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Bf 109G-14, WNr. 465437, Hptm. Franz Dörr, CO of III./JG 5,
Gossen, Norway, May 1945
Bf 109G-14/U4, WNr. 512382, Lt. Horst Schlick, 4./JG 77, Schönwalde,
Germany, November 1944
Franz Dörr was born in Mannheim in 1913.
He served as a reconnaissance pilot during
the Polish and Western campaigns in 1939 and
1940. Dörr achieved his first kill as a member
of 1.(Erg.)/JG 3, shooting down a Wellington on
September 29, 1941. On January 1, 1942, this unit
was redesignated 7./JG 5, and in September
1943, he became its commander. In early August
1944, he took command of III. Gruppe JG 5 and
held that position until the end of the war. On the
northern front, he scored 121 victories (although
some sources mention 127) in 437 combat sorties.
His tally was marked on the rudder of his personal
aircraft. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross on
August 19, 1944. The aircraft, manufactured at
the Erla factory, bore distinctive features of local
production such as distinct gun ducts on the
engine cowling and a small bulge on the right
side of the engine cowling. Though the serial
number is not proven, the camouflage matches
the markings of the 465xxx series. Aircraft of
this series are documented at Gossen, Norway in
May 1945. A small circle on the rear of the aircraft
identified it as serving with III Gruppe.
Horst Schlick was born in 1921 in Bartenstein,
East Prussia. From 1939, he served in I.(J)/LG 2,
which was redesignated I./JG 77 in January 1942
in Mariupol. Schlick was a seasoned veteran
who achieved two kills on the Eastern Front
and at least thirty more on the Mediterranean
and Western Fronts. He served most of the time
as a member of its 1. Staffel. Change came in
September 1944 when he took command of the
4. Staffel, with which he achieved his last three
victories. In the spring of 1945, he was transferred
first to training III./EJG 2, then to JG 7, equipped
with Me 262 jets. However, he achieved no further
success here. During the war, he participated in
480 combat sorties, during which he achieved
33 kills. The color scheme depicts Schlick’s
WNF-produced plane shortly after he achieved
his 31st kill. It is possible that this Bf 109 had the
engine cowling used on the machines produced
by Erla in Leipzig. The emblem on the rear of
the fuselage was the new designation for the 4.
Staffel aircraft, and the emblem on the nose was
Jagdgeschwader 77.
KITS 04/2024
INFO Eduard48
April 2024