type of aircraft. We do however stay primarily with Luftwaffe aircraft unless the situation calls for something different (IE - flying Allied in order to keep teams even, flying on Pacific maps where Japanese planes are the only ones available to us, etc.)
As a group, we highly prize and promote comradery, loyalty, trust, and the pursuit of excellence. And in addition to our love of German aircraft we also love the spirit of the game and the thrill of the hunt. Many of us have been flying together online for years and have formed very strong bonds as friends that will undoubtedly last for many more years to come. And in some cases, we are even family, fathers & sons, brothers & sisters (yes, we also accept female pilots).
OUR MOTTO: "Fly With The Best Or Die Like The Rest"
Yes, we know it sounds like the old USAF motto. So? Some of our members ARE or HAVE BEEN U.S. military personnel and they don't have a problem with it. In some cases it was even what attracted them to us.
You can interpret our motto either way...
A) The real JG52 produced the highest scoring fighter aces of all time.
B) We're not necessarily claiming that WE ARE the best, but we always strive to DO our best and try to improve ourselves as virtual WWII pilots. However, there are some amongst our ranks that ARE considered by the online flight-sim community to be "Aces" in online wars such as Bellum, VWF, etc.
I think it is best put into perspective by a passage from "Germany's Mother of Aces":
"And for every ace, scores of JG52 pilots died before they could gain that necessary level of combat savvy."
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