Strana 40
Bf 109G-5/R3/R6, Stab III./JG 11, Oldenburg, Germany, September 1943
JG 11 was formed in May 1943 in Neumünster,
Germany, and operated primarily on the Western
Front and in the defense of the Reich from
Oldenburg. The increasing number of daytime
raids by Allied bomber formations on German
cities necessitated an increase in the number of
fighters to defend the Reich’s airspace. For this
reason, JG 11, along with III./JG 54, was deployed
along the northern German coastline. From
July 1943 to the spring of 1944, JG 11 thus found
itself on the front line of defense against USAAF
bombers and remained there until the very
end. It was disbanded only on April 4, 1945. This
Bf 109G-5 was manufactured at the Erla factory.
It bore the III./JG 11 insignia on both sides
beneath the cockpit and was camouflaged in
RLM 74 and RLM 75, the typical color scheme of
the Erla factory in Leipzig, with circular patches
on the sides of the fuselage.
Bf 109G-5/U2/R3/R6, W.Nr. 27112, Maj. Walther Dahl, CO of III./JG 3, Bad Wörishofen, Germany, December 1943
Maj. Walther Dahl was born on March 27, 1916,
in Lugu. He joined the Luftwaffe on May 1, 1939,
and became a fighter pilot. In May 1941, he was
assigned to JG 3. He scored his first aerial
victory on June 22, 1941, in the Soviet Union, and
his last on April 26, 1945. On July 20, 1943, he was
appointed commander of III./JG 3 on the Eastern
Front; in August, his unit was transferred to
Western Europe. At that time, the Gruppe was
equipped with Bf 109G-6 aircraft, but in October
it received three G-5 models, and by the end
of the year, that number had increased to nine.
On the left side of the rudder of Dahl’s aircraft
there were marks of 51 victories achieved on
the Eastern Front, including one Spitfire shot
down over Malta. Photographs of the aircraft
were taken sometime between October 14 and
December 19, 1943, during which time Dahl
scored his fourth and fifth victories in combat
against USAAF bombers. The right side of the
tailplane is not documented, so the decal of his
victories on that side is marked with a question
mark. Dahl’s total score was 128 aerial victories;
for his achievements, he was awarded the
Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves. The Bf 109G-5
W.Nr. 27112 was painted RLM 76 on all surfaces.
Walther Dahl survived the war and died on
November 25, 1985.
KITS 10/2026
INFO Eduard40
October 2026