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his possible capture or killing, he was withdrawn from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