Strana 41
5./JG 11, Strausberg airfield, Germany, early 1945
12./JG 27, Prague-Kbely airfield, Protectorate of Bohemia of Moravia, May 1945
By the end of 1944, II./JG 11 was equipped mainly
with Messerschmitts Bf 109G-14/AS. During
December this unit lost 42 machines in combat
and to accidents. In the same month the first
delivery of K-4 version arrived. During Operation
Bodenplatte the II./JG 11 lost nine more planes,
including the first two K-4s lost in combat. This
unit was deployed from late January 1945 to
Strausberg air base east of Berlin against the
Soviet Air Force. This aircraft probably carried
a yellow band as a quick identification feature
of JG 11 among Luftwaffe fighter units. The
commander of II./JG 11 from August 1944, until
its disbandment in early April 1945, was Hptm.
Karl Leonhard. Born in 1913, he served with
I./JG 53 at the start of the war and achieved his
first victory, a Potez 63, on May 26, 1940. His last
victories (21st-23rd) were achieved on April 16,
1945, in an Fw 190A against Soviet bombers, as
the last commander of I./JG 11. After the war he
moved to the USA and died in San Diego in 1995.
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.
The commander of III./JG 27, from October 1944,
when the unit received its first Bf 109K-4, until
the end of the war, was Austrian Hptm. Dr. Peter
Werfft (26 victories). From February 1945 his
deputy was CO of 12./JG 27, Oblt. Emil Clade
(27 victories). While serving in Africa with
II./JG 27, Clade and his Schwarm attacked
a lone low-flying Bristol Bombay transport
from No. 216 Sqn RAF on August 7, 1942, in the
Allied rear. He managed to shoot it down and
the aircraft was destroyed on the ground by
Uffz. Schneider, who was awarded the victory.
The commander of the British Eighth Army,
Lt. Gen. W. H. E. Gott was killed on board. Lt. Gen.
Montgomery, for whom Gott’s death became
a major milestone, since he was appointed in his
place. Clade led 12./JG 27 from November 1944,
during the fighting in western Germany, until
its disbandment in early April 1945. In the last
month of the war, he commanded I./JG 27. After
the war, he worked as an airline pilot, took up
sport flying, and published a memoir in 1996.
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 Eduard
41
March 2026