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Hptm. Erich Hartmann, CO of 4./JG 52, Csór, Hungary, November 1944
WNr. 462649, Hptm. Alfred Grislawski, CO of III./JG 53,
Paderborn, Germany, September 1944
Erich Hartmann, the most successful fighter
pilot of all times, joined the 7. Staffel of JG 52
on October 10, 1942, as his first unit to serve
with. He remained with Jagdgeschwader 52 till
the end of World War Two; in fact, he became
the commander of its I. Gruppe. The total count
of his victories is believed to be 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 the
Soviet Union and was not released until 1955.
The following year he joined the ranks of Western
German Luftwaffe. He became the commander of
JG 71, the first fighter plane Luftwaffe squadron
equipped with jet fighter aircraft. Hartmann
retired in 1970 and died on September 20, 1993.
Standard camouflage of Hartmann’s “white 1”
was complemented by black tulip outlined in
white on the nose of the aircraft. This was the
appearance from the time of his command of
4. Staffel. On the left side, underneath the cockpit,
there was a heart with Hartmann’s wife’s name
written over it. The yellow bottom wingtips and
the yellow band around the rear fuselage were
markings of the aircraft serving on the Eastern
Front. The photograph of the nose of this aircraft
shows that the engine cover is identical to those
produced by Erla factory in Leipzig.
Alfred Grislawski was born on November
2, 1919, in Wanne-Eickel in the Ruhr area.
In July 1940, he joined III./JG 52 on the Western
Front. After several months III./JG 52 moved
to Romania and was tasked with defense of
Ploesti in mid-1941. Later, the unit participated
in combat on the southern front in the USSR.
In April 1943, Grislawski achieved his 100th
aerial victory. In June 1943, he and his comrades
were wounded by a mine explosion near
Taman. After recovering, he was transferred
to the Western Front, joining JG 50 in August
1943. In November 1943, he was transferred to
JG 1, where he served in command positions.
In August 1944, he was given command of
11./JG 53. On September 26, 1944, he shot down
a P-38, his 133rd and final victim in aerial
combats. Shortly afterward, he was downed by
Colonel Hubert Zemke flying P-51. Grislawski
bailed out but, fearing he might be killed while
parachuting, deployed his parachute too late
at low altitude. That resulted in a hard landing
that injured his spine. He was treated in Bad
Gastein and fell into American captivity in May
1945. Due to his war injuries, he did not join
the Bundesluftwaffe. The Black 6 aircraft was
a relatively new aircraft, recently built at
the Erla factory in Leipzig. It’s camouflage
reconstruction was based on Grislawski’s
description.
KITS 12/2024
INFO Eduard32
December 2024