Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-10 of 5./NJG 11 Fassberg, May 1945

There exist a number of fairly well-known and invariably poorly reproduced - if not to say incorrectly captioned- photos of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-10s of 5./NJG 11 which were extensively photographed by RAF personnel at Faßberg during May 1945. Below are two such examples ( in this instance saved on Marc-André Haldimann's Flickr pages, highly recommended for Bf 109 images..)

Courtesy of  Luftwaffe author and researcher Jean-Yves Lorant I am able to post two exceptionally good quality images of "White 43" WNr. 130369. Click on the images to enjoy a full-screen view. Finished in an overall light blue-grey 76 Hellblau "White 43" wears a colour scheme that was typical for the 'Mosquito hunters' of 5./NJG 11 during 1945.  Even at distance in the darkness aircraft wearing dark camouflage finishes could be quite easily spotted, especially at high altitude. Note the airframe has been polished for an extra turn of speed. Also of interest is the small sliding ventilation panel on the cockpit glazing. The last anti-Moskito sorties were flown during March 1945 and the handful of machines and pilots of the so-called "Kommando Faßberg" flew night ground attack sorties against Allied road convoys throughout the month of April 1945 right up to the arrival of British forces on the airfield. (Photo credits : Jean-Yves Lorant Collection)

Fritz Gniffke of NJG 11 recalls his first wilde Sau sortie

Source 

http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/moskito-chasers-of-luftwaffe-1-bf-109.html

BF 109 G-6/AS "13 GREEN", JG 1 of WALTER OESAU

Walter "Gulle" Oesau
Oberst     Walter “Gulle” Oesau was born on 28 June 1913 at Farnewinkel in the Dithmarschen region of Holst. He enlisted in the army in 1933 and served in an artillery regiment. By 1934 he had become a Fahnenjunker and was undertaking flying training with the Deutschen Verkehrsfliegerschule. On completing his flying training he was posted to Jagdgeschwader “Richtofen”. Leutnant Oesau was one of the first fighter pilots to join J/88 in Spain in April 1938. Here he served with 3. J/88 and gained nine victories. He became one of only 27 recipients of the Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Brillanten . He was also wounded in this campaign and was awarded the Spanish Wound Badge. On 1 March 1939, Oesau joined the Stabsschwarm of I./JG 2. On 15 July, Oberleutnant Oesau was appointed Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 20 which was later redesignated 7./JG 51. Oesau gained his first victory of World War 2 on 13 May 1940. He ended the French campaign with five victories to his credit. On 18 August 1940 he became the fifth Luftwaffe pilot to reach 20 World War 2 victories, bringing him the award of the Ritterkreuz. On 25 August 1940, Hauptmann Oesau was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 51. On 11 November 1940, Oesau was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 3. He led the Gruppe to the Eastern front where the invasion of Russia was launched. He recorded his 40th victory on 5 February 1941. On 6 February, he was awarded the Eichenlaub (Nr 9). He recorded his 50th victory on 30 June. He claimed five enemy aircraft shot down on 10 July 1941 for his 64th to 68th victories. He recorded his 70th victory on 11 July and his 80th on 17 July.  On 15 July his victory tally had reached 80 and he became only the third man to be awarded the Schwertern. At the end of July 1941 he was recalled to the Western Front to take command of JG 2. He recorded his 100th victory on 26 October, only the third Luftwaffe pilot to reach this landmark. He was forbidden to fly further combat missions, his combat experience and leadership qualities being considered too valuable to risk. A series of staff appointments followed, including being appointed Jagdfliegerführer 4 Brittany.
Stabschwarm and Kommodore JG 2: Oblt. Erich Leie (118 v.), Maj. Walter Oesau, Oblt. Rudi Pflanz (52 v.) and Ofw. Günther Seeger (56 v.)
    On 12 November 1943, Oberst Oesau returned to combat when he was appointed Kommodore of JG 1 following the death of Oberst Hans Philipp (206 victories, RK-S). He soon added at least 14 victories against the USAAF formations of B-17 and B-24 four-engined bombers. On 11 May 1944, Oesau, leading three aircraft of the Stabsschwarm, took off from Paderborn to intercept Allied bombers raiding north-eastern Belgium and Luxembourg. During his attack on the bombers he was bounced by escorting P-38s. In the ensuing combat he was shot down and killed in his Bf 109 G-6/AS (W.Nr. 20 601) “Green 13” near St Vith.
     “Gulle” Oesau scored 127 victories in over 300 combat missions. 9 victories were scored during the Spanish Civil War, 74 were scored on the Western front including 14 four-engined bombers (one B-17 as engültige Vernichtung) and 44 over the Eastern front.

