Fw 190 II./JG 54, March 1944 - Bundesarchiv photo report #7

 

During February 1944 the Fw 190s of II./JG 54 had been particularly active flying freie Jagd and Begleitschutz (escort) for Ju 87s north and north-east of Uman (Korsun-Cherkassy pocket). PK Berichter Richard Kamm took a series of images following a move to the airfield at Petseri (43 km west of Pleskau) in early March, a period during which the Gruppe saw relatively little action, most likely due to the 'Tauwetter'  - or thaw. These photos depict Fw 190 A-5 'black 2' and 'black 7' of II./JG 54 undergoing maintenance during March 1944 - note melting snow. 'Black 7' has a distinctive Mäander-Tarnung (with a dark squiggle/mottle overspray).  A comprehensive account of the activities of II./JG 54 during this period appears in the latest volume from Jochen Prien and his team in the new JfV  -Teil 15/II ('Einsatz im Osten 1.1 bis 31.12.1944', pages 400-497) It was during this period that Lt. Albin Wolf  claimed the 7000th victory of the Geschwader as described in an earlier photo report  (see link below).

Also on this blog;

Wolf and Rudorffer - Horridoh for the 7,000th kill at JG 54

Fw 190 A-7 with 21 cm BR Werfer - ebay photo find #368

 

..the rear of this ebay photo print offering states "JG 11 March 1945" 

Two images of this machine are reproduced on p188 of Peter Rodeike's 'Jagdflugzeug 190'. Rodeike identifies this machine as a Fieseler-manufactured A-7 transferred to Toul in France to I./JG 26 in March 1944 with Stkz 'KU+BG' WNr. 643713. According to Rodeike's caption, 'note the rare combination of 'stovepipe' rocket launchers and 30mm cannon  in the outboard wing stations'  - such Fw 190s received the 'Zusatzbezeichnung' R2/R6. Note also this machine has an ETC 501 rack for a 300 Ltr. droptank..

The photo sold for 300 euros  which is a quite ridiculous and stupid amount of money for an image that has been published a number of times previously. Moreover, it will stay posted here.

Schlachtgeschwader 3 sortie at Dorpat, Estonia - Bundesarchiv photo report #6

A photo-report at SG 3 from PK Berichter Doege dated 9 March 1944 in Estonia (Dorpat, Estland), Einsatzbesprechung  - pre-sortie briefing (middle, Oberleutnant Hans Töpfer). Another sequence from the same photo report can be found in the ECPA-D files...

March 1944 Estland, Dorpat- Schlachtgeschwader 3. Junkers Ju 87 mit weißem Tarnanstrich auf verschneitem Flugplatz, nach der Landung in Parkposition

Oblt. Karl-Heinz Plücker 1./JG 52

 

Oblt. Karl-Heinz Plücker was a 2./JG 52 pilot although flew as Staffelführer in 1./JG 52 during early 1944. He was KIA on 10 May 1944, hit by anti-aircraft fire at low level 4 km NNE of Grigoriopol,some 130 km NW of Odessa. He had achieved some 42 victories, having returned his first victory on 5 July 1943. He is seen here in a recently published JfV image (Teil 15/II Einsatz im Osten) in front of Bf 109 G-6 'black 1'.

III./JG 27 ace Erbo Graf von Kageneck, pilot profile in "Luftwaffe Fighters - Combat on all Fronts", published in 2023

 

 In early 2023 - ie last year - Mortons published "Luftwaffe Fighters - Combat on all Fronts 2". I wrote a number of ace pilot 'profiles' for this 130-page A-4 softback (£9.99) including a 7-page (A-4) 3,500 word feature on III./JG 27 ace Erbo Graf von Kageneck, which exploited, for the first time in English, his letters written at the front to his parents at home.  And also featured a neat selection of photos. Erbo was downed on December 24, 1941 by RAF fighters and subsequently died of his injuries (early 1942). One of Erbo's (four) brothers, August von Kageneck, who lived in Paris post-war - and was interviewed by a friend of this blog - wrote a French-language account of Erbo's life ('Erbo- pilote de chasse') and established that his brother was shot down by Commonwealth ace Clive Caldwell. Translated extracts from August von Kageneck's biography of his brother and the interview that he gave also appear in the Mortons piece. In English. Published in early 2023. Last year, just in case there is any doubt. Not 2024. 

" Erbo, Graf von Kageneck became an ace during the Battle of Britain and as Kapitän of 9./JG 27 made a name for himself over Malta in 1941. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz and the Eichenlaub for his successes during Barbarossa. Recalled to the Mediterranean, Erbo ran into his old RAF opponents but was shot down and seriously injured in December 1941. Transferred to hospital in Italy via Athens, he died in Naples on February 12, 1942..."

Von Kageneck’s force-landed Emil ‘Yellow 1’, August 20, 1941. The Staffel number is painted on the engine cowl while the rear fuselage displays a wide yellow band. The rudder scoreboard now displays 45 victory bars. His 45th had been achieved on August 16, 1941.

Luftwaffe Fighters - Combat on all Fronts 2  - available from Mortons here or read some of the cracking reviews on amazon. I've no idea who the 'alte Adler' is but I'd like to thank him here! Will there be a No. 3? Well its written ..but there are one or two other projects coming up first....

Junkers Ju 88 G-6 -ebay photo find #367

 

Two nice views of a Ju 88 G-6. Note the flame dampers on the Jumos and the prominent supercharger intake. Starboard wing lower surfaces appear to be in black. Two key 'identifiers' for a G-6 are the angled antenna (with the later SN 2d -frequency V AI radar) and the absence of a lower fuselage gondola. Naxos fairing is visible on the canopy.

On offer here

more JG 2 Fw 190s - archive photo scan #16

 

 I pointed out in this post that sometimes even scanning from the negative does not help a lot as the quality of the original image can still be very poor. Here's a good example. These images - from a JG 2  album and recently scanned from the negative strip - are only worth viewing thanks to the 'enhancement' work done post-scan by Delmar....thanks! 

Not much information on these although that  'white 3' is an A-6 - note outer wing MG 151s and under-wing cartridge chutes. These aircraft also feature the JG 2 'eagle-wing'. These images are previously unpublished.

Below; 1./JG 2 pilot Uffz. Erich Söldner claimed his first victory in action against  a 15th AF B-17 raid on Rome on 3 March 1944. He downed one of the P-47 escorts near the town of Tuscania (north of Rome). His third victory was an RAF Typhoon near Argentan on 17 August 1944. The image above may also show Söldner.

More on I./JG 2's defensive actions on the Mediterranean Front during early 1944 here 

Also on this blog;

Fhj.-Fw Gerhard Querengässer, 8./JG 2

Fw 190 A-6 2./JG 2 Lt Detlef Großfuß