Markings for Fw 190A-6 1/48
Fw 190A-6, WNr. 550375, Lt. Heinz-Günther Lück, 1./JG 1, Deelen, Netherlands, August 1943
Lt. Lück, a pilot with five aerial victories (all over B-17 aircraft) flew during his whole wartime career with JG 1. At the beginning of 1944, he became the commander of 1./JG 1 and was seriously injured on April 9 during an emergency landing in Denmark. He never returned to combat duty. During the summer of 1943, I. Gruppe aircraft carried garish markings in the form of the checkerboard on the engine cowling, black and white in the case of 1. Staffel. It was deleted after the
US Thunderbolts sporting identical markings attacked Deelen airbase and the anti-aircraft gunners did not engage as they confused them with friendly aircraft on landing approach. Heinz-Günther Lück had his dog pet, a black Scottish terrier named Lucki, painted under the canopy and his rudder sported two victories in the form of white bars.
Fw 190A-6, WNr. 550461, Oblt. Helmut Radtke, 5./JG 54, Immola, Finland, summer 1944
On June 9th, 1944, the Red Army launched the Karelian operation against the Finnish forces in Karelian Isthmus on the front north of Leningrad. Marshal Mannerheim being aware of his inferior forces asked Germans for the air support. German Luftwaffe created Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey, named after SG 3 commander Obstl. Kuhlmey. Besides I./SG 3 (Ju-87D) and I./SG 5 (Fw 190 F) attack units a detachment of Focke Wulf Fw 190A-6 from Stab, 4. and 5. Staffel of II./JG 54 was included under his command. Focke Wulf fighters used the airfield in Immola from where they sortied under the command of Maj. Erich Rudorffer as an escort to the attack aircraft. One of the pilots fighting against the Soviet much larger forces was Oblt. Helmut Radtke who joined 5./JG 54 in June 1944 after previous service with the operational training unit JG 110. He was killed in action on the Western Front on January 14, 1945. He was flying black 2 aircraft camouflaged in standard RLM 74/75/76 colors. This camouflage was complemented by yellow markings peculiar to the aircraft operating on the Eastern Front. There is an inscription Schlange (snake) painted on the side of the fuselage.
Fw 190A-6, WNr. 550453, Hptm. Friedrich-Karl Müller, Stab /JG 300, Bonn-Hangelar, Germany, October 1943
A future Knight’s Cross recipient with 30 night victories over enemy aircraft, Friedrich-Karl Müller was born on December 4th, 1912, in Sulzbach in Saarland. In 1934 he completed his pilot training and got a job with Lufthansa. After the outbreak of World War II, he was ordered to the Luftwaffe. Initially he was flying as a transport pilot, later as an instrument flying instructor. In December 1942 he was assigned to KG 50 operating He 177 aircraft, in the summer of the following year he responded to Hajo Hermann call and requested reassignment to JG 300, famous for its Wilde Sau (single-engine fighter night interception deployment) tactics. While serving with this unit he was credited with 19 kills and in January 1944 he was ordered to form 1./NJGr. 10. In August 1944 he was promoted to command I./NJG 11 and lead this unit until the end of World War II, flying a total of 52 combat missions and achieving 30 victories. He passed away on November 2nd, 1987. His Focke Wulf Fw 190A-6 carrying standard camouflage and green 3 marking retained the factory call signs on the wing lower surfaces during combat service. During its service with JG 300 this aircraft was equipped with deflectors to prevent the exhaust flashes blinding the pilot. To save weight the armor head rest was removed. During the night from 18th to 19th of October 1943, Hptm. Muller scored his 19th kill flying this aircraft over Hildesheim. British Lancaster crew from No. 207 Squadron parachuted to safety and spent the rest of hostilities in the POW camp. This aircraft featured a search light installed in the leading edge of the wing.
