KITS 07/2021

WNr. 681343, Obgefr. Karl Kleemann, 7.(Sturm)/JG 4, Welzow, Germany, September 1944

Karl Kleemann became a member of 7. Staffel II.(Sturm)/JG 4 in August 1944. The newly formed unit was to fight with Allied

four-engine bomber formations. Its first combat occurred on September 11, 1944, and its pilots achieved considerable success

in combat with aircraft from the 3rd Bomb Division. With the support of Messerschmitts from the III. Gruppe, they managed to

shoot down fourteen B-17s, mostly from the 100th Bomb Group. The Sturmgruppe paid for this with the loss of at least 20 Sturmbocks and 12 pilots killed. Karl Kleemann in the aircraft designated “Yellow 1” was one of them. To escape the battle area, many

Sturmbock pilots got into dogfights with American fighters. Kleemann's machine appeared shortly after 12:10 at an altitude of 160

ft (50 m) over the town of Thum, pursued by several P-51s. After a sharp turn over the center of town, the aircraft crashed in

a field just next to the town hospital and exploded. In September 2018 a monument was unveiled near the crash site, designed as

a memorial to all the victims of the Battle of the Erzgebirge. Kleemann's Sturmbock bore the standard livery used by II.(Sturm)/

JG 4. The RLM 74/75/76 color scheme was supplemented by the fuselage markings of JG 4 according to the Reich Defense System (black and white band). The horizontal stripe of the II. Gruppe was not used on JG 4 aircraft during this period. The emblem

on the engine cowling could have had the crest of the knight's helmet painted yellow, or it could have remained unpainted. During

the period in question, JG 4 still used side armor windows on its Fw 190s. The fuselage machine guns were often removed.

WNr. 739431, Ltn. Norbert Graziadei, 5.(Sturm)/JG 300, Löbnitz, Germany, October 1944

A native of Vienna, Norbert Graziadei was born on February 20, 1920. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1941 and completed pilot training,

after which he flew with a transport squadron. In April 1944, he joined the fighters, underwent night fighter training, and on

June 14 he was sent to II./JG 300, which was at the time conducting Wilde Sau night flights using single seaters to fight British

bomber raids. Later on the unit was transferred to the Defence of the Reich system, which necessitated change in its activities,

as it became a day combat unit. Graziadei was chosen by the commander of 6./JG 300 as his deputy and technical officer. In September, the change occurred again and II. Gruppe became Sturmgruppe, i.e. a special group for fighting daylight bombers. On 25

September 1944, Ltn. Graziadei, nicknamed Naggi, was transferred to the 5. Staffel, where he also acted as the technical officer

and CO´ s deputy, now to Ltn. Bretschneider. Norbert Graziadei survived deployment during World War II, shooting down a total

of ten enemy aircraft. He died in 1999. During his time with the 5. (Sturm)/JG 300, he flew at least two Fw 190A-8/R2s, designated

“Red 2”, which bore the inscription “Moidl”, the Tyrolean dialect term for girl (Mädchen), on the armour under the front plate.

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INFO Eduard - July 2021