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Bf 109G-10, 13./JG 27, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, March 1945
Bf 109G-10, Hptm. Erich Hartmann, CO of I./JG 52, Görlitz, Germany, April 1945
After the Allied landings in Normandy in early
June 1944, IV. Gruppe JG 27 moved from Hungary
to the French airfield of Champfleury-la-Perthe
and began their participation in combat on the
Western Front. After suffering heavy losses,
the unit went to Lower Saxony for rest and
replenishment. The unit was assigned to the
Defense of the Reich system and was disbanded
on March 31, 1945. Pilots and personnel were
distributed among the other units of JG 27.
The white wave marking on the rear fuselage
identified this aircraft, manufactured at the
Messerschmitt factory in Regensburg, as being
assigned to the IV. Gruppe, and the green band
was recognition marking of the Defense of the
Reich unit JG 27.
Erich Hartmann, the most successful fighter pilot
of all times, first joined the 7. Staffel of JG 52 on
October 10, 1942. He stayed with Jagdgeschwader
52 till the end of the World War Two; in fact, he
became the commander of its I. Gruppe. The total
count of his victories was 352. For his exceptional
success he was awarded the Knight’s Cross
of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and
Diamonds. After WWII he was transferred to the
POW camp in the Ural Mountains in Soviet Union
and was not released until 1955. The following
year he joined the ranks of Western German
Luftwaffe. He became commander of JG 71, the
first Luftwaffe squadron equipped with jet-
powered fighter aircraft. He retired in 1970 and
died on September 20, 1993. Hartmann’s aircraft,
manufactured at the Erla factory in Leipzig,
carried a black tulip marking outlined in white on
the nose. Below the cockpit on the left side there
was a heart painted with the name of Hartmann’s
wife. The Gruppe leader marking took the shape
of a double wedge, but only as a white outline.
KITS 09/2024
INFO Eduard
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September 2024