Strana 48
Bf 109G-6/R6/Trop, W.Nr. 27169, Fw. Heinrich Bartels, 11./JG 27, Kalamaki, Greece, November 1943
Bf 109G-6, W.Nr. 19456, Oberst. Hannes Trautloft, Stab General der Jagdflieger,
The Soviet Union, August 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.
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.
KITS 02/2026
INFO Eduard48
February 2026