This repaint is for the payware FlyingIron Simulations Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6. It depicts Bf 109G-6/AS W.Nr. 110064 "Schwarzer Doppelwinkel" flown by Hptm. Günther Specht, CO of II./JG11, Wunstorf, Germany, April 1944.
Having joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 and completed his pilot training, when war started in September 1939 Specht was a Leutnant in 3./ZG 26 "Horst Wessel". Supposedly equipped with the new, twin-engine, Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter, its production was so far behind schedule that 7 of the 10 Zerstörergruppen (including Specht's I./ZG 26) had to be equipped with old Messerschmitt Bf 109C and D single-engined fighters. They thus took no role in the Polish campaign, instead based on the North Sea coast near Wilhelmshaven.
This was virtually the only part of the Western Front, during the Phoney War, where there was significant aerial activity in the early months of the war, as RAF bombers flew unescorted raids on the German naval bases. So it did not take long for Specht to score his first victories: two Handley Page Hampden medium bombers in a squadron conducting an armed reconnaissance operation near Heligoland, shot down on 29 September. Needing a long-range fighter to better intercept the British bombers at distance, I./ZG 26 was thus the next Gruppe selected for re-equipping onto the Bf 110.
On 3 December 1939, 24 RAF Vickers Wellington bombers from Marham and Mildenhall bases attacked Heligoland. These were intercepted by I./ZG 26 along with other Messerschmitt Bf 109 units. Specht scored his third victory, shooting down a bomber over the North Sea. But he was also hit by return fire from the Wellington's tail gunner, seriously wounding him in the face. Ditching into the sea, he was picked up by rescue craft. Losing the sight in his left eye, he spent the next six months in recovery. He was shot down by Corporal Copley of No. 38 Squadron RAF.
However, he returned to active service, as Gruppe Adjutant of I./ZG 26. Still able to fly combat missions, his aircraft sported a pencil under his Adjutant's chevron – bemoaning the combat pilot's universal loathing of paperwork! During the French campaign, on 23 May 1940, Spitfires were encountered by Bf 110s and Bf 109s for the first time. The engagement resulted in the loss of two Bf 110s and two Bf 109s. However, Specht would claim three RAF Supermarine Spitfire fighters shot down. The British No. 92 Squadron RAF involved lost three Spitfires in the entire engagement. Squadron Leader Roger J Bushell became a prisoner of war while Paul H. Klipsch and Patrick Alexander George Learmond were killed in action. During the course of this battle, Specht and his rear gunner/radio operator were wounded, force land near Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer with a damaged aircraft. Again he was badly injured and spent further time in hospital.
After recovering he took up staff duties for a year, until 16 September 1941, when he was made Staffelkapitän of a newly formed night-fighter training unit, 2./Nachtjagdschule 1 (coming out of 2./Zerstörerschule 1). Soon after, on 31 October, Hauptmann Specht was promoted to Kommandeur of III./NJS 1. Located at Ingolstadt-Manching, Specht instructed pilots in conversion to night fighting. Paul Zorner, a future night fighter expert, was one of his students. Leading the Gruppe for exactly one year, this was the last time Specht flew a twin engine aircraft, whereupon he returned to combat duties.
Initially reassigned to 10./JG 1 based in the Ruhr, he shot down his first Viermot (four-engined bomber), a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress on a mission to Wilhelmshaven, his 7th aerial victory, on 26 February 1943. This was the beginning of a new war for Specht – the 8th USAAF was starting its bombing offensive on the Reich's industrial complex. Soon afterward, on 27 March, he was appointed Staffelkapitän of the newly reformed 7./JG 1, then in May 1943 he was promoted to Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 11, succeeding Major Adolf Dickfeld who was transferred. Command of his former 7. Staffel then went to Oberleutnant Heinrich Klöpper. Jagdgeschwader 11 was a new fighter wing, created in April 1943 by dividing Jagdgeschwader 1 (flying Fw 190s) in half and filling it out into a full wing with new Gruppen flying Bf 109G-6 'gunboats', to increase the homeland protection. He was based back near his original airfields on the North Sea coast, his unit the first line of defense against the bomber streams and their fighter escorts.
Throughout 1943, as the Luftwaffe took the fight to the bombers flying unescorted over the Reich, Specht scored regularly. Leading by example, he soon became one of the top Viermot aces shooting down 14 bombers out of his 18 victories that year. This included his 13th victory on 26 July, during Blitz Week, when bombers targeted the Blohm & Voss U Boat yards in Hamburg and the synthetic rubber factories of Continental AG and Nordhafen in Hanover.; as well a pair on 17 August on the Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission. He was awarded the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on 23 August, and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 25 November. Specht became increasingly critical of the relatively weak armament of the Bf 109 during this time. Towards the end of 1943, with longer-ranged fighter-escorts accompanying the Allied bombers, tactics had to change: The single-engined fighters would engage the fighter screen while a Zerstörergruppe would take on the bombers. Coincidentally, for a while Specht's II./JG 11 was paired up with his old unit, I./ZG 26.
He continued his success into 1944: On 11 February 1944 II./JG 11 engaged escort fighters returning from a raid on Frankfurt with Specht downing 2nd Lieutenant Richard McDonald of the 354th Fighter Group, who crashed his P-51 Mustang "Plane Jane" near Oberalben. Nine days later, (the opening of the 8th USAAF's "Big Week") Specht had to crash land on the Ærø Island as a result of technical problems with his Bf 109G. Despite that, he was back in the air the next day claiming a P-47 fighter, and a bomber and a fighter the day after, to take his tally to 30. On 15 March II./JG 11 lost six killed in action, two wounded, and eight aircraft lost, resulting in Specht declaring the unit non-operational for six weeks to rest and replace losses.
