KITS 05/2021

Bf 109G-2/trop, WNr. 10533, Uffz. Horst Schlick, 1./JG 77, Bir-el-Abd, Egypt, November 1942

As a fighter pilot in the JG 77 ranks, Horst Schlick was a member of this unit from 1942 to 1945. He achieved two aerial victories on the Eastern Front and added some thirty more on the Western Front. Most of his time with JG 77 Schlick served as a member of the 1. Staffel, but

he was transferred to the 4. Staffel in the autumn of 1944 and shot down his last victim with this unit. In the spring of 1945 Schlick received

an order to move to EJG 2 training unit and later to JG 7, the unit equipped with Me 262 jet fighters. But he did not achieve any more victories there. He conducted 480 operational flights and had shot down 32 enemy aircraft (some sources state as many as 34). The camouflage

of Horst Schlick´s Bf 109G-2 was formed by irregular spray-painted patches of RLM 79 and RLM 80. The undersides were painted with RLM

78. An essential supplement of the marking of the aircraft of the southern region – white wingtips, band on the fuselage and propeller spinner – were also applied.

Bf 109G-2/R-6/trop, WNr. 13916, Fw. Hans Döbrich, 6./JG 5, Alakurtti, Finland, February 1943

Hans Döbrich scored 65 kills over his combat career and was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross for his achievements. On the other

hand, he was shot down himself three times, with the final one resulting in serious injuries, preventing him to return to operational flying.

Döbrich began using this aircraft on February 9, 1943. At that time he was already ace with 43 kills and also one of the II./JG 5’s most successful pilots. Flying this aircraft Döbrich involuntarily took to his parachute due to engine failure on March 14, 1943, shortly after a scramble

take-off from Salmijärvi. The original camouflage scheme composed of RLM 74/75/76 colours was overpainted with white squiggles to make

the aircraft less visible in winter conditions. The yellow identifying markings were typical for aircraft of the Eastern Front. Döbrich’s personal

marking was painted under the cockpit. It was a rendition of Mickey Mouse standing over the II./JG 5’s emblem and ripping apart a Soviet

I-16. The green four-leaf clover on the nose was carried by aircraft of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 5.

Bf 109G-2/R6, Lt. Walter Krupinski, 6./JG 52, Maykop, Soviet Union, October 1942

Walter Krupinski entered the Luftwaffe shortly after the beginning of the war in 1939 and underwent fighter pilot training. After completing

his training, he was assigned to JG 52 and at the time took part in combat against the RAF. He did not achieve first kill until he moved to the

Eastern Front. The number of his kills rose quickly, and by April 18, 1944, when he left the Eastern Front, there were 177 on his account.

Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves was a result of his success and he continued in combat on the Western Front. Firstly as the CO of 1./JG 5, but

he was appointed the CO of II./JG 11 in May 1944. Later he moved on to command III./JG 26 on September 27, 1944, where he stayed until

unit’s disbandment on March 26, 1945. Krupinski´s last stand was JV 44 where he was flying the Me 262 and gained twenty more victories,

so his final tally stopped at 197. In the fifties, he joined the new Luftwaffe, led JaBoG 33, and later the entire 3. Division of the Luftwaffe. Krupinski was forced into early retirement in 1976 and died in Neunkirchen-Seelsheid in 2000. The illustrated aircraft was used by “Graf Punski”

in combats over the Kuban area during second half of 1942. It was camouflaged RLM 74/75/76 and carried the usual yellow Eastern Front

identifiers. Below the windscreen is the JG 52 unit marking.

INFO Eduard - May 2021

eduard

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