Nachtjagd Ost - Heinz de Fries " Wir waren Nachtjäger - Kriegserlebnisse der Besatzung de Fries an der Ostfront"

AWP have a new book on Eastern Front night fighters due soon. From the recent posts on the TOCH  forum it seems that not much is generally known about the subject but it is of particular fascination to this blogger and I shall hopefully order the book as soon as it becomes available on the AWP site. (see link, right)

One of the first to present his research on the Eastern Front night fighters of the Luftwaffe was Theo Boiten. Published in 2022, his "Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Eastern Front and The Med" (Red Kite) was 144 pages covering  German night fighter operations on both the Eastern and Mediterranean fronts. 

Theo's book is excellent, ground-breaking. This blogger translated Günther Bertram's recollections for the book. Bertram flew He 111s in KG 4. Here are a couple of paragraphs that did not feature but which explain some of the early ad-hoc beginnings of an Eastern Front night fighter force in the Luftwaffe.

"....I was born on 2 November 1920 in Hamburg. In 1939 I sat my Abitur school leaving certificate and in November 1939 enlisted in the Luftwaffe. After the usual period of induction for new recruits I went to flying school in Guben in January 1940. Flight training for the A+B Scheine took six months to complete. Those cadets displaying officer potential went on to C-Schüle at Lömeritz for a furthur six months training. It was during this period that I was promoted to Leutnant. As I had applied to the bomber arm I completed four weeks blind flying training in Copenhagen before being posted to the large bomber training school at Tutow near Demmin in Mecklenburg. From here I was assigned to KG 4 based at Fassberg, situated between Hamburg and Hannover. This Geschwader was tasked with mining harbours and ports along the British coast. After a further period of blind flying training on the He 111 in France, some thirteen crews were transferred to Riga on the Eastern Front, assigned to fly supply dropping sorties for units encircled on the ground. As these flights were flown at low level there was always a great risk of taking hits from ground fire. After thirteen sorties we were withdrawn to fly mine-laying sorties from Königsberg over the bay of Kronstadt, which was the mission being carried out at that time by our Geschwader. After some twenty sorties the situation on the Eastern Front had become precarious and accordingly our Geschwader was shifted to Sestchinskaya on the central sector of the front in order to support our hard-pressed ground forces. I flew some eighty sorties over this sector. It was at this point that the first steps were taken to establish what would become the so-called Nachtjagdschwärme Ost. A single crew - flying the He 111- was selected from each Kampfgeschwader. A crew was also made available from the Fernaufklärer (long-range reconnaissance) under Oberleutnant Schneeweiss. As the first Schwarm only comprised three machines (two He 111s and a single Ju 88), fuel and munitions replenishment, along with maintenance and servicing requirements for the aircraft were always undertaken at the airfield of whichever larger unit we happened to be operating from. As luck would have it, in Sestchinskaya this happened to be my old unit KG 4, while later in Smolensk we were based on the field used by a Nachtaufklärungsstaffel and later still in Orsha we came under the umbrella of the Fernaufklärungsstaffel, with which our Schwarmführer Oblt. Schneeweiss had previously seen service..."

Bertram's unit was tasked with hunting and engaging the small Russian aircraft, mostly U2 and R5 biplanes, that operated every night supplying partisan groups located behind the front lines. The large and ponderous Heinkel He 111 was hardly suited to this form of aerial interdiction but there were no other available aircraft. While slow, the Russian machines were even slower - they could only manage speeds of between 150-180 kph, while the Heinkel had to maintain 200 kph at least. Bertram's favoured method of attack was to close from astern then sweep past presenting the Bordfunker with the opportunity to unleash a long salvo from his MG. Nor were the Heinkels fitted with AI radar so they could only effectively operate on clear nights. As Bertram put it, '..achieving a downing was always very much down to good fortune..' Later on, an additional MG was mounted in the forward fuselage, operated by the Bordschütze, firing through a side window. This weapon was particularly suited to strafing aircraft on the ground..

Following re-equipment with the Ju 88 the Nachtjagd Ost was put on a more organised footing. NJG 100 was formed at Brjansk from IV./NJG 5 which had shifted to the Russian Front in early 1943. Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn Wittgenstein was appointed Kommandeur of I./NJG 100 during the summer of 1943.

Boiten's book also exploits another unpublished memoir, Heinz de Fries " Wir waren Nachtjäger - Kriegserlebnisse der Besatzung de Fries an der Ostfront"   -    or 'We were night fighters  - war stories of the de Fries crew on the Eastern Front'.