Fw 190A-6, Fw. Günther Josten, 1./JG 51, Bobruysk, the USSR, January 1944
Eighteen year old Gunther Josten joined the Lufwaffe in January 1940, completed fighter training, and after serving with JGr. Drontheim and Erg.JGr. Ost in Western Europe, he reported to 3./JG 51 in September 1942. He scored his first victory on February 23, 1943 and achieved 19 kills in July and 30 more in August. From September 1943 to February 1944, he served with the training unit LKS Fürstenfeldbruck. He received the Ritterkreuz on February 5, 1944, after his 84th victory. On July 20, 1944, he surpassed 100 victories and was soon appointed commander of 3./JG 51. During the Warsaw Uprising, on September 18, he shot down a B-17 carrying supplies for the resistance. He was awarded the Eichenlaub on March 28, 1945, after his 161st of 178 kills and was appointed commander of IV. Gruppe JG 51 on April 18. Josten joined the Bundesluftwaffe on April 4, 1956 and became commander of JG 71 in 1962. His final post was Deputy Commander of 4. Luftwaffendivision. He retired on March 31, 1981, as an Oberst and died on July 7, 2004. The camouflage of Josten’s aircraft was darkened on the fuselage sides with the same paints applied to the upper surfaces. The yellow recognition markings, used on the aircraft operating on the Eastern Front, were added. To better conceal the aircraft in the surrounding terrain during winter the upper and side surfaces were partially painted white. His brother Reinhard Johannes, Oberleutnant with I./JG 51, scored 6 victories and was killed on April 21, 1942.
Fw 190A-6, WNr. 550473, Fw. Walter Nietzsche, II. /JG 300, Rheine, Germany, summer 1943
In the middle of June 1943, II. /JG 1, commanded by Hptm. Hoeckner, was transferred from Woensdrecht, in Holland, to Rheine from where, in the course of the following eight months, it sortied against large formations of American four-engine bombers penetrating, in ever increasing numbers, the German Reich airspace. The same airbase was home to II. /JG Hermann as well, later renamed II. /JG 300, which for the rest of 1943 operated II. /JG 1 aircraft in the night-fighting role since JG 300 pilots had been trained in single-engine aircraft at night. One of the II. /JG 300 pilots flying this Fw 190A-6 night fighter “borrowed” from II. /JG 1 was Fw. Walter Nietzsche, who during the night from 27th to 28th September 1943 was killed in the cockpit while fighting over Braunschweig. The legendary worm Tatzelwurm painted in red confirms that this aircraft belonged to 5. Staffel JG 1.
Fw 190A-6/R11, WNr. 550143, Oblt. Fritz Krause, 1./NJGr 10, Werneuchen, Germany, January 1944
Fritz Krause started his wartime career with III./JG 300 and in January 1944 was transferred to 1./NJGr. 10. He was assigned to 1./NJG 11 In September 1944 and became the commander of 3./NJG 11 in November. In January, he was appointed head of the entire III./NJG 11, which he led until the end of the war. He completed 213 combat missions and achieved a total of four victories. NJGr 10 was formed as a nightfighter unit on January 1, 1944. It was equipped with various types of aircraft. The 1st Staffel flew Bf 109Gs and Fw 190As. The FuG 217 Neptun radar was installed in NJGr. 10 aircraft to test its efficiency under combat conditions. A total of 48 Fw 190As were converted to this nightfighter configuration. Fritz Krause flew the aircraft depicted for a short period only, as in the early summer of 1944, the NJGr 10 Fw 190As were handed over to fighter schools and were replaced with Bf 109G-6/AS. The Messeschmitts were more capable in intercepting Allied bombers and Mosquitos. The origins of the badge on the cowling can be found with JG 300, as NJGr 10 was formed using JG 300 pilots.
Fw 190A-6/R11, II. /JG 300, Lobnitz, Germany, fall 1943
The Jagdgeschwader 300 “Wilde Sau” was formed from the JG Herrmann in July 1943, its main task was the perfecting of single-engined aircraft night fighting tactics. Besides the visual acquisition of targets, it initiated testing on-board radar systems. The Fw 190 was equipped with FuG 217 Neptun, along with associated radar antennae. The illustrated Fw 190A-6 Black 8 field modified R11 for night fighting was one of the Neptun equipped aircraft of JG 300. What makes this aircraft even more interesting is its camouflage application. The search for effective camouflage schemes gave rise to interesting color variations. The pictured Fw 190 received a lighter spray of RLM 76 over the top portions of the fuselage that blended into the darker sides of RLM 75 and 74 and into the RLM 76 bottom. Known photographs of this aircraft have been interpreted as the sides of the fuselage being composed of sharply demarked RLM 76 and 74. Closer inspection reveals that the contrast between the darker and lighter shades were not so strong, and further research leads to the presentation here. The top and bottom camouflage colors are RLM 74/75/76. The Wilde Sau emblem is in its classic style as used by JG 300 on a yellow background and as per the usual practice of the unit, appeared only on the left side.