Strana 45
Bf 110F-2, Oblt. Günther Tonne, CO of II./ZG 1, Belgorod, the Soviet Union, June 1942
Bf 110F-4, Oblt. Martin Bauer, CO of 11./NJG 6, Zilistea, Romania, June 1944
Günther Tonne was born on May 21, 1916, in
Frankfurt and in 1935 he joined the German
Navy (Kriegsmarine). In 1937, he stepped into the
ranks of the Luftwaffe. After undergoing training
on Bf 110 heavy fighters, he was assigned to
ZG 1. In 1940, he shot down seven British aircraft
in combat over the English islands and added
a British Blenheim to his score in April 1941,
while serving as CO of 6./SKG 210. On January
4, 1942, this unit was redesignated as 6./ZG 1
and from February 4, 1942, Tonne commanded
the entire II./ZG 1. In December 1942 he took over
command of the newly formed SKG 10 armed
with Fw 190 fighter-bombers. Engine failure
on take off cost him his life while flying an
Fw 190A-5 out of Reggio di Calabria on July 15,
1943. In combat during the Second World War he
shot down some twenty enemy aircraft and for
his success he was awarded the Knight‘s Cross
on October 5, 1941, to which were posthumously
added Oak Leaves on October 24, 1944. While
serving with II./ZG 1 in 1942 over the Russian
plains, Oblt. Tonne flew several Bf 110F-2s.
Zerstöregeschwader 1 was named ‚Wespe‘
(Wasp) and the noses of their aircraft carried
artwork depicting these aggressive insects.
The standard camouflage scheme was sprayed
over with squiggles of RLM 70 or 71 on the upper
and side surfaces while the yellow surfaces
denoted service on the Eastern Front.
After the completion of pilot training in March
1941, Martin Bauer continued with blind flying
instruction and was subsequently assigned to
Nachtjagdgeschwader 1. At the beginning of
June he was transferred to NJG 6, with which
he would serve out the war. His final tally of
aerial victories is not precisely known, and
historians place it at between seven and nine.
At the beginning, the night fighter Bf 110s of
NJG 6 carried a monotone RLM 76 scheme on
all surfaces, the black starboard wing bottom
appeared later.
KITS 06/2026
INFO Eduard
45
June 2026