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I Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richthofen' - I./JG2

Luftwaffe JG2 ace Paul Temme shot down during the Battle of Britain 13th Aug 1940

Luftwaffe ace Erich Mix shot down by French fighters during the Battle of France 21st May 1940 V4

I. Gruppe:

1 Staffel I. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richthofen' - 1./JG2

Messerschmitt Bf 109E4 1./JG2 White 8+ Adolf Friedrich von Gotz WNr 3909 France 1940

Photo 01-01: A formation of Bf 109E-3s of I./JG2 on patrol in May 1940. The 'Bonzo dog' Staffel emblem illustrated to the right can be seen on the cowling of 'White 7'.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 1./JG 2 Bassenheim Germany, May 1940

The illustrated White '7' flew in the spring of 1940 with Staffel JG 2 under the command of Spanish Civil War veteran Oblt. Otto Bertram. The aircraft carries the standard period camouflage scheme consisting of RLM 02/71 on the upper surfaces. The lower surface light blue RLM 65 extended quite high up the fuselage sides. An oddity on this aircraft is the application of older national markings on this newer scheme, including the smaller fuselage crosses with very thin border segments and the application of the Swastika such that it covered both the rudder and the fin. The emblem of JG 2 Richthofen appeared on both sides of the fuselage under the cockpit. Similarly, the Staffel marking of a leashed dog 'Bonzo' appeared on both sides, and was developed by Otto Bertram. The template for the marking was the comic character 'Bonzo the Dog', by the Brit George Studdy who's drawings paradoxically appeared on aircraft of both sides.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E4 1./JG2 (White 10+) France August 1940

A Bf 109E-4, 'White 10', of 1./JG2 circa late August 1940 illustrating the usual application of yellow to the cowling and rudder. The fuselage sides are not as heavily mottled as usually seen on many JG2 aircraft, and the Balkenkreuz has been partially overpainted with one of the uppersurface colors to reduce its visibility.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 1./JG2 (White 10+) France August 1940

Photo 01: 'White 10' of I./JG2 seen taxiing from its dispersal point at the beginning of September. Just visible ahead of the intake fairing is the 1.Staffel 'Bonzo Dog' emblem designed by Otto Bertram. The JG2 'Richthofen' shield may also be seen, and the white areas of the fuselage cross have been overpainted to reduce their visibility. As this photograph clearly shows, the Bf 109 pilot was unable to see anything directly ahead, his forward vision being obscured by the engine. Collisions on the ground were commonplace unless aircraft were guided by ground crews' hand signals.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 1./JG2 (White 13+) May 1940

Profile 00: This Bf 109E-3, 'White 13' of I./JG2 is seen as it would have appeared in May 1940 wearing a very high demarcation 02/71 upper surface scheme. The small proportions of the fuselage cross and the position of the Hakenkreuz across the fin/rudder hinge line indicate that this is probably one of the earliest applications of the revised camouflage scheme. On the nose is the 'Bonzo dog' Staffel emblem designed by Otto Bertram while the white '13' has a thin black border.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 1./JG2 (White 13+) on patrol in May 1940 01

Photo 01-01: A formation of Bf109E-3s of 1./JG2 on patrol in May 1940. The 'Bonzo dog' Staffel emblem illustrated to the right can be seen on the cowling of 'White 7'.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E4 1./JG 2 (White 15+) Werner Machold Beaumont le Roger France 1940

2 Staffel I. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richthofen' - 2./JG2

3 Staffel I. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richthofen' - 3./JG2

Messerschmitt Bf 109 Bf 109 E-7 3./JG2 (Y1+) Julius Meimberg WNr 7671 St.Renen shot down

Messerschmitt Bf 109E3 3./JG2 Yellow 1 Hennig Strumpell in snow France 1940

Photo 01: Messerschmitt Bf 109E1 3./JG2 (Yellow 1+) Werknr 921 was flown by 1/Lt Strumpell and photo was taken at Frankfurt-Rebstock airfield 1940. Note the retouched yellow 1 and oversized Balkenkreuz on the wing.
Book Reference: Jet & Prop Foto-Archiv Band 13

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 3./JG2 (Y2+) Oblt. Helmut Wick France Aug 1940 00

Profile 00: Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 flown by Oblt. Helmut Wick, Staffelkapitin of 3./JG2. 'Yellow 2', the Bf 109E-4 of JG2's Helmut Wick carried an upper camouflage of 02/71 with the 65 of the fuselage sides, fin and rudder covered in a heavily applied stipple of 71. On the port side of the fin, in the usual position, the Werk Nummer 5344 was still visible beneath the stipple. The black borders to the fuselage Balkenkreuz were broadened to reduce the visibility of the white areas and the JG2 'Richthofen' shields also carried a light overspray. However, no toning down or overspray has affected the blue and yellow 'Horrido' pennant on the cowling. Twenty-two white Abschuss bars were carried on both sides of the rudder.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 3./JG2 (Y2+) Oblt. Helmut Wick France Aug 1940 01

Photo 01: Helmut Wick's Bf 109E 'Yellow 2' photographed in late August at Beaumont-le-Roger. Although fitted with a heavier framed canopy, the supplemental armored windscreen has yet to be installed. As with many other Bf 109s of the period, the black borders of the Balkenkreuz have been increased to reduce the visibility of the white segments, the rudder was painted with 22 Abschuss bars, the last two being achieved on 26 August 1940.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 3./JG2 (Y2+) Oblt. Helmut Wick France Aug 1940 02

Photo 02: A posed photograph showing pilots of 3./JG2 discussing the 22 victory bars on Oblt. Wick's aircraft. These 22 victories earned Wick the Ritterkreuz, awarded on 27 August. He would soon be one of the greatest aces of the Channel Front, becoming Kommandeur of I./JG2 on 10 September and in October, when only 25 years of age, Kommodore of JG2.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 3./JG2 (Y3+) assembling for a mission Querqueville, France August 1940 01

Photo's 01-02: Bf 109Es of the I. and III. Gruppen of JG2 seen prior to take-off from Cherbourg-West (Querqueville) in the latter part of August 1940. In the photograph (ABOVE LEFT) the aircraft JG1: in the foreground, 'Yellow 5', appears to carry an upper surface scheme of 02/71 with a heavily applied fuselage mottle in the fashion of the unit. Most - but not all - aircraft have the now commonly seen colored rudders and cowlings, though some are white and others yellow. The Bf 109 far right (ABOVE LEFT) has a yellow cowling and rudder yet still wears its four letter Stammkennzeichen.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 8./JG2 (Y4+) Alexander von Wintergeldt France 1940 01-02

Photo's 01-02: Hptm. Alexander von Wintergeldt, Staffelkapitan of 8./JG2 seen in the cockpit of his Messerschmitt Bf 109E 'Yellow 4' Von Wintergeldt, a pilot in the First World War, was called back to the Reich at the beginning of August in order to take command of III./JG52, the previous commander, Hptm. Wolfvon Houwald having been killed in action. Von Wintergeldt's place was taken over by Oblt. Karl Heinz Metz.

Pilots JG2.8 Alexander von Wintergeldt 01

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 3./JG2 (Y6+) Querqueville, France August 1940 01

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 of 1./JG2 based at Cherbourg-West, Summer 1940. Bf 109E-3 or E-4, 'Yellow 6' of I./JG2, seen at Cherbourg-West in the Summer of 1940. This aircraft was finished in a high demarcation 02/71 finish with a very light mottle of 02 on the fuselage sides and fin. The now familiar areas of yellow paint applied to the cowling and rudder were intended to assist rapid air-to-air identification of friendly aircraft. The fuselage Balkenkreuz was of standard proportions, but the Hakenkreuz seems to lack the usual black and white edging. The large, rounded style of fuselage number is unusual.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E3 3./JG3 (Y7+) Emil von Stein France 1940

Photo 01: Messerschmitt Bf 109E 3./JG2 (Y7+) Emil von Stein France September 1940 who was later shot down over England and became a POW on the after being shot down by a Hurricane flown by F/O R. C. Reynell of RAF No. 43 Sq., sometime round 12:40 making an emergency landing at West Hythe, south of Lympne Castle.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 3./JG2 (Y8+) Fw. Franz Jaenisch W.Nr 1588 Cherbourg France 1940 01

Photo 01: On Fw. Horst Hellriegel of 3./JG2 took off from Cherbourg in this Bf109 E-4 as one of five aircraft on a freie Jagd patrol. On the return flight, the aircraft were flying at 25,000 feet when Fw. Hellriegel's aircraft developed radiator trouble and he descended to 23,000 feet. Suddenly, about 20 RAF fighters arrived and in their first attack this aircraft received damage to the petrol tank and letf wing. A further attack damaged nearly all the cockpit instruments and Hellriegel made a forced landing near Newport on the Isle of Wight. The pilot, who was captured unhurt, had previously served as a flying instructor in Berlin and had only arrived with 3./JG2 two days previously. This was his first war flight and, as he had not yet been allocated his own aircraft, he borrowed 'Yellow 8', normally the machine flown by Fw. Franz Jaenisch. Jaenisch, who had flown this machine since the beginning of the French campaign, was not at all pleased that the new pilot had borrowed it and, as he lamented post-war, did not bring it back. When shot down, the machine had a yellow cowling and rudder but was otherwise as seen here. Note Jaenisch's personal badge, a Mickey Mouse wearing boxing gloves, just visible the rear cockpit in this photograph.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 3./JG2 (Y8+) Fw. Franz Jaenisch W.Nr 1588 Cherbourg France 1940 02

Photo 01: Photographed before the Battle of Britain, a view of Franz Jaenisch in the cockpit of his Bf109E W.Nr. 1588 after his 100th war flight, this view showing his personalized Mickey Mouse emblem.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E 3./JG2 (Y8+) after a belly landing France 1940

Photo's 01-02: A Bf109E-1 of an unidentified Jagdgeschwader, possibly 3./JG2, probably seen in France during the summer of 1940. The aircraft is probably 'Yellow 8' and - as is evident from the damage to the cockpit and the mud on the landing gear - it probably made either a 'Fliegerdenkmal' or a belly-landing.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E4 2 Staffel I Gruppe JG2 (Yellow 9+) Erich Rudorffer France 1940 01

Photo 01: Bf 109E-4 'Yellow 9' of 2./JG2 is believed to have been the aircraft of Erich Rothenfelder, and could be a Bf 109E-4 / N or Bf 109 E-7. Rudorffer is wearing the Knight's Cross, which was only presented to him on 05/01/1941 after his 19 Aerial victory.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E1 3./JG2 (Yellow 9+) called 'Motti' France 1940

Messerschmitt Bf 109E JG2 (Y9+) France 1940

Photo 01: A Bf 109E-3 possibly of JG2 gets airborne from a landing strip in France during the summer of 1940. Although finished in what appears to be a 02/71 upper scheme with mottled fuselage sides, the swastika has been retained in the earlier position.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 3./JG2 (Yellow 13+) Hans Tilly France 1940

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 3./JG2 (Y14+) Lt. Franz Fiby France July 1940

Profile 00:Leutnant Franz Fiby's Bf 109E-4 'Yellow 14' of 3./JG2 with an upper surface scheme that is believed to have been 02/71 with heavy mottling of 71 on the fuselage sides and tail. Note how the broad white areas of the Balkenkreuz have had their visibility reduced by being overpainted with the fuselage mottling, making the cross appear reminiscent of the earlier style of Balkenkreuz although the thin outer black borders are still faintly visible. Also carried are the JG2 'Richthofen' shield beneath the windscreen and on the cowling, the blue and yellow 3.Staffel 'Horrido' pennant which would later be adopted by Helmut Wick as his personal emblem.

Photo 01:Franz Fiby's Bf109E-4 of 3./JG2, 'Yellow 14', over France in July 1940, wearing a dark, heavily stippled camouflage on the fuselage sides. Close examination of the fuselage cross shows that its non-standard appearance and thin black borders have been created by the overpainting of the usually seen white segments of the cross.

 
 IL-2 Sturmovik 'Cliff's of Dover' - COD game skins
COD game skin by asisbiz Bf 109E1 2/.JG2 (Red 11+) Battle of France 1940
COD game skin by asisbiz Bf 109E1 2/.JG2 (Red 3+) Battle of France 1940
COD game skin by asisbiz Bf 109E1 2/.JG2 (Red 9+) WNr 4859 Battle of France 1940
COD game skin by asisbiz Bf 109E3 1/.JG2 (White 1+) Otto Bertram France 1940
COD game skin by asisbiz Bf 109E3 1/.JG2 (White 11+) May 1940
COD game skin by asisbiz Bf 109E3 1/.JG2 (White 12+) May 1940
COD game skin by asisbiz Bf 109E3 1/.JG2 (White 13+) May 1940
COD game skin by asisbiz Bf 109E3 1/.JG2 (White 7+) May 1940
COD game skin by CF Bf 109E4 3/.JG2 (Y2+) Helmut Wick Aug 1940
COD game skin by CF Bf 109E4 3/.JG2 (Y2+) Helmut Wick Aug 1940 NM
Bf109E-3 skin for Il-2 Sturmovik - Cliffs of Dover by Cpt Farrel This aircraft was flown by Helmut Wick, 3./JG2, September 5, 1940
To install: Place the skin in your Cliffs of Dover folder: C:\Documents\1C SoftClub\il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover\PaintSchemes\Skins\Bf-109E-3
CF cptfarrels http://www.cptfarrels.com/
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E3 1/.JG2 (White 1+) Otto Bertram France 1940
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E3 1/.JG2 (White 1+) Otto Bertram France 1940 NC
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E3 1/.JG2 (White 1+) Otto Bertram France 1940 NM
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E3 1/.JG2 (White 1+) Otto Bertram France 1940 SNM
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (W15+) Werner Machold France 1940
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (W15+) Werner Machold France 1940 NC
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (W15+) Werner Machold France 1940 NM
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (W15+) Werner Machold France 1940 SNM
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (W9+) Hermann Reifferscheidt France 1940
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (W9+) Hermann Reifferscheidt France 1940 NC
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (W9+) Hermann Reifferscheidt France 1940 NM
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (W9+) Hermann Reifferscheidt France 1940 SNM
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (White 10+) France August 1940
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (White 10+) France August 1940 NC
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (White 10+) France August 1940 NM
COD game skin by ES Bf 109E4 1/.JG2 (White 10+) France August 1940 SNM
ES Erik Schramm http://www.adlerhorst-hangar.com/
COD game skin by WN Bf 109E4 3/.JG2 (Y2+) Helmut Wick Aug 1940
WN Wonton the Cat Slayer http://forum.aviaskins.com/

 



Luftwaffe pilot Otto Bertram

Luftwaffe pilot Asisbiz database list of 14 aerial victories for Otto Bertram

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
Saturday, April 20, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2 Hawk-75A     Saint-Avold
Tuesday, May 14, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2 Morane 406   20:05 Bouillon 10km E Sedan
Sunday, May 19, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2   12:50 Cambrai
Sunday, May 19, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2   12:55 Cambrai
Monday, June 03, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2 Bloch 150 3000m 14:45 Reims
Monday, September 02, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2 5000m 18:25 Eastchurch
Monday, September 02, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2 1500m 14:25 New Romney
Wednesday, September 04, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2   10:10 Folkestone
Wednesday, September 04, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2   14:05 South of London
Thursday, September 05, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2   16:10 S Canterbury
Thursday, September 05, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2   16:10 S Canterbury
Friday, September 06, 1940 Otto Bertram 1./JG2   10:20 SW Dover
Wednesday, October 09, 1940 Otto Bertram Stab III./JG2 Blenheim   18:37 20km N Le Havre
Wednesday, October 09, 1940 Otto Bertram Stab III./JG2 Blenheim   18:35 20km N Le Havre



Luftwaffe pilot Horst Hellriegel

Units: 3./JG-2 (Channel)

Awards: Fighter Operational Clasp

Known Aircraft: Bf 109E-4 WNr 1588 'Yellow 8' (lost )

Remarks: Shot down and belly-landed (MIA) in the Christchurch Bay area, Bowcombe Down, on the Isle of Wight. This had been the trusty stead of Franz Jänisch.



