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Bf 109G-5/U2, WNr. 27112, Maj. Walther Dahl, CO of III./JG 3, Bad Wörishofen,
Germany, December 1943
Bf 109G-5, WNr. 110047, Ofw. Hanns-Werner Gross, 1./JG 300,
Bonn-Hangelar, Germany, March 1944
Walther Dahl was born on March 27, 1916, in
Lug. On May 1, 1939, he joined the Luftwaffe
and became a fighter pilot. In May 1941, he was
transferred to JG 3. Dahl achieved his first victory
on June 22, 1941, in the Soviet Union and his last
on April 26, 1945. On July 20, 1943, he became
commander of III./JG 3 on the Eastern Front.
In August his unit moved to Western Europe, at
that time armed with Bf 109G-6s. In October his
unit also received three G-5 version aircraft and
by the end of the year the number had increased to
nine. His rudder shows 52 Eastern Front victories
instead of the 51 he was credited with. Images
of the aircraft were taken sometimes between
October 14 and December 19, 1943, during which
time it achieved its fourth and fifth victories
against American bombers. His total score was
128 kills, and he was awarded the Knight’s Cross
with Oak Leaves. Bf 109G-5 WNr. 27112 has RLM 76
paint on all surfaces, only the right, lower half of
the wing is black. Maj. Walther Dahl survived the
war and died on November 25, 1985.
This unusual camouflage scheme was seen on
several JG 300 aircraft. These were deployed
for night operational flights. The upper surfaces
were painted over with RLM 76 and grey wavy
lines. The exact shade used for the waves is
unknown, but it was probably RLM 75 or RLM 74.
The bottom surfaces were black. Hanns-Werner
Gross was apparently shot down in this aircraft
(WNr. 110047) over Pfungstadt near Darmstadt
on March 18, 1944. His conqueror was probably
a Mustang pilot from the 4th FG. Gross landed in
a treetop on a parachute and was hanging some
15 meters above the ground in a landscape where
there were hardly any trees. He lost his shoes
during the jump. Soldiers, who at first thought
him an enemy, helped him down and villagers
found both his shoes. Gross continued to serve
in I./JG 300 and in the last months of the war he
converted for Me 262 jet.
KITS 01/2024
INFO Eduard42
January 2024