Uffz. Kunze Fw 190 A-6 JG 1

Some time ago now I received a message from Falk Boersch, the nephew of JG 1 Fw 190 pilot Uffz. Bernhard Kunze, seen here (above) standing between his two mechanics. Unfortunately Falk's web site is now defunct but Falk had researched the circumstances and details of his uncle's fatal crash at the controls of his 2./ JG 1 FW 190 A-6 (Black 1, WN 550884) on 5 January 1944 close to Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany. A subject that Falk and I agreed on was the very inconsistent discussion of the checkerboard colour of the fighters he piloted. Falk had written to all the relevant publishers to get what he himself called the 'truth' published - but unfortunately without success. Nowadays of course everyone knows that black/white was the only combination of coloured checks on JG 1 Fw 190s - there were no black/yellow checkers on Kunze's machines such as can be seen on those old profiles published in the Mombeek JG 1 book series (and on EagleCal decal sheets) There were no exceptions at any time - all the different Staffeln of JG 1 were painted the same identical black/white colour combination irrespective of the Staffel or Staffel Kennung...

Bernard Kunze had been shot down the previous summer attacking B-17s as the U.S. 8th Air Force launched one of its first large-scale bombing raids against aircraft factories in Oschersleben on 28 July 1943. As the formations of over 300 B-17s struggled to their targets they were widely dispersed by repeated attacks from the Jagdgruppen - over 300 Fw 190s and Bf 109s were scrambled. Up from Deelen just before 10:00, Kunze, flying 'white 12', attacked a lone, damaged B-17 in the vicinity of Groningen with his Rottenflieger. Kunze was relatively inexperienced, having claimed his first victory only on 13 June, a B-17 downed during a raid on Kiel. He added a second on 22 June and had claimed his third B-17 just two days prior to the 28 July interception. The two Fw 190s immediately closed with the straggler to finish it off. An easy target. As Kunze maneuvered into a firing position and opened up, the American bomber suddenly returned fire. The gunners' bursts of fire struck Kunze’s aircraft hard, sending it into a steep dive. Though he managed to pull out, his Fw 190 was barely controllable and continued to lose altitude rapidly. To his horror, Kunze realized he was on a collision course with a public outdoor swimming pool in Drachten (Netherlands) — and there was nothing he could do to steer clear. It was a warm summer day, and the pool was packed. The aircraft skimmed just above the water and clipped a woman standing near the pool's edge with its wingtip, throwing her into the water but miraculously leaving her unharmed. The plane came to a stop at the far end of the pool. Swimmers, still in their bathing suits, fled out into the streets. Meanwhile, Kunze calmly walked across the road to a garage and phoned the nearby Leeuwarden airbase to request a car to come and retrieve him. In total six I./JG 1 Fw 190s were either brought down or made forced landings after attacking the bombers - a second sortie was flown by those fighters that could be refuelled and rearmed in time. For no visible result... 

Model of Kunze's 'white 12' by 'Elger'. Thanks to Elger for the images and text outline of Kunze's July 43 sortie. Elger presented Falk with a model of this machine for his aunt, Bernhard Kunze's sister, who was still alive in the early 2000s. This is his most recent superb representation of 'white 12' using the Hasegawa 1:32nd kit.