They show 9. Staffel JG 52 celebrations for Erich Hartmann's 300th and feature excellent close-ups of "Yellow 1" a G-6 with a tall tail and Erla Haube - a 'White 1' is featured later in the video - also a G-6 but with the "short" tail.
Below; JG 52 Kommodore Hrabak and the victorious Erich Hartmann celebrate his '300th' on or around 24 August 1944
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According to 'Wings of the Black Cross 7' (Eagle Editions) Hartmann was flying this "Yellow 1" in Romania when he achieved his 250th victory with 9./JG 52 on 4 June 1944. His '300th' was claimed at the end of August 1944 -Hartmann filed 11 claims on 24 August 1944 at the height of 'Bagration' to go past '300'. In the consecutive days of combat on 23 and 24 August 1944 JG 52 claimed to to have shot down 33 aircraft: Erich Hartmann claimed some 19 of these, his comrades 14 more. However according to some sources, most notably Soviet, losses in the region of Sandomierz in those two days totalled just 11 aircraft of which only 2 were shot down (Po-2 + P-39), with a single machine reported missing while the rest were brought down by anti-aircraft fire.
Note the heavily 'nachbehandelte' (oversprayed) camouflage scheme. Traces of original stencils show - you have to wonder what colour(s) the extensive over-spray was, greens or browns? It certainly appears to be a defensive scheme.
Of special interest is the small number ‘2’ inside the “Yellow 1” which some believe indicates that this is his back-up machine- it doesn't. It merely recalls his first 'white 2' (similar to the small '5' in Barkhorn's double chevron). Note the tall tail and Erla Haube ..
The Tullis (?) profile and decals in "Wings of the Black Cross" No.7 were apparently produced based on stills taken from the original period film and yet the artwork misses the tall tail and shows a non-existent G-14 battery bump. Thanks to Nick and the guys over at the 12 o'clock high forum!
...details of Hartmann's Bf 109 G-6 W.Nr. unknown, "Schwarzer Doppelwinkel", I./JG 53, Veszprém, Hungary. Picture source BPK Archiv, Heinrich Hoffmann; image is captioned 'Flugeinsatz' (combat sortie) 20 February 1945.
Note the details in this image and in the pretty neat representation below by an unknown 'skinner' - although he has used the 'square' canopy with antenna mast. The 'skinner' has rendered the upper surface camouflage extremely well - it is just possible to make out some details on the photo of the over-sprayed lines on the wings and forward fuselage which just about every modeller and 'artist' (except Claes Sundin; see here; a superlative piece of artwork from his 'Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile Vol I ) just seems to ignore...much of this has to be speculative unfortunately, although it is there! Note too the heavy white overspray onto the prop blades (see image below). Claes Sundin also gets the variant correct - Hartmann's Kommandeur machine 'Double Chevron' was a G-6 according to his own logbook..and NOT a G-14. Thanks to Jan Bobek for the pointer to this great image...
other details of note - no antenna mast, the aerial attaches to the fuselage spine just behind the canopy. The DF loop is absent, although its base is visible in the photo top. No ventilation scoop ahead of the windscreen.
there is of course much more on Hartman and his aircraft - including his final tulip-adorned G-10 - on this blog. See the label links to the right of the screen
Box-art for next year's new-tool 1:32nd Revell Bf 109 G-10 based on a photo that first came to light a couple of years ago. This was a new view of Hartmann's last Erla-built Bf 109 G-10 and showed a little more of the aircraft than the red heart and part of the Gruppenkommandeur's Doppel-winkel- this G-10 apparently featured the tulip marking..however everything aft of the Balkenkreuz is still guess work although we can be pretty much certain that there would be no fuselage band or yellow rudder. The second image is 'well known' and was taken directly after the sortie resulting in Hartmann's 350th claim. Note the camouflage tunic worn in the air over the front to facilitate evasion should the pilot come down behind enemy lines.
This is the last known Hartmann machine for which there is photographic evidence apparently taken in mid-April '45 on the occasion of his 350th Abschuß. The G-10 variant was the "hottest" Bf 109 then available, so no surprise that Hartmann flew one and that it was in fact most likely to have been his last aircraft.. More on Hartmann's G-10 and discussion of his 'mythical' Bf 109 K-4 on this blog here
Anders Hjortsberg's updated artwork for this machine is here
A 'new' view of Hartmann's last Erla-built Bf 109 G-10. These are photos of the actual images seen in an album and are thus slightly 'murky'. I've enlarged them as far as I can without losing the 'quality'. The second image is 'well known' and was taken directly after the sortie resulting in Hartmann's 350th 'claim'. Not that he would have filed this or any of the preceding fifty or so claims anyway. Enthusiasts still maintain he achieved '352 confirmed victories' - which is nonsense, given that we know for a fact that he only officially filed some 280! Note the camouflage tunic worn in the air over the front to facilitate evasion should the pilot come down behind enemy lines. The second image is new to me and shows a little more of the aircraft and confirms that it had the black "tulip" on the nose.
