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Bf 109G-6/R6, Hptm. Anton Hackl, Stab III./JG 11,
Oldenburg, Germany, January 1944
Bf 109G-6/R6, Maj. Ludwig Franzisket, CO of I./JG 27,
Fels am Wagram, Austria, January 1944
After recovering from a severe wound sustained in
Africa on February 4, 1943, during a dogfight with
a P-38 Lightning, Anton Hackl returned to combat
activity in September 1943. Hptm. Hackl, by that
time already an ace with 126 kills and a recipient
of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, was
reassigned to III./JG 11, incorporated into the Reich
Defense system. The following month he took
command of the unit. During his time with JG 11,
which ended with another wound on April 15, 1944,
this time in combat with American P-47s, he had
already scored 141 kills. During his subsequent
treatment he received the Knight’s Cross with
the Swords. After his recovery, he continued his
service as commander of other Luftwaffe units.
Anton Hackl is reported to have shot down a total
of 192 enemy aircraft (34 of which were four-
engine bombers) during World War II, with another
24 listed as unconfirmed kills. He died on July 9,
1984, in his hometown of Reims. Anton Hackl’s
aircraft was sprayed with the standard Luftwaffe
camouflage colors of the Messerschmitt factory
in Regensburg. The tail section of his aircraft
was painted white for quicker recognition of
the formation leader during aerial combat.
On the rear of the fuselage, there was sprayed the
designation of the JG 11 aircraft – a yellow stripe,
900 mm wide.
Ludwig Franzisket began his combat career
with 1. Staffel of JG 1 (later III./JG 27) and scored
his first kills in May 1940 over the Netherlands.
He later took part in the campaign in France
and from September 1940 he served with Staff
I./JG 27. Franzisket received the Knight’s Cross
during his service in Africa on July 23, 1941, after
he had achieved 22 kills. In December that year
he was appointed commander of I./JG 27 and
in the summer of 1943 he took command of the
entire I./JG 27. At the time the unit operated in
the skies over the Reich, where it faced Allied
air raids. Franzisket’s victories include two
B-17s shot down near Schweinfurt on October
14, 1943. The total score eventually stood at 43
victories, including four B-17s. The green stripe
around the rear of the fuselage was used to mark
JG 27’s aircraft as part of the Reich’s air defenses.
The JG 27 emblem was painted on the engine.
The double black wedge on the fuselage
symbolized Franzisket’s command position.
The white rudder marked the aircraft of the leader
of the formation.
KITS 06/2024
INFO Eduard
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Červenec 2024