Werner Mölders Bf109E W.Nr 2804

 A while ago I started looking at doing some JG51 aircraft and got stuck on the aircraft flown by Werner Mölders when he was Geschwaderkommodore of JG51. Compared to both Galland and Wick there's not nearly as many photos of Mölders aircraft from the autumn of 1940. 

His Mtt Regensburg built E-4, W.Nr 2804, has been caught on film in the white I.D. markings used during the first week of September 1940, but I can't recall ever seeing an accurate interpretation of that scheme before. The number of victories on the tail confirms that the photo was taken some time during the first week of September so there's no doubt in my mind that white rather than yellow is correct. 

Based on photos and some STKZ "theory" from Lynn Ritger it seems that 2804 probably was marked GA + IL on delivery and then had the letters painted over in RLM 65. The result: 

 

A later photo of 2804 shows that yellow colour has been applied on the nose of the aircraft up to the windscreen, while traces of the white paint can be seen on the undersurfaces of the wings. That photo doesn't show the rudder so it's not possible to know whether the yellow was applied around the victory markings as on later aircraft, or if the entire rudder was painted yellow. The number of victories can not be ascertained either but the yellow nose means we're in the second week of September or later so 38 or 40 victories is a plausible combination with the yellow nose or rudder on 2804. 

 

Mölders flew at least one other aircraft marked with full Geschwaderkommodore markings and yellow nose in the same period, but I haven't been able to find enough photos to be able to recreate that aircraft. Later in the autumn of 1940 he also flew two unmarked Bf109E-4/N, one of which was the infamous W.Nr 3737 that I will cover in future post. 

Bf109F-2 of Gerhard Michalski, II./JG53

 

An early Bf109F-2 flown by Gerhard Michalski of the II./JG53 Gruppenstab at St.Omer in the spring of 1941. An all time favourite of mine that for some reason never made it to profile until now! The bold markings and the Ace of Spades emblem combined with the mottled yellow cowling and spinner is eye-catching for sure. The aicraft is also fitted with a rare telescopic sight.  

Edit: Profile updated 2025-09-21 as Neil Page posted a close up photo of this aircraft on his blog here. I had the style of the "2" wrong and have updated according to the photo. The photo was taken at a later date as is evident from the aircraft having less mottle, possibly due to polishing. 

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