Bf109G-6 of Geschwaderstab JG3

 

Having jumped into a conversation on which Luftwaffe units were involved in the response to an 8:th airforce raid on Berlin on April 29:th 1944, it was evident that among others, JG3 participated with its Geshwaderstab, I, II and IV Gruppen. I started looking into how aircraft of these units would have looked like at the time and found a picture of the above aircraft that belonged to the Geschwaderstab of JG3, photographed at Salzwedel in the spring of 1944. It's a WNF built Bf109G-6 with a retrofitted Erla canopy. 

Bf109G-6 of 9./JG51

 

 

This Bf109G-6 from 9./JG51 is well documented thanks to a series of photos taken in the spring of 1944 at Brasnowitschi airfield. This includes a photo that shows the wing pattern to be a non standard one. This is actually an Erla built aircraft that would have left the factory in the saw tooth camouflage but evidently it was repaired and/or repainted at some stage. The fuselage looks as if it too has been modified although not as heavily as the wings.  

JG53 Bf109E Graue 13

 

An interesting Bf109E-3 or E-4 from 5./JG53 in the autumn of 1940. The combination of a yellow cowling with a partially overpainted red band makes it likely that the photos of this aircraft are from late September or October 1940. In November the Ace of Spades emblem was reapplied. 

The tactical markings applied in RLM 02, typical for 2 and 5./JG53, as well as the yellow nose extended further than usually seen on JG53 aircraft makes this a quite unique Emil!

Bf109Ga-6 from 1./JG27

 

Bf109Ga-6 from 1./JG27 at Fels am Wagram in early 1944 as seen in the Wochenschau n° 707. The early style fuselage cross is typical for early Ga-6's i.e G-6's license built by Györ in Hungary. 

Bf109G-6/AS of JG11

 This Bf109G-6/AS from II./JG11 was found by allied troops at Bernay in France, abandoned more or less intact by the looks of if. The camouflage is heavily modified, something that one would expect from a former Reich defense unit going into the battle of Normandy. Interestingly though, II./JG11 seems to have been modifying their G-6/AS' camofalge long before the invasion. A similar scheme can be seen already in the spring of 1944 on another II./JG11 Bf109G-6/AS

Erla built Bf109K-4

 

Only one single completed Erla built K-4 has ever been photographed, as far as we know (yet!). W.Nr 570 276 found by US troops in May 1945. For a long time only one single photo was known but another photo has turned up showing the nose and most of the fuselage. This photo shows a scheme in two colours similar to those seen on Erla built G-10's but the nose is different with a more defined mottle. 

 The oil cooler in RLM 76 is interesting as on similar G-10's from Erla it's always in the darker top colour. It really shows that you can never be sure with Luftwaffe aircraft! 

Bf109E-1 from Ergänzungsgruppe JG27

 A photo of this amazing looking aircraft showed up online recently. I had to try and recreate it and this is the result. The emblem on the nose shows that this aircraft belonged to the Ergänzungsgruppe of JG27. The pennant on the aerial mast seems to indicate a Staffelkapitäns aircraft. Some aircraft of the unit had capped spinners while others didn't. The angle of the photo makes it impossible to be sure but I opted for the capped version.