Strana 35
Bf 109F-4/Trop, Hptm. Eduard Neumann, CO of I./JG 27, Martuba, Libya, December 1941
Bf 109F-4/Trop, W.Nr. 8693, Lt. Hans-Joachim Marseille, 3./JG 27, Martuba, Libya, February 1942
Eduard “Edu” Neumann was born on July 5, 1911,
in Molodia in then Austria-Hungary. In 1934,
he joined Luftwaffe and went through fighter
pilot training. As a fighter pilot he became
member of the Legion Condor in the Spanish Civil
war, where he achieved two victories. Upon his
return to Germany, he was appointed commander
of 4./JG 134, which was later renamed 4./JG 26.
On July 21, 1940, he was appointed commander
of I./JG 27 and flew with this Gruppe during
the Battle of Britain and also briefly took part
in the crusade against Yugoslavia. From April
1941, the I./JG 27 fought under his command in
North Africa. On June 8, 1942, he was appointed
as commander of the whole of JG 27. Neumann
led this Geschwader until April 22, 1943, and
then he handed over the duty to Gustav Rödel
as he himself was assigned a staff post. At the
end of WWII he was serving as Jagdfliegerführer
Oberitalien (Commander of the fighter units in
the North Italian area of combat). After the war
he established an engineering company and
continued flying as a private pilot. He died on
August 9, 2004. Neumann’s aircraft was painted
RLM 79 on the upper sides, the undersides were
painted RLM 78. The yellow color of the rudder
bore symbols of his aerial victories. White band
ahead of the tail marked the Luftwaffe aircraft
flown in the Mediterranean region. The yellow
engine cover sported the emblem of the I./JG 27.
This aircraft was flown by Lt. Hans-Joachim
Marseille, a fighter ace with 158 kills to his
credit. Marseille was awarded the Knight’s
Cross with Swords, Oak Leaves and Diamonds
as the recognition of his remarkable success.
He kept a rapid rate of enemy aircraft shot down
with many multiple victories combat sorties.
The German propaganda used it to make
Marseille a war-hero star. The tale ended with
Marseille’s death. He was killed in a bailing
accident on September 30, 1942. The camouflage
of his aircraft consisted of RLM 79 Sandgelb
on the upper surfaces and RLM 78 Himmelblau
on the lower ones. The rudder was adorned
with fifty kill marks (Abschussmarken) and
appears to be oversprayed with a red-brown
primer. Marseille achieved his 49th and 50th
kills on February 21, 1942. His victims were two
Kittyhawks. The white-painted wingtips and
fuselage band were Luftwaffe markings used on
the aircraft flown in the Mediterranean theatre.
KITS 06/2025
INFO Eduard
35
June 2025