Along with eight other crews, Heinz de Fries and his crew departed Berlin in early November 1943, destination Orscha in the central sector of the Eastern Front. They were posted to NJG 100. De Fries had passed through his A/B Schule, the C-Schule, the Blindflugschule and finally the Nachtjagdschule in Lechfeld. At that time de Fries and his crew knew little about the 'Eisenbahnnachtjagd' or 'rail night fighting' - but soon grew to know it well - and appreciate it. 'Mobile' night fighting on the Eastern Front meant living and operating from 'night-fighting trains'. These comprised some 18-20 wagons fitted out with living accommodation - with 'creature comforts' such as hot-water central heating, a 'mess' and a 'wash room' -  a Gefechtsstand, radar tracking stations and anti-aircraft positions. The Eastern front night-fighters moved from airfield to airfield operating more or less independently. They had to be to even hope to cover the vast expanse of the Russian front where there could be little in the way of 'permanent' infrastructure. 

There is more on Eastern Front night fighting in a recent Casemate volume, 'Night Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1943-45' (Roba/Page, Casemate, 2025) which features some decent material on NJG 100, profiles of aces such as Lechner, Scheer, and August Fischer, along with Claes Sundin's artwork. August Fischer was a Staffelkapitän in I./NJG 100 and the last Kommandeur of the Gruppe.

This blogger's "Nachtjagd Ost - Eastern Front night fighters of the Luftwaffe" is a 20-page article in 'Luftwaffe fighters -Combat on all Fronts 2' (Mortons, 2023). Page view shown covers IV./NJG 6, a night fighter Gruppe established to defend the Ploesti oilfields in Romania...

 

  

See also "Gustav Francsi: Nightfighter Ace" [leading night fighter ace on the Eastern Front] Axis Wings vol. 2 by Sven Carlsen pages 106-111  

Also on this blog;

Oblt. Gustav Francsi, leading night fighter ace on the Eastern Front I./NJG 100

Hptm. Josef 'Jupp' Pützkuhl, Eastern Front nightfighter ace

Eastern Front night fighter - zu Sayn Wittgenstein's Ju 88s

1/48 Luftwaffe Modelling Workbook by Oliver Peissl

 

Oliver Peissl has a new book - "1/48 Luftwaffe Modelling Workbook" was published at the end of 2025 and is a superb modelling 'how-to' volume focused on Luftwaffe subjects released by Dai Nippon Kaiga. Details according to their 'blurb';

For all aircraft modellers — from beginners to experts:
• Step-by-step builds of 15 Luftwaffe aircraft (including a Bundesluftwaffe F-104)
• Detailed guides on tools, materials, and techniques
• Construction, Painting, weathering, and finishing tutorials
• Over 500 full-color in-progress photos. Text is dual Japanese/English

The book is available officially in three countries beside Japan - Canada, Cyprus and Slovakia - links to these sellers can be found on Oliver's Facebook page, Erla's Werke.  In Europe Oliver's Slovakian partner is 77propeller.com

Oliver tells me that Dai Nippon sent a photographer from Tokyo to photograph the 15 subjects featured in the book; 

 " the first contact I had with Dai Nippon was a request for one article but the conditions were not so good - I had to send my finished model to Japan for the pictures. So I said no thanks! Then they came back and asked for a whole book with 15 models. My answer: when I won’t send you one, I surely won’t send 15 models. They replied that for fifteen models they would send the photographer to me. Noah came all the way from Tokyo, spent two days with me, took 7000 images and then left..!"

 Looking through the book ,the results are stunning - with Oliver's okay, here are a few page views ...

The Franco-German modeller also features on the cover of this month's Air Modeller magazine with his superb GWH Fw 189 and his work has been published by Modell Fan, Wingmasters, Cocardes, Modelâr, Tamiya Model Magazine, Ammo and Model Airplane International. Having just written a blog post in praise of AK Real Colors, I asked Oliver about his preferred paints; 

".. Yes, I use a number of different brands. ATOM by Ammo are for me the best acrylics. Mr.Paint are for me the best lacquers. Also I like HATAKA and AK-RC of course. But Mr. Paint do the best RLM references. You should try them! "

Oliver (middle) and Noah (right)

Not featured in the book - Oliver's recently completed Eduard K-4. While the 109 is one of Oliver's  preferred modelling subjects (natch!), Oliver's recent completion of the MiniArt P-47 is superlative. And I can see an Eduard P-40 in his future! Thank you, Oliver..