The last known Hartmann machine we have any evidence for is the well-known photo of him, supposedly taken in mid-April '45, standing by his Erla-built Bf 109 G-10 machine below. Note the rectangular plate ahead of the cockpit. This photo was apparently taken on the occasion of his 350th Abschuß. A more recently discovered image (below) shows a little more than the red heart and part of the Gruppenkommandeur's Doppel-winkel- this G-10 apparently features the tulip marking. This variant was also the "hottest" Bf 109 then available, so no surprise Hartmann flew one and that it was in fact most likely to have been Hartmann's last aircraft..
Did Hartmann fly a K-4 as some suggest...?
Playing devils advocate here - there is photographic evidence ( see JG 52 in Deutsche Brod from Japo) indicating that the Stab JG 52 had Bf 109 K-4s with tulip designs & that as Hartmann's I./JG 52 shared a field with them the chances are he might well have flown one. According to Michael Ullmann then "there are strong grounds to indicate that Hartmann's last machine was a Bf 109 K-4". However the only 'fact' Ullmann cites in support is rather nebulous; high ranking & highly decorated pilots invariably received the latest equipment in an effort to maintain an advantage over their adversaries- rather over-looking the fact that the K-4 was proposed as an up-dated fighter-bomber variant. No matter either that the chaotic conditions in German manufacturing in early 1945 meant that machines were leaving 'factories' with little or no quality control being exercised - there is an account in the JG 300 history from a Bf 109 pilot ferrying K-4's minus instruments, oxygen etc etc. Ullmann 'suggests' Hartmann flew a K-4 (with tulip) in the last WNr batch 334xxx/335xxx which would have been finished in 75/83 with an 82/83 tail unit....
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I've had this discussion with both Barbas and Lorant who both interviewed Hartmann and studied his surviving log book; the last of Hartmann's machines we actually know anything about was a Bf 109 G-10. Incidentally the highest score seen/photographed on any of Hartmann's (known) rudders was 121 - the idea that his rudder displayed 352 victory markings simply beggars belief!..Would the ground crew on the last day of the war have taken the time to paint the 352nd Balken on the rudder and then set fire to the machine! Pure fiction. But this was picked up by every subsequent book and decal maker as fact, a myth still pedalled on the net today..
Another rarely seen machine flown by Hartmann, Bf 109 G-6 W.Nr. 44. ... "Gelbe 2", 9./JG 52, Csòr, Autumn 1944 (??). Note the yellow V marking under the wing as used by Luftflotte 4 - ordered on September 21, 1944, so the photo dates from after that. The camouflage looks more like a WNF aircraft and the aircraft has a retrofitted Erla canopy as proven by the frame and antenna mast on the rear bulkhead.
Still from film footage showing a later G-6 "yellow 1" with no rudder scoreboard
Rare view of Hartmann following a sortie in an unidentified Bf 109 G-6 "Gelbe 1", 9./JG 52, Uman (?), Spring 1944.
Two nice and rarely seen views of Hartmann's 7./JG 52 G-6 "White 1" seen in late 1944 in Hungary
Below; neat view of Hartmann's 9./JG 52 G-6 "Yellow 1" with the small '2' indicating -maybe -that this was a replacement machine. It may also simply be a reference to his first 'white 2' - in the style of Barkhorn's figure '5' inside his Kommandeur chevrons. Filmed on or around about the time of his 300th victory. More film stills of this machine on this blog here
According to Michael Ullmann writing in the June 2004 issue of SAM, "there are strong grounds to indicate that Erich Hartmann's last machine was a Bf 109 K-4". This is a somewhat surprising assertion given that there is no credible evidence that Hartmann ever flew a Bf 109 K-4. Toliver and Constable's "The Blond Knight..." can be discounted as an accurate reference since the authors did not have his Flugbücher or the unit KTB for the 1944-45 period.
The much repeated Bf 109 K-4 "profile" was originated by Karl Ries in his "Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings" series from the 1960s and '70s. He had a made-up colour drawing of a Hartman Bf 109 K-4 complete with an oak wreath, and the 352 Abschüsse on the rudder. It simply beggars belief that the ground crew could have taken the time to paint the 352nd Balken on the rudder, then set fire to the machine! Pure fiction. But this was picked up by every subsequent book and decal maker as fact, a myth still pedalled by self-appointed 'experts' on the net (such as Brendan804 on warthunder.com) and the like today..
