Ostfront

The Eastern Front presented huge logistical difficulties for the Luftwaffe from all aspects; the wildly varying seasonal changes and disparate operating climates led to a fascinating mixture of camouflage schemes being used, with one unit simply throwing away the rulebook and doing what they felt best!

 

The first series of photos are of a pair of 1./JG52 Gustavs at Kharkov-Roganj in the summer of 1943.  According to the Prien-Rodeike F-G-K book, "weiße 10" may have been W.Nr. 19881, lost on 14 Sept 1943 when the Kommodore's wingman Lt. Wilmans failed to return after an air battle near Turkenovka and was posted as missing.  

1.jg52_wh10.2.jpg (36288 bytes)        1.jg52_wh10.3.jpg (35377 bytes)        1.jg52_wh5.1.jpg (36419 bytes)

 

 

ii.jg54_color1.jpg (59567 bytes)        ii.jg54_color4.jpg (18889 bytes)

ii.jg54_color2.jpg (16848 bytes)        ii.jg54_color3.jpg (14190 bytes)

When it comes to color schemes, JG54 threw the book out the window.  Their aircraft carried an amazing variety of field-modified schemes, and this stunning example is no different.  What is that brown color?  That doesn't appear to be a standard RLM color...maybe RLM26, but that would be highly unusual at best. 

Everything about this aircraft contradicts "popular" conceptions of 109s and their markings...note the Gruppe bar is FORWARD of the T.O. circle, and the Stab chevron is AFT of the fuselage Balkankreuz.  And that isn't all...look at the photo of the fin, and how the six kill bars reflect in the polished surface of the stabilizers.  Is it any wonder that JG54 aircraft are so popular with Luftwaffe modelers?
The next series of photos are actually modified screen shots taken from the video found in the Multimedia gallery...this is the F-4(z?) of the Technical Officer of II/JG54 (Werner Pichon Kalau vom Hofe) presumably photographed in the summer of 1942 at Rjelbitzi.

 

And if there's any more questions about whether the aircraft were polished or not, this should set them to rest; in the video, you can see several Schwarzmänner "Simonizing" the starboard wing as shown at right.

 

That HAS to be both cold and loud...look how close he's standing to the exhaust of the running DB! 

Here we have a lineup of II./JG54 F-4s (note larger supercharger intake) in the winter of 1942; again, Rjelbitzi is the likely location of this photo.  Points of interest abound...the aircraft have had their gear doors removed to avoid snow buildup, the second aircraft has a red spinner with a black stripe (unusual at best) but is missing the yellow lower wingtips; "gelbe 3" has what appears to be a grey fuselage cross, although that could be due to glare.  Also note the exhaust staining pattern, and the very careful masking of the "Vorsicht beim öffnen, Kühler ist im Haubenteil eingebaut" warning on the lower cowling.

Click on the photo for a 1024x753 desktop-sized version!

 

At left is the G-2 of the Geschwaderkommodore of JG54, Hannes Trautloft, seen receiving a white distemper overspray.  The color registration in the picture is fairly light, and a Photoshop session did not do much to improve the situation; that said, the tone of the yellow fuselage band is light in any event, and very likely to be RLM27.  The aft fuselage may be in 70 Schwarzgrün, but not for much longer...

The masking method used by the painter is worthy of note...has anyone tried this on their 1/48 scale 109 yet?  :-) 

 

No, this isn't a new advert for doggie treats, although it looks that way...

It's a splendid shot of a 9./JG54 G-2 with a hungry Staffel mascot trying to clamber up on the aircraft.  The colors and their application are quite interesting...note that the aft canopy frame matches the lighter green.  The color balance of the photo is somewhat off, but even so the darker shade is almost certainly 70 Schwartzgrün, while the lighter shade is...well, it could be 80 Olivgrün, but it seems a bit light for that.  I believe it may well be a locally-obtained (read: Russian) topside color, but I have absolutely no proof of this.  Theories and suggestions are welcome...

Also note the grey fuselage cross and 76 undersurfaces...the 04 yellow lower cowl, fuselage band, aircraft number, and octane triangle is likely more vibrant than what is shown here (again, note that the color balance is somewhat off).

Click the picture for a 1024x780 desktop-size version!

 

Did we mention color?  04 Gelb was specified as the theatre color on Ostfront aircraft, but the first widespread use of theatre markings was during the summer of 1940 during the Battle of Britain.  At left we see a former II./JG54 Bf109E now operated by I./JG77, but still carrying both JG54's intricate 71/02/65 scheme and Staffel emblem.