Lt. Helmut Biederbick 7./JG 54 - ebay photo find #363

Photos of Lt. Helmut Biederbick posing for snapshots on his 7./JG 54 Friedrich have appeared in a number of publications including "Luftwaffe Fighters -Combat on all Fronts " Vol I and Philippe Saintes two-volume history of JG 54 published by Lela Presse.  These show him taking a snooze under the wing of his Bf 109 F-2 ‘white 5’ some time during the summer of 1941 and posing with his 1.Wart (first mechanic) on his 7./JG 54 Bf 109 F-4 ‘white 7’. This 'new' Ebay find shows us that it was 'white 5' that featured the inscription ‘Kabänes’. 

Leutnant Biederbick returned 14 victories with JG 54. He returned his first victory, an SB-2 on 23 June, 1941, the second day of Barbarossa. On July 6, 1941 flying ‘white 11’ he collided with ‘white 3’ flown by Uffz. Theodor Steinwendtner during a hard fight with SB-2s of 41 SAD. Both pilots were able to jump clear. Biederbick downed two Soviet aircraft on July 10, 1941; an SB-3 and an I-18 and scored two Soviet P-40s on July 19, 1942. 

He moved back to the West in October 1942, posted to IV./JG 1. He served as an instructor from December 1942. He flew as Staffelführer with 2./JG 1 from February to June 1944. His 15th victory was a B-24 (HSS) on April 8, 1944. His 16th was a P-51 five km north-west of Klötze on April 8, 1944. His 17th was a B-17 (HSS) on April 13, 1944, no location. On April 22, 1944 he downed a B-17 west of Rothaargebirge. He moved to JG 101 in July 1944. 

In February 1945 he was appointed Staffel kapitän of 5./JG 101 in February 1945 and survived the war credited with 19 victories. He died on January 10, 1996.