The last known Hartmann machine we have any evidence for is the well-known photo of him, supposedly taken in mid-April '45, standing by his Erla-built Bf 109 G-10 machine -see below. This was allegedly taken on the occasion of his 350th Abschuß. A more recently discovered image (below) shows a little more than the red heart and part of the Gruppenkommandeur's Doppel-winkel- this G-10 apparently features the tulip marking. This variant was also the "hottest" Bf 109 then available, so no surprise Hartmann flew one and that it was in fact most likely to have been Hartmann's last aircraft..
On the other hand - playing devils advocate here - there is photographic evidence ( see JG 52 in Deutsche Brod from Japo) indicating that the Stab JG 52 had Bf 109 K-4s with tulip designs & that as Hartmann's I./JG 52 shared a field with them the chances are he might well have flown one. According to Michael Ullmann then "there are strong grounds to indicate that Hartmann's last machine was a Bf 109 K-4". However the only 'fact' Ullmann cites in support is rather nebulous; high ranking & highly decorated pilots invariably received the latest equipment in an effort to maintain an advantage over their adversaries- rather over-looking the fact that the K-4 was proposed as an up-dated fighter-bomber variant. No matter either that the chaotic conditions in German manufacturing in early 1945 meant that machines were leaving 'factories' with little or no quality control being exercised - there is an account in the JG 300 history from a Bf 109 pilot ferrying K-4's minus instruments, oxygen etc etc. Ullmann 'suggests' Hartmann flew a K-4 (with tulip) in the last WNr batch 334xxx/335xxx which would have been finished in 75/83 with an 82/83 tail unit. Quite why a so-called Luftwaffe colours 'expert' would want to start or perpetuate this myth I've no idea. I've had this discussion with both Barbas & Lorant who both interviewed Hartmann & pored over his surviving log book; the last of Hartmann's machines we actually know anything about was a Bf109 G-10. Incidentally the highest score seen/photographed on any of Hartmann's (known) rudders was 121.
Two nice and rarely seen views of Hartmann's 7./JG52 G-6 "White 1" seen in late 1944 in Hungary
WW II 'Ace of aces' is Erich Hartmann. His victory toal of '352' confirmed kills has assumed legendary status - but is probably some way from the actual number of aerial victories achieved by Hartmann. The figure of '352' was probably first presented as his 'official' victory total in Toliver's 'Blond Knight..', a book that was written at the height of the Cold War.
In the words of one historian 'Blond Knight' "..offered little research, nothing from Russian archives and no bibliography..".***
Most researchers appear to have rather discounted it in any discussion of Hartmann's record. Since the the late 1960s some have attempted to look a little more critically at Hartmann's record and a recent article by Russian researcher Dimitri Khazanov went much further. If Khazanov has an agenda, it is nonetheless the case that certain statements he makes regarding Hartmann's total are valid.
Firstly German archives are themselves contradictory. Indeed only 289 of Hartmann's 'victories' were in fact 'officially confirmed' before the German claims sytem broke down in early 1945. Secondly, only 307 of his supposed claims had even been 'officially' filed before the end of the war.. As is well known the initial months of combat on the Russian front were significant for huge losses of men and matériel on the Russian side. For each German aircraft lost the VVS (Red Air Force) lost ten primarily as a result of superior training, combat experience gained in the West, and significantly superior combat aircraft performance. However none of these factors explain the phenomenal results apparently achieved by Erich Hartmann. His war began as the tide was already turning in the East, with Soviet industry turning out ever more modern aircraft and the German armies on the defensive in every sector. Hartmann's chief 'tactic' involved catching lone Soviet aircraft unawares far behind the front lines, with only a wing man's statement to support his claim. This goes someway to explaining the disparity with Soviet records. Hartmann would often claim three or even five Soviet a/c shot down on a sortie. Khazanov concludes ;" (..) Hartmann's actual successes probably amounted to no more than 70 to 80 Soviet aircraft shot down..." He continues... "It is therefore not incorrect to state that the scores of other famous JG 52 aces are likely to have been largely superior to Hartmann's, given that the evidence for his victory claims is much more unreliable than that for other pilots such as Barkhorn and Rall (..) This has much to do with Hartmann's tactic of catching lone Soviet aircraft unawares far behind the front lines, with only a wing man's statement to support his claim and goes someway to explaining the disparity with Soviet records since aircraft lost in this way were recorded as missing in action and not as shot down in combat..."