Fw. Albert Ullrich - an ace in 6./JG 77 - archive photo scan #51

 

Albert Ullrich was born 24 April 1920 in Sandweier (Baden-Württemberg). He enlisted in the Luftwaffe in 1941 and was in various flying schools (Marienbad, Karlsbad, Danzig and Magdeburg) before joining the EJG Süd (Orange). In August 1943 he was posted to 6./JG 77 then based in Italy. The Italian 'change-of-sides' took place shortly thereafter and II./JG 77 took on charge a full complement of Macchi Mc 205 fighters to make up the slow deliveries of Bf 109s that had been briefly interrupted. The Macchi 205 Veltro (or 'Maggie' as Ullrich referred to it in his correspondence..) was a 'more difficult' machine to fly ('schwieriger zu fliegen') and there were several losses - certain manoeuvres had to be flown with more speed and altitude than was usual in the Bf 109.  The 'narrow' cockpit meant that pilots could not fly with German parachute packs and had to use Italian chutes - after one bad incident it was discovered that these had been 'sabotaged' after being 'treated' with acid...

Fw. Albert Ullrich (6./JG 77) in the cockpit of a Macchi 205. Ullrich achieved his first victory  on 11 November 1943 - a B-24.

In his correspondence (dated 1991, letter #7) he described his first victory, achieved at the controls of a Macchi 205, a B-24 downed in PQ 75673 (south of Turin) on 11 November 1943;

"..a Schwarm was scrambled ('Alarmstart') under Lt. Ahlers. We were not in radio contact ('Funkverbindung') as the German sets could not be fitted in the Macchis. When I spotted the enemy aircraft I signalled this to Ahlers with hand gestures - which he appeared not to have understood. I dropped out of our formation and closed on the Viermot alone, setting one engine on fire with my bursts. On my second - and final - pass, the crew bailed out of their machine. Some six or seven men hanging under their chutes. Their Viermot went down in the vicinity of Cuneo. I do not know if the other Staffeln achieved any victories with the "Maggie" but this was the only enemy machine shot down by my 6. Staffel in the 205 .."

American troops entered the Italian capital on 4 June 1944. The next afternoon six 'waves' of B-24s and medium bombers attacked Ferrara, Forlì, and Rimini. The Bf 109s of II./JG 77 engaged them in combat from their airfield in Ferrara and claimed victories. Ullrich was airborne from Poggio-Renatico with his 6./JG 77. He encountered Liberators with fighter escort and downed his third B-24. He landed at 13:40. On 13 June  6./JG 77 was up from Poggio at around 08:20 to intercept more formations of escorted B-24s. Fw. Ullrich claimed his fourth victory against a B-24. His Staffel landed at Lavariano. By evening, the repaired runway at Ferrara allowed the two Staffeln - grounded since the bombing of 5 June - to rejoin 6. Staffel at Poggio Renatico. However, as early as the 16th, fearing a partisan attack, the Bf 109s temporarily left Poggio for Lavariano. This field was better situated for intercepting raids toward Austria. According to his own Flugbuch Ullrich downed his 5th B-24 on 22 June.

An image from Ullrich's album of Staffel comrade Lt. Franz Nägele (6./JG 77), a veteran of Russia and North Africa. Nägele claimed around 17 victories but was killed in combat on 9 June 44 at the controls of his G-6 'yellow 3', possibly this machine displaying the inscription 'Betty'.

On 11 July, during a “free hunt” JG 77 were engaged by Spitfires escorting a force of Marauders heading for a fuel depot in Piacenza. Uffz Richard Kurz (4./JG 77) was wounded at Isola Dovarese. Hampered by a drop tank he was unable to jettison, Ullrich was easy prey for the enemy fighters and had to bail out of his burning machine. Such an ordeal should have earned him two days’ rest, but given the circumstances - his Staffelkapitän Deicke was out of action having been wounded in the foot - Ullrich participated in the next day’s mission. At 09:00 the Bf 109s took off to engage a formation of B-25 Mitchells. Their defensive fire struck Fw Ullrich’s canopy. Wounded in the face and half-blinded, the Feldwebel made a belly landing near Ferrara. Sent to the military hospital, he was sidelined until September. 

A poor quality but rare image from Albert Ullrich's album, presumably showing the ace -given his preference for flying 'yellow 6' - at readiness and studying a map prior to a possible sortie. The engine cowl and wings are still covered ..

below left, long-time Staffelkapitän of 6./JG 77 Hptm. Joachim Deicke 

Ullrich shifted to the Eastern Front with his Staffel early in 1945. By now Staffelkapitän Deicke had been appointed Kommandeur of I./JG 77 and Ullrich was a seasoned ace whose experience was indispensable in 6./JG 77. He shot down his first Soviet fighter, an La-5, on 23 March 1945. He downed two Il-2s on 29 March. Ullrich left 6./JG 77 in April 1945 to be trained on the Me 262 at Lechfeld. He survived a transfer flight to Prague Rusin at the controls of a Me 262 and with a group of comrades 'absconded' in a truck as the Russians approached the city. He surrendered to American forces and was released by the French in 1947.  J. Matthews credits him with 11 'claims', six of these over Italy and five in the 'East' during the last two months of the war.

