Marking Options Bf 109G-6 1/72
Bf 109G-6/R6, Hptm. Werner Schroer, CO of II./JG 27,
Eschborn, Germany, September 1943
Werner Schroer was born on February 12, 1918. In 1937, he joined the Luftwaffe as ground personnel. Later, he completed flight training and was assigned to I./JG 27 in August 1940. This unit was transferred to North Africa, where Schroer achieved his first aerial victory on April 19, 1941. In June 1942, he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 27. In April 1943, he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 27. At the end of 1942, II./JG 27 was relocated to Germany, and in March 1943, it received new Bf 109G-6 aircraft. After several months of deployment in Italy, the unit was transferred back to Germany. The box art depicts the unit’s first fight against a formation of B-17 bombers, which occurred on September 6, 1943, during an American raid on Stuttgart. Werner Schroer’s command aircraft had a white rudder with 84 victory markings painted on its left side. Following this battle, three more B-17 kills were added. Both variants are included on the decal sheet. In March 1944, Schroer was appointed commander of III./JG 54, and in February 1945, he assumed command of JG 3. He achieved a total of 114 aerial victories, including 26 four-engine bombers. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He passed away on February 10, 1985.
Bf 109G-6, Hptm. Heinrich Ehrler, CO of 6./JG 5, Alakurtti, Finland, June 1943
Heinrich Ehrler began his military career in 1935 within the anti-aircraft artillery and fought in the Spanish Civil War as a member of 3.F/88. He completed fighter training in early 1940 and was assigned to 4./JG 77, which was later redesignated 4./JG 5, based in Norway. In late May 1942, Ehrler was transferred to 6./JG 5 at Petsamo and became its commander in August. He achieved his 100th victory on June 8, 1943. During this period, he flew a Bf 109G-6 Yellow 12 in Erla factory camouflage, with the symbols of his aerial victories painted on the left side of the rudder. As the Kommodore of JG 5, Ehrler was responsible for cover of the Tirpitz battleship, which was anchored in Norway. After its sinking, he was wrongly convicted, but the sentence was commuted. On February 27, 1945, he joined JG 7, flying Me 262 jets. In combat with Liberator bombers on April 4, 1945, he managed to shoot down two B-24s and rammed a third. According to witnesses who heard Ehrler’s last words, he carried out a suicide attack. His number of victories thus stopped at 208, and for these achievements, he was decorated with the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves.
Bf 109G-6/R6/Trop, W.Nr. 1607xx, Obfw. Herbert Rollwage, 5./JG 53, Wien-Seyring, Austria, December 1943
Herbert Rollwage was born on September 24, 1916. In 1936, he joined the Luftwaffe. In 1941, he was assigned to 5./JG 53. On the first day of Operation Barbarossa, Rollwage achieved his first aerial victory. By October 5, 1941, he had recorded 11 victories. After a brief stay in the Netherlands, II./JG 53 moved to Sicily in December 1941 to participate in the campaign against Malta. During raids on the island, Rollwage achieved 20 victories by October 1942. On July 10, 1943, during the Allied landings on Sicily, Rollwage was wounded in dogfight but managed to land back at base. In mid-October 1943, II./JG 53 was relocated to Austria for Reich defense. The white rudder of Rollwage's new aircraft, which he received after recovering in November 1943, featured 47 victory markings on the left side. In May 1944, he was promoted to the rank of Leutnant, and in August, he became the CO of 5./JG 53. In December, he assumed command of the training unit 2./JG 106. During his service with JG 53, Rollwage achieved 70 aerial victories. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. After the war, he served in the Bundeswehr and retired in 1968 with the rank of Hauptmann. He passed away on January 4, 1980.
Bf 109G-6/U4/R6/Trop, W.Nr. 440180, Fw. Friedrich Ungar, 9./JG 54, Lüneburg, Germany, March 1944
Friedrich Ernst Willi Ungar was born on February 21, 1920. After training with JG 107 and Jagdgruppe West, he was assigned to 9./JG 54 in Germany in October 1943, flying Bf 109G-6 aircraft. On March 6, 1944, he was shot down in his Yellow 6 near Homfeld, likely by Lt. Barney Casteel (P-47D, 56th FG) or 2/Lt. Marvin H. Becker (356th FG). Ungar crash-landed with leg injuries, and his Bf 109G-6 sustained 30% damage. On October 9, 1943, he was shot down in Yellow 10 over Nakskov, Denmark, but crash-landed uninjured. In late December 1944, he received Fw 190D-9 W.Nr. 210008 White 3 and downed a Typhoon from No. 439 Sq. RCAF. Ungar was among the few pilots of III./JG 54 to survive encounters with Allied fighters on December 29, 1944. At that time, III./JG 54 operated under JG 26, later becoming IV./JG 26 in spring. In 1958, he founded an aero club and served as chief flight and navigation instructor for 17 years. He contributed to building Oldenburg-Hatten airfield and conducted its first flight in March 1966. In 1980, he received the German Aero Club's FA1 badge for motor flight in gold and its Gold Honor Pin in 1985. He passed away on December 16, 2012.