Markings for Bf 109G-10 ERLA 1/72
COL A
W.Nr. 151556, 13./JG 301, Stendal, Germany, February 1945
JG 301 IV. Gruppe was founded on November 24, 1944, in Gardelegen. From there, it immediately began to fly air counterattacks against Soviet forces attempting to cross the Oder River. After the Soviets succeeded, IV. Gruppe was moved to serve in the system of the air defense of Berlin, but after heavy losses of pilots and aircraft, the unit was disbanded on March 19, 1945. This again took place in Gardelegen. As a result of intense fighting, pilots were sharing aircraft and White 44 was one of those used by multiple pilots. W.Nr 151556 is an example of a Bf 109G-10 from 151XXX production series, manufactured by the Erla factory in Leipzig. These aircraft were characterized by large bulges on the top of the wings above the landing gear bays to house larger wheels. No further details about this aircraft are known.
COL B
W.Nr. 490617, Uffz. Gerhard Reiher, 8./JG 3, Alperstedt, Germany, November 1944
On November 2, 1944, the whole JG 3 suffered heavy losses during its IV.(Sturm)/JG 3 Sturmjägers’ attack on the formation of 91st BG B-17s North-West from Halle. The II. Gruppe suffered the heaviest casualties when in a very short period of time it lost fifteen Bf 109s and another eleven were battle-damaged! During the American fighters’ attack twelve German pilots were killed. One of the airframes delivered to compensate for these losses was this Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10 manufactured by Erla factory in Leipzig, marked Blue 2 and assigned to Uffz. Reiher. Additional marking consisted of the unit insignia painted on both sides of the nose and a white band on the rear fuselage indicating JG 3 within the Reich Defense system.
COL C
2./JG 27, Grossenhain, Germany, April 1945
Like many other Luftwaffe units, the pilots and ground crew of 2./JG 27, along with their equipment, were constantly on the move from early 1945 onwards, depending on the situation and intensity of fighting at the front. They gradually retreated from the Rhine across the entire German Reich and in April 1945 they appeared in Prague-Kbely. In May, they ended their WWII fighting in Salzburg, surrendering to American troops. Black 13 was an aircraft from the 151XXX production series with camouflage in RLM 81 and RLM 82 colors. Many parts of the underside of the wing were left unpainted. Some historians state the number 13 was red, thus the decal sheet includes both variants, red and black.
COL D
I./KG(J) 6, Bad Aibling, Germany, May 1945
The decision to disband the Luftwaffe bomber units, which was made in September 1944, and the related transfer of bomber pilots to fighter duties, necessitated the creation of retraining units. In November 1944, I./KG(J) 6 was formed in Gerstungen from KG 77, which handed over its bomber aircraft and moved with its staff to the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia to Prague-Kbely Airport. Along with it, the remaining units of KG(J) 6 were transferred namely Gruppe II./KG(J) 6 to Prague-Klecany Airport, and Gruppe III./KG(J) 6 to Prague-Ruzyně Airport. Here, the pilots familiarized themselves with the Bf 109G or Bf 109K and the Me 262 jets. Although German industry was struggling with many problems at the beginning of 1945 as a result of Allied air raids and unfavorable developments on the battlefields, I./KG(J) 6 received new Bf 109G/K aircraft in March 1945, and III. /KG(J) 6 even took delivery of Me 262s. From the beginning of March 1945, American fighter escort of bomber formations took every opportunity to attack Prague's airfields. Training at KG(J) 6 was thus severely limited, and German pilots were forced to engage in fierce combat to protect their own airfields. At the end of April and beginning of May 1945, the transfer of airworthy aircraft to Bad Aibling began. The KG(J) 6 aircraft had a red and black checkered band on the fuselage and large white numbers.
COL E
Lt. Friedrich-Wilhelm Schenk, 2./JG 300, Borkheide, Germany, February 1945
Friends and colleagues of Friedrich-Wilhelm Schenk came up with the nickname Timo-Schenko for him. It was a joke that took advantage of the name of Soviet Marshall Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko, and it quickly caught on to the point where the ground crew painted the name on the fuselage of Schenk's aircraft. Friedrich-Wilhelm Schenk flew with JG 300 from July 1944 up to March 1945, when he was reassigned to JG 7 and flew Me 262 jet fighters there. During the Second World War, he achieved seven kills and after the war he became a Lufthansa pilot.
COL F
W.Nr. 491353, Cap. Ugo Drago, 1a Squadriglia, 2o Gruppo, ANR, Aviano, Italy, February 1945
After the creation of Italian Social Republic, led by Benito Mussolini, on September 18, 1943, on the territory of Italy occupied by German military,, Germany allowed this puppet state to establish its own military force of four divisions. Its air force component called Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana consisted of two fighter plane groups (Gruppo Caccia), torpedo groups (Gruppo Aerosiluranti Buscaglia) and several transportation squadrons. In 1945, both fighter groups flew Messerschmitts Bf 109G-6/G-10/G-14. The Commanding Officer of 1a Squadriglia Gigi Tre Osei, was in this time Capitano Ugo Drago, an ace with seventeen kills to his credit. In April 1945, he was awarded the German Knight's Cross. After the war, he emigrated to Argentina, where he made a living as a flight instructor. He returned to Italy in 1953 and took up a post with Alitalia with which he flew until 1973. He died in Rome on April 22, 2007. Towards the end of the war, the majority of German markings on ANR aircraft in the form of fuselage and wing crosses were no longer removed, only the swastika on the tail being oversprayed and replaced by Italian markings. This marking, an Italian flag edged in yellow, was also added to the fuselage sides.