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Markings for Bf 109F-2 1/48

COL A

W.Nr. 12914, Oblt. Wolfgang Späte, 5./JG 54, Staraya Russa, the Soviet Union, September 1941

The aircraft was built in summer 1941 by AGO and assigned to 5./JG 54 on the Leningrad front. Initially attributed to Austrian pilot Josef Pöhs (43 v., KC), later analysis identifies Oblt. Wolfgang Späte as its pilot. Späte (1911–1997) was a pre-war competitive glider pilot who flew as reconnaissance pilot in the Polish and French campaigns. After converting to fighters, he joined JG 54 in January 1941, serving with breaks until September 1944. He later commanded Erprobungskommando 16, testing the Me 163, and led a JG 400 unit with Me 163s until its disbandment, then flew Me 262s with III./JG 7. He scored 99 victories, including 5 on the Me 262, and received the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves. Aircraft W.Nr. 12914 was later transferred to II./JG 51 and destroyed on September 3, 1942 during a Soviet air raid on Dugino airfield, where Lt. Herbert Puschmann (54 v., KC) of 4./JG 51 was seriously wounded at its controls.

 

COL B

W.Nr. 8239, Lt. Hans Strelow, 5./JG 51, Bryansk, the Soviet Union, March 1942

Hans Strelow was born on March 26, 1922, in Berlin. In 1939, he voluntarily joined the Luftwaffe. After completing training in February 1941, he was assigned to 5./JG 51. From the start of Operation Barbarossa, he flew on the Eastern Front. He achieved his first aerial victory on June 25, 1941. In January 1942, he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 51. On March 24, 1942, he became the youngest recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves. His Black 10 was painted white on the upper surfaces during the winter period. The JG 51 insignia was displayed on both sides of the nose. The yellow band behind the cross and the yellow wingtips were identification markings used on the Eastern Front. The victories he achieved were marked on the left side of the rudder. On May 22, 1942, Hans Strelow was shot down by a Pe-2 crew and forced to make an emergency landing behind Soviet lines. Fearing capture by the Red Army, he conducted suicide by shooting himself in his head.

 

COL C

W.Nr. 8165, Hptm. Karl-Heinz Leesmann, CO of I./JG 52, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 1941

Karl-Heinz Leesmann was born on May 3, 1915, in Osnabrück. After completing pilot training with the Luftwaffe, he participated in the French campaign and the Battle of Britain as a member of JG 52. On August 27, 1940, he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 52. On May 24, 1941, he became Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 52. His WNr. 8165 aircraft displayed victories achieved on the Western Front on the port side of the fin below the swastika. Before Operation Barbarossa, I./JG 52 was transferred to the Eastern Front. On November 6, 1941, during combat with Soviet aircraft, Leesmann made an emergency landing near Ruza with a shattered right forearm. After a long hospitalization and recovery, he returned to I./JG 52 in May 1942. In March 1943, he transferred to III./JG 11. On July 25, 1943, while flying a Bf 109G-6, he was shot down during an attack on a B-17 over the North Sea near Heligoland. His body was washed ashore on August 16, 1943, and he was buried in Recklinghausen.

 

COL D

Hptm. Hans Hahn, CO of III./JG 2, Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, France, July 1941

Hans “Assi” Hahn, a fighter ace and recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, led the 4./JG 2 from December 1939 and the III./JG 2 from October 29, 1940. A total of 31 victory symbols on the tail of his aircraft were tied to Hahn’s operations on the Western Front. His 31st victory was achieved on July 10, 1941, near Saint-Omer, when he shot down two Spitfires. Beginning on November 1, 1942, he took command of II./JG 54 and led this Gruppe until February 21, 1943, when he was shot down and captured by Soviet forces. Hahn was not released from captivity until 1950, during which he wrote a book about his experiences in prison titled “Ich spreche die Wahrheit!” (I speak the truth!). Before his capture, he achieved 108 victories, 66 of which were on the Western Front. The rooster’s head painted on his aircraft symbolized the III. Gruppe JG 2’s staff planes and was derived from Hahn’s surname, as “Hahn” means rooster in German. Hans Hahn passed away in 1982, and his wife later remarried the night fighter pilot Wolfgang Falck.

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