Luftwaffe pilot Franz Jaenisch

Luftwaffe pilot Asisbiz database list of 8 aerial victories for Franz Jaenisch

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
09-Mar-40 Franz Jaenisch 3./JG2 Morane 406   16.06 E Diedenhofen
18-May-40 Franz Jaenisch 3./JG2   17.05 Landrecies
20-May-40 Franz Jaenisch 3./JG2 LeO 451   14.00 Cambrai-St Quentin
06-Jun-40 Franz Jaenisch 3./JG2 Bloch 151   12.23 Ham-Peronne
08-Jun-40 Franz Jaenisch 3./JG2 Morane   21.08 SW Soissons
11-Aug-40 Franz Jaenisch 3./JG2   11.25  
16-Aug-41 Franz Jaenisch Stab III./JG2   19.40  
21-Aug-41 Franz Jaenisch Stab III./JG2   10.15  



Luftwaffe pilot Werner Machold

Werner Machold was born on 29 July 1913 at Unterneubrunn in the Hildburghausen region of Thüringen. At the beginning of World War 2, Machold was serving with 1./JG2. He was particularly successful over France in 1940 gaining at least 10 victories, including his first on 14 May.Oberfeldwebel Machold continued to score heavily during the Battle of Britain. He was the eighth German fighter pilot to reach 20 victories. On 5 September 1940, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz for 21 victories.On 7 September, Machold was transferred to 9./JG2. He recorded his 24th through 26th victories on 30 September, shooting down three RAF fighters. Oberleutnant Machold was appointed Staffelkapitän of 7./JG2 in spring 1941.On 9 June 1941, Oberleutnant Machold, flying his Bf 109E-7/Z (W.Nr. 5983) 'White 15', force landed near Swanage, Dorset after receiving damage from anti-aircraft fire from a Royal Navy destroyer during a low-level Jabo attack on a shipping convoy off Portland. He became a prisoner-of war for the remainder of hostilities.Werner Machold amassed 32 victories in over 250 combat missions. All his victories were recorded over the Western front.

No Date Time A/c Type Unit Location / Comments
1. 14.5.1940 20:05 Morane 406 1./JG2 Clavy, 15km SE Cambrai
2. 14.5.1940 20:07~ Morane 406 1./JG2 Bouillon, 10km E Sedan
3. 19.5.1940 12:50 1./JG2 Cambrai
4. 20.5.1940 18:35 1./JG2 Péronne
5. 20.5.1940 18:40~ 1./JG2 Péronne
6. 21.5.1940 19:10 Morane 406 1./JG2 Montdider-Compiegne
7. 21.5.1940 19:15~ Morane 406 1./JG2 Compiegne
8. 26.5.1940 17:00 1./JG2 Calais
9. 3.6.1940 14:45 Morane 406 1./JG2 Reims
10. 3.6.1940 14:50~ Bloch 150 1./JG2 Reims
11. 11.8.1940 11:55 Tomahawk 1./JG2 Portland
12. 13.8.1940 7:55 1./JG2 Brighton
13. 26.8.1940 17:30 1./JG2 Portsmouth
14. 30.8.1940 12:40 1./JG2 London
15. 30.8.1940 18:00 1./JG2 Gouldhurst
16. 30.8.1940 18:05 1./JG2 Gouldhurst
17. 31.8.1940 14:15 1./JG2  
18. 2.9.1940 - 1./JG2 New Romney
19. 2.9.1940 - 1./JG2 New Romney
20. 2.9.1940 18:20 1./JG2 Sittingbourne
21. 4.9.1940 10:00 1./JG2 Folkestone
22. IX.1940 - E/a 9./JG2  
23. IX.1940 - E/a 9./JG2  
24. 30.9.1940 - RAF Fighter 9./JG2  
25. 30.9.1940 - RAF Fighter 9./JG2  
26. 30.9.1940 - RAF Fighter 9./JG2  
? ? - E/a ?./JG2  
? 16.4.1941 12:00 7./JG2 Dover Straits
? 29.4.1941 - 7./JG2 N Eastbourne
? 29.4.1941 - 7./JG2 N Eastbourne
31. 19.5.1941 12:00 7./JG2 North Weymouth
32. 19.5.1941 12:05 7./JG2 North Weymouth

Victories : 32
Awards : Knight`s Cross
Units : JG2
http://www.luftwaffe.cz/machold.html

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
14-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Morane 406   20.00 Clary 15km SE Cambrai
14-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Morane 406   20.05 Bouillon 10km E Sedan
19-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   12.50 Cambrai
20-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   18.35 Peronne
20-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   18.35 Peronne
21-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Morane 406   19.10 Compiegne
21-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Morane 406   19.10 Compiegne
26-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   17.00 Calais
03-Jun-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Bloch 150   14.40 South of Reims
03-Jun-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Bloch 150 3000m 14.45 South of Reims
14-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Morane 406   20.00 Clary 15km SE Cambrai
14-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Morane 406   20.05 Bouillon 10km E Sedan
19-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   12.50 Cambrai
20-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   18.35 Peronne
20-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   18.35 Peronne
21-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Morane 406   19.10 Compiegne
21-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Morane 406   19.10 Compiegne
26-May-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   17.00 Calais
03-Jun-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Bloch 150   14.40 South of Reims
03-Jun-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 Bloch 150 3000m 14.45 South of Reims
11-Aug-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 P-40 Warhawk   11.55  
13-Aug-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2 5000m 07.50 Brighton
26-Aug-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   17.30 Portsmouth
30-Aug-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   12.40 South of London
30-Aug-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   18.00 Goudhurst/Kent
30-Aug-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   18.05 Goudhurst/Kent
31-Aug-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   14.15 Lydd
02-Sep-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   14.25 New Romney
02-Sep-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   14.25 New Romney
02-Sep-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   18.20 Sittingbourne
04-Sep-40 Werner Machold 1./JG2   10.10 Folkestone
27-Sep-40 Werner Machold 9./JG2   13.08 East of Portland
28-Sep-40 Werner Machold 9./JG2   15.55 Selsey Bill
30-Sep-40 Werner Machold 9./JG2   17.35 North of Portland
30-Sep-40 Werner Machold 9./JG2   17.45 Yeovil
30-Sep-40 Werner Machold 9./JG2   17.50 Sherborne
19-May-41 Werner Machold 7./JG2   12.00 North of Weymouth
19-May-41 Werner Machold 7./JG2   12.05 North of Weymouth
16-Apr-41 Werner Machold 7./JG2   12.00 Dover Straits

Luftwaffe pilot Julius 'Jule' Meimberg

Units: 4/JG-2, Stfkpt 3/JG-2 (7/41), Stafkpt 11/JG-2 (6/42 Tunisia), Kdr II/JG-53 (12/44), Kdr III/JG-53

Awards: RK(10/24/44), DK-G(10/29/42), EP(7/30/41), EK 1 & 2, Wound Badge, Fighter Operational Clasp

Known Aircraft: Bf 109E-7 WNr 7671 'Yellow 1' (lost in 3/JG-2 at Breles Fr., 7/24/41), Bf 109G-1 WNr 14063 'White 11' (25% dam 11/4/42) in 11/JG-2, Bf 109G-4/Trop (lost 2/1/43 combat with a B-17), Bf 109G-14 (lost 12/44)

Remarks: 1 bomber. All victories in the West. 250+ combat missions. His first known victory, a Hurricane at Tournai on 19 May, 1940. His 2nd, a Curtis at Epernay on 3 June, 1940. His 3rd, a Spitfire at Ashford on 4 September, 1940. His 4th & 5th both Hurricanes at Ashford on 6 September, 1940. His 10th a Spitfire near Hazebrouck on 3 July, 1941. Crashed with wounds at Breles in his E-7, 12 km northwest of St. Renen after aerial combat 24 July, 1941, while Stfkpt in 3/JG-2. 'White 11' was damaged in a minor crash at Beaumont le Roger on 4 November, 1942. His 35th victory, a B-17 at Wittenberg on 29 May, 1944. His 40th a Typhoon at Barentin-Rouen on 25 August, 1944. His 45th a P-47 SW of Strasbourg on 20 October, 1944. Victories 48, 49 & 50, all P-47's in the Ardennes sector on 26 December, 1944, just before being shot down himself. Shot down 26 December, 1944 in G-14 Werk # 166297 'Yellow 1', and bailed out over Schaichhof, after engaging American fighters over Stuttgart. He missed the Bodenplatte Operation since he was hospitalized after the Operation of 26 December. A P-51 on 16 March, 1945. His 52nd, a P-47 on 10 April, 1945. His 53rd, and last victory, a Spitfire on 13 April, 1945. Survived the war. Photo

Luftwaffe pilot Asisbiz database list of aerial 59 victories for Julius Meimberg

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
Sunday, May 19, 1940 Julius Meimberg 4./JG2   12:20 North of Tournai
Monday, June 03, 1940 Julius Meimberg 4./JG2 Hawk-75A   14:50 Epernay
Wednesday, September 04, 1940 Julius Meimberg 4./JG2   14:05 South Angeterre
Friday, September 06, 1940 Julius Meimberg 4./JG2   10:00 Ashford
Friday, September 06, 1940 Julius Meimberg 4./JG2   10:15 Ashford
Thursday, October 10, 1940 Julius Meimberg 4./JG2 Hurricane   13:50 Portland
Thursday, November 07, 1940 Julius Meimberg 4./JG2   15:30 South Isle of Wight
Thursday, November 28, 1940 Julius Meimberg 4./JG2   17:20 sudw Isle of Wight
Friday, November 29, 1940 Julius Meimberg 4./JG2   16:35 Kanal
Thursday, July 03, 1941 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2   15:39 Hazebrouck
Thursday, July 17, 1941 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2   16:17 North Etaples
Thursday, July 24, 1941 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2 Hampden 3000m 14:24 WSW Ploudalmezeau
Thursday, July 24, 1941 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2 Wellington   15:00 Brest
Thursday, July 24, 1941 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2 Hampden   14:45 Plouguerneau
Sunday, May 17, 1942 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2 4500m 10:27 30km NW Dieppe
Tuesday, May 19, 1942 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2   15:22 Calais-Ramsgate
Sunday, May 31, 1942 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2   19:29 St Valery
Friday, June 19, 1942 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2 800m 21:01 (off Selsey v 129Sqn)
Friday, June 19, 1942 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2 800m 20:58 (off Selsey v 129Sqn)
Saturday, July 11, 1942 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2   18:25 Le Havre
Tuesday, July 28, 1942 Julius Meimberg 3./JG2 20m 21:15 15km SW Brighton
Wednesday, August 19, 1942 Julius Meimberg 11./JG2     Dieppe
Wednesday, August 19, 1942 Julius Meimberg 11./JG2     Dieppe
Thursday, August 20, 1942 Julius Meimberg 11./JG2   13:59 off Dieppe No 91Sqn
Saturday, September 05, 1942 Julius Meimberg 11./JG2   12:20 North of Tournai
Friday, December 04, 1942 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 Bisley   15:53 Mateur
Friday, December 04, 1942 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 Bisley   15:50 Mateur
Friday, December 04, 1942 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 Bisley   16:00 Mateur
Saturday, December 05, 1942 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 5m 11:03 10km S Mateur
Saturday, December 05, 1942 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 100m 09:08 1km E Mateur
Saturday, December 05, 1942 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 300m 09:12 2km SE Mateur
Sunday, December 06, 1942 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 500m 10:15 20km S Tebourba
Sunday, January 31, 1943 Julius Meimberg 6./JG53 P-38 Lightning 500m 13:14 20km W Djedeida
Monday, February 01, 1943 Julius Meimberg 6./JG53 B-17 Fortress 6000m 13:25 10km NW Pont du Fahs
Thursday, December 09, 1943 Julius Meimberg Stab JG53 P-51 Mustang 5m 11:27 NW Valmontone
Monday, May 08, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 B-24 Liberator   10:05 GA-36 (15km N Braunschweig)
Saturday, May 27, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-51 Mustang 5m 12:15 Nancy
Monday, May 29, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 B-17 Fortress 7000m 12:15 Wittenberge
Tuesday, May 30, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 B-17 Fortress   11:15 Dessau
Saturday, June 17, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-38 Lightning 6500m 19:31 TR-9 (La Haye-du-Puits)
Wednesday, July 05, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt 1500m 10:53 04 Ost N/AC-8 (Nonancourt)
Wednesday, July 05, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt 4000m 10:49 04 Ost N/BD (Rambouillet)
Wednesday, August 23, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt 500m 09:30 Mantes-la-Jolie
Friday, August 25, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 Typhoon 500m 19:25 SB-87 (Barentin/Rouen)
Sunday, September 24, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 C-47 Dakota 1800m 12:40 SR-7 (Kusel)
Friday, September 29, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt     Edenkoben
Sunday, October 08, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt     Worms
Friday, October 13, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt      
Friday, October 20, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt 3000m 10:48 CP-6 (SW Strasbourg)
Saturday, October 28, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt 5000m 11:05 UR-1 (Landau) Lachen-Speyerdorf
Friday, November 17, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-51 Mustang 1000m 15:30 UR-4 (Linkenheim)
Saturday, November 18, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt     Karlsruhe
Saturday, December 16, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt 1500m 11:39 UR-5 (Herxheim Krs Karlsruhe) Hagenau
Tuesday, December 26, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt     South Stuttgart
Tuesday, December 26, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt     South Stuttgart
Tuesday, December 26, 1944 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt     South Stuttgart
Friday, March 16, 1945 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-51 Mustang     Hunsruck
Tuesday, April 10, 1945 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53 P-47 Thunderbolt   09:00 Crailsheim
Friday, April 13, 1945 Julius Meimberg Stab II./JG53   18:06 Biberach



Luftwaffe pilot Hermann Reifferscheidt

Awards: EK 2, Fighter Operational Clasp

Known Aircraft: Bf 109E-4 WNr 5159 'White 9' (lost 11/1/40)

Remarks: POW. Shot down 1 November, 1940 in the Southhampton area by the Belgian Ace, Jean Offenberg, of RAF No. 145 Sq., flying a Hurricane. Reifferscheidt belly-landed successfully after streaming glycol. His first victory, a Hurricane SE of the Isle of Wight on 27 October, 1940. Alternate spelling: Reiff-Erscheidt.

Experiences of a Prisoner of War

HERMANN REIFFERSCHEIDT, STAFFELKAPITAN I./JG2

I joined the Navy school at Flensburg-Murvik early in 1935 where I received my basic training. In the Autumn, as a Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier, I was transferred to Berlin-Gatow to attend courses in order to become an officer in the new Luftwaffe. My pilot training began on 1 October 1936 in Schleissheim near Munich. In January 1938, I was finally transferred to JG'Richthofen' at Berlin-Doberitz where I first flew Heinkel and Arado biplanes before learning to fly the Me109 'Berta' and 'Dora'. At the end of Autumn 1939, our Gruppe was transferred to Frankfurt-Rebstock in order to protect the Franco-German border which we patrolled in small formations. My stay there was short and at the beginning of 1940, I was called back to Berlin in order to take over a Staffel at the jagdfliegerschule Berlin-Werneuchen. I remained with this unit until the end of September.

On 1 October 1940, I was sent to France as Staffelkapitan of I./JG2 1 and during missions over the South of England I claimed my first Abschuss, a Spitfire 2.On 1 November 1940, my Me109, 'White 9', was hit and I had to land at Sidlesham, south of Chichester, where I was taken prisoner 3. I was eventually sent to PoW (Officers') Transit Camp No.13, also known as The Hayes, or Swanwick Camp after the nearest village, located about 20 km north of Derby. It was here that I got to know the successful escaper Franz van Werra. He had been transferred here from Grizedale Hall in the Lake District after one of his escape attempts. As soon as he arrived, he immediately began, with the help of several comrades, to build a tunnel. When it was ready, we assembled one evening in the hall and began singing soldiers' songs in order to cover the noises of escape. Posing as a Dutch officer, van Werra reached an RAF airfield and almost succeeded in stealing a Hurricane before he was recaptured.At the end of January 1941, we were taken to a port in Scotland and put aboard a large passenger ship being used as a troop-transport which was to take us to Canada.

