KITS 03/2022

Bf 109G-14/U4, W. Nr. 512382, flown by Lt. H. Schlick, 4./ JG 77,

Schönwalde, Germany, November 1944

In times when Horst Schlick flew this aircraft he had

already been an experienced veteran of JG 77. In the

ranks of JG 77, between 1942 and 1945, Schlick managed to shoot down two enemy planes in the Eastern

Front and at minimum 30 other planes in the Western

Front. Most of the time he served as a member of

the 1. Staffel. In autumn of 1944 there was a change,

Schlick was transferred to 4. Staffel where he man-

aged to shoot down his last enemy aircraft. In spring

of 1945 he was first ordered to join the ranks of EJG

2 training squadron, later he was moved to JG 7. The

JG 7 flew jet-powered fighter aircraft Me 262. He did

not reach any further success there. During the war

he took part in 480 fighter operations and managed

to shoot down the total of 32 enemy aircraft (some

resources state 34 shot down planes).

The colour scheme pictured shows Schlick’s aircraft

built by WNF shortly after he shot down his 31. enemy

plane. This plane is thought to have had the engine

cover used by planes produced by Erla Company in

Leipzig. The sign at the back part of the fuselage

stands for a new marking of 4. Staffel aircraft; the

nose bears sign of Jagdgeschwader 77.

Bf 109G-14/U4, flown by Hptm. E. Hartmann, 4./ JG 52, Csór, Hungary, October 1944

Erich Hartmann, the most successful fighter plane

pilot of all times, first joined the 7. Staffel of JG 52 on

October 10th, 1942. He remained with Jagdgeschwader 52 till the end of World War Two; in fact he became the commander of its I. Gruppe. The total count of

his shot down aircraft was 352. For his exceptional

success he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the

Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.

After WWII he was transferred to the POW camp in

the Ural Mountains in Soviet Union and was not released until 1955. The following year he joined the

ranks of Western German Luftwaffe. He became the

commander of JG 71, the first fighter plane Luftwaffe

squadron equipped with jet-powered fighter aircraft.

He retired in 1970 and died on September 20th, 1993.

Standard camouflage of Hartmann’s “white 1” Luftwaffe fighter plane was complemented by black tulip

with white outline situated at the nose of the aircraft;

this was in the time of his command of 4. Staffel. On

the left side, underneath the cockpit, there was a heart with Hartmann’s wife’s name written over it. The

yellow bottom parts of the wing tip and the yellow

stripe around the back part of the fuselage marked

the aircraft serving on the Eastern Front. The photograph of the nose of this aircraft shows that the

engine cover is identical to those produced in Erla

factory in Leipzig.

Bf109G-14, flown by Oblt. R. Schlegel, CO of 10./ JG 4,

Jüterbog – Damm, Germany, March 1945

Rolf Schlegel was born on June 14th, 1922 in Saxony.

After his successful passing of the training he was

sent to serve at 11./JG 2 that fought British pilots

above the English Channel. He and his unit were

soon moved over to African battlegrounds. Over there, Schlegel suffered injuries. After his recovery he

continued at EKdo 16, which was a tester squadron

March 2022

testing the rocket-powered Me 163 aircraft. In summer 1944 he started to serve at JG 4, namely at

its Sturmgruppe. This unit flew heavily armed Fw

190A-8/R2s. Later, he flew Bf 109s at III. Gruppe JG

4. Prior to the end of the war he was transferred to

JG 7 flying jet-powered 262 Messerschmitt’s. He shot

down two enemy aircraft in combat.

The aircraft is bearing a typical camouflage of the

later 109s produced in Erla factory in Leipzig. The

plane’s original marking is covered by fresh RLM 74

paint and the nose of the plane has JG 4 emblem.

Wide stripes around the tail of the plane were typical for JG 4 fleet. These aircraft served as Defence

of the Reich (Reichsverteidigung).

INFO Eduard

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