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Bf 109G-6/R6, WNr. 440190, Lt. Alfred Hammer, CO of 6./JG 53,
Vienna-Seyring, Austria, February 1944
Bf 109G-6/R6, WNr. 26048, Oblt. Friedrich Brock, 8./JG 54, Ludwigslust,
Germany, January 1944
Alfred “Martello” Hammer achieved a total of
26 victories during World War II. His first prey was
a Spitfire shot down over Malta on October 25,
1942, the last one was Auster destroyed on April
14, 1945. Hammer’s entire war service was with
JG 53 “Pik As”. From November 1941 he underwent
operational training with Erg.Gr./JG 53 and in
March 1942 was assigned to 4./JG 53. In February
1943, he became adjutant of II./JG 53 and led
6./JG 53 from July. In early 1945 he took command
of IV./JG 53 and remained in this post until the
end of the war. He flew the Bf 109G-6 WNr. 440190
during combat operations of JG 53 from the base
in Vienna, where it moved after the retreat from
the Mediterranean. He was probably flying this
aircraft, when he was wounded by defensive
fire of B-17 over Linz on January 24, 1944. On the
nose of Hammer’s Messerschmitt, there was the
ace of spades painted, which was the emblem of
JG 53. The red stripe around the rear of the fuselage
identified the aircraft used by JG 53 at that time.
Friedrich Brock was born on May 6, 1916, in
Perlach. In August 1939, he began his training
at the Schule/Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment
23 in Kaufbeuren. In November 1940 he transferred
to Flugzeugführerschule A/B 63 in Marienbad.
In March 1942 he joined Jagdfliegervorschule 3 in
Vienna-Schwechat. He completed his fighter pilot
training on November 12, 1942, with Ergänzungs-
Jagdgruppe Ost in France. His first combat unit
became 8./JG 54 at Siverskaya Air Base on
November 13, 1942. In January 1943, III./JG 54
was transferred to Oldenburg to defend northern
Germany. There Brock achieved his first kill on
June 13, 1943. He was shot down several times
during fightings with American B-17s but was
seriously wounded on April 8, 1944. His “Black 8”
machine bore all the identifying features of the
period, i.e., the 8./JG 54 emblem on the nose, the
III./JG 54 emblem under the cockpit, and a blue
identification stripe on the rear. Flying this aircraft,
Uffz. Günther Sahl was shot down and killed on
April 9, 1944. After his recovery, Friedrich Brock
became the operations officer of III./JG 54 (later
renamed IV./JG 26) in October 1944 and did not
intervene in combat anymore. In May 1945 he was
captured and after his release in September 1945
he devoted himself to his profession as a dentist.
He died on May 3, 1994, in Berlin.
KITS 06/2024
INFO Eduard48
Červenec 2024