BUILT

Hptm. Gerhard Schröder, CO of II.(Sturm)/JG 4, Welzow, Germany, September 1944

The death of Obstlt. Hans-Günther von Kornatzki allowed the then 8. Staffel CO Hptm. Gerhard Schröder

to take command of II./JG 4 on September 12th, 1944. Kornatzki died in a failed emergency landing

attempt that ended in high powered voltage lines. Schroder was thirty-two years old at the time and remained

Gruppe commander until the beginning of March 1945, when he was replaced by the recuperated Maj.

Wilhelm Moritz, who would hold the post until the end of the Second World War. Historians generally assert

that the reason for the change of the II.Gruppe command was the poor showing of the unit during Operation

Bodenplatte. The aircraft was camouflaged in the standard colours of RLM 74/75/76 and carried the JG

4 emblem on the nose and JG 4’s Defense of the Reich identifier in the form of black-white-black fuselage

bands ahead of the tail surfaces.

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INFO Eduard - July 2019

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