On 8 April 1944 Specht was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his 30 victories on the Western Front. On 15 April, after his commander Hermann Graf was injured on 29 March, he transferred his command of II./JG 11 to Major Günther Rall, and moved to the Geschwaderstab as Kommodore-in-training, under Herbert Ihlefeld. Specht was given full command of JG 11 on 15 May, replacing Ihlefeld who was himself transferred to command JG 1. But little could be done as the Allied bombing offensive stepped up a gear. His units were decimated over the skies of Normandy in June and July. He himself was injured in July, suffering head injuries in yet another crash-landing. Despite severe pain from his injuries, Specht remained on combat duty. His wing was retired to the Rhineland to be rebuilt, but they were crushed again in the latter half of 1944. The Allies were now sending overwhelming numbers of bombers to destroy the German industrial and military factories and the bombers were now protected by the advent of the P-51 Mustang, providing fighter cover right into the heart of the Reich and back.
During Operation Market Garden, the Allied parachute landings in the Netherlands, Specht claimed two RAF Hawker Typhoons west of Arnhem on 26 September. According to RAF records only three Typhoons were shot down on 26 September; two to flak and one in aerial combat against Jagdgeschwader 53 Bf 109s near Apeldoorn. No fighters were recorded lost near Deventer. However, it may be the case that loss records were lost or not well kept, meaning Specht's claims cannot be traced and may well be accurate.
In December, Hitler ordered his final, desperate attack in the west - through the snow-covered forests of the Ardennes. Poor weather kept the promised air support grounded, but early on the morning of New Year's Day, long after it was tactically useful or relevant, the Luftwaffe launched Operation Bodenplatte - not against the devastating strategic bombers, but on the frontline fighter airbases.
Virtually all available fighter groups in the west were allocated to this mission, JG 11 was assigned the USAAF airfield at Asch (Code Name Y–29) and the RAF airfield at Ophoven north of Asch. The 366th Fighter Group and the 352nd Fighter Group were based at Asch. No. 41, No. 130, 350 and No. 610 Squadrons of the 2nd Tactical Wing were based at Ophoven.
For this mission Specht wore his full dress uniform with medals instead of his flight suit. JG 11 was based at Darmstadt-Griesheim, Zellhausen, and Gross-Ostheim. I./JG 11, III./JG 11 (Fw 190 A–9), and II./JG 11 (Bf 109 G) mustered sixty-five aircraft for this mission. Specht flew Fw 190 A-9 (Werknummer 205033—factory number) "Black 4". Overall the operation was a major failure. With the large proportion of inexperienced, green pilots, flight coordination was extremely difficult and due to the extreme secrecy many pilots were shot down by their own FlaK antiaircraft, who were not pre-warned of the operation. It also resulted in the loss of a number of irreplaceable combat leaders.
As regards JG 11 specifically, at 08:08 am the aircraft took off and assembled over Aschaffenburg with two Junkers Ju 188 'Pathfinders' to navigate. After assembling, Specht ordered all aircraft to fly at 400 feet (120 m) to the target area, climbing to 1,500 feet (460 m) prior to commencing the attack. Some P-47 Thunderbolts of the 390th Fighter Squadron, 366th FG, were already airborne and Mustangs of the 487th Fighter Squadron, 352nd FG, were on the runway. The formation was disrupted by flak, and several German aircraft were shot down.
The P-47 and P-51s took a heavy toll of JG 11; some 25 pilots were lost, including Specht, who was posted as Missing In Action, along with other senior officers of JG 11.
Specht was officially listed as missing in action over Maastricht, but he has recently been confirmed dead. He crashed his plane after taking heavy fire. Specht was promoted posthumously to Oberstleutnant and nominated for the Eichenlaub though this was never awarded in the bedlam of the final weeks of the war. Shot down six times in his career, he preferred to try landing his damaged aircraft rather than taking to his parachute. Specht was credited with 34 aerial victories, which according to Obermaier included 17 heavy bombers, all achieved over the Western Front.
Werknummer 110064 was a G-5 from Erla-Leipzig with first BAL acceptance on 10. Jan. 1944. As Leipzig built no AS-aircraft at that time, it presumably was a regular G-5 with DB 605 A engine. The newly built G-5 was sent directly from Leipzig to Antwerpen for installing the AS-engine.
The color of the fixed canopy is of a bright pale shade, as is most of the airframe. The darker colors are painted on very crudely and they avoid the markings. This is typical for AS-engined aircraft from Erla-Antwerpen, which were delivered in RLM76 all over and sometimes got more camo only at unit-level. For that reason, the splinter-camo on the wings have an unusually bright (76) background color. Under the cockpit is the Geschwader emblem of JG11, the so-called Der Wächter from sculptor - and regime favourite - Arno Breker, which was first seen on the front page of German magazines after the fall of Stalingrad, usually under the title 'Revenge!'. The Ritterkreuz on the cowling was probably not painted on but just laid on by the groundcrew to celebrate the award. I liked the look of it so i painted it.
(copy/paste from the net)
NOTE
This repaint features historical tail markings.
There is no optional replacement file.
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