Conditions aboard were quite good; once or twice during the day we were allowed to go on deck to have some fresh air. Aboard our ship were some young RAF chaps going to Canada to complete their training and our vessel formed part of a large convoy which also included the Royal Navy battleship HMS Ramillies and other warships. The sea journey lasted 14 days and, in order to avoid U-boat attacks, we sailed far to the north and then, in mid-Atlantic, we turned south where some of the ships left us and sailed for Africa with supplies and reinforcements for the British forces there. Our part of the convoy, still with the Ramillies as escort, continued safely to Halifax although before we arrived we sailed through a terrible storm which lasted for several days. Oblt. Hermann Reifferscheidt (third from left) photographed in a PoW camp in Canada.In Halifax, we were put aboard two trains bound for the northern coast of Lake Superior. The journey lasted three days, during which time I helped a comrade to remove a plate covering a window. We had to work very carefully to avoid being seen by the guards, but eventually, after hours of work, we were able to open the window. We were not allowed to walk on the train, and there were many guards patrolling with guns and sticks, but we arranged to stand up to screen my comrade from view as he leaped from the train. Unfortunately, he was soon recaptured. I witnessed several other escape attempts 4 but only von Werra succeeded, mainly I think because he understood and could speak English. Our first PoW camp, a large square, was situated on the bank of Lake Superior and there was a lot of snow. The following year we were moved to Bowmanville, near Toronto, on Lake Ontario.

1 Apparently to replace Oblt. Adolf-Friedrich von Gotz, taken PoW on 7 September.
2 This was, in fact, a Hurricane shot down at 17.55 hrs on 27 October 1940.
3 When interrogated, Reifferscheidt refused to discuss anything to do with the war and, when asked what he had done to qualify for the award of the EK 1 and EK II, replied, 'Nothing in particular, just hard work and many war flights:'
4 There were many escape attempts. Guards caught most prisoners in the act of leaving the train but another eight escaped at various stages of the journey.

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
01-Oct-40 Hermann Reifferscheidt 1./JG2     South of England
27-Oct-40 Hermann Reifferscheidt 1./JG2   17.55 SE Isle of Wight

Jagdgeschwader 2 Emblem

Luftwaffe pilot Erich Rudorffer

Erich Rudorffer was born on 1 November 1917 at Zwochau, near Leipzig, in Saxony. Rudorffer was posted to JG 2 on 1 November 1939. Feldwebel Rudorffer was assigned to 2./JG 2. He recorded his first victory, a French Curtiss Hawk 75 fighter, on 14 May 1940. He went on to score eight additional victories during the Battle of France. By 1 May 1941, Leutnant Rudorffer had achieved 19 victories, which led to the award of the Ritterkreuz. During the British “Non-Stop Offensive” of 1941, Rudorffer recorded 21 victories, including his 40th on 8 December.

Rudorffer was particularly successful over the Allied landings at Dieppe on 19 August 1942 when he shot down two Spitfire fighters, his 44th and 45th victory. On 11 November, Rudorffer was appointed Staffelkapitän of 6./JG 2. He led the unit when II./JG 2 was transferred to Tunisia. He shot down eight British aircraft in 32 minutes on 9 February 1943 to record his 54th through 61st victories, and seven more in 20 minutes six days later (63-69). Following the hospitalisation of Hauptmann Adolf Dickfeld (136 victories, RK-EL) with injuries received in a landing accident, Oberleutnant Rudorffer assumed temporary command of II./JG 2. After scoring a total of 27 victories in Tunisia, Rudorffer returned to the Channel Front in April 1943. In May 1943, Hauptmann Rudorffer was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 2. He recorded two further victories, his 73rd and 74th before parting company with JG 2.

Rudorffer was given the task of forming IV./JG 54 near Königsberg in June 1943. However, Rudorffer was transferred to the Eastern Front to assume command of II./JG 54 after its Kommandeur, Hauptmann Heinrich Jung (68 victories, RK) failed to return from a mission on 30 July 1943. Once on the Eastern Front, Rudorffer's really successful days again. On 24 August 1943, he shot down five Russian aircraft on the first mission of the day and followed that up with three more victories on a second mission. On 14 September he claimed five victories (91–95). He scored seven victories in seven minutes on 11 October, including his 100th but his finest achievement occurred on 6 November when in the course of 17 minutes, 13 Russian aircraft fell to his guns! Only another Grünherzflieger, Emil “Bully” Lang (173 victories, RK-EL, killed in action 3 September 1944) and Hans-Joachim Marseille (158 victories, RK-Br, killed in action 30 September 1942) were to rival Rudorffer's feat.

On 7 April 1944, Rudorffer shot down six enemy aircraft 129–134). Major Rudorffer was awarded the Eichenlaub (Nr 447) on 11 April 1944 for 134 victories. Following a spell of leave, Rudorffer returned to combat duty to claim five victories on 3 July, six on 26 July, including his 150th victory, five on 25 August (168-172), six on 25 September (182-187), seven on 10 October (188-194) and 11 on 28 October. For his exploits, he received the Schwertern (Nr 126) for his 212th victory on 26 January 1945. On 15 January 1945, Major Rudorffer was placed in command of the Me262 jet fighter equipped I./JG 7. He became one of the first jet fighter aces in the world by scoring 12 victories, including 10 four-engined bombers, in the jet. Erich Rudorffer survived the war and continued his aviation career as a member of the Bundesluftwaffe.

Erich Rudorffer scored a total of 224 victories, placing him 7th on the all time list. This score did not come without a cost: Rudorffer flew over 1,000 missions, entering combat on 302 occasions, was shot down 16 times, and baled out 9 times! Of note are the 58 Il-2 Sturmoviks included in his 138 Eastern Front victories (all while flying the Fw 190) and the 10 four-engined bombers shot down in Reichsverteidigung missions.

Luftwaffe pilot Asisbiz Database of 212 aerial victories for Erich Rudorffer

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
14-May-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2 Hawk-75A 2000m 20:00 SW les Sees la Gresn
17-May-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2 LeO 45   13:28 La Caponne
19-May-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2 Morane 406   07:30 E Guise
25-May-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   20:35 St Quentin
26-May-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2 2500m 09:45 NW Calais
26-May-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   09:47 NW Calais
06-Jun-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2 Hawk-75   13:10 N Soissons
06-Jun-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2 LeO 45 1500m 20:50 N Roye
06-Jun-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2 Martin 167   20:45 N Roye
11-Aug-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2 7000m 11:38 SW Portland
11-Aug-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   11:49 E Weymouth
31-Aug-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   09:40 Dover
01-Sep-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   12:45 Dover
02-Sep-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   18:20 Faversham
04-Sep-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   09:58 Dover
07-Sep-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   18:30 Thames Estuary
07-Sep-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   18:40 Battle of Britain
07-Sep-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   18:43 Battle of Britain
10-Oct-40 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2 Spitfire   16:20 Portland
21-Apr-41 Erich Rudorffer 2./JG2   15:03 50km S Jersey
07-Jul-41 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2   15:35 Reich (Western Front)
07-Jul-41 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2   15:40 Reich (Western Front)
09-Jul-41 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2   13:40 Reich (Western Front)
09-Jul-41 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2   13:45 Reich (Western Front)
10-Jul-41 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2   12:20 Reich (Western Front)
11-Jul-41 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2   15:00 Reich (Western Front)
19-Jul-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   14:25 Reich (Western Front)
23-Jul-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   13:18 Reich (Western Front)
05-Aug-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   19:05 Reich (Western Front)
10-Aug-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   14:15 Reich (Western Front)
19-Aug-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   11:59 Reich (Western Front)
19-Aug-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   12:06 Reich (Western Front)
19-Aug-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   12:15 Reich (Western Front)
21-Aug-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   15:10 Reich (Western Front)
20-Sep-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   16:55 Reich (Western Front)
21-Sep-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   17:05 Reich (Western Front)
21-Sep-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   16:50 Reich (Western Front)
21-Sep-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   16:50 Reich (Western Front)
27-Sep-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   15:40 Reich (Western Front)
08-Dec-41 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   12:55 Reich (Western Front)
03-Jun-42 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   16:35 Channel Front
03-Jun-42 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   16:38 Channel Front
03-Jun-42 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   16:35 Sea off Le Havre
03-Jun-42 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   16:38 Sea off Le Havre
05-Jun-42 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   15:46 Channel Front
19-Aug-42 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   16:52 Channel Front
19-Aug-42 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2   16:53 Channel Front
18-Dec-42 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 4500m 11:05 8km W Mateur
20-Dec-42 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 300m 16:40 5km S Beja
08-Jan-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 A-20 Boston 200m 10:41 10km S Pribon
08-Jan-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-38 Lightning 100m 15:35 50km SW Kairouan
08-Jan-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-51 Mustang Low Level 15:40 55km SW Kairouan
18-Jan-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 50m 08:15 2km SW Godara-Mundung
04-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2 1500m 16:19 5km SW Ousseltia
04-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 1000m 16:22 4km S Kef el Abied
09-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-40 Warhawk Low Level 14:06 15km SE Kerra
09-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-38 Lightning 6000m 14:21 5km E Djebel Barbrau
09-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-40 Warhawk 300m 14:04 10km SE Kerra
09-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-40 Warhawk 200m 14:02 12km NW Pribon
09-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-40 Warhawk 200m 14:01 Djebel Ousseltia
09-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-40 Warhawk 1500m 13:59 5km SE Djebel Ousseltia
09-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-38 Lightning 6000m 14:22 5km W Djebel Barbrau
09-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-40 Warhawk 500m 14:00 S Djebel Ousseltia
14-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 100m 16:18 10km W Pribon
15-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-38 Lightning 5000m 15:07 10km SO Sbeitla
15-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2 200m 15:15 N Djebel El Abeid
15-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-38 Lightning 5500m 15:58 15km NW Pribon
15-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 300m 15:18 N Djebel El Abeid
15-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-38 Lightning 5200m 15:08 8km NE Sbeitla
15-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 P-38 Lightning 5000m 15:03 10km NW Hadjel El Aictu
15-Feb-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 200m 15:16 N Djebel El Abeid
11-Mar-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 20m 13:12 Ousseltia
11-Mar-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 20m 13:13 Ousseltia
15-May-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2 Typhoon 100m 17:00 400m South Senarpont
15-May-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG2 2000m 17:10 400m Conteville
09-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-4 5000m 17:57 53 224
12-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer 6./JG2 B-17 Fortress 6500-20m 14:28 10km W Maklar
13-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 50m 16:12 54 781
13-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 50m 16:16 54 751
24-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 DB-3F 2500m 07:08 44 523
24-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 DB-3F 2800m 07:12 44 47
24-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 2500m 07:15 44 61
24-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 500m 14:40 44 61
24-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 400m 14:41 44 61
24-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 400m 14:42 44 61
24-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 300m 14:43 44 62
24-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 200m 14:44 44 62
26-Aug-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 1500m 08:10 43 43
07-Sep-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 20-50m 17:35 44 25
14-Sep-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 3000m 16:44 35 542
14-Sep-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 2000m 16:45 35 542
14-Sep-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 1000m 16:42 35 541
14-Sep-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 100m 16:41 35 542
14-Sep-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 2000m 16:46 35 542
15-Sep-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 2000m 13:22 35 432
11-Oct-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 1000m 12:20 E Yerenzoy
11-Oct-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 800m 12:21 West of Yerenzoy
11-Oct-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 700m 12:22 S Yerenzoy
11-Oct-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 LaGG-3 600m 12:22 S Yerenzoy
11-Oct-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 400m 12:24 NW Geybot
11-Oct-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 300m 12:25 NW Geybot
11-Oct-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 800m 12:27 NE Feremzoy
22-Oct-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 3000m 06:35 West of Trakhtemirov
22-Oct-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 3000m 06:38 West of Trakhtemirov
02-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 2000m 15:16 01 414
02-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 1800m 15:18 01 414
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 100m 13:17 01 592
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 150m 07:18 01 811
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 600m 13:19 01 722
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 150m 13:15 01 594
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 100m 13:13 01 591
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 150m 13:11 01 591
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 120m 13:09 01 554
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 120m 13:07 01 582
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 100m 13:05 01 554
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 50m 13:04 01 554
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 100m 13:03 01 583
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 200m 13:01 01 583
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 150m 13:00 01 582
06-Nov-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 150m 13:08 01 554
10-Dec-43 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 50m 14:06 NE Grebenki (Kiev)
11-Feb-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-7 2600m 14:30 10 741
19-Mar-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 LaGG-3 800m 09:08 88 352
29-Mar-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG52 Il-2 Sturmovik 50m 09:03 70 691
03-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG51 Yak-9 3000m 08:32 88 371
07-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 6000m 07:42 88 361
07-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1000m 07:48 88 362
07-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1000m 07:49 88 392
07-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1000m 07:52 88 363
07-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 1500m 07:56 88 441
07-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 1500m 07:58 88 442
28-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 80m 17:56 87 836
28-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 100m 17:59 NNE Linon-Yeu
28-Apr-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 30m 17:57 87 839
17-Jun-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Pe-2 1500m 11:35 81 262
18-Jun-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1100m 08:35 91 581
18-Jun-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 400m 08:36 91 557
19-Jun-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 400m 18:00 91 176
20-Jun-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1000m 16:22 81 456
20-Jun-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1000m 16:24 81 462
20-Jun-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 P-39 Aircobra 1600m 15:36 81 466
03-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 07:09 81 433
03-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 07:10 81 434
03-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 07:07 81 297
03-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 07:06 81 294
03-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 07:08 81 298
25-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 2200m 12:05 70 696
26-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 100m 16:53 70 823
26-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Pe-2 2000m 17:08 60 824
26-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 150m 16:48 70 689
26-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 16:43 70 839
26-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 16:42 70 831
26-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Pe-2 1800m 17:10 60 816
27-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 14:22 78 565
27-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 2000m 14:25 78 561
27-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 1800m 14:28 78 637
30-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 300m 11:24 70 668
30-Jul-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 150m 20:12 60 479
06-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 100m 13:24 79 611
06-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 100m 13:27 79 614
17-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 3000m 13:09 79 819
17-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 10m 13:15 79 588
17-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 10m 13:20 79 576
23-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 100m 09:50 57 246
23-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 500m 09:51 57 249
25-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 500m 13:45 57 284
25-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 500m 13:46 57 283
25-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 400m 13:47 57 282
25-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1200m 13:54 57 258
25-Aug-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1200m 13:56 57 259
05-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-9 1200m 18:56 69 616
06-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 3000m 13:01 79 554
06-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5   13:03 79 554
06-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 3500m 12:59 79 555
06-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 La-5 2000m 13:04 79 554
17-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 300m 13:51 69 777
17-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 300m 13:52 69 775
17-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 13:57 58 333
20-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 300m 11:39 69 164
25-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 150m 10:35 37 155
25-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-3 3500m 10:21 37 125
25-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Yak-3 3500m 10:23 37 126
25-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 10:31 37 137
25-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 10:32 37 128
25-Sep-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 150m 10:33 37 151
10-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Pe-2 2000m 10:20 17 645
10-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Pe-2 2000m 10:30 17 658
10-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 P-39 Aircobra 2000m 10:24 17 641
10-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Pe-2 2000m 10:17 17 553
10-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 P-39 Aircobra 2800m 10:12 17 516
10-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Pe-2 2000m 10:18 17 563
10-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 P-39 Aircobra 2800m 10:14 17 524
22-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Pe-2 2000m 14:20 17 557
22-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Pe-2 2000m 14:21 17 582
22-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 P-39 Aircobra 2500m 14:24 17 559
22-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 P-39 Aircobra 2500m 14:25 17 564
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1200m 11:47 07 635
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 400m 11:56 07 684
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 800m 11:54 07 683
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 800m 11:53 07 641
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 800m 11:53 07 668
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1000m 11:50 07 667
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1100m 11:48 07 661
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1300m 11:46 07 632
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 200m 15:03 17 624
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 300m 15:01 17 619
28-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 Il-2 Sturmovik 1000m 11:49 07 662
30-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 A-20 Boston III 100m 12:05 07 613
30-Oct-44 Erich Rudorffer Stab II./JG54 A-20 Boston III 50m 12:07 07 611
24-Mar-45 Erich Rudorffer Stab I./JG7 Tempest   - bei Wesel
30-Mar-45 Erich Rudorffer Stab I./JG7 P-51 Mustang   - Raum Hamburg
30-Mar-45 Erich Rudorffer Stab I./JG7 P-51 Mustang   - Raum Hamburg