The debate is currently raging yet again on various forums (..and again, on TOCH during May 2016)
Few contributors appear to have read Khazanov's material which was presented first in an article published by French magazine 'Le Fana de l'Aviation'. Khazanov's 'research' as presented in the article mentions several occasions when Hartmann claimed multiple victories and where the VVS suffered few or no losses at all. A number of such cases were detailed by Khazanov;
* 29.05.1944: During the Soviet air strike against the Romanian airbase of Novela, Erich Hartmann claimed three "LaGG-7s" (La-5s) shot down. In fact, the Soviet 5 VA did suffer losses - three Il-2, but the 302 IAD, which provided escort for the attack and was equipped with the La-5FN, did not suffer any losses ..
* 4.06.1944: on this date during the fourth sortie of the day, Hartmann and his wingman Birkner were jumped by two Airacobras, with Hartmann shooting down both P-39s. Khazanov determined that they would have been the Airacobras flown by Mayor B. B. Gakhaet and Leytenant Nikolay L. Trofimov of the famous 16 GIAP. Both Airacobras returned home "..without a scratch! "
* 4.07.1944: Hartmann claimed three Il-2s north of Yassy, which were attacking German artillery positions. The formation attacked by Hartmann were 12 Il-2s of the 2 ShAK led by Leytenant Frolov, but they lost only one Shturmovik, which made a belly-landing in Soviet-held territory.
* 24.08.1944: on this day Hartmann claimed his victories Nos.299 to 303 over the Soviet beachhead of Sandomierz across the Vistula river - all four were P-39s. The only unit equipped with Aircobras providing cover to Sandomierz were from the elite 9 GIAD led by Polkovnik Aleksandr Pokryshkin - they sustained no losses in air combat that day. One Soviet P-39 pilot was reported missing after becoming separated from his comrades, "...who could have been downed by Hartmann. But at most Hartmann could score only one victory that day, never four...."
On 20 August 1943 Hartmann himself was shot down: according to his account (in Toliver), he dispatched two Il-2s before being hit by anti-aircraft fire. He managed to belly-land and was captured for a short period of time (later he evaded). In fact Khazanov was able to determine, that according to Soviet records, what Hartmann attacked was a group of Shturmoviks of the 232 ShAP. One of the Il-2 pilots, Leytenat Pavel Evdokimov, saw a "Messer" jump his comrade V. Ermakov, who , firing at close range managed to put a 20-mm burst into the Bf.109, which performed a belly-landing - this was Hartmann's Bf.109 G-6. No Il-2 were lost by 232 ShAP that day, although two were damaged. Once again, Hartmann's "kills" were overclaims (even when in this case both were in good faith). And he was not downed by flak, but by Shturmovik pilot Pavel Evdokimov.
Khazanov conceeds that indeed Hartmann was a dangerous opponent, crediting him with at least two victories against Soviet aces: on 16.10.1943 he shot down the La-5 of Starshiy Leytenant Ivan Nikitovich Sytov (30 victories, 5 GIAP), and on 1.03.1945 the Yak-9 of Kapitan Sergey Ivanovich Lazarev (728 IAP, 256 IAD), but not before Lazarev shot down his the Bf.109G-14 of Hartmann's wingman G. Kapito (Lazarev's victory No.26)..."
And so on and so forth. I should also point out that Khazanov gives no indication of how or why he arrives at a final victory total of " 70 to 80 "for Hartmann..his article is simply not detailed enough and he presents evidence from Soviet archives for only a handful of dates. However his research does not appear to be motivated by 'political' considerations -he does after all praise Rall and Barkhorn.
Yet it was these two officers who persuaded Hartmann back into the Federal German Air Force post-war. Hans Ring and Jean-Yves Lorant responded to Khazanov's article in a later issue of 'Air Magazine' - both make the simple point that such 'over-claiming', if that was what Hartmann was doing, would not have been tolerated for long by Hartmann's comrades in JG 52. Nor would he have been welcomed into the Bundesluftwaffe if he was somehow 'tainted' ....
Khazanov concludes ."..Hartmann never enjoyed the reputation among his comtempories accorded Mölders or Galland...."
**** from 'The Myth of the Eastern Front' (Smelser/Davies, Cambridge University Press, 2008);
".. The 'Blond Knight of Germany' is a "hallmark of romanization", with its "insidious" title suggesting medieval chivalry that not only fails to characterize the conduct of the German Army in the East, but, indeed, marks its opposite.."
More articles on Erich Hartmann on this blog;
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