Page 45
Bf 109G-6/R6, WNr. 160303, Hptm. Friedrich Eberle, CO of III./JG 1, Volkel,
the Netherlands, November 1943 – January 1944
Bf 109G-6/R1, Lt. Max-Bruno Fischer, Stab II./JG 3, Evreux-Fauville,
France, June 1944
Friedrich Eberle, the commanding officer of III.
Gruppe of JG 1, was downed in this Bf 109G-6 on
January 30, 1944. The man who shot him down
was a Thunderbolt jockey, Lt. Robert Booth of
the 369th FS, 359th FG, a fighter ace with a total
of eight kills to his credit. Booth himself was
downed a few months later, on June 8, 1944 and
became a POW. Eberle was injured but survived
the encounter with Booth and led III. Gruppe until
April 27, 1944. In July 1944, he was appointed the
CO of III./JG 4. Eberle led this unit in Operation
Bodeplatte, the attack on Allied airfields, on
January 1, 1945. He was court martialed for
cowardice but finally was acquitted of the charge
and survived the war with 33 kills. Eberle’s
aircraft had been marked with a double chevron
but in accordance with temporary orders, this
marking was painted over and the commander’s
aircraft was marked with a number. The JG 1
crest was painted on the left side of the cowling
only. The rear part of the fuselage was partially
overpainted with RLM 76 to tone it down.
This aircraft was originally part of Geschwaderstab
JG 3 “Udet” and bore the designation of one of
the Kommodore’s wingmen. The white band on
the fuselage served as a quick identification
element for JG 3 within fighter formations on the
Western European battlefield. In early June 1944
Maj. Heinz Bär assumed command of JG 3 and he
replaced the aircraft in his Stab with Fw 190As
and transferred the original planes of his flight
to Stab II./JG 3, commanded by Hptm. Gustav
Frielinghaus (74 victories). However, at the
beginning of the invasion, the CO of II./JG 3 was
unfit for combat activities, and the Gruppe was
led during the move to Normandy by his Adjutant,
Lt. Max-Bruno Fischer. During the flight to Evreux
base, Fischer was the sole II./JG 3 airman to
arrive at the base due to poor weather conditions.
He faced a field court martial threat for this,
which was halted thanks to JG 2 Kommodore Maj.
Bühlingen. From the very first day of deployment
in Normandy, II./JG 3 conducted strafing attacks
against the invading forces. Fischer later became
the Adjutant of III./JG 4 and achieved a total of
three victories.
KITS 04/2024
INFO Eduard
45
April 2024