Strana 40
9./JG 4, Flensburg airfield, Germany, May 1945
6./KG(J) 6, Klecany airfield, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, May 1945
The emblem of JG 4, a knight's helmet, is
painted on the cowling of this aircraft,which
probably belonged to 9. Staffel of III./JG 4. It is
possible that its pilot was Fw. Hans Braun, who
used an aircraft with the same markings in
late 1944. The Messerschmitt Bf 109K-4s were
received by III./JG 4 in October 1944 and used
along with the G-14 and G-10 versions. At that
time, the temporary commander of 9./JG 4 was
Lt. Hans Klaffenbach (21 victories), who briefly
represented Hptm. Johannes Kaufmann (10 v.).
Hans Klaffenbach became commander of JaboG
32 with F-104s in 1964 and led it for eight years.
In 1997 he was one of the most prominent guests
at the opening of the Museum of the Air Battle
over the Ore Mountains in Czech Republic, in
which he had taken part on September 11, 1944.
Kaufmann led his unit from the end of January
1945 in battles against the Red Army, and on
several occasions his unit escorted airmen in
suicide attacks on bridges on the Oder River.
His daughter was the famous German actress
Christina Kaufmann. Fuselage was probably
painted in RLM 74 and RLM 75 with greenish
version of RLM 76. Vertical tail was painted in
darker version of RLM 74 and 75, the RLM 74 had
a tinge of green. Wing was painted with lighter
shade of colors RLM 74, 75 and 76.
This aircraft, probably produced in the 332xxx
series, found at the end of the war, bore signs
of damage probably caused by an American air
raid. KG(J) 6 was being retrained from bombers
to fighter aircraft at bases in and around Prague.
Eventually it was to be armed with Me 262 jets,
but the retraining was done on single-engine
fighters. The I. and II. Gruppe were equipped
with Messerschmitt Bf 109G and K. For most of
the time II./KG(J) 6 was undergoing retraining
for fighters, its commander was Hptm. Hans-
Joachim Faulhaber, who had previously served
with KG 77 and was awarded the Knight's Cross.
In 1942 he had escaped an encounter with a
night fighter over England and returned with
a damaged plane. Faulhaber was replaced at
the end of March 1945 by Hptm. Wilhelm Kunze,
who had seen combat on the Western Front
with KG 2 and was also shot down by a British
fighter, in December 1943, during a training
flight near Eindhoven. His unit was defeated
in aerial combat on March 31, 1945, against
Mustangs from the 309th FS, 31st FG. Fuselage
was probably painted in RLM 74 and RLM 75 with
greenish version of RLM 76. Vertical tail was
painted in darker version of RLM 74 and 75, the
RLM 74 had a tinge of green. Wing was painted
with lighter shade of colors RLM 74, 75 and 76.
KITS 03/2026
INFO Eduard40
March 2026