Page 46
Bf 109G-6, WNr. 15919, Maj. Hermann Graf, CO of JG 50,
Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, Germany, September 1943
Bf 109G-6, Oblt. Theodor Weissenberger, 6./JG 5, Idriza-Pleskau (Pskov),
the Soviet Union, January 1944
Hermann Graf scored a total of 212 kills, most of
them (202) on the Eastern Front. On September
16, 1942, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross with
Oak Leaf Cluster, Swords and Diamonds, the
highest German war decoration at the time, for
achieving 172 victories. Graf flew this brightly
colored aircraft in the autumn of 1943 when he
commanded JG 50. In June 1943, Hermann Graf
founded a unit to pursue Mosquito aircraft at
high altitude, named Jagdgeschwader Süd (not
to be confused with Jagdgruppe Süd), which was
renamed Jagdgeschwader 50 on September 1. The
figure of the Roter Jäger (Red Hunter) symbolized
the Luftwaffe football team, in which Graf played
alongside a number of the German national team
members at the time, and which was known as
the Rote Jäger (Red Hunters). Within JG 50, only
the squadron headquarters and I. Gruppe were
established, and the unit was incorporated into
I./JG 301 at the end of October 1943.
Theodor Weissenberger was born on December 21,
1914, in Mühlheim am Main. He joined the Luftwaffe
in October 1936. Initially he flew the Bf 110s with
1.(Z)/JG 77, which was redesignated 10.(Z)/JG 5
in April 1942. In September 1942 he became
a Bf 109 pilot with 6./JG 5. He was awarded the
Knight’s Cross in November 1942 after achieving
38 victories and destroying a number of ground
targets, including locomotives. In June 1943
he was appointed commander of 7./JG 5 and in
early August, after achieving his 104th victory,
he was awarded the Oak Leaf Cluster. At the end
of September 1943 he took command of 6./JG 5
and in April 1944 he was appointed commander
of the whole of II./JG 5. In early June 1944 he left
the Eastern Front and became commander of
I./JG 5 in Normandy. In December 1944, he became
commander of I./JG 7 with the Me 262 jets, and
in mid-January 1945 was appointed Commodore
of JG 7. In total, he achieved 208 victories, eight
of them flying a Me 262. He died on June 10, 1950,
during an automobile race at the Nürburgring. His
Bf 109G-6 Black 4 was in standard Mtt Regensburg
camouflage completed with white patches on the
upper surfaces. This design was necessary for
the area and period of operation of 6./JG 5 in the
climatic conditions.
KITS 06/2024
INFO Eduard46
Červenec 2024