Page 20
Eduard Info 2010 page 20
History
For example, Fhr. Otto Leisner, who had up to
this point own Bf 109 Gs with I./JG 300, ew the
Fw 190 D-11 with VFS des G.d.J. at Bad Worisho-
fen in preparation for ying the Me 262. Among them
was ‘<<-‘ and ‘< 61’. Later, he was to transfer to
JG 7 to y the jet.
In February, 1945, the Kommodore of JG 300 was
not in reality yet Günther Rall, but the leadership
of the Geschwader fell on a former member, Major
Kurd Peters. Major Rall doesn’t appear at JG 300
in Holzkirchen until the second half of April, 1945,
at a time when the disbandment of his VFS des G.d.J.
in nearby Bad Wörishofen was taking place. Shortly
thereafter, the Fw 190 D-11 made its appearance
at Stab and II./JG 300. This is known from reports
of April 23 and over several of the following days.
It is evident from them that with Stab JG 300 (Rall’s
HQ ight), there were two Fw 190 D-11s. The same
sources specify over thirty Fw 190 D-9s and D-11s
with II./JG 300. The count with respect to speci c
versions remains unknown. Furthermore, to this day
there are no photographs verifying an Fw 190 D-9 or
D-11 in the services of JG 300.
Ernst Schröder recounts not only the Fw 190 D-9,
but also other Dora versions with II./JG 300 at the
end of April. He recalls mechanics explaining that
these versions lacked the MG 131s. In his memoirs,
he identi es these as Fw 190 D-12s. He further
reveals that within the entire inventory of II./JG 300,
he saw between three and ve Fw 190 Ds, out of which
one or two were D-12s. These were in all probability
Fw 190 D-11s, which are accounted for in the above
mentioned reports.
During the last days of the war, the remaining ele-
ments of Jagdgeschwader 300 were merged
with Jagdgruppe 300 as an emergency measure,
and Günther Rall was ordered to move his unit to
Prague. Some of the pilots actually did end up in
Prague, and these ew combat as late as May 8th,
1945, out of Žatec (Saaz). Most of the personnel and
technical equipment of JGr. 300 remained in Bavaria
and Austria.
JAGDVERBAND 44 (JV 44)
The last unit, as far is currently known, that used the
Fw 190 D-11 was the elite ghter Jagdverband 44
formed by Adolf Galland. Behind the formation of this
squadron lay animosity between Galland and the
head of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring. At the begin-
ning of 1945, Galland was recalled from the General
der Jagd ieger role, and was replaced by his rival,
Gordon M. Gollob. Göring wanted to sweep Galland
under the rug, and so allowed him to form his own
unit equipped with modern Me 262 jets. This was
completely unorthodox for several reasons:
- It did not answer to any superior element of the
Luftwaffe, but fell directly under the upper echelons
of Luftwaffe command (OKL), and, in other words,
to a certain point, Galland could do what he wanted.
- Galland gathered for his unit almost 20 Knight Cross
holders, very high gure as compared to other units
at that time
Feldwebel Konrad ‘Pitt’ Bauer and his Fw 190 A-8 ‘Kornjark’ with the
identi er Red ‘3’ and W.Nr. 171 641. Bauer initially ew on the Eastern
Front with JG 51, but from the spring of 1944, he served in the Defense
of the Reich with JG 3, after which he transferred to 5. Staffel within the
structure of Sturmgruppe II./JG 300. Reportedly, he was shot down sev-
en times, but destroyed 57 enemy aircraft, 32 of which were reported
as four engined heavy bombers. Today, some forty of his kills have been
documented. For his success, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross,
and nominated for the Oak Leaf. During combat with Mustangs on
September, 11, 1944, he was injured, where he lost a couple of ngers
on his right hand, but shot down three Mustangs. Shortly thereafter,
he returned to combat and ew specially equipped Fw 190s.
At the beginning of 1945, he was named CO of 5./JG 300, was ground-
ed over February, but after that, ew combat again until the beginning
of April, 1944. His favorite wingman was a First World War veteran,
Alfred Lindenberger. In the closing stages of WWII, II./JG 300 obtined
Fw 190 D-9 and D-11 ghters.
(Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J27642 via Wikimedia Commons)
The most famous unit which ew the Fw 190D is JV 44. Up to this time, ve Focke-Wulf Fw 190Ds are known to have been used by JV 44, part
of the so-called ‘Sachsenberg Schwarm’. Fancy, red lower surfaces with white stripes were used as a recognition feature to prevent friendly AA re.
These Doras protected Me 262 Schwalbe jets from JV 44 during their most vulnerable phase of ight – take-off and landing. ‘Red 4’, with the ‘Der
nächste Herr - diesselbe Dame’ inscription is documented as being own by Lt. Karl-Heinz Hofmann. The inscription can be translated as ‘different
man, same woman’. This Dora ended her life at München-Riem air eld. Martin Ferkl, Petr Stepanek