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 IV./JG27 Red 13+~ flown by Ofw. Heinrich Bartels, Kalamaki, Greece, September 1943

      Heinrich Bartels was born on 13 July 1918 at Linz in Austria. From early summer 1941, Bartels served with Ergänzungsstaffel/JG 26 on the Channel front. He recorded his first victory on 19 August, when he shot down a RAF Spitfire fighter. He claimed a second Spitfire shot down on 27 August. Bartels was transferred to 11./JG 1 on 27 January 1942. On 10 March, 11./JG 1 was redesignated 8./JG 5. Bartels was to become one of the most successful pilots of 8./JG 5. This unit was under the command of Hauptmann Hermann Segatz (40 victories, DK-G) and was based on the Northern or Polar front. Bartels recorded 47 Russian aircraft shot down in 100 missions in this theatre, including 21 victories in September alone.

Heinrich Bartels of 8./JG 5 after 100th combat mission on 11 September 1942. His Bf 109 F "Black 13" was named Hella.
      On 13 November 1942 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz for 46 victories. In the spring of 1943, Bartels was transferred to JG 27 based in the Mediterranean theatre. Oberfeldwebel Bartels was assigned to 11./JG 27. He had 49 victories to his credit at this time. Bartels gained 14 victories  in October 1943, including three USAAF P-38 twin-engine fighters shot down on 8 October (54-56) and five victories, including a further three P-38s, shot down on 25 October (57-61). By the end of 1943, Bartels score stood at 73, including four victories on 15 November (67-70), all P-38 fighters shot down on one mission over Greece. Bartels operated on Reichsverteidigung duties in April and May 1944. He claimed 12 victories, including three victories in a day on two occasions, before deploying to the Invasion front. Here, in five missions, he recorded 11 victories. For these achievements, Bartels was nominated for the Eichenlaub. By 23 December 1944, Bartels’ victory count had increased to 98.
Fw. Heinrich Bartels is showing his 70th victory bar on the rudder of his Bf 109 G-6, "Red 13", WNr. 27 169, at Kalamaki airfield in Greece on 17 November, 1943.

    At this time he was serving with 15./JG 27 formed on 12 June 1944. On 23 December, he took off at 11:00 with his flight. His wingman was Oberfähnrich Rolf Brand. Gaining altitude they flew to the Köln – Bonn area. Over Bonn, at 7500 metres, they saw fuel tanks dropping in front of their noses. Those drop tanks came from P-47 fighters of the USAAF 56th Fighter Group "Red Noses" in pursuit of the aircraft flown by Heinz Rossinger (3 v.). Bartels promptly shot down one of the American fighters on Rossinger's tail. It was his 99th and last victory. Heinrich Bartels failed to return. 24 years later, on 26 January 1968, Bartels’ Bf 109 G-10 (W.Nr. 130 359) “Yellow 13” was found at Villip near Bad Godesberg. In the cockpit was the intact parachute...
    Heinrich Bartels flew about 500 combat missions and shot down 99 enemy aircraft: 49 on the Eastern front with JG 5 and 50 with JG 27 in the Mediterranean and in defence of Germany. His score included nine P-47s eleven P-51sand fourteen P-38s!

Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2, Stab/JG 51, Geschwaderkommodore Oberstleutnant Werner Mölders, June 1941

