KITS 05/2021

1./SG 4, Airasca, Italy, June 1944

The I./SG 4 was formed from the II./Sch.G. 2 in Italy during October 1943. The unit used the Fw 190s of A and G versions and the F-8 starting

from June 1944. By then, unit lost almost sixty aircraft in combat on the Italian battlefield, as the Luftwaffe faced strong Allied air superiority

in Italy over this period. Therefore, to achieve lower visibility over the battlefield, the crosses on the upper surfaces and the upper half of the

white fuselage band of this aircraft were over-painted. The I./SG 4 took over Fw 190F-8s in June 1944 at the base of Airasca during rest and

refitting. In July, the unit moved to the Eastern Front under the command of Maj. Werner Dörnback, who later became Kommodore of SG

4. At the end of the war, I./SG 4 had a base in Kostelec na Hané in the then Protectorate Böhmen und Mähren (Czechoslovakia after the war

and Czech Republic today).

W.Nr. 586188, Stab III./SG 10, Hohenmauth (Vysoké Mýto), Protectorate Böhmen und Mähren, May 1945

This aircraft was found in Dolní Kamenice (the then Protectorate Böhmen und Mähren) at the end of the war after an emergency landing.

It probably belonged to SG 10. Camouflage colors RLM 74, 75 and 76 is partly overpainted on the upper surfaces with dark paint, probably

RLM 70. Yellow "V" and a band on the engine cover carried Luftflotte 4 aircraft since September 1944. This was identification introduced

due to the Romanian Air Force, which joined the Allied forces and used German aircraft. From July 1944 to April 1945 the III./SG 10 was

commanded by Hptm. Horst Steinhardt, former member of I./JG 2 "Richthofen" and Sch.G. 1. In the last weeks of the war, the unit was commanded by Major Arnulf Blasig. He flew Stuka bombers before the war and gradually served in St.G. 77, IV (Stuka) / LG 1 (later I./St.G. 5) and

St.G. 51. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in September 1941 and completed a total of about 200 combat flights.

W.Nr. 581632, 1./NSGr. 9, Villafranca di Verona, Italy, May 1945

The aircraft is painted in colours of RLM 74, 75 and 76 with spots of green on the side of the fuselage. Due to night combat flights, it was

probably equipped with a FuG 25a (IFF). Nachtschlachtgruppe 9 was formed in Italy at the end of 1943 and was used for night bombing missions using aircraft types Ju 87, Fiat Cr.42 and Caproni Ca 314. During 1944 the unit converted to Stukas completely. The only part of NSGr.

9, which received the Fw 190F planes in early 1945, was the 1st Staffel, which used F-8 and F-9 versions. Commander of NSGr. 9 was Obstlt.

Dipl. Ing. Karl Vehmeyer, who previously led several Gruppen of Lehrgeschwader 1. From the autumn of 1944, Hptm. Karl-Heinz Kuhle the

former Bf 110 pilot of ZG 26, was commanding the 1./NSGr. 9 was.

INFO Eduard - May 2021

eduard

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