Strana 87
BUILT
Bf 109F-2, Hptm. Hans Philipp, CO of I./JG 54, Krasnogvardeysk, the Soviet Union, March 1942
Hans “Fips” Philipp, an ace with 206 kills to his
credit over the course of some 500 sorties, was
born on March 17, 1917, in Meissen. He joined
the Luftwaffe in 1936. At the beginning of the
Second World War, he served with I./JG 76,
redesignated II./JG 54 in July 1940. As a member
of this unit, he participated in the fighting over
Britain and the Balkans. He also took part in
Operation Barbarossa and was appointed CO
of JG 1 in April 1943. For his combat success
he was awarded the Knight’s Cross with Oak
Leaves and Swords. Philipp was shot down
on October 8, 1943, and did not survive his
attempt to bail out. The aircraft flown by Hans
Philipp was camouflaged with white color over
the upper and side surfaces to better suit the
conditions of the winter of 1943 in the vicinity
of Leningrad. The Gruppe Commander marking
was carried on the fuselage, as were the
II. Gruppe and JG 54 (Green Heart) identifiers.
Both sides of the rudder carried kill marks. The
landing gear covers were removed due to their
tendency to pile up snow.
INFO Eduard
87
March 2026