Luftwaffe pilot luftwaffe.cz database list of aerial victories for Erich Rudorffer

No Date Time A/c Type Unit Location / Comments
1. 14.5.1940 15:08 Hawk 75 2./JG 2 Sedan-Bouillon-Charleville
2. 17.5.1940 13:28 LeO 45 2./JG 2 La Capelle-en-Thiérache
3. 19.5.1940 12:30 Morane 406 2./JG 2 E Guise
4. 25.5.1940 20:35 2./JG 2  
5. 26.5.1940 9:47 2./JG 2 Calais-Dunkirk
6. 26.5.1940 9:50~ 2./JG 2 Calais-Dunkirk
7. 6.6.1940 13:10 Hawk 75 2./JG 2 Soissons
8. 6.6.1940 20:15 LeO 451 2./JG 2 Roye
9. 6.6.1940 20:45 Martin MB-7 2./JG 2 Roye
10. 11.8.1940 11:38 2./JG 2 E Weymouth
11. 11.8.1940 16:30 2./JG 2 Portland
12. 31.8.1940 9:40 2./JG 2 Dover
13. 1.9.1940 12:45 2./JG 2 Dover
14. 2.9.1940 18:20 2./JG 2 Faversham
15. 4.9.1940 9:58 2./JG 2 Dover
16. 1940 - E/a 2./JG 2  
17. 1940 - E/a 2./JG 2  
18. 1940 - E/a 2./JG 2  
19. 21.4.1941 15:03 2./JG 2 50 km S Jersey
20. 7.7.1941 15:35 6./JG 2  
21. 7.7.1941 15:40 6./JG 2  
22. 9.7.1941 13:40 6./JG 2  
23. 9.7.1941 13:45 6./JG 2  
24. 10.7.1941 12:20 6./JG 2  
25. 11.7.1941 15:00 6./JG 2  
26. 19.7.1941 14:25 6./JG 2  
27. 23.7.1941 13:18 6./JG 2 Foret d’Eperlecques
28. 5.8.1941 10:05 6./JG 2 North Gravelines
29. 5.8.1941 19:05 6./JG 2 Dunkirk
30. 10.8.1941 14:15 6./JG 2  
31. 19.8.1941 11:59 6./JG 2  
32. 19.8.1941 12:06 6./JG 2  
33. 19.8.1941 12:15 6./JG 2  
34. 21.8.1941 15:10 6./JG 2  
35. 20.9.1941 16:55 6./JG 2  
36. 21.9.1941 16:50 6./JG 2 Dover Straits
37. 21.9.1941 16:52~ 6./JG 2 Dover Straits
38. 21.9.1941 17:05 6./JG 2 Dover Straits
39. 27.9.1941 15:40 6./JG 2  
40. 8.12.1941 12:55 6./JG 2 W Boulogne
41. 3.6.1942 16:31 6./JG 2 near Le Havre
42. 3.6.1942 16:31 6./JG 2 near Le Havre
43. 5.6.1942 15:35 6./JG 2 near Le Havre
44. 19.8.1942 16:52 6./JG 2 Dieppe area
45. 19.8.1942 16:53 6./JG2 Dieppe area
46. 18.12.1942 11:05 6./JG 2 8km W Mateur: 4500 m / Spitfire Vc of 72 Sqn RAF flown by W/O HW Charnock (8/1/0 victories), crash-landed, wounded
47. 20.12.1942 16:40 6./JG 2 5km S Béja: 300 m
48. 8.1.1943 10:41 Boston 6./JG 2 10 km S Pribon: 200 m / A-20
49. 8.1.1943 15:35 P-38 6./JG 2 50 km SW Kairouan: 100 m / P-38 of 48 FS, 14 FG, USAAF
50. 8.1.1943 15:40 Mustang 6./JG 2 55 km SW Kairouan: tiefflug
51. 18.1.1943 8:15 Stab II./JG 2 2 km SW Godara-Mündung: 50 m / Spitfire Vb of 232 Sqn RAF flown by Sqn Ldr AL Winskill (4.833/1/1 victories)
52. 4.2.1943 16:19 Stab II./JG 2 5 km SW Ousseltia: 1500 m / Spitfire of 52 FG, USAAF
53. 4.2.1943 16:22 Stab II./JG 2 4 km S Kef el Abied: 1000 m / Spitfire of 52 FG, USAAF
54. 9.2.1943 13:59 P-40 Stab II./JG 2 5 km SE Djebel Ousseltia: 1500 m
55. 9.2.1943 14:00 P-40 Stab II./JG 2 S Djebel Ousseltia: 500 m
56. 9.2.1943 14:01 P-40 Stab II./JG 2 Djebel Ousseltia: 200 m
57. 9.2.1943 14:02 P-40 Stab II./JG 2 12 km NW Pribon: 200 m
58. 9.2.1943 14:04 P-40 Stab II./JG 2 10 km SE Kerra: 300 m
59. 9.2.1943 14:06 P-40 Stab II./JG 2 15 km SE Kerra: tiefflug
60. 9.2.1943 14:21 P-38 Stab II./JG 2 5 km E Djebel Barbraü: 6000 m
61. 9.2.1943 14:22 P-38 Stab II./JG 2 5 km W Djebel Barbraü: 6000 m
62. 14.2.1943 16:18 Stab II./JG 2 10 km W Pribon: 100 m / Spitfire V of 31 FG, USAAF
63. 15.2.1943 15:03 P-38 Stab II./JG 2 10 km NW Hadjel El Aictu: 5000 m
64. 15.2.1943 15:07 P-38 Stab II./JG 2 10 km SO Sbeitla: 5000 m
65. 15.2.1943 15:08 P-38 Stab II./JG 2 8 km NE Sbeitla: 5200 m
66. 15.2.1943 15:15 Stab II./JG 2 N Djebel El Abeid: 200 m
67. 15.2.1943 15:16 Stab II./JG 2 N Djebel El Abeid: 200 m
68. 15.2.1943 15:18 Stab II./JG 2 N Djebel El Abeid: 300 m
69. 15.2.1943 15:58 P-38 Stab II./JG 2 15 km NW Pribon: 5500 m
70. 11.3.1943 13:12 Stab II./JG 2 Ousseltia at 20 m / Spitfire of 52 FG, USAAF
71. 11.3.1943 13:13 Stab II./JG 2 Ousseltia at 20 m / Spitfire of 52 FG, USAAF
72. 12.3.1943 - B-17 Stab II./JG 2 near Sousse
73. 15.5.1943 17:00 Stab II./JG 2 Senarpont
74. 15.5.1943 17:10 Stab II./JG 2 Senarpont
75. 7.8.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
76.-80. VIII.1943 - 5 victories Stab II./JG 54  
81. 24.8.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
82. 24.8.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
83. 24.8.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
84. 24.8.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
85. 24.8.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
86. 24.8.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
87. 24.8.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
88. 24.8.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
89. 1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
90. 1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
91. 14.9.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
92. 14.9.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
93. 14.9.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
94. 14.9.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
95. 14.9.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
96. 1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
97. 1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
98. 11.10.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
99. 11.10.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
100. 11.10.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
101. 11.10.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
102. 11.10.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
103. 11.10.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
104. 11.10.1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
105. 1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
106. 1943 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
107. 6.11.1943 - Yak-7 Stab II./JG 54  
108. 6.11.1943 - Yak-7 Stab II./JG 54  
109. 6.11.1943 - Yak-7 Stab II./JG 54  
110. 6.11.1943 - Yak-7 Stab II./JG 54  
111. 6.11.1943 - Yak-7 Stab II./JG 54  
112. 6.11.1943 - Yak-7 Stab II./JG 54  
113. 6.11.1943 - Yak-9 Stab II./JG 54  
114. 6.11.1943 - Yak-9 Stab II./JG 54  
115. 6.11.1943 - Yak-9 Stab II./JG 54  
116. 6.11.1943 - Yak-9 Stab II./JG 54  
117. 6.11.1943 - Yak-9 Stab II./JG 54  
118. 6.11.1943 - Yak-9 Stab II./JG 54  
119. 6.11.1943 - Yak-9 Stab II./JG 54  
120. 6.11.1943 - Yak-9 Stab II./JG 54  
? 11.2.1944 14:30 Yak-7 Stab II./JG 54  
121.-128. ? - 7 victories Stab II./JG 54  
129. 7.4.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
130. 7.4.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
131. 7.4.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
132. 7.4.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
133. 7.4.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
134. 7.4.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
? 1944 - 10 victories Stab II./JG 54  
? 3.7.1944 7:06 Il-2 Stab II./JG 54 Immola / Leningrad Front 
? 3.7.1944 7:07 Il-2 Stab II./JG 54 Immola / Leningrad Front 
? 3.7.1944 7:08 Il-2 Stab II./JG 54 Immola / Leningrad Front 
? 3.7.1944 7:09 Il-2 Stab II./JG 54 Immola / Leningrad Front 
? 3.7.1944 7:10 Il-2 Stab II./JG 54 Immola / Leningrad Front 
150. 26.7.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
151. 26.7.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
152. 26.7.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
153. 26.7.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
154. 26.7.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
155. 26.7.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
156.-167. 1944 - 12 victories Stab II./JG 54  
168. 25.8.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
169. 25.8.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
170. 25.8.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
171. 25.8.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
172. 25.8.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
173.-181. 1944 - 9 victories Stab II./JG 54  
182. 25.9.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
183. 25.9.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
184. 25.9.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
185. 25.9.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
186. 25.9.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
187. 25.9.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
188. 10.10.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
189. 10.10.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
190. 10.10.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
191. 10.10.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
192. 10.10.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
193. 10.10.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
194. 10.10.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
195. X.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
196. X.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
197. X.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
198. X.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
199. 28.10.1944 - Il-2 Stab II./JG 54  
200. 28.10.1944 - Il-2 Stab II./JG 54  
201. 28.10.1944 - Il-2 Stab II./JG 54  
202. 28.10.1944 - Il-2 Stab II./JG 54  
203. 28.10.1944 - Il-2 Stab II./JG 54  
204. 28.10.1944 - Il-2 Stab II./JG 54  
205. 28.10.1944 - Il-2 Stab II./JG 54  
206. 28.10.1944 - Il-2 Stab II./JG 54  
207. 28.10.1944 - Il-2 Stab II./JG 54  
208. 28.10.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
209. 28.10.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
210. 1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
211. 1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
212. 5.11.1944 - E/a Stab II./JG 54  
213. 1945 - B-17 Stab I./JG 7  
214. 24.3.1945 - Tempest Stab I./JG 7 near Wesel / Tempest of 274 Sqd, RAF flown by Flt Lt JB Stark, killed
215. 27.3.1945 - B-17 Stab I./JG 7 Date uncertain. Rudorffer claims 3rd victory while flying Me 262
216. 30.3.1945 - P-51 Stab I./JG 7 near Hamburg
217. 30.3.1945 - P-51 Stab I./JG 7 near Hamburg
218. 1945 - B-17 Stab I./JG 7  
219. 1945 - B-17 Stab I./JG 7  
220. 1945 - B-17 Stab I./JG 7  
221. 1945 - B-17 Stab I./JG 7  
222. 1945 - B-17 Stab I./JG 7  
223. 1945 - B-17 Stab I./JG 7  
224. 1945 - B-17 Stab I./JG 7  

Victories : 224
Awards : Knight`s Cross with Swords
Units : JG 2, JG 54, JG 7
Web Reference: http://www.luftwaffe.cz/rudorffer.html



Luftwaffe pilot Emil von Stein

Units: 4./JG-2 (Channel)

Awards: Fighter Operational Clasp

Known Aircraft: Bf 109E-4 WNr 1452 'White 12+-' (lost )

Remarks: POW after being shot down by F/O Reynell of RAF No. 43 Sq., making an emergency landing at West Hythe, south of Lympne Castle.

Luftwaffe pilot No none victories for Emil von Stein



Luftwaffe pilot Henning or Hennig 'Piefke' Strümpell

Units: Legion Condor, Stfkpt 3/JG-2 (5/39), Kdr I/JG-2 (5/40 Beaumont), Kdr JGr.z.b.V. (9/11), Kdr II/JG-5 (1/42), Kdr JG-106 (3/43) & 107 (10/44)

Awards: Spanish Cross, EK 1 & 2, Fighter Operational Clasp

Known Aircraft: He 51 in 1934, Bf 109E-4 'Yellow 1' in 3/JG-2; Ar 96, Bf 109 & Fw 190 in JG-106

Remarks: Strümpell commanded JG-107 to wars end. Two victories in Spain. In 1940, he was Stfkpt 3/JG-2. In 1936 to 1940, he served in I/JG-232, 3/JG-132 and 3/JG-131 befire redesignated to 3/JG-2. It was in 3/JG-2 that he achieved his first victory, a LeO-451 in the Cambrai/St. Quentin area, 20 May, 1940. His 2nd, a Spitfire over England on 11 August, 1940. Served also in JGr-Kirkeness in Jan. 1942 flying the Bf 109E. Flugbuch (4/36 to 4/40). Retired Bundeswehr BrigGen. Deceased 31 July, 2003. Alternate spelling: Strumpell.

Luftwaffe pilot Asisbiz database list of aerial 2 victories for Hennig 'Piefke' Strümpell

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
Monday, May 20, 1940 Hennig Strumpell 3./JG2 LeO 451   14:00 Cambrai-St Quentin
Sunday, August 11, 1940 Hennig Strumpell Stab I./JG2      



Luftwaffe pilot Rudolf Täschner

Units: 1./JG-2 (8/40), 1./JG-53

Awards: DK-G, EP, EK 1, Wound Badge, Fighter Operational Clasp

Known Aircraft: Bf 109E & Bf 109E-7 WNr 6963(lost 7/41) in JG-2, Bf 109G-6/R1 in JG-53

Remarks: KIA 28 August, 1943 in aerial combat in his G-6 Werk # 15222 'White 4' with Spitfires over Eufemia Gulf. Wounded in aerial combat 24 July, 1941 near La Rochelle. One known victory, his first, a Morane 406 at Bouillon, 10 km east of Sedan, 14 May, 1940, while in 1/JG-2. His 2nd, a Morane 406 near Compiegne, 21 May, 1940. His 3rd, a Bloch 150 S of Reims on 3 June, 1940. His 4th, a Bloch 150 on 7 June, 1940, no location. A 'damaged' Blenheim claimed over England on 4 August, 1940. His 5th, a Hurricane at Goudhurst/Kent on 30 August, 1940. His 6th, a Spitfire over England on 2 September, 1940. His 7th, a Spitfire at New Romney on 4 September, 1940. His 8th, a Spitfire S of Swanage on 1 October, 1940. Nos.9, 10 & 11, three Hurricanes S of Boutnemouth on 5 October, 1940. His 13th, a Spitfire in the Lille area on 2 July, 1941. His 14th, a Spitfire on 6 July, 1941, no location. His 15th, a Halifax on 24 July, 1941. Another, a P-40 36 km southwest of Cape Vetricento Italy, 26 August, 1943, most likely in JG-53. His 20th, a Spitfire 10 km S Amiens on 28 August, 1942.