Werner "Vati" Mölders
Oberst     Werner "Vati" Mölders was born on 18 March 1913, at Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhrgebiet. He joined the army in 1931 and served as an officer cadet in the Infantry. In 1934, with the rebirth of the Luftwaffe as a result of Hitler coming to power, Mölders requested a transfer to become a pilot. At his first attempt to join the Luftwaffe, he was declared unfit for flying. He tried again and was accepted for flying training. He was badly afflicted by air sickness but overcame the problem through sheer willpower. On 1 July 1935, Leutnant Mölders was posted to Fliegergruppe Schwerin (later to be redesignated I./StG 162). He was appointed Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 334 (later to be redesignated 1./JG 53) on 15 March 1936. On 1 April 1936, he was transferred to the Schulstaffel of JG 134 to undertake instructing duties. For two years he was an instructor at Wiesbaden. He volunteered for the Condor Legion and arrived by sea in Cadiz on 14 April that year. He took over from Adolf Galland at the head of 3.J/88. During the Spanish conflict he showed considerable qualities not only as a pilot and marksman but also, and especially, as a tactician and organiser. Together with other airmen, in Spain he developed the technique known as the "finger four", or fan, which improved a flight's all-round vision and encouraged the pilots' initiative. Between 15 July and 3 November 1938, he shot down fourteen aircraft: eleven I-16 "Mosca", two Polikarpov I-15 "Chato" and one SB-2 "Katyuska", as well as one unconfirmed I-16 victory, most of these at the controls of  the Bf 109 C-1 coded 6-79 "Luchs". He was awarded the Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern und Brillanten in recognition of his achievements. At the end of the year he returned to Germany as the highest scoring German pilot of the Spanish conflict, with a glowing reputation and a maturity beyond his years and rank. At the beginning of World War II, Mölders was Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 53 "Pik As", based at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. He became known by those under his command as "Vati" (Daddy) Mölders. He shot down his first aircraft of the Second World War on 21 September 1939, a French Curtiss 75 A fighter. On 1 November he went on to command  III./JG 53, also based at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. On 27 May 1940, after his 20th victory, a French Curtiss 75 A SW of Amiens, he was promoted to Hauptmann and decorated with the Knight's Cross. He was shot down in combat on 5 June 1940, by French ace Sous Lieutenant René Pommier Layragues (6 victories) flying a D.520 of GC II/7 after having scored 25 victories during 128 missions and was taken prisoner. He was liberated two weeks later upon the armistice with France. He returned to Germany to be promoted to Major and given command of JG 51 as Kommodore. On 28 July 1940, during his first flight with his new unit, he succeeded in downing a Spitfire, but his aircraft was then hit by the enemy aircraft. Severely wounded in the legs, Mölders just managed to make an emergency landing at the airfield at Wissant in France. It was not until a month later that he was able to return to combat, most likely flying the Bf 109 E-4 W.Nr. 2404 (photographed on 31 August with 32 victory bars), as well as W.Nr. 3737, (shot down over England while being flown by Hptm Asmus on 25 October, with no stab markings according to the crash report, but 49 victory bars). He quickly brought his score up by downing 28 British fighters during the remainder of the Battle of Britain, including his 40th, a Spitfire over Dungeness, on 20 September, for which he was awarded the Oak Leaves (No. 2) the next day. On 22 October he downed three RAF Hurricanes to become the first Luftwaffe pilot to reach a score of 50 aerial victories. By the end of the Battle of Britain he had a total of 54 victories, and he would add one more before the end of the year.
Major Werner Mölders and Oblt. Hartmann Grasser of the Stab flight of JG 51 after a mission over the British Isles during the Battle of Britain. Grasser was later assigned to JG 11 and would survive the war with 103 confirmed victories.
    He continued flying and fighting over the Channel Front until early May, by which time he had brought down an additional 13 British aircraft. On 22 June 1941, the first day of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front, he shot down four Russian aircraft, one I-153 and three SB-2 bombers, his 69th through 72nd victories, and was awarded the Schwertern (No. 2). He was the first pilot to surpass von Richthofen's WW I record score of 80 on 30 June, when he shot down 5 SB-2 bombers to score his 78th to 82nd victories on a day that JG 51 claimed 110 SB-2 and DB-3 bombers. He shot down a further four enemy aircraft on 5 July for his 83rd to 86th victories. On 15 July he became the first pilot in history to record 100 victories and was immediately awarded the Brillanten (No. 1), the first German soldier to be so recognized. He was immediately forbidden to fly combat on the personal orders of Göring. At only 28 years of age, he was promoted to Oberst and appointed Inspector General of Fighters on 7 August. Even though ordered to cease flying combat missions, he continued to do so and achieved several unconfirmed victories over the Crimea. He personally instructed many pilots on how to achieve success, and helped develop the  forward air controller concept. On 22 November 1941, he was flying as a passenger in a He 111 from the Crimea to Germany to attend the funeral of Ernst Udet. Landing during a thunderstorm at Breslau the aircraft crashed and Mölders and the pilot were killed. In his memory, on 20 December 1941, JG 51 was bestowed the honor name "Mölders".
    He flew a total of some 330 missions during the Second World War, 100 of these on the Eastern Front, during which he shot down a total of 101 aircraft,  33 of these in the East. He also was the top scorer of the Legion Condor in Spain with 14 victories achieved in some 100 missions, and helped develop many of the modern fighter tactics still in use today.