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Bf 109G-14/AS, WNr. 784938, III./JG 6, Bissel, Germany, January 1945
Bf 109G-14/AS, WNr. 782xxx, str. Vladimir Sandtner, 2.ZLJ, Lučko, Croatia, April 1945
One of the last established Luftwaffe units was
Jagdgeschwader 6 established in July 1944.
Its Stab plus I. and II. Gruppe were activated
in Königsberg (nowadays Kaliningrad) and
equipped with Fw 190A fighters. Its III. Gruppe
was established in October 1944 by re-naming
I./JG 5 and equipped with Messerschmitts
Bf 109G. On January 1, 1945, the entire unit took
part in the operation Bodenplatte, an attack of
the fighter units on the Allied airports located on
the liberated territories of the Western Europe.
Bf 109G-14/AS marked Green 1 was photographed
in May 1945 at the airport in Twente. It was
reported that it had probably landed here due to
the engine failure on its return from the operation
Bodenplatte. JG 6 aircraft typically carried red-
white-red markings on the rear fuselage, this
particular aircraft sported only 2 bands.
Croatian pilot of Slovak origin, Vladimir Sandtner,
was trained as a member of the Croatian Air
Force in 1943 by Luftwaffe units JG 104 and
II./EJG 1. In April 1944, he was provisionally
assigned to 3./JG 52 on the Eastern Front, as the
unit with Croatian pilots, 15.(Kroat.)/JG 52, was
withdrawn from the front at that time. During the
fighting over Romania in June 1944, he achieved
a confirmed Il-2 kill, while another victory over
a Yak-9 was not confirmed. In the spring of
1945, Sandtner served with the rank of stražnik
(Feldwebel) in the 2. zrakoplovno lovačko jato
(fighter squadron), which was involved in anti-
partisan operations and occasionally clashed
with RAF fighters. During a reconnaissance flight
on April 16 near Senj, he deserted to Italy together
with stražnik Josip Ceković, landing at Falconara
(Sandtner) and Iesi (Ceković) airfield. Sandtner’s
aircraft had register number 2104 in Croatian
Air Force inventory. An ibex was painted on both
sides of the fuselage.
KITS 09/2024
INFO Eduard
43
September 2024