Ullrich's sorties in the East - he transferred a Bf 109 G coded (presumably) 'yellow 14' from Liegnitz to Bereschau on the afternoon of 27 January 1945 and flew this machine subsequently for the majority of his Feindflüge during February 1945. During March 1945 he flew 'yellow 1'

Ullrich logbook extract covering his last sorties on the Eastern Front through March-April 1945 - he notes a 12th Abschuss ('Abs') flying out of Eckersdorf on 3 April. Figures to the left indicate that his regular machine was '6'. Click on the image to access a larger slightly more legible version...

Legion Condor Bf 109 B, coded 6-56 - archive photo scan #50

 

Messerschmitt Bf 109 B, coded 6-56, 'inherited' by the Kommandeur of J/88, Hptm. Walter Grabmann, from Hptm. Gotthard Handrick, who he replaced as head of the unit in September 1938 at La Sénia. La Sénia is a town and municipality in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. This image is featured on the cover of the latest Batailles Aériennes issue No. 116 ('Legion Condor fighters') and is not in 'German Eagles..'

Handrick's letter ‘H’ inside the fuselage disc would be over-painted with Grabmann's 'G'

Hans Guido Mutke's Me 262 - Arma Hobby 1:72 (Michel Wilhelme)

 

" Hello Neil, here’s another completed 262 A-1. Unfortunately this is a kit I’ll be forgetting about – the new one from ARMA HOBBY, it really isn't as good as some other 72nd scale Me 262s out there. Nothing fits together; you even have to fill and sand the fuselage halves as they’re useless. If you know anyone building it, a word of advice: the ballast that ARMA provides with the kit, although well-placed, needs an extra 6 grams added, and even then it’s still borderline. The rest of the result is down to the paintwork I did. Note the 'crooked' starboard Balkenkreuz - I’ve added a photo of the real thing because the Balkenkreuz had to be retouched by the mechanics; it’s not a fault with the decal...."

On 25 April 1945, Mutke landed in Dübendorf, Switzerland, at the controls of the 9./JG 7 Me 262A-1a ‘white 3’. He claimed to have become lost during a combat mission and to have landed there by mistake, although defection was suspected. The Swiss authorities never attempted to fly the aircraft, keeping it in storage before returning it to Germany on 30 August 1957. Mutke unsuccessfully sued the post-war German government to recover the aircraft, arguing that it belonged to him. Mutke also made the controversial claim that he had broken the sound barrier in 1945 in an Me 262.

resin Tankanhänger /refuelling trailer from customscale.de

 

from Michael Baldeweg customscale.de

" ..May I introduce my latest project: The Ah. 454, one of the most important refueling trailers used by the German Luftwaffe during WWII. Often incorrectly referred to as the "Sd.Ah. 454," this two-axle vehicle was a true powerhouse. Thanks to its eight wheels, it could transport over 3,000 liters of fuel across soft ground without sinking—making it perfect for the improvised frontline airfields of the era. Highlights for scale modelers: 

✅ Highly detailed 8-wheel chassis 

✅ Complete pumping system in the rear 

✅ Authentic details for the perfect diorama (e.g., alongside a He 111 or Me 262) 

This is the first test model—I am absolutely thrilled with the level of precision that modern 3D printing allows us to achieve..."

More Luftwaffe tankers and fuel bowsers on this blog here

The mysterious ‘swoosh’ - late-war Fw 190 colours by Giampiero Piva

 The mysterious ‘swoosh’   by Giampiero Piva

In the second half of 1944, the use of the new RLM 81 and 82 colours began to become widespread in production, alongside the practice of leaving the undersides of the wings partially in bare metal. On a number of Fw 190s - both short and long-noses - a section of the fuselage also appears to be painted in a darker shade than RLM 76, perhaps RLM 75, which generally extends beneath the fuselage itself. There is no certainty regarding the purpose of this ‘swoosh’, as British and American experts and researchers call it; there are only many hypotheses. Finally, it should be noted that it is present on both the FW 190 A/F/G (photo 1) and the FW 190 D (photo 2).