KITS 06/2023
Bf 109F-1, WNr. 5628, Obst. Werner Mölders, CO of JG 51, Krefeld, Germany, June 1941
Werner Mölders, nicknamed Vati (Daddy), gained the
ace status in the Spanish Civil War where he developed
finger-four formation tactics. He was the first pilot to
reach the mark of one hundred enemy kills. In June
1940, as CO of III./JG 53, he was shot down by a French
fighter and was captured. A month later he was
appointed commander of JG 51 and successfully led
it in combat against both the RAF and the Soviet Air
Force. Due to the fears of Nazi leadership regarding
his possible capture or killing, he was withdrawn from
combat operations and appointed Inspector of Day
Fighters in August 1941. He perished in the crash of
a Heinkel He 111 in a storm near Wroclaw on November
22, 1941. He was flying as a passenger to Berlin for the
state funeral of Ernst Udet. His score stopped at 115
victories of which he scored 14 in the Spanish Civil
War and 68 in fighting on the Western front in Europe.
For his achievements, he was awarded the Knight’s
Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. The
illustrated aircraft was flown by Werner Mölders in
the summer of 1941 during a downtime as the unit
prepared for Operation Barbarossa (the attack on the
Soviet Union). The aircraft carried a camo scheme
from the first half of 1941, as the top surfaces were
sprayed RLM 71/02 and the bottom ones in RLM 65.
The engine cowl sports the unit marking of JG 51, and
the rudder displays the pilot’s score.
Bf 109F-2, WNr. 8085, Lt. Jürgen Harder, Stab III./JG 53, Sobolewo, Germany, June 1941
Jürgen Harder, brother of the better known Harro
Harder, achieved his first kill on June 22, 1941, the day
Operation Barbarossa began. He joined the Luftwaffe
in 1939 and served in 7./JG 53 from early 1941, then
became a staff officer in III. Gruppe. In April 1942 he
took command of 7./JG 53 in Africa and in February
1944 became commander of I./JG 53 in Italy. Until the
end of the war he claimed further 63 kills both on
the Eastern and Western fronts. On February 1, 1945,
he was decorated with the Knight’s Cross with the
Oak Leaves. His luck ran out on February 17, 1945,
when, due to the engine failure of his Messerschmitt
Bf 109G-14, he crashed to death nearby the town of
Strausberg. Harder’s WNr. 8085 later served with
4./JG 51, Jagdgruppe West, underwent an overhaul
and its version designation was changed to F-4. It
was destroyed on December 2, 1943, in Southern
France when it was allocated to Jagdgruppe Süd,
commanded by Heinz Bär. In its cockpit, Uffz. Alexis
Prinz zu Bentheim und Steinfurt was shot down in
combat with American airmen.
Bf 109F-2, WNr. 8235, Hptm. Werner Pichon Kalau vom Hofe,
Stab JG 54, Trakehnen (Yasnaya Polyana,
Russia today), Germany, June 1941
Werner Pichon-Kalau vom Hofe (1917–1999) was
a pre-war member of I./ZG 1 and early after start
of conflict he served with I./JG 3. After service
with III./JG 51 he became in August 1940 Trautloft´s
Geschwaderadjutant in JG 54. Later on he acted
in JG 54 also as Technischer Offizier and in early
48
INFO Eduard
1942 became commander of 7./JG 54. Later in
the war he was a member of several fighter
command headquarters in Western Europe. He
was credited with 21 victories. He achieved his
first successes on the Eastern front on June 25
when he shot down two twin-engine bombers
as his 7th and 8th victories. His aircraft, which
this pilot has captured on color footage, bears
the non-standard designation, which relate to
his position as technical officer. The airplane was
camouflaged on the upper surfaces in brown and
green paints.
June 2023