A 'new' view - at least not published by Mombeeck in his JG 5 history or elsewhere - of Hptm. Horst Carganico's Kommandeur I./JG 5 machine, an overall blue-grey 76 Bf 109 G-6/AS, seen at Herzogenaurach during May 1944. (incorrectly listed as a G-5/U2 on p243 of 'Eismeerjaeger'). Note the refined cowl bulge, tall tail, Erla Haube, short antenna mast and enlarged supercharger intake. Although not visible here - apart from an 'ear' above the officer's cap, middle - markings included Carganico's large 'Mickey Maus' on the port fuselage side. Artworks show the lower engine cowl in yellow although that now looks unlikely. Carganico had claimed some 60 victories by the time he was KIA on 27 May 1944 attempting a crash-landing after clipping high tension wires following combat with US fighters - 27 May 1944 was a 'black day' for I./JG 5 who lost 13 Gustavs (at least seven or eight G-6/AS machines) shot down in high altitude combat over the Franco-German border (south-west of Strasbourg) out of 19 machines scrambled. One of the first downed was 'black 7' of the Stab flown by Hptm. Heinz Deuschle, Carganico's wingman and the officer partially visible behind Carganico in the image below, seen exchanging words with Carganico's mother.