Luftwaffe pilot Asisbiz database list of 24 of aerial victories for Rudolf Täschner

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Morane 406   20:08 Bouillon 10km E Sedan
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Morane 406   19:10 Compiegne
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Bloch 150 3000m 14:45 South of Reims
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Bloch 150   07:10 SE Soissons
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Blenheim      
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Hurricane   18:00 Goudhurst/Kent
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire   14:20  
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire 1500m 14:27 New Romney
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire   11:40 S Swanage
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Hurricane   14:59 S Bournemouth
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Hurricane   15:00 S Bournemouth
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Hurricane   15:10 S Bournemouth
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire   12:45  
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire   14:40  
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire   14:45  
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Halifax   - -
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire   14:45  
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire   17:59  
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire   17:59 -
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG2 Spitfire 2300m 15:34 West of Abbeville
Rudolf Täschner 2./JG2 Spitfire 2300m 15:39 W. Abbeville
Rudolf Täschner 11./JG2 Spitfire 8000m 14:25 10km S Amiens
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG53 P-40 Warhawk 1200m 16:57 36km SW Cap Vetricento
Rudolf Täschner 1./JG53 Dogfight     KIA during a dogfight with Spitfire's over Eufemia Gulf Italy



Luftwaffe pilot Hans Tilly

Units: 3./JG-2 (5/40 Channel)

Awards: EK 1 & 2, Fighter Operational Clasp

Known Aircraft: Bf 109E 'White 13' (5/40), Bf 109F-2 WNr 12816 'Yellow 12' (lost )

Remarks: MIA ; Unknown reason, crashed into the sea near St. Pol (Mombeek). One known victory, his 1st, a Wapiti (or Lysander) at Calais, 29 May, 1940, a Gefr at the time. His 2nd, a Spitfire on 6 July, 1941, no location. A 3rd, a Hurricane at the Thames Estuary on 7 September, 1940. A 4th a Spitfire over England on 11 September, 1940. A 5th a Hurricane at Southhampton on 26 September, 1940. A 6th (referred to as No.5 by OKL), a Spitfire 20 km N of Bournemouth on 5 October, 1940. A 7th (referred to as No.6 by OKL), a Hurricane NE of Portland on 5 November, 1940. An 8th a Spitfire in the Dover area on 6 July, 1941. Mombeek MIA List.

Luftwaffe pilot Asisbiz database list of 7 of aerial victories for Hans Tilly

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
Hans Till 3./JG2 Wapiti   20.14 Calais
Hans Till 3./JG2   18.50 Thames Estuary
Hans Till 3./JG2   16.50  
Hans Till 3./JG2   17.40 Southampton
Hans Till 3./JG2 Spitfire 7000m 15.00 20km N Bournemouth
Hans Till 3./JG2   14.37 NE Portland
Hans Till 3./JG2   14.40  



Luftwaffe pilot Alexander von Wintergeldt

Alexander von Wintergeldt was born on 11 December 1898 at Berlin. He was the son of a Prussian MajorGeneral. Fahnenjunker von Wintergeldt served in a Guards regiment before becoming a fighter pilot in 1918. He claimed four victories during World War 1. He later served with the Eisernen Division in the Baltic area against Communist forces. Von Wintergeldt was serving with 3./JG2 when the Blitzkreig of the low countries and France began in May 1940. He claimed his first victory in World War 2 on 18 May, when he shot down a RAF Blenheim twin-engine bomber near Landrecies. By the end of May, von Wintergeldt had added two additional victories. In late May or early June 1940, von Wintergeldt was transferred to 8./JG2. Hauptmann von Wintergeldt was appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./JG2 on 26 June. During his time with the unit he added two additional victories. Major Von Wintergeldt was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG52 on 1 August 1940. He led the Gruppe until 6 October. On 7 October, von Wintergeldt was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG77. He led the Gruppe through the invasions of Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 5 July 1941 for the 6 aerial victories and 15 aircraft destroyed on the ground he had gained to date in World War 2. Von Wintergeldt led III./JG77 during the invasion of Russia. He gained his last three victories in this theatre. On 3 August 1941, Oberstleutnant von Wintergeldt was appointed Kommandeur of Jagdfliegervorschule 4. He then took command of Jagdfliegervorschule 3 on 19 December 1941. On 16 May 1942, von Wintergeldt was killed in a flying accident at Wien-Schwechat in Bf 109E-3 (W.Nr. 2458).

Alexander von Wintergeldt was credited with 13 victories. Included in his total are four victories recorded during World War 1.

Luftwaffe pilot List of aerial victories for Alexander von Wintergeldt

No Date Time A/c Type Unit Location / Comments
1 1918 - E/a Jasta 20 -
2 1918 - E/a Jasta 20 -
3 1918 - E/a Jasta 20 -
4 1918 - E/a Jasta 20 -
5 18.5.1940 17:05 3./JG2 Landrecies
6 19.5.1940 18:10 Morane 406 3./JG2 W Valenciennes
7 20.5.1940 14:00 LeO 45 3./JG2 Cambrai-St Quentin
8 6.6.1940 6:15 Bloch 151 8./JG2 Compiegne
9 10.6.1940 17:20 Potez 63 8./JG2 Meaux
10 14.5.1941 6:33 Gladiator III./JG77 Malemes
11 23.6.1941 6:15 1-mot Doppeldecker III./JG77 -
12 26.6.1941 5:05 ZKB-19 III./JG77 -
13 26.6.1941 5:07 ZKB-19 III./JG77 -

Victories : 13
Awards : Ritterkreuz (5 July 1941)
Units : JG2, JG52, JG77
http://www.luftwaffe.cz/winteRGeldt.html

Luftwaffe pilot Asisbiz List of 6 aerial victories out of 13 for Alexander von Wintergeldt

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
18-May-40 Alexander von Wintergeldt 3./JG2   17.05 Landrecies
19-May-40 Alexander von Wintergeldt 3./JG2 Morane 406   18.10 West of Valenciennes
20-May-40 Alexander von Wintergeldt 3./JG2 LeO 451   14.00 Cambrai-St Quentin
06-Jun-40 Alexander von Wintergeldt 8./JG2 Bloch 151   06.15 Compiegne
10-Jun-40 Alexander von Wintergeldt 8./JG2 Potez 63   17.20 Meaux
14-May-41 Alexander von Wintergeldt Stab III./JG77 Gladiator   06.33  

Luftwaffe pilot Helmut Wick

Helmut Wick was born in Mannheim on 5 August 1915. He was one of three children and, because his father's work as an engineer involved frequent moves, the family lived variously in Heidelberg, Hannover, Danzig and Konigsberg. At one of these locations, the family home was near an airfield where the sight and sound of the aircraft fascinated Helmut and remained one of his most vivid childhood memories. Despite this early interest in aviation however, he first studied to become a forester but later, when the air force began calling for recruits, his enthusiasm for aviation was reawakened and, in March 1935, Helmut volunteered for service with the Luftwaffe.On 6 April 1936, Helmut Wick was a Fahnenjunker and by July 1937 had been promoted to Fahnrich, both terms referring to ranks for officer cadets. Because of his mental and physical qualities, he was recommended for fighter pilot training and later joined I./JG135 (later I./JG51) commanded by Oberst Max Ibel.At the end of 1938 Wick transferred to I./JG133 (the future I./JG53), then based in Wiesbaden under Major Hans-Hugo Witt, and on 1 January 1939 Lt. Wick was posted to the I.Staffel of JG133. This Staffel was commanded by Hptm. Werner Molders, one of the best fighter leaders, and even at the height of his fame Wick would never forget that he had learned all he knew from Molders.Early Victories On 30 August 1939, Wick was transferred to Hptm. Hennig Strumpell's 3./JG2 based in Berlin/Doberitz and when war broke out against Poland on 1 September, this unit remained to protect Berlin. In early November, the Staffel was transferred to Rebstock, behind the

Siegfried Line, and during the so-called 'Phoney War', was engaged daily in long patrol flights over the Franco-German border. It was during one such flight, on 22 November that Wick claimed his first victory. As the French were reluctant to cross the border, Wick's formation flew to the Nancy area where they became involved in a fight with some Curtiss Hawk 75A-1s and Wick succeeded in shooting down the aircraft flown by Sgt. Pierre Saillard of GC II/4 which crashed near Phalsbourg. Further border patrol flights continued, but during the winter months there were fewer encounters although on 30 April 1940, Lt. Wick, together with Lt. Rudolf Pflanz and Oblt. Jobst Hauenschild became involved in a combat with a Potez 63.11 east of Merzig. The three pilots put in a joint claim but it was apparently awarded to Lt. Pflanz.It was during the campaign in the West that Wick began his career as one of the Luftwaffe's greatest aces, though only after a slow start. Although his Staffelcomrades had scored victories, Wick was unlucky and found himself unable to manoeuvre into a sufficiently favourable position.

It seems his luck might have changed on 17 May when Wick claimed three LeO-451 bombers, but in fact none of his claims was confirmed. Wick's next large battle came on IS May when his Staffel claimed six Blenheims, but again Wick himself was unable to score. Finally, on the 20th 3./JG2 again became involved in a battle with LeO 451 bombers in the Laon-St.Quentin-Peronne area and two of the Staffel's seven claims were awarded to Wick.At the end of May, Wick claimed two Fairey Swordfish in the Calais area and although one forced landed at Calais-Marck and the other crashed into the sea in flames, these were not confirmed due to a lack of witnesses. However, any disappointment was soon forgotten in the events of 5 June. Wick was flying with Oblt. Hauenschild when they attacked some 15 to 20 Bloch 151s.The first kill went to Oblt. Hauenschild who shot one down at 17.10 hrs, but within a few minutes Wick had shot down another three. Five minutes later, on the way home, Wick accounted for a Morane-Saulnier 406 and was welcomed as a hero. Never since the war began had anyone claimed four victories in a single flight.Thereafter, Wick's score increased regularly.

On 6 June he shot down two Bloch I5Is near Compiegnes and on the evening of the 8th Wick destroyed another Bloch 151's and a Morane 406 in the Soissons-Reims area. His 12th confirmed victory, a Blenheim near Soissons on 9 June made Wick the leading ace in the 'Richthofen' Geschwader and brought the award of the EK 1. Wick's last confirmed victory of the campaign, a Fairey Battle shot down near Montdidier-Provins, occurred at 21.10 hrs on 13 June. A Spitfire claimed on 17 June was not confirmed and Wick therefore ended the French campaign with 13 confirmed victories, placing him fourth on the list of highest-scoring German pilots.At the same time, 1./JG2, which then had a total of 123 Abschusse, was restructured. In the 3.Staffel, Hptm. Hennig Striimpell became Gruppenkommandeur, Hptm. Alexander von Wintergeldt became Staffelkapitan of 8./JG2, Oblt. Hauenschild was transferred to another unit and, on 23 June 1940, Wick became Staffelfuhrer of 3./JG2.After a short rest following the fighting in France, Wick and his pilots were looking forward to increasing the Staffel's score, but although the Geschwaderstab and I.Staffel claimed two Spitfires on 9 July, most missions were convoy protection sorties and the situation was generally quiet.

Then, on 17 July, Wick took off with his wingman, Lt. Franz Fiby, to intercept a Blenheim returning to England after a mission over France. Despite a chase, the two pilots were unable to catch the Blenheim and broke off to establish where they were. Through a hole in the clouds, they saw that, although at that time forbidden, they had flown over the English coast. Nevertheless, Wick decided he would try to find something to shoot down before returning and after a search, Wick and Fiby saw below them the 14 Spitfires of 64Sqn. with one aircraft flying some distance behind acting as 'Holzauge' 1. Wick attacked and shot down this lone Spitfire leaving its wounded pilot, F/O Donald Taylor, to crash-land at Hailsham.With the start of the Battle of Britain, victories followed quickly and 11 July proved to be a very successful day for I. and III./JG2 which claimed 20 victories, Wick claiming a Hawk 752 and two Spitfires. On 21 July, Wick was promoted Oberleutnant and on 1 August was officially appointed Staffelkapitan of 3./JG2. After claiming two apparently unconfirmed Hurricanes on 16th and 24 August, Wick then claimed a Hurricane and a Spitfire near Portland on 25 August and two Hurricanes near Portsmouth on 26th. This brought Wick's total to 21 victories, and on the 27th he was awarded the Ritterkreuz, this being presented on the 29th at Karinhall by Reichsmarschall Goring who also granted Wick four days' leave to spend with his wife and family.Returning to the front, Wick claimed two Hurricanes on 4 September and by the 7th he had claimed a further five victories although only four were confirmed. On the same day, Wick was promoted to Hauptmann and became Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG2. Hptm.Wick's predecessor, Hptm.

Strumpell recalled:'I was assigned to fafu Osterkamp and turned the Gruppe over to Hptm. Wick. He was a nice man and 1 knew him well. He flew on every operation and was aggressive in combat. This could not be sustained and one day 1 told him that he would mentally or physically collapse or that he would be shot down. He always fought at full throttle to get the most speed from his aircraft and once I told Wick's mechanics to change his engine because of this.'

A Meeting with the Fuhrer

By the end of September, Wick had claimed another nine Abschusse and another five in two missions flown on 5 October, bringing his total to 41 official victories. That evening, he received a telephone call informing him that the Reichsmarschall wanted to see him the next day at the RLM. Wick had just 15 hours to trdvel to Berlin and he and his friend Oblt. Pflanz drove throughout the night in order to be on time. It was clear that Wick would received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross, but tantalisingly, during a meal with Goring, Generalfeldmarschall Milch, Generaloberst Udet and Generals Bodenschatz and Student, no mention was made of the Eichenlaub.At the end of the meal, Goring finally said, 'Now, my dear Wick, you are to take a special train to Berchtesgarten where somebody is waiting for you! 'Thus, on 6 October, the Fuhrer welcomed Wick and personally presented him with the Oak Leaves. At the same time Hitler promoted him to Major, making him the youngest man of that rank in the Wehrmacht.Back with his Gruppe, Major Wick claimed a Spitfire shot down on 15 October. On the 20th Goring declared, 'The Fuhrer has promoted him to Major, I promote him to Kommodore', and within a few days the existing Kommodore, Major Wolfgang Schellmann had left to succeed Major Bernhard Woldenga as commander of JG27.Major Hannes Trautloft, former Kommodore of JG54, knew Wick and recalled:

'Despite all his awards and honours, Wick remained a modest and considerate superior and wasrespected and admired by all his pilots. One day, a General, the commander of the Fliegerschule at Dresden, hoping to profit from the experiences of his former pupil, visited the 'Richthofen' Geschwader on the Channel coast with some of his staff. Engaging the young Kommodore in conversation, the General boasted, 'My dear Wick, of course I knew at Dresden that you would become someone special', to which Wick replied, 'Herr General, I suppose that's why you failed me on the first officer candidate test.'' Even as Kommodore, Wick continued to fly and lead his men.

