Markings for Fw 190D-9 1/48

WNr. 600424, Lt. Heinz Sachsenberg, München-Riem, Germany, April-May 1945

Lt. Heinz Sachsenberg (104 victories) was the CO of Platzschutzschwarm. The aircraft assigned to Sachsenberg carried the inscription ‘Verkaaft’s mei Gwand, I foahr in himmel’, which is a Bavarian proverb ‘sell my shroud, I am leaving for Heaven’. The font was Schwab, which was popular at the time. Sachsenberg, holder of the Knight’s Cross, came from an aviation family. His uncle Gotthard was an World War I ace and holder of Pour le Mérite, as he shot down 31 enemy aircraft. Heinz’s brother, also named Gotthard, flew a night fighter with NJG 3 and shot down two British bombers and fell on March 8, 1943. Sachsenberg´s ‘Dora’ was found at the end of the war at Munich-Riem, where it was left behind after the JV 44 fled to Austria at the end of April 1945.

WNr. 210194, Fw. Werner Hohenberg, Stab I./JG 2, Merzhausen, Germany, January 1, 1945

Fw. Werner Hohenberg, took part in the raid on St. Trond airport flying as a part of the I./JG 2 staff flight of commander Franz Hrdlicka. During this sortie Hohenberg´s aircraft was hit in the tail surfaces and on return the engine of his aircraft was hit by the anti-aircraft gun projectiles. At 9:35 he force-landed at Dorff village and spent the rest of the war in captivity. The B Battery of the 430th AAA Batalion was credited with shooting him down. Hohenberg’s Dora sports a typical Sorau factory camouflage in RLM 75/81/76 on the fuselage and also on the wings. The spiral was painted on the front part of the propeller spinner only. Stripes on the rear fuselage indicate JG 2 deployment in the Reich Defense role.

WNr. 210909, Maj. Gerhard Barkhorn, Stab JG 6, Welzow, Germany, February 1945

The personal aircraft of Gerhard Barkhorn, the new CO of JG 6 at the time, was manufactured by the Focke-Wulf  factory in Sorau. The name ‘Christl’ is a reference to Barkhorn´s wife Christa. Marking on the fuselage identifies the Geschwader’s CO aircraft. Barkhorn achieved 301 aerial victories during WWII, all of them as a member of JG 52, putting him in second place among German fighter aces. His first victory was achieved on July 2, 1940 and the last on January 5, 1945. In 1945, Barkhorn became the CO of JG 6 and flew Me 262 jet fighters as a member of JV 44 shortly before the German surrender. Barkhorn was awarded the Knight´s Cross on August 23, 1942, with Oak Leaves (on January 11, 1944) and Swords (on March 2, 1944). In the post-war era, he joined Bundesluftwaffe.

WNr. 210003, Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, 12./JG 26, Germany, 1945

Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, a 38-kills fighter ace and Knight's Cross holder, noted in his memoirs that he used Dora WNr. 210003 as a personal mount from September 1944 to the end of hostilities. He personally destroyed her to avoid falling into enemy hands at the end of the war. At first, during Dortenmann´s service with III./JG 54,  the airplane was marked 'Red 1'. In late February III./JG 54 was redesignated IV./JG 26, and Dortenmann was appointed Staffelkapitän of 12./JG 26. His Dora became 'Black 1'. The White-Black band appeared on the tail as well as IV. Gruppe‘s wave. According to Dortenmann´s memoirs, the original RLM 74/75 camouflage scheme was changed to RLM 81/82, but the reason for re-painting remains unknown. A new style blown canopy was installed instead of the original flat one. The vertical part of the tail unit was painted yellow from JG 54 days.