Friday 5 September 2014

JG 11 Gustavs defending the Reich 1943, Jochen Prien's Jagdfliegerverbände series







Two Bf 109 G-6/R6s of 9./ JG 11 seen in Oldenburg during the summer of 1943. Above, unidentified pilot climbing out of "Gelbe 4" on his return from a sortie. The aircraft wears the heavily mottled three greys scheme and is displaying the tiger head emblem of III./ JG 11 under the cockpit. The spinner appears to be yellow. Note the underwing cannon gondola

 Below, identified in Prien's Jagdfliegerverbände 10/III as probably being WNr. 15 534,  "Gelbe 3" was assigned to Lt. Gerd Hollmann of 9./JG 11. Hollman was shot down and killed in this machine on 30 July 1943 during the course of an 8th AF raid against the Fieseler works in Kassel. Following an Alarmstart at 09:36 the Gustavs of III./ JG 11 ran into B-17 Pulks over the border of Holland and Germany. The Gruppe was almost certainly taken on by the US fighter escort, reporting four aircraft lost and/or damaged after emergency landings due to combat damage while a fifth Messerschmitt made a belly landing after running out of fuel. Hollmann was the only III./ JG 11 pilot killed during this engagement. Note the Gondelwaffe under the starboard wing.


Source; expired Ebay auctions. Note both images are reproduced on page 7 of Jochen Prien's Jagdfliegerverbände 10/III and credited to 'Archive of modern conflict'