On 29 October near Portsmouth he claimed a Hurricane at 15.29 hrs and a Spitfire four minutes later. Three more claims followed on 5 November, five on the 6th one of the 7th one on the 8th and another, apparently unconfirmed, on the 10th. By the morning of 28 November 1940, Major Helmut Wick had 54 victories, the same number as the Kommodore ofJG51, Obstlt. Molders, and close behind the 56 of Obstlt. Adolf Galland. At 14.20 hrs that afternoon, Wick ledJG2 in a sweep over Southern England and 50 minutes later claimed his 55th victory, a Spitfire north-east of the Isle of Wight.After returning to its base, JG2 took off at 16.30 hrs on the second mission of the day, destined to be the Kommodore's last. Visibility was good as the Jagdgeschwader Richthofen climbed in the direction of the Isle of Wight with Major Wick, his wingman Oblt. Pflanz and the Stab flight in the lead. After about 40 minutes, JG2 was again near the Isle of Wight where the Stab became involved in a large air battle and Wick shot down a Spitfire of 609Sqn. killing the pilot, P/O Paul Baillon. It was the Kommodore's last victory and his last flight. The accompanying accounts, one by Lt. Julius Meimberg of 4./JG2 and the other an official Luftwaffe report (opposite), describe in detail what is known of Major Wick's last flight, but it seems almost certain that after shooting down P/O Baillon, Wick was shot down by 609Squadron's F/Lt John Dundas, and that almost immediately afterwards Dundas himself was attacked and shot down by Wick's wingman, Oblt. Pflanz.Subsequently, the Luftwaffe did everything possible to locate Wick. Many search flights were made and even the British authorities were contacted 3 to enquire if they had a certain Major Helmut Wick among their PoWs, but no trace of him, his dinghy or his aircraft have ever been found.

The next day, Wick's closest friends, Oblt. Pflanz and Oblt. Erich Leie, traveled to Berlin to inform Wick's wife and parents of the tragedy.Many theories have been put forward to account for Wick's death. Hptm. Strumpell was convinced that Wick was an easier target because his engine was suffering from wear and tear and was not giving him top peRGormance, while some historians believe he may have collided with debris from Baillon's Spitfire. Equally possible is that Wick was by now suffering from severe nervous strain, a view perhaps supported by the errors of judgement he displayed during the flight to Brest on 17 October and his diary entry of 6 November 1940 in which he wondered if he was not well or if his nerves were frayed. Certainly Hptm. Strumpell thought that if it was not a poorly peRGorming engine which led to his death then it may have been the pressure he was under to become the Luftwaffe's leading ace 4. The fame and hero-worship the Third Reich meted out to its warriors and the rivalry that the news media fostered between them may well have raised public morale and enhanced the general esprit de corps of fellow fighter pilots but, equally, such exploitation also cruelly encouraged young men to exert themselves beyond their capabilities. Although Major Wick did not acquire the same reputation as Galland or Molders and although some of his contemporaries doubted the accuracy of his score, he is fondly remembered by the few surviving members of JG2 for his humanitarian qualities, his kind manner and enthusiasm for life.F/Lt John Charles Dundas of 609Sqn., the pilot who is believed to have shot down Wick and who was himself then shot down by Oblt. Rudolf Pflanz.

LOSS OF MAJOR WICK Copy, telex

To: Robinson, Command Staff lc Luftflotte 3,
V. Fliegerkorps
7Jafli 3
On 28.11.40 the second mission for JG2 was an assignment to fly a fighter sweep in the area of Southampton-Isle of Wight-Portsmouth. Assigned to the Geschwader was one flight from II./JG77. A total of 38 aircraft took off from Cherbourg-West and Thevil1e. JG2 took off at 16.30 hrs and climbed to 4,000 metres near the coast. Flying a course towards the Isle of Wight, the unit had climbed to 10,500 metres by the time they reached the English coast. The experience of the first mission of the day, when English combat units had flown at altitudes exceeding 11,000 metres, dictated that this altitude be flown in order to intercept the enemy. The weather was clear throughout the day and visibility was more than 100 km.The command flight, consisting of Major Wick, Oblt. Leie, Oblt. Pflanz, and Lt. Fiby, was approaching the English coast at 10,200 metres when a Spitfire squadron was sighted flying at 8,500-9,000 metres in the direction of Portsmouth and climbing. Major Wick positioned himself to attack this squadron. In the meantime the staff flight had become greatly separated from the rest of the formation since the Kommodore flew at full throttle in order to reach the English. Major Wick had to turn left so that the two wingmen on the left could also get into attack position but Oblt. Leie, on the right, was forced further out. Major Wick was able to carry out his attack on the English squadron without distraction and scored his 56th air victory. Two Spitfires flying cover behind, to the right and 500 metres above this squadron were evidently not noticed by Major Wick. Both of these Englishmen saw Wick's attack and thus the rest of the staff flight was prevented from making an attack on these two Spitfires which escaped to safety by carrying out a Split-S maneuver.After the Kommodore attacked the Spitfire squadron, he pulled up left into the sun. The staff flight was attempting to follow when Wick was suddenly attacked from a superior altitude by about 20-30 Spitfires.

Here, Oblt. Leie was able to get into firing position behind a solitary Englishman but he thereby lost sight of the other two aircraft of the staff flight. Oblt. Pflanz and Lt. Fiby escaped the English attack by diving away and lost sight of each other. At about 2,000 metres Oblt. Pflanz saw two aircraft in front of him which were flying south. He contemplated joining these two aircraft but recognised one as an English aircraft which was turning left and followed him. At this moment Oblt. Pflanz noticed a parachute* at about 1,500 metres. Oblt. Pflanz positioned himself behind the Englishman and shot him down from a short distance. He observed the aircraft hit the sea at tremendous speed and saw both wings break off.Flying home immediately afterwards, Oblt. Pflanz called the Sea Rescue Service which responded after several calls. He gave the position as: '40-50 km SSW western tip Isle of Wight, one German baled out, one Englishman in immediate vicinity.' As the Rescue Service acknowledged the position, there developed a radio communication between another department and the rescue boat which stated it was 60 nautical miles from the scene and that the rescue centre at Cherbourg-West had been asked to send another boat to assist. Afterwards, since he was running short of fuel, Oblt. Pflanz had to land (at Bonneborg, 18 km. NW of Lisieux), and he returned to his unit two hours later. After landing, Oblt. Leie determined by communicating with other commands that the Kommodore was the only one from the mission who had not returned and that he had not landed at any other airfield on the Channel coast. This was reported to Jafu 3 (Major Beck) and the la (Operations Officer) of the command of the V. Fliegerkorps with the most urgent request to set into operation all possible assistance in the search for Major Wick.JGRichthofen No.2*

There is no evidence that the parachute - if one was observed - was Wick's. Indeed, Kurt Buhligen and other pilots have stated that they saw Wick dead in his cockpit.

1. German term equivalent to 'Tail End Charlie'.
2. Clearly a case of misidentification.
3. The British replied two days later stating they had no knowledge of Wick's whereabouts.
4. Some historians maintain that at about 16.00 hrs on 28 November, JG2 received a telephone call from JG26 stating that Adolf Galland had added to his score and that Wick only flew his second sortie that day because he wanted to remain in the lead.

'We Waited in vain until late into the night'

Julius Meimberg, STAFFELKAPITAN OF 4./JG2In the late aternoon of 28 November 1940, we took off from Beaumont.le-Roger for our second, mission of the day. It was a brigh, clear, late-Autumn day and Jagdgescbwader 'Richthofen' climbed in the direction of the Isle of Wight with the Kommodore, Major Wick, his wingman Oblt. Rudolf Pflanz and the rest of the stab fight in the lead.I was leading the two flights of the 4.Staffel behind the Geschwader Stab. We reached 7000 metres and visibility was excellent. Diagonally, below us lay the Isle of Wight and beyond, the green fields of England began to appear. Above us, a large number of contrails flew towards us1. It was a beautiful sight, but we had no time to enjoy it as the straight, white plumes arced straight towards us and then dissolved into nothing as they lost height and turned into, small, flashing specks. It was a formation of Spitfires. They had the advantage of height and they were attacking from a favourable position.Major Wick had the habit of flying at full throttle while in combat. The Stab flight tried to follow, climbing at full power, but it was impossible and the flight became spread out. I climbed, with the 4. Staffel somewhat staggered to one side, trying to achieve a good position yet at the same time hold the formation together. I had no way of knowing whether there were more Spitfires closing with us from below the contrail height and which would be difficult to see. Then we were attacked, the aircraft of the Staffel separated and the dogfight began.

I saw a single Spitfire to one side and became involved in a turning contest but I was unable to position myself behind him. To allow sufficient lead I had to pull back on the stick so that the Spitfire disappeared under my nose, then I fired. When the Spitfire appeared again, I saw no visible evidence that I bad hit it but the aircraft made a steep Climbing turn and immediately went into a spin. I followed, thinking that this was some trick and that the pilot wanted me to think he'd been hit and would soon pull out, but he kept on spinning.If this had not been such a life and-death situation, I would have said that the sight before me was almost picturesque. It seemed that the red glow of the evening sun was reflecting off his canopy as the apparently undamaged green and brown camouflaged Spitfire spun towards the smooth dark surface of the sea below. It spun lower and lower, and I waited for the pilot to bale out but nothing happened. Then it occurred to me that even when the spinning Spitfire's canopy was in shadow, the cockpit still glowed red. Falling lower and lower towards the sparkling, blue-green mirror of the sea, the Spitfire finally disappeared in a white splash. I think the aircraft was burning inside and maintain that this is, possible when the oxygen cylinder is hit. I experienced something similar in 1943 'when I was shot down in Tunisia, but I never experienced another air combat such as this.Once we had landed, Rudolf Pfanz reported that Helmut Wick had shot down one Spitfire but had then been attacked by another which he, Pflanz, had shot down. No one was able to see what had happened to Wick's aircraft but we all hoped he had baled put and would return.We waited in vien until late into the night and he has been missing ever since.1 It should be noted that most accounts including the report submitted by JG2 on the loss of Wick state that the Spitfires were below the German aircraft.

Luftwaffe pilot Siegried Bethke

Luftwaffe pilot 'It was a wonder that I was not shot at...'

I was born on 24 June 1916 in Strassen, Pomerania. My mother's brother, Erich Voss, was in the Luftwaffe during the First World War but he was shot down and killed in 1918 whilst serving as an aircraft observer. In 1934, there was high unemployment in Germany. At the same time the military began to expand. There was also no opportunity for me to find higher education so as to develop a career. I was interested in becoming a pilot due to the fact that my uncle had been in the air force. At the beginning of 1935, after I had taken my Abitur, I went into the Navy to become a naval pilot. I reported to the naval school in Flensburg. Then was transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1936 where I completed the A, B, and C (blind-flying) courses at Celle.

My first unit assignment was at Bad Aibling. The unit later was redesignated JG51. Douglas Pitcairn was my Staffelkapitan. I was in his Staffel for one and a half years. Shortly before the war started, I was transferred to Herzogenaurach. Then I went to Fiirstenfeldbruck to an Erganzungsstaffel with which I went to Merseburg. On 1 May 1940, I was assigned to 2./JG2, the Staffelkapitan of which was Hptm. Karl-Heinz Greiser who had fought in Spain.

During the French campaign, I scored four kills. My first kill was on 14 May near Sedan. I attacked a Morane from behind and it exploded under my two cannon. The other three kills were a Potez 63 (in our archive it is listed as a Blenheim on 25 May at 20.35), a Spitfire near Calais (on 26 May at 09.40), and a LeO 451 (in reality a Douglas DB 7 at 20. 10). After shooting down the latter, I attacked a second LeO 451 and was myself shot down over Amiens. The combat had taken place on 31 May at low-level and I was shot down either by the gunner of the LeO or by Flak. I bailed out. The LeOs had attempted to attack German troops. I landed between the lines and I was rescued by German infantrymen. On the other side were colored French colonial troops and it was a wonder that I was not shot at. I had to go to a hospital in Kaln since I sustained concussion and I was supposed to stay there ten days but I returned to my Staffel early on 4 June without the doctor's permission! My unit's doctor hadn't given me permission to fly since my injury had not healed. The unit moved from one base to another until the conclusion of the campaign.

We deployed to the area of Rouen. I was promoted to Staffelkapitan when the previous commander took over a Gruppe. I commanded the Staffel for two and a half years until October 1942.

During the Battle of Britain, I shot down Spitfires and Hurricanes. On my first mission over England, on 11 August, I shot down two Hurricanes over Southampton at 4,000 meters. I attacked them from behind and the first Hurricane immediately exploded and I had to turn to avoid the debris. The pilot of the second Hurricane bailed out. My Staffel reported two other Hurricanes shot down during that clash, one being claimed by the future Schwertertrager, Fw. Erich RudoRGfer.

Herr Hauptmann, we're flying into the ocean!'

Siegfried Bethke JG2.1

On October 1940, the I./JG2 Richthofen was based at Beaumont-le-Roger, about 40 km South-West of Rouen in Normandy. Shortly after noon we received orders to transfer to Brest for a special mission to be carried out the next day. This surprised us, since we had been expecting a fighter sweep or to escort bombers to the south coast of England, We had flown three months of hard, relentless missions, during which we had suffered extremely high casualties from British fighters, those in the past two weeks being especially nerve-wracking. Flying over the Channel was particularly telling on the nerves and quite a number of comrades had been lost after parachuting or ditching into the Channel, perhaps after only receiving a minor hit in the radiator. Despite the container of yellow dye attached to the life jacket and the one-man dinghy we all carried, the Seenotdienst had been unable to find them in the rough seas.

But now we were in a cheeRGul mood. We had almost perfect weather with just a little haze, and it would be a pleasure to fly the 100km to Brest. The life jackets we had worn for the last three months could be discarded and we wouldn't even need our maps; We only had to fly westwards to the coast and there would be Brest. The whole thing was splendid and no one gave a thought to what the next day's special mission might entail.

Although we had excellent service, personnel, our aircraft had recently been worked so hard that, from an establishment of 40 aircraft, the Gruppe assembled just 12 Bf 109s. We took off at 16.30 hrs with ourGruppenkommandeur, Hptm. Helmut Wick, in the lead. Wick had had a meteoric career and, three, days earlier, on the 14th had returned from Germany where he had been presented with the Oak Leaves by the Fuhrer himself that evening; he told us about the meetings and the discussions he'd had with Hitler while they travelled from Berchtesgaden to Berlin in the Fuhrer's special train. The Fuhrer, who contrary to rumors ate meat, and drank wine, spoke of many things; the U-boat war, aircraft production and the Italians, who were supposed to have relieved us but lost their way and wrote off half their aircraft in emergency landings. Hitler referred to 'Bloodhound Stalin' and said that sooner or later there would be a clash with Russia. England was to be smashed by the Luftwaffe alone but the weather conditions were never favorable enough. Next spring we would have the Bf 109F and, later, the Fw190. Meanwhile, 'Hptm. Wick was to be given command of aGeschwader, but at just 25 years of age the responsibility concerned him greatly.

Because of the distance involved we flew in a long, loose formation. There were no Spitfires or Hurricanes to worry about and with theKommandeurleading, we felt we could relax. For a long time we flew at 1,500 metres with nothing to do but follow Wick and occasionally check our instruments: water, oil temperature, pressures, revolutions, etc. For the old hands this was habitual and automatic. On we flew in complete radio silence. Some pilots in the formation hadn't even switched on their radios, and I had time to reflect on other matters. Three days earlier I had scored my ninth victory, a Hurricane over Southampton. After my first burst of fire from very close behind, the Hurricane exploded and I had to swerve sharply to avoid the debris. But on the same mission I had lost one of my best pilots, the Staffel's seventh loss since the French campaign in May, and I hoped he was a prisoner and had not come down in the water. Weeks later, however, his naked body was washed ashore on the coast of the Cotentin peninsular. He could only be identified by his teeth.

After the months of operations over England, this flight was a real pleasure, almost like a pre-war Sunday afternoon stroll. Occasionally I checked our course or the position of my Staffel in relation to the Stab flight. It soon became obvious that orientation over the western part of Normandy was very difficult as there were no prominent landmarks, a situation made worse by the hazy conditions. But we all had complete faith in Hptm. Wick, holder of the Oak Leaves and the third-most successful fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe after Molders and Galland.

After half an hour on the same course I began to think that we should have reached Brest and wondered if Wick was taking us south which would explain why we wouldn't see the water before we reached our objective. Below, the countryside was confusing. There were no features which would allow us to orient ourselves, but I expected to see a landmark soon. When a large town, a city with railways, roads, a river and even a small airfield appeared, I wondered where it could be. No sign of the sea anywhere. We had then been flying for about three-quarters of an hour and soon the city disappeared behind us. Damn! We had learned to find our way about over England so we should have found out which city that was.

