Markings for Bf 109G-6 1/48
COL A
Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 18107, Uffz. Georg Amon, 7./JG 53, Torazzo-Catania, Sicily, June 1943
Georg Amon was born on July 1, 1920. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1941 and began fighter training in January 1942. In September 1942, he was assigned to 7./JG 53, which was then operating in the African theater. In the summer of 1943, the Luftwaffe was under great pressure from Allied air raids, resulting in the withdrawal from the African theatre of operations and the subsequent capture of Sicily as German forces retreated to Italy. This aircraft was manufactured in April or early May 1943 at the Messerschmitt plant in Regensburg. The camouflage of RLM 74, 75 and 76 colors was complemented by splotches of RLM 02 on the fuselage sides. The color of the limbs of the Spade floating in the boat is not completely confirmed, the blue color is based on the theory that der Seemann (sailor), which was Amon’s nickname, wore blue clothing. The aircraft was lost on July 3, 1943, when Uffz. Walter Reinicke was shot down flying it, thus falling in captivity. In January 1944, Georg Amon began working as a fighter instructor in the south of France. The last day of Georg Amon’s wartime career was April 2, 1945. He was shot down by American anti-aircraft half-track fire. He jumped from a low-flying, burning aircraft. With serious burns, he was captured and survived the war. Georg Amon achieved nine victories.
COL B
Bf 109G-6/R6, W.Nr. 18502 or 18503, Hptm. Horst Carganico, CO of II./JG 5, Pskov-South, the Soviet Union, early 1944
Horst Carganico was born on September 27, 1917, in Breslau (Wroclaw in Poland nowadays). The first combat unit to which the then twenty-two-year-old Lt. Carganico joined was JG 1 at the beginning of the war. This was followed by an assignment to Norway on January 1, 1941, where he served as commander of 1./JG 77. On September 25, 1941, Carganico was awarded the Knight’s Cross after achieving his 27th victory. In March 1942 Carganico’s unit was renamed 6./JG 5, but by April 1942 he had already taken command of the entire II. Gruppe. On March 26, 1944, he was appointed commander of I./JG 5, which participated in the fighting against the Allies as part of the Defense of the Reich. On May 27 of that same year, Major Carganico flew his last sortie. During an attack on a B-17 formation his Bf 109G-5 was badly damaged, hitting a high-tension power line while attempting an emergency landing. He did not survive the crash near the French town of Chevry. Carganico’s total score stands at sixty kills in 600 missions. The camouflage of his aircraft was painted over white and RLM 70 on the upper surfaces. Under the cockpit was the emblem of II./JG 5 aircraft on both sides. On the left side of the fuselage behind the cockpit was Carganico’s personal emblem – Mickey Mouse dragging his boots with dates commemorating the pilot’s returns to his unit after emergency landings behind enemy lines. On the right side of the fuselage, there was probably the marking of the Gruppe commander – a double chevron and a horizontal bar.
COL C
Bf 109G-6/R6/Trop, W.Nr. 27169, Fw. Heinrich Bartels, 11./JG 27, Kalamaki, Greece, November 1943
Austrian Heinrich Bartels was born on July 13, 1918, in Linz. He began his career as a fighter pilot over the English Channel, where, as a member of the Erg./JG 26, he shot down two Spitfires in August 1941. He then went on to the ranks of JG 5 in northern Europe, where he scored 47 victories against the Soviet air force. The remainder of his 99 victories came in the ranks of JG 27. Fateful to Bartels was an encounter with American fighters on December 23, 1944. He managed to shoot down one of the Thunderbolts, but he did not return to the base. The wreckage of his aircraft was not found until a quarter of a century later in January 1968. An unused parachute was found in the cockpit, which is now on display at the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin. Bartels’ Bf 109G-6 is shown as it was captured in photographs taken on the occasion of his 70th kill. The photographs can thus be dated to November 17, 1943. A total of 70 Abschussbalken (victory marks) are painted on the rudder along with the Knight’s Cross, which Bartels had received a year earlier, on November 13, 1942. The sawtooth border of camouflage paint on the upper surface of the wing is typical of some of the aircraft produced at the Erla factory in 1943.
COL D
Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 19456, Oberst. Hannes Trautloft, Stab General der Jagdflieger, The Soviet Union, August 1943
This aircraft was originally manufactured as Bf 109G-4 with factory code CL+OQ and was assigned to 6./JG 27 in the Mediterranean. After being severely damaged at Trapani on May 10, 1943, it was converted to the G-6 version during an overhaul and accepted by the Stab of General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland. In the summer and autumn of 1943, the plane was used by Oberst Trautloft, the inspector for fighter units on the Eastern Front. The aircraft bore a markings that tied it to JG 54, the unit he was previously commanding. However, Günther Lützow, then inspector for fighter units in the West and MTO, was also photographed in its cockpit. Hannes Trautloft began his fighting career in the Spanish Civil War. There he flew the Bf 109 and was instrumental in developing the tactics for the deployment of this type. He also flew in the Polish campaign and the French campaign. During each conflict he scored at least one victory. On August 25, 1940, he became commander of the newly formed JG 54. Trautloft’s overall record totals 58 victories, and he was able to pin the Knight’s Cross on July 27, 1941. The aircraft bears the standard RLM 74/75/76 camouflage scheme, with splotches of what was probably RLM 70 green paint on the fuselage.
COL E
Bf 109G-6/R6, W.Nr. 26048, Oblt. Friedrich Brock, 8./JG 54, Ludwiglust, Germany, January 1944
Friedrich Brock was born on May 6, 1916, in Perlach. In August 1939, he began his training at the Schule/Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 23 in Kaufbeuren. In November 1940, he transferred to Flugzeugführerschule A/B 63 in Marienbad. In March 1942, he joined Jagdfliegervorschule 3 in Vienna-Schwechat. He completed his fighter pilot training on November 12, 1942, with Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost in France. His first combat unit became 8. /JG 54 at Siverskaya Air Base on November 13, 1942. In January 1943, III./JG 54 was transferred to Oldenburg to defend northern Germany. There Brock achieved his first kill on June 13, 1943. He was shot down several times during fightings with American B-17s and was seriously wounded on April 8, 1944. His Black 8 machine bore all the identifying features of the period, i.e., the 8./JG 54 emblem on the nose, the III./JG 54 emblem under the cockpit, and a blue identification stripe on the rear. Flying this aircraft, Uffz. Günther Sahl was shot down and killed on April 9, 1944. After his recovery, Friedrich Brock became the operations officer of III./JG 54 (later renamed IV./JG 26) in October 1944 and did not intervene in combat anymore. In May 1945, he was captured and after his release in September 1945, he devoted himself to his profession as a dentist. He died on May 3, 1994, in Berlin.