Markingy for Bf 109G-10 WNF/Diana 1/72
WNr. 610487, Lt. Heinz Ewald, II./JG 52, Veszprém, Hungary, February 1945
Heinz Ewald was born on September 1, 1922, in Zoppot (Sopot), Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk). On December 1, 1941, he volunteered for military service and, after basic training with Fl.Ausb.Rgt. 23, underwent pilot training. In the fall of 1943, he was assigned to 6./JG 52 on the Eastern Front, where he often flew as a wingman to Gerhard Barkhorn. On November 12, 1943, he achieved his first aerial victory. On June 24, 1944, he suffered serious injuries, after downing a B-24 bomber near Ploiești, he was himself shot down by escorting fighters. Following his recovery, he returned in October 1944 to II./JG 52, which was then stationed in Hungary. He recorded his 50th aerial victory on January 2, 1945, and achieved five more victories the following day. In the final months of the war, he was involved in the defence of Vienna. His 84th and last victory was achieved on April 16, 1945. Four days later, Ewald was awarded the Knight’s Cross. Throughout his career, he was shot down several times and earned a reputation as a lucky pilot.
WNr. 612769, 101. vadászezred, Neubiberg, Germany, May 1945
In the end of March 1945, the remaining Hungarian units were concentrated at Tulln airport in Austria from where they flew sorties to the areas of Vienna and Brno. After the front approached Tulln on April 5, 1945, they relocated to Raffelding airport, from where they continued in the air support of the land forces in the vicinity of Vienna. At the end of the war, the Hungarian airmen, same as their German comrades-in-arms, better surrendered to the American Army than to Soviet one, therefore the 101. vadászezred pilots flew over to the Bavarian Neubiberg with their remaining aircraft. Airframes manufactured in Diana plant were camouflaged in the same colors as the airframes from Wiener Neustadt plant. From the photographs of Red 12 it is obvious that the Hungarian national markings were spray-painted directly on the factory camouflage. The German markings were not applied at all. Part of the wing undersurfaces remained in the natural metal color.
WNr. 611975, Stab II./JG 52, Neubiberg, Germany, May 1945
The markings on this aircraft identify it as the wingman of the commander of II./JG 52, Maj. Wilhelm Batz. Batz was assigned to the staff of II./JG 52 on the Eastern Front in February 1943. He achieved his first victory on March 11, 1943, and was appointed commander of 5./JG 52 in May. By March 1944, he had achieved his 100th victory and was made commander of III./JG 52 in April. In early February 1945, he assumed command of II./JG 52, which at the time was fighting in Hungary. His final 237th victory was recorded on April 16, 1945. Five days later, he was awarded the Swords to the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves. On May 8, 1945, Batz and his unit flew into captivity, transferring from Zeltweg in Austria to Bad Aibling in Bavaria, accompanied by a formation of Thunderbolts during the final leg of the journey. This particular aircraft was photographed at Neubiberg airfield near Munich. The pilot who flew this plane into captivity was Uffz. Anton Kellmayer (3 victories) of 7./JG 52.
WNr. 611xx2, Jasta 5 der ROA, Deutsch Brod, Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren, May 1945
Jasta 5 of the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) was stationed at the base in Deutsch Brod (now Havlíčkův Brod) in occupied Bohemia at the beginning of March 1945. Along with Ju 87D-5 dive bombers of Nachtschlachtstaffel 8 der ROA, the Jasta 5 der ROA participated in the retreat battles of German forces during the Battle of Brno in April 1945. The unit was commanded by Major Semyon Trofimovich Bychkov, a former Soviet pilot. Flying Hurricane, Yak-7, and La-5 planes, he achieved 15 victories, completed 230 combat missions, and was awarded the prestigious title of Hero of the Soviet Union. While serving with the 482nd IAP, he was shot down by flak and captured on December 10, 1943. Initially cooperating with the Luftwaffe as ferry pilot, he later took part in anti-partisan aerial operations in the Baltic region and ultimately became the commander of the Jasta 5 fighter unit, nicknamed Oberst Kazakov. At the end of the war, he surrendered to Americans but was later handed over to the Soviets and executed on November 4, 1946. This Bf 109, in the typical camouflage pattern of machines produced at the WNF factory, bore the ROA markings on the tail in the form of a St. Andrew’s cross.
II./JG 52, Ainring, Germany, May 1945
This Bf 109 was delivered to I./JG 53 at the end of December 1944. There it received the unit’s insignia on the nose, a spade ace, along with a yellow band. The fuselage was marked with Stab designations, and the rudder was painted yellow, with the first digit 6 of the serial number visible on the left side of the fin and the last digit 8 on the right side. Likely in April 1945, after the dissolution of I./JG 53, the aircraft was transferred to II./JG 52. Here, the markings of the previous unit were painted over with camouflage paint. The primary focus of operations conducted by II./JG 52 in 1945 was combat against Red Army forces in Hungary and Austria. In April 1945, II./JG 52 briefly operated from the territory of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, conducting missions in support of German forces against the Soviet offensive during the battles for Brno. A photograph captured the aircraft marked as Yellow 6 on May 8, 1945, at Ainring airfield in Bavaria.
Avia S-99.21, Police Air Patrol Unit, Czechoslovak Police Air Force, Prague-Ruzyně, 1947-1950
This aircraft was the last unit assembled in the spring of 1947 at the Avia factory in Čakovice. After test flights and inspections, it was located at Ruzyně Airport in mid-July 1947, where it served with the Czechoslovak Police (SNB) Air Force until the summer of 1950 (with a one-and-a-half-year break for repairs following a crash). From mid-December 1947, the Czechoslovak Police Air Force was renamed to the Aviation Security Corps of the Ministry of the Interior (BL, Bezpečnostní letectvo ministerstva vnitra). The aircraft was painted steel gray on the upper and side surfaces, with the undersides coated in a darker gray color. The aircraft operated by the SNB/BL patrols had engine cowlings, wing leading edges, and horizontal stabilizers, including elevators, painted scarlet red. Registration markings on the sides of the fuselage and on the upper and lower wing surfaces were applied in the same red color with a white outline. The national insignia took the shape of a rounded triangle, which was standard for Police Air Patrol Unit. On this particular Avia, the insignia lacked the white outline.