Then it occurred to me that it might have been Rennes, in which case we were much further south than I thought. Wick must be flying to the south coast of Brittany so we could go sightseeing! Then the coast appeared beneath us and, expecting the Kommandeur to alter course, I was ready, waiting to increase speed in order to stay with him as he turned to the right. But I waited in vain. We had been flying for an hour on the same heading, and now there was nothing below but water. Ahead, in the haze, an island appeared. I looked at my map and wondered if this was Belle Ile, and whether Wick would use it as a turning point, but we continued to fly on. Now there was only the sea below us. Where were we going? What was Wick up to? This was completely incomprehensible. We had complete faith in him, of course especially since his meeting with the Fuhrer, but I grew increasingly anxious until the fear of the water and the fixed course caused me to think the unthinkable; perhaps the Kommandeur didn't realize where we were.

My eyes moved again to the map on my knee and to the endless water ahead. My mind raced and I realized beyond doubt that we were straight out into the Bay of Biscay! Once we reached the point of no return, none of us would regain land even if we did turn around. Fear for myself and my comrades finally overcame all misgivings and I became very calm. I estimated we had fuel left for only another five minutes' flight. Regardless of whether I'd embarrass myself or have to face disciplinary action, something had to be done, and with firm determination I pressed the transmit button on the radio.'Amboss from Wanne, Amboss from Wanne1. We're flying out to sea. I'm turning round. No reaction. I repeated my message. Again nothing; either from the radio or in the movement of Wick's aircraft. No one had heard. They all had their radios turned off. I opened the throttle to close up with the Stab flight, drew alongside the Kommandeur and again found the courage to transmit: 'Herr Hauptmann, we're flying into the ocean! I'm turning back!' At the same time, I rocked my wings twice, right in front of his nose, and then banked tightly to the left and flew in the opposite direction. In order to reach land as soon as possible, I turned exactly through 180 degrees and, once on my new course, I looked around and, seeing that my own Schwarm had followed, closed the throttle again. Our lives now depended on saving every drop of fuel. Once we four were together again, I glanced backwards and with enormous relief, saw the others turning steeply to follow us. Already I felt as if a huge weight had lifted from my mind, though I was still by no means certain that we would find anywhere to land, and the responsibility of leading the Gruppe to safety was a heavy burden. Belle Ile came into sight again and behind it, land. I made a left turn to fly north along the coast where conditions for an emergency landing were better.

Slowly, for safety and better visibility, I gained height and soon spotted a landing field, but it turned out to have been ploughed up and had wire stretched in every direction to prevent it being used. It had probably been like that since the war with France in May and June. Then, further inland, ahead and to the right, I saw a larger town. This was probably Quimper, but did it have an airfield? I turned towards the town and there was an airfield. It was in good condition, too, with the landing cross perfectly situated and the wind blowing from the west, so we came straight in. Wheels down, flaps down, side-slip to lose height and we're bumping over the grass, first myself and my wingman, then my other pair. We rolled out to the end of the field to make way for the others who were close behind. One actually landed with his engine stopped and two more ran out of fuel as soon as they'd touched down. We'd had a lucky escape. Wick came up to me and thanked me profusely for preventing the flight ending in disaster.

In the event, the mission from Brest was cancelled because of poor weather conditions. The plan had been for our destroyers to attack convoys in the Bristol Channel in order to draw out the Royal Navy, which was then to be attacked by Stuka's while we provided protective cover against English fighters. Due to the bad weather we transferred back to Beaumont in pairs, but three pilots had to make emergency landings during which one was injured and another killed. My wingman and myself were flying low - not a wise thing to do considering the terrain in Normandy - and ran into a bank of low cloud. When pulling up, I somehow became disorientated and came out of the cloud almost on my back, righting the aircraft just in time. Another lucky escape.

Wick was unable to explain exactly what had happened but like everyone else, probably believed, that with no enemy fighters or weather problems, the flight would just be a routine hour in the air. However, he was exhausted from the recent months of combat and I believe he was so preoccupied with what he had learned while visiting the Fuhrer, that he allowed his thoughts, to wander. He therefore failed to notice he was a few degrees off course and, not realizing we had exceeded our intended flight time, continued to fly onwards while he pondered recent events and, perhaps, what the future held for him. Only two months earlier he had been a mere Leutnant but his successes had brought rapid promotion. Now the prospect of taking command of a Geschwader worried and he felt too young for such a responsibility.

Nevertheless, a few days later, Wick was promoted to Major and became Kommodore of the Jagdgeschwader 'Richthofen'. On 29 November, I wrote in my diary, 'Kommodore hit by an Englishman yesterday, baled out near Isle of Wight. Search resumed this morning. Heavy sea - found nothing. Hopefully the English picked him up'. But on 7 December I wrote, 'Major Wick definitely missing - not in captivity. Goring has made enquiries in England... Wick is lost'.Out of respect for Wick, his exceptional career and his recent decoration by Hitler, we all arrived at an unspoken agreement and no word of our near fatal flight into the ocean ever trickled out. For myself, I was just satisfied with the outcome of this experience and pleased to receive the heart felt gratitude of the other pilots.

Siegfried Bethke joined the Luftwaffe in 1935. He served with JG2 during the French campaign. He recorded his first victory on 14 May 1940, when he shot down a French Morane fighter. Bethke recorded four victories during the French campaign. During the Battle of Britain Oberleutnant Bethke was the Staffelkapitän of 2./JG2. By the end of 1940, his victory tally had reached 10. On 5 June 1942, Bethke, now operating over the Channel front, shot down two RAF Spitfire fighters bewteen the Somme Estuary and Abbeville. He later suffered serious injuries in an accident that halted his flying career.

Siegfried Bethke is credited with 14 victories. All his victories were recorded over the Western front.

Luftwaffe pilot List of aerial victories for Siegfried Bethke

No Date Time A/c Type Unit Location / Comments
1 14.5.1940 18:50 Morane 406 2./JG 2 E Sedan
2 25.5.1940 20:35 2./JG 2 St. Quentin
3 26.5.1940 9:40 2./JG 2 Calais
4 31.5.1940 20:10 DB-7 2./JG 2 SW Amiens
5 11.8.1940 11:35 2./JG 2  
6 11.8.1940 11:35 Hawk-75 2./JG 2 Spitfire or Hurricane
? 24.7.1941 15:50 Wellington 2./JG 2 WSW Plouguerneau
? 5.6.1942 15:38 2./JG 2 between Sommemündung-Abbeville
? 5.6.1942 15:55 2./JG 2 between Sommemündung-Abbeville

Victories : 14 Awards : Units : JG2

Luftwaffe pilot Asisbiz Database of 14 aerial victories for Siegfried Bethke

Date Pilot Name Unit Enemy A/C Type Height Time Location
14-May-40 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2 Morane 406   18.50 East of Sedan
25-May-40 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2   20.35 St Quentin
26-May-40 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2   09.40 Calais
31-May-40 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2 DB-7   20.10 SW Amiens
11-Aug-40 Siegfried Bethke Stab I./JG2 5500m 11.42 sudEast of Portland
11-Aug-40 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2   11.35  
07-Sep-40 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2 5500m 18.42 Ostrand London
07-Oct-40 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2   19.00 Blakborn-Perth aka Blenheim
15-Oct-40 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2   13.50 Isle of Wight
24-Jul-41 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2 Wellington   15.50  
05-Jun-42 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2   15.55 zw Sommemundung-Abbeville
05-Jun-42 Siegfried Bethke 2./JG2   15.38 zw Sommemundung-Abbeville

Herr Hauptmann, we're flying into the ocean!'

Siegfried Bethke 1./JG2 On October 1940, the I./JG2 'Richthofen' was based at Beaumont-le-Roger, about 40 km South-West of  Rouen in Normandy. Shortly after noon we received orders to transfer to Brest for a special mission to be carried out the next day. This surprised us, since we had been expecting a fighter sweep or to escort bombers to the south coast of England, We had flown three months of hard, relentless missions, during which we had suffered extremely high casualties from British fighters, those in the past two weeks being especially nerve-wracking. Flying over the Channel was particularly telling on the nerves and quite a number of comrades had been lost after parachuting or ditching into the Channel, perhaps after only receiving a minor hit in the radiator. Despite the container of yellow dye attached to the life jacket and the one-man dinghy we all carried, the Seenotdienst had been unable to find them in the rough seas.But now we were in a cheeRGul mood. We had almost perfect weather with just a little haze, and it would be a pleasure to fly the 100km to Brest. The life jackets we had worn for the last three months could be discarded and we wouldn't even need our maps; we only had to fly westwards to the coast and there would be Brest. The whole thing was splendid and no one gave a thought to what the next day's special mission might entail.Although we had excellent service, personnel, our aircraft had recently been worked so hard that, from an establishment of 40 aircraft, the Gruppe assembled just 12 Bf 109s. We took off at 16.30 hrs with ourGruppenkommandeur, Hptm. Helmut Wick, in the lead. Wick had had a meteoric career and, three, days earlier, on the 14th had returned from Germany where he had been presented with the Oak Leaves by the Fuhrer himself that evening; he told us about the meetings and the discussions he'd had with Hitler while they travelled from Berchtesgaden to Berlin in the Fuhrer's special train. The Fuhrer, who contrary to rumors ate meat, and drank wine, spoke of many things; the U-boat war, aircraft production and the Italians, who were supposed to have relieved us but lost their way and wrote off half their aircraft in emergency landings. Hitler referred to 'Bloodhound Stalin' and said that sooner or later there would be a clash with Russia. England was to be smashed by the Luftwaffe alone but the weather conditions were never favorable enough. Next spring we would have the Bf 109F and, later, the Fw190. Meanwhile, 'Hptm. Wick was to be given command of aGeschwader, but at just 25 years of age the responsibility concerned him greatly.Because of the distance involved we flew in a long, loose formation. There were no Spitfires or Hurricanes to worry about and with theKommandeurleading, we felt we could relax. For a long time we flew at 1,500 metres with nothing to do but follow Wick and occasionally check our instruments: water, oil temperature, pressures, revolutions, etc. For the old hands this was habitual and automatic. On we flew in complete radio silence. Some pilots in the formation hadn't even switched on their radios, and I had time to reflect on other matters. Three days earlier I had scored my ninth victory, a Hurricane over Southampton.

After my first burst of fire from very close behind, the Hurricane exploded and I had to swerve sharply to avoid the debris. But on the same mission I had lost one of my best pilots, the Staffel's seventh loss since the French campaign in May, and I hoped he was a prisoner and had not come down in the water. Weeks later, however, his naked body was washed ashore on the coast of the Cotentin peninsular. He could only be identified by his teeth.After the months of operations over England, this flight was a real pleasure, almost like a pre-war Sunday afternoon stroll. Occasionally I checked our course or the position of my Staffel in relation to the Stab flight. It soon became obvious that orientation over the western part of Normandy was very difficult as there were no prominent landmarks, a situation made worse by the hazy conditions. But we all had complete faith in Hptm. Wick, holder of the Oak Leaves and the third-most successful fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe after Molders and Galland.After half an hour on the same course I began to think that we should have reached Brest and wondered if Wick was taking us south which would explain why we wouldn't see the water before we reached our objective. Below, the countryside was confusing. There were no features which would allow us to orient ourselves, but I expected to see a landmark soon. When a large town, a city with railways, roads, a river and even a small airfield appeared, I wondered where it could be. No sign of the sea anywhere. We had then been flying for about three-quarters of an hour and soon the city disappeared behind us. Damn! We had learned to find our way about over England so we should have found out which city that was.Then it occurred to me that it might have been Rennes, in which case we were much further south than I thought. Wick must be flying to the south coast of Brittany so we could go sightseeing! Then the coast appeared beneath us and, expecting the Kommandeur to alter course, I was ready, waiting to increase speed in order to stay with him as he turned to the right. But I waited in vain. We had been flying for an hour on the same heading, and now there was nothing below but water. Ahead, in the haze, an island appeared. I looked at my map and wondered if this was Belle Ile, and whether Wick would use it as a turning point, but we continued to fly on. Now there was only the sea below us. Where were we going? What was Wick up to? This was completely incomprehensible. We had complete faith in him, of course especially since his meeting with the Fuhrer, but I grew increasingly anxious until the fear of the water and the fixed course caused me to think the unthinkable; perhaps the Kommandeur didn't realize where we were.

My eyes moved again to the map on my knee and to the endless water ahead. My mind raced and I realized beyond doubt that we were straight out into the Bay of Biscay! Once we reached the point of no return, none of us would regain land even if we did turn around. Fear for myself and my comrades finally overcame all misgivings and I became very calm. I estimated we had fuel left for only another five minutes' flight. Regardless of whether I'd embarrass myself or have to face disciplinary action, something had to be done, and with firm determination I pressed the transmit button on the radio.'Amboss from Wanne, Amboss from Wanne'1. We're flying out to sea. I'm turning round. No reaction. I repeated my message. Again nothing, either from the radio or in the movement of Wick's aircraft. No one had heard. They all had their radios turned off. I opened the throttle to close up with the Stab flight, drew alongside the Kommandeur and again found the courage to transmit: 'Herr Hauptmann, we're flying into the ocean! I'm turning back!' At the same time, I rocked my wings twice, right in front of his nose, and then banked tightly to the left and flew in the opposite direction. In order to reach land as soon as possible, I turned exactly through 180 degrees and, once on my new course, I looked around and, seeing that my own Schwarm had followed, closed the throttle again.

Our lives now depended on saving every drop of fuel. Once we four were together again, I glanced backwards and with enormous relief, saw the others turning steeply to follow us. Already I felt as if a huge weight had lifted from my mind, though I was still by no means certain that we would find anywhere to land, and the responsibility of leading the Gruppe to safety was a heavy burden. Belle Ile came into sight again and behind it, land. I made a left turn to fly north along the coast where conditions for an emergency landing were better.Slowly, for safety and better visibility, I gained height and soon spotted a landing field, but it turned out to have been ploughed up and had wire stretched in every direction to prevent it being used. It had probably been like that since the war with France in May and June. Then, further inland, ahead and to the right, I saw a larger town. This was probably Quimper, but did it have an airfield? I turned towards the town and there was an airfield. It was in good condition, too, with the landing cross perfectly situated and the wind blowing from the west, so we came straight in. Wheels down, flaps down, side-slip to lose height and we're bumping over the grass, first myself and my wingman, then my other pair. We rolled out to the end of the field to make way for the others who were close behind. One actually landed with his engine stopped and two more ran out of fuel as soon as they'd touched down. We'd had a lucky escape. Wick came up to me and thanked me profusely for preventing the flight ending in disaster.In the event, the mission from Brest was cancelled because of poor weather conditions. The plan had been for our destroyers to attack convoys in the Bristol Channel in order to draw out the Royal Navy, which was then to be attacked by Stuka's while we provided protective cover against English fighters.

Due to the bad weather we transferred back to Beaumont in pairs, but three pilots had to make emergency landings during which one was injured and another killed. My wingman and myself were flying low - not a wise thing to do considering the terrain in Normandy - and ran into a bank of low cloud. When pulling up, I somehow became disorientated and came out of the cloud almost on my back, righting the aircraft just in time. Another lucky escape!Wick was unable to explain exactly what had happened but like everyone else, probably believed, that with no enemy fighters or weather problems, the flight would just be a routine hour in the air. However, he was exhausted from the recent months of combat and I believe he was so preoccupied with what he had learned while visiting the Fuhrer, that he allowed his thoughts, to wander. He therefore failed to notice he was a few degrees off course and, not realizing we had exceeded our intended flight time, continued to fly onwards while he pondered recent events and, perhaps, what the future held for him. Only two months earlier he had been a mere Leutnant but his successes had brought rapid promotion. Now the prospect of taking command of a Geschwader worried and he felt too young for such a responsibility.Nevertheless, a few days later, Wick was promoted to Major and became Kommodore of the jagdgeschwader 'Richthofen'. On 29 November, I wrote in my diary, 'Kommodore hit by an Englishman yesterday, baled out near Isle of Wight. Search resumed this morning. Heavy sea - found nothing. Hopefully the English picked him up'. But on 7 December I wrote, 'Major Wick definitely missing - not in captivity. Goring has made enquiries in England... Wick is lost'.Out of respect for Wick, his exceptional career and his recent decoration by Hitler, we all arrived at an unspoken agreement and no word of our near fatal flight into the ocean ever trickled out. For myself, I was just satisfied with the outcome of this experience and pleased to receive the heart felt gratitude of the other pilots.

Major Helmut Wick

Major Helmut Wick was born on 5 August 1915 at Mannheim. On completion of his schooling, he began training as a forestry worker. Wick joined the new Luftwaffe in 1935. By April 1936, he had received the rank of Fahnenjunker and by July 1937, he had been promoted to the rank of Fähnrich. On completion of his training, Wick was assigned to II./JG134 flying Arado Ar 68 biplane fighters. He was commissioned with the rank of Leutnant on 1 September 1938. In January 1939, Wick was transferred to 1./JG53, flying the ,Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter under the command of Werner Mölders (115 victories, RK-Br, killed in flying accident 22 November 1941). Wick was transferred to JG2 on 30 August 1939. Leutnant Wick was assigned to 3./JG2 and served with the unit in the air defence of Berlin during the Polish Campaign. He recorded his and the Geschwader's first victory on 22 November 1939, when he shot down a French Hawk 75 fighter near Strasbourg, piloted by ace Adjutant Camille Plubeau (14 victories) of GC II/4, Armée de l'Air, who crash-landed, wounded. On 10 May, 3./JG2 was relocated to the western front but Wick remained behind while his aircraft underwent an engine change. He finally arrived at the front on 21 May. Wick was particularly successful during the French campaign recording 12 confirmed and two unconfirmed victories, including four French fighters shot down on 5 June to record his fourth through seventh victories and his 10th victory shot down on 8 June. The two unconfirmed victories related to two Royal Navy Swordfish torpedo bomber biplanes shot down at the end of May for which he had no witnesses.Wick was to have continued success during the Battle of Britain. He was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./JG2 on 1 August 1940, although he had been leading the unit since 23 June.He recorded his 19th and 20th victories on 25 August and on 26 August claimed a further two to take his score 22. For this feat, Oberleutnant Wick was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 27 August 1940.

On 4 September 1940, Wick received promotion to the rank of Hauptmann and took command of 6./JG2.He added six further victories with this unit to raise his victory total to 28. Wick was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG2 on 9 September. On 5 October, he shot down five RAF fighters in the Isle of Wight area (37-41). This gained him the immediate award of the Eichenlaub (Nr 4). Further promotion followed and, at 25 years of age, Wick was the youngest Major in the Wehrmacht. Wick was appointed Kommodore of JG2 on 20 October 1940, succeeding Major Wolfgang Schellmann (25 victories, RK) who had left to command JG27. On 6 November, Wick claimed five RAF fighters shot down (48-52). On 28 November 1940, Wick achieved his 55th victory during an early sortie to become the leading fighter ace in the world. Later in the day, on a 'Freie Jagd' over the English Channel, Wick scored his 56th victory, a Spitfire. In turn, his aircraft was shot down by British ace Flight Lieutenant John Dundas (13.333 confirmed, 2 probable and 4.5 damaged victories) of 609 Squadron, RAF. Wick was seen to bale out of Bf 109E-4 (W.Nr. 5344) 'Black <-+-' over the Channel, his 'Geschwaderstab Schwarm' mate Hauptmann 'Rudi' Pflanz (52 victories, RK, killed in action 31 July 1942) circled the area calling over the radio that a 'Spitfire was down' hoping to attract the British air/sea rescue. Pflanz continued to circle until his fuel was almost empty, crash-landing at landfall on his return over the Channel but Wick was never found.Helmut Wick was credited with 56 victories achieved flying 168 combat missions.
In his score are 24 Spitfires.

No Date Time A/c Type Unit Location / Comments
1 22.11.1939 12:20 Hawk-75 3./JG2 Bitsch-Phalsbourg-Saare / Possibly H-75A (No 95) of GC II/4 flown by Adj Camille Plubeau (14 victories), crash-landed, wounded
2 20.5.1940 14:00 LeO 451 3./JG2 Cambrai-St. Quentin
3 20.5.1940 14:05 LeO 451 3./JG2 Cambrai-St. Quentin
4 5.6.1940 17:17 Bloch 151 3./JG2 Ham-Péronne
5 5.6.1940 17:20 Bloch 151 3./JG2 Ham-Péronne
6 5.6.1940 17:25 Bloch 151 3./JG2 Ham-Péronne
7 5.6.1940 17:30 Morane 406 3./JG2 Ham-Péronne
8 6.6.1940 12:17 Bloch 151 3./JG2 Ham-Péronne

 

 Bassenheim Germany Map

 Octeville Cherbourg-en-Cotentin France Map

 

Spanish Civil War

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  • Massimello, Giovanni and Giorgio Apostolo. Italian Aces of World War Two. Oxford/New York, Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 978-1-84176-078-0.
  • Mermet, Jean-Claude. Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-1 through K-4. Engines and Fittings. Marnaz, France: Jean Claude Mermet SA, 1999.
  • Messerschmitt AG. Messerschmitt Bf 109G; technisch Kompendium, Handbücher, Ersatztelliste, Bewaffnung Bedienungsvorschrift/Fl, Bordfunkanlage, Lehrbildreihe; 1942/1944. [Elektronische Resource] (Reprint) Ludwigsburg, Germany: Luftfahrt-Archiv, 2006. ISBN 3-939847-13-5.
  • Messerschmitt AG. Messerschmitt Bf 109K; technisch Kompendium, Handbüch, Ersatztelliste, Rep.-Answeisung, Bewaffnung Bedienungsvorschrift; 1943–1944. [Elektronische Resource] (Reprint). Ludwigsburg, Germany: Luftfahrt-Archiv, 2006. ISBN 3-939847-14-3.
  • Morgan, Eric B and Edward Shacklady. Spitfire: The History. Stamford: Key Books Ltd, 2000. ISBN 0-946219-48-6.
  • Neulen, Hans Werner. In the Skies of Europe. Ramsbury, Marlborough, UK: The Crowood Press, 2000. ISBN 1-86126-799-1.
  • Nowarra, Heinz. Die Deutsche Luftrustung 1933–1945, Band 3: Flugzeugtypen Henschel – Messerschmitt. Koblenz, Germany: Bernard & Graefe, 1993. ISBN 3-7637-5467-9.
  • Osché, Philippe (translated by Patrick Laureau). The Messerschmitt Bf 109 in Swiss Service. Boulogne sur Mer, France: Lela Presse, 1996. ISBN 2-914017-31-6.
  • Poruba, T and A Janda. Messerschmitt Bf 109K. Hradec Králové, Czech Republic: JaPo, 1997.
  • Prien, Jochen and Peter Rodeike. Messerschmitt Bf 109 F, G & K Series – An Illustrated Study. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1995. ISBN 0-88740-424-3.
  • Price, Alfred. Spitfire Mk. I/II Aces (Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces). London: Osprey, 1996. ISBN 84-8372-207-0.
  • Punka, György. "A Messzer": Bf 109s in the Royal Hungarian "Honvéd" Air Force. Budapest, Hungary: OMIKK, 1995. ISBN 963-593-208-1.
  • Radinger, Willy and Walter Schick. Messerschmitt Me 109 (Alle Varianten: vion Bf (Me) 109A bis Me 109E). Oberhaching, Germany: Aviatic Verlag GmbH, 1997. ISBN 3-925505-32-6.
  • Radinger, Willy and Wolfgang Otto. Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-K – Development, testing, production. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1999. ISBN 0-7643-1023-2.
  • Rimmell, Ray. ME 109: Messerschmitt Bf 109E. Chipping Ongar, Essex, UK: Linewrights Ltd., 1986. ISBN 0-946958-18-1.
  • Ritger, Lynn. Meserschmitt Bf 109 Prototype to 'E' Variants. Bedford, UK: SAM Publications, 2006. ISBN 978-0-9551858-0-9.
  • Savic, D. and B. Ciglic. Croatian Aces of World War II (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 49). Oxford, UK: Oxford, 2002. ISBN 1-84176-435-3.
  • Scutts, Jerry. Bf 109 Aces of North Africa and the Mediterranean. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85532-448-2, ISBN 978-1-85532-448-0.
  • Shores, C., B. Cull and N. Malizia. Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece & Crete – 1940–41. London: Grub Street, 1987. ISBN 0-948817-07-0.
  • Starr, Chris. "Developing Power: Daimler-Benz and the Messerschmitt Bf 109." Aeroplane magazine, Volume 33, No. 5, Issue No 385, May 2005. London: IPC Media Ltd.
  • Stenman, Kari and Kalevi Keskinen. Finnish Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 23). London: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1998. ISBN 1-85532-783-X.
  • Taylor, John W.R. "Messerschmitt Bf 109." Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
  • U.S. Army Air Force. German Aircraft and Armament: Informational Intelligence, Summary No. 44-32, October 1944 (Informational Intelligence Summary). New York: Brassey's Inc., 2000 (first edition 1944). ISBN 1-57488-291-0.
  • Valtonen, Hannu. Messerschmitt Bf 109 ja saksan sotatalous (Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the German war economy). Helsinki, Finland: Keski-Suomen Ilmailumuseo (Central Finnish Aviation Museum), 1999. ISBN 978-951-95688-7-4.
  • Vogt, Harald. Messerschmitt Bf 109 G/K Rüstsatze. Flugzeug Profile 21. Illertissen, Flugzeug Publikations GmbH.
  • Wagner, Ray and Heinz Nowarra. German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. New York: Doubleday, 1971.
  • Weal, John. Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Oxford: Osprey, 2001. ISBN 978-1-84176-084-1.
  • Weal, John. BF 109D/E Aces 1939–41. Oxford: Osprey, 1996. ISBN 978-1-85532-487-9.
  • Weal, John. Bf 109F/G/K Aces of the Western Front. Oxford: Osprey, 2000. ISBN 978-1-85532-905-8.
  • Winchester, Jim. "Messerschmitt Bf 109." Aircraft of World War II: The Aviation Factfile. Kent, UK: Grange Books plc, 2004. ISBN 1-84013-639-1.

    Messerschmitt Bf 109 operational history Bibliography: +

  • Beale, Nick, Ferdinando D'Amico and Gabriele Valentini. Air War Italy: Axis Air Forces from Liberation of Rome to the Surrender. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife, 1996. ISBN 1-85310-252-0.
  • Bergström, Christer. Barbarossa – The Air Battle: July–December 1941. London: Chevron/Ian Allan, 2007. ISBN 978-1-85780-270-2.
  • Bergström, Christer and Martin Pegg. Jagdwaffe:The War in Russia, January–October 1942. Luftwaffe Colours, Volume 3 Section 4. London: Classic Colours Publications, 2003. ISBN 1-903223-23-7.
  • Feist, Uwe. The Fighting Me 109. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1993. ISBN 1-85409-209-X.
  • Green, William. Messerschmitt Bf 109: The Augsburg Eagle; A Documentary History. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishing Group Ltd., 1980. ISBN 0-7106-0005-4.
  • Hooton, Edward R. Blitzkrieg in the West, 1939 -1940 (Luftwaffe at War: 2). Hersham, Surrey, UK: Midland Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-85780-272-6.
  • Jackson, Robert. Aircraft of World War II: Development – Weaponry – Specifications. Enderby, Leicester, UK, Amber Books, 2003. ISBN 1-85605-751-8.
  • Mankau, Heinz and Peter Petrick. Messerschmitt Bf 110, Me 210, Me 410. Raumfahrt, Germany: Aviatic Verlag, 2001. ISBN 3-925505-62-8.
  • Mason, Francis K. Messerschmitt Bf 109B, C, D, E in Luftwaffe & Foreign service. London, UK: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1973. ISBN 0-85045-152-3.
  • Massimello, Giovanni and Giorgio Apostolo. Italian Aces of World War Two. Oxford/New York, Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 978-1-84176-078-0.
  • Morgan, Eric B. and Edward Shacklady. Spitfire: The History. Stamford, UK: Key Books Ltd, 2000. ISBN 0-946219-48-6.
  • Neulen, Hans Werner. In the skies of Europe – Air Forces allied to the Luftwaffe 1939–1945. Ramsbury, Marlborough, THE CROWOOD PRESS, 2000. ISBN 1-86126-799-1
  • Price, Alfred. Spitfire Mark I/II Aces 1939–41 (Aircraft of the Aces 12). London: Osprey Books, 1996, ISBN 1-85532-627-2.
  • Punka, György. "A Messzer": Bf 109s in the Royal Hungarian "Honvéd" Air Force. Budapest, Hungary: OMIKK, 1995. ISBN 963-593-208-1.
  • Savic, D. and B. Ciglic. Croatian Aces of World War II (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 49). Oxford, UK: Oxford, 2002. ISBN 1-84176-435-3.
  • Stenman, Kari and Kalevi Keskinen. Finnish Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 23). London: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1998. ISBN 1-85532-783-X.

    Some of the most widely used Book References:

  • Jagdwaffe: Battle of Britain: Phase One: July-August 1940 (Luftwaffe Colours: Volume Two, Section 1) Paperback Eric Mombeek (Author), David Wadman (Author), Eddie J Creek (Author)
  • Jagdwaffe: Battle of Britain: Phase Two: August-September 1940 (Luftwaffe Colours: Volume Two, Section 2) Paperback Eric Mombeek (Author), David Wadman (Author), Martin Pegg (Author)
  • Jagdwaffe: Battle of Britain: Phase Three: September-October 1940 (Luftwaffe Colours: Volume Two, Section 3) Paperback Eric Mombeek (Author), David Wadman (Author), Martin Pegg (Author)
  • Jagdwaffe: Battle of Britain: Phase Four: November 1940-June 1941 (Luftwaffe Colours: Volume Two, Section 4) Paperback Eric Mombeek (Author), David Wadman (Author), Martin Pegg (Author)

    Magazines: +

  • Airfix Magazines (English) - http://www.airfix.com/
  • Avions (French) - http://www.aerostories.org/~aerobiblio/rubrique10.html
  • EDUARD - https://www.eduard.com/
  • EDUARD - Are in my opinion are what modelers are looking for loads of pictures and diagrams and have become a leading historical information source. *****
  • FlyPast (English) - http://www.flypast.com/
  • Flugzeug Publikations GmbH (German) - http://vdmedien.com/flugzeug-publikations-gmbh-hersteller_verlag-vdm-heinz-nickel-33.html
  • Flugzeug Classic (German) - http://www.flugzeugclassic.de/
  • Klassiker (German) - http://shop.flugrevue.de/abo/klassiker-der-luftfahrt
  • Luftwaffe IM Focus (German) - https://www.luftfahrtverlag-start.de/
  • Embleme der Luftwaffe Band-1 (German) - https://www.luftfahrtverlag-start.de/
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://boutique.editions-lariviere.fr/site/abonnement-le-fana-de-l-aviation-626-4-6.html
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://www.pdfmagazines.org/tags/Le+Fana+De+L+Aviation/
  • Osprey (English) - http://www.ospreypublishing.com/
  • model airplane international magazine - https://adhpublishing.com/shop/store/magazine-backissues/model-airplane-international-backissues/
  • Revi Magazines (Czech) - http://www.revi.cz/

    Web References: +

  • eBay - https://picclick.de/ or https://www.ebay.com
  • Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com
  • Wikipedia.org - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_109
  • Wikipedia.org - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_109_variants#cite_ref-100
  • Wikipedia.org - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_109_operational_history
  • Flickr.com - https://www.flickr.com/photos/farinihouseoflove/2209839419/in/photostream

 

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This webpage was